A bill to reaffirm United States objectives in Ethiopia and encourage critical democratic and humanitarian principles and practices, and for other purposes.

Summary: Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Ethiopia Act of 2008 - States that the President should take additional steps to support the implementation of democracy and governance institutions and organizations in Ethiopia consistent with the Ethiopian Constitution of 1994 and related national law, including: (1) support of democracy development; (2) promotion of judicial independence; (3) support of human rights programs, especially regarding women and minorities; (4) expansion of the Voice of America (VOA) and other independent media; (5) support of international efforts to gain full access to the Ogaden and other conflict-affected regions; and (6) support of a United Nations Special Envoy to launch a dialogue to bring about the normalization of relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and who works with both governments to address issues of stability both along their border as well as more broadly across the Horn of Africa, including in Somalia.

Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Support for Democracy and Human 
Rights in Ethiopia Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Despite progress and an estimated annual growth rate of 
        nearly 10 percent, Ethiopia remains one of the poorest and most 
        famine-prone countries in the world, with more than half of the 
        population of 78,000,000 living on less than $1 per day.
            (2) Since the collapse of the Derg and overthrow of the 
        Mengistu regime in 1991, the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary 
        Democratic Front (EPRDF)-led government has overseen the 
        introduction of a multiparty system and the drafting of a new 
        constitution that guarantees economic, social, and cultural 
        rights and states that ``human and democratic rights of peoples 
        and citizens shall be protected.''
            (3) Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody border war between 
        1998 and 2000, and, despite the Algiers Accord ending the 
        conflict and the agreement to abide by the final and biding 
        Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission (EEBC) arbitration, the 
        Government of Ethiopia has refused to comply with the final 
        physical demarcation of the border and the Government of 
        Eritrea has virtually expelled the United Nations peacekeeping 
        force, resulting in a high risk of renewed fighting and 
        regional instability.
            (4) Following high turnout and marked improvement in pre-
        election campaigning and voting in the third general elections 
        of the Government of Ethiopia held on May 15, 2005, widespread 
        charges of violations in the finally tallying and inadequate 
        response to opposition complaints resulted in observer findings 
        that the elections failed to satisfy international standards.
            (5) Subsequent opposition progress led to a crackdown by 
        EPRDF security forces in which 763 civilians were injured and 
        193 killed, and thousands more opposition party leaders and 
        their followers were detained, 112 of whom were not released 
        until the summer of 2007.
            (6) In its 2007 ``Countries at a Crossroads'' report, 
        Freedom House noted that ``[i]ncreased threats to and 
        violations of civil liberties were a consequence of the 
        political tensions that sprang from the flawed 2005 
        elections.''
            (7) In December 2006, military forces of the Government of 
        Ethiopia came to the aid of Somalia's Transitional Federal 
        Government against the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and continue 
        to serve as the primary security force for the United Nations-
        backed transitional government in Mogadishu.
            (8) Credible nongovernmental organizations report 
        widespread violations of human rights and international law by 
        the Ethiopian military in Mogadishu and other areas of Somalia, 
        as well as in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia.
            (9) According to the Department of State's 2007 Country 
        Reports on Human Rights Practices, ``human rights abuses [in 
        Ethiopia] . . . include: limitation on citizens' right to 
        change their government during the most recent elections; 
        unlawful killings, and beating, abuse, and mistreatment of 
        detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; poor 
        prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention . . . use of 
        excessive force by security services in an internal conflict 
        and counter-insurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of 
        the press; etc.''
            (10) The Department of State's 2007 Country Reports on 
        Human Rights Practices also stated that ``[Ogaden National 
        Liberation Front] ONLF forces . . . were responsible for 
        widespread human rights abuses, including killings and the 
        diversion of food supplies resulting in the displacement of 
        thousands of persons.''
            (11) In June 2007, in response to this violence, including 
        the deadly April 2007 attacks on a Chinese oil exploration site 
        in the Ogaden and at a May 2007 political rally, the Prime 
        Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, announced that the 
        Government of Ethiopia was launching a ``political and military 
        operation to contain the activities of the ONLF,'' which, 
        according to credible reports, has resulted in the displacement 
        of thousands of civilians to government-designated ``protection 
        zones,'' while thousands more have fled across Ethiopia's 
        borders.
            (12) Although the Government of Ethiopia has legitimate 
        security concerns in the Ogaden, and, according to the 
        Department of State's 2007 Country Report on Terrorism, 
        ``Ethiopian forces [also] countered Somali-based extremists who 
        attempted to conduct attacks inside Ethiopia,'' a number of 
        credible media accounts, human rights organizations, and 
        humanitarian agencies have documented the ENDF's unjustifiably 
        brutal tactics against its own citizens there, as has been 
        previously been reported in other regions of the country 
        including Oromiya, Amhara, and Gambella.
            (13) In May 2008, the Government of Ethiopia circulated a 
        draft law that claims to be a tool to enhance the transparency 
        and accountability of civil society organizations, but if 
        enacted, is instead likely to create a complex web of onerous 
        bureaucratic hurdles, draconian criminal penalties, and 
        intrusive powers of surveillance that would further decrease 
        the political space available for civil society activities.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to support the efforts by the people and Government of 
        Ethiopia--
                    (A) to achieve a participatory multiparty 
                democracy, an active and unhindered civil society, rule 
                of law and accountability, judicial capacity and 
                independence, freedom of the press, respect for human 
                rights, and economic development; and
                    (B) to combat extremism and terrorism in their 
                country and the region;
            (2) to promote stability, democracy, accountability, social 
        and economic development, human and political rights, 
        humanitarian assistance, the rule of law and accountability, 
        and counterterrorism efforts in Ethiopia and the wider Horn of 
        Africa;
            (3) to seek the unconditional release of all political 
        prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia;
            (4) to prohibit United States funding to any unit of the 
        Ethiopian security forces if there is credible evidence that a 
        unit of the security forces has committed gross violations of 
        human rights, unless the Secretary of State has determined and 
        reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the 
        Ethiopian government is taking effective measures to bring the 
        responsible members of the security forces unit to justice; and
            (5) to contribute to regional peace and stability by urging 
        the Government of Ethiopia to comply with the EEBC arbitration 
        decisions on border demarcation, urging the Government of 
        Eritrea to permit a United Nations peacekeeping presence, and 
        pressing both Governments to ensure that they are playing a 
        productive role in helping to bring about stability along the 
        border and throughout the Horn of Africa, including in Somalia.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government 
should--
            (1) build on successful diplomatic efforts that contributed 
        to the October 2007 release of political prisoners in Addis;
            (2) urge the Government of Ethiopia to protect the 
        constitutional rights and freedoms of all Ethiopian citizens;
            (3) encourage the Government of Ethiopia to enter into 
        discussions with political groups interested in reconciliation 
        in order to bring such groups into full participation in the 
        political and economic affairs of Ethiopia;
            (4) call on the Government of Ethiopia to allow human 
        rights and humanitarian groups and the media to undertake their 
        work in all regions of Ethiopia without intimidation or 
        harassment while ensuring they are protected from any threats 
        regardless of their political affiliations;
            (5) encourage and assist the United Nations and other 
        independent organizations and the media in investigating 
        credible reports of grave violations of human rights or 
        international humanitarian law, publishing any evidence of 
        serious abuse, and sending strong and consistent messages to 
        the Government of Ethiopia that the continuation of such 
        violations or impunity for the perpetrators of crimes in the 
        Ogaden region, Ethiopia more generally, or in Somalia carry 
        consequences; and
            (6) encourage the Governments of both Ethiopia and Eritrea 
        to take steps to lessen tensions, physically demarcate the 
        border in accord with the EEBC decision, and promote 
        normalization of relations between the two countries.

SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN ETHIOPIA.

    (a) Authority.--Subject to subsection (b) and notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the President should take additional steps to 
support the implementation of democracy and governance institutions and 
organizations in Ethiopia consistent with the provisions of the 
Ethiopian Constitution of 1994 and related national law, including--
            (1) to support democracy development in Ethiopia, including 
        developing the capacity of government and civil society 
        organizations to undertake free, fair, and peaceful elections, 
        strengthen good governance practices, and encourage 
        transparency and accountability, in accordance with 
        international norms and standards;
            (2) to support the autonomy and fundamental freedoms of 
        national and international civil society organizations to 
        effectively pursue these objectives without excessive 
        government regulation or intimidation;
            (3) to promote and bolster the independence of the 
        judiciary in Ethiopia, including developing capacity at the 
        national, regional, and local levels;
            (4) to support programs to defend and protect the human 
        rights of all the people of Ethiopia, especially women and 
        minorities;
            (5) to expand programming of the Voice of America and other 
        independent media in Ethiopia and ensure they are able to 
        broadcast without interference;
            (6) to support efforts of the international community to 
        gain full access to the Ogaden and other conflict-affected 
        regions throughout the country to provide humanitarian and 
        development assistance; and
            (7) to support a United Nations Special Envoy to launch a 
        comprehensive dialogue process that seeks to bring about the 
        normalization of economic and political relations between 
        Ethiopia and Eritrea and works with the governments of both 
        countries to address issues of stability both along their 
        shared border as well as more broadly across the Horn of 
        Africa, including in Somalia.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 to carry out this 
section.
    (c) Conditions.--
            (1) In general.--Assistance provided pursuant subsection 
        (b) shall be allocated and dispersed in a fully transparent 
        manner.
            (2) Congressional notification.--Funds made available to 
        the Government of Ethiopia under subsection (b) and all other 
        nonessential funds made available to the Government of Ethiopia 
        under any other provision of law shall be subject to the 
        regular notification requirements with respect to the 
        appropriate congressional committees.
            (3) Discontinuation in event of government obstruction.--
        The President shall cease the provision of assistance provided 
        under subsection (b) if the Government of Ethiopia acts to 
        obstruct such assistance.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State 
shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report that describes the activities undertaken pursuant to subsection 
(a), including a description of amounts committed, and the amounts 
provided, to Ethiopia during the reporting period.

SEC. 6. OFFSETS.

    Of the amounts available to the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration for fiscal year 2009, $20,000,000 shall be available to 
carry out the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) The term ``non-essential United States assistance'' 
        means assistance authorized under any provision of law, other 
        than humanitarian assistance, food aid programs, assistance to 
        combat HIV/AIDS and other healthcare assistance, and 
        peacekeeping assistance.