Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Situation in Zimbabwe
The order terminates the national emergency declared in 2003 regarding Zimbabwe and revokes the three executive orders that created and expanded that emergency, immediately lifting the sanctions framework built on it.
It also preserves pending legal proceedings, rights, and penalties that arose under the prior orders before this termination takes effect.
What this order does
What it orders
The order terminates the national emergency originally declared in Executive Order 13288 of March 6, 2003, which targeted certain members of the Government of Zimbabwe and others accused of undermining Zimbabwe's democratic processes. It revokes that order as well as two follow-on orders — EO 13391 (2005) and EO 13469 (2008) — that relied on and expanded the original emergency declaration. The President states that while concern about human rights abuses and public corruption in Zimbabwe remains, the national emergency declaration is no longer necessary.
The order preserves any legal actions, proceedings, or penalties already initiated or incurred before the termination date, consistent with section 202(a) of the National Emergencies Act. It does not create any new rights or benefits enforceable against the United States.
Who it affects
Individuals and entities previously designated for sanctions under the Zimbabwe emergency orders, U.S. persons and companies that had been subject to restrictions on dealings with those designees, and courts or agencies with pending proceedings tied to prior Zimbabwe sanctions violations.
Why it matters
Sanctions tied to the Zimbabwe emergency — including asset freezes and transaction prohibitions targeting designated officials — are no longer legally grounded in this emergency declaration. Affected parties may seek to have frozen assets released or restrictions lifted, though pending enforcement actions from before the termination date remain valid.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The termination takes effect immediately upon signing. The standard NEA savings clause in Section 1 means that any enforcement action, court proceeding, or penalty that was already underway or incurred before March 4, 2024 continues unaffected — the revocation does not wipe out past liability or interrupt active cases. No agency is directed to take a specific follow-on step, but Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administered the Zimbabwe sanctions program, would need to update its designations lists accordingly under existing statutory authority.
Authority and reach
What this order changes
Revokes Executive Order 13288