I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3189 

To promote the development of democratic institutions and full respect for 

human rights in the countries of Central Asia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 30, 2005 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on International Relations 

A BILL 

To promote the development of democratic institutions and 

full respect for human rights in the countries of Central 

Asia. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Central Asia Democ5 racy and Human Rights Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) More than 13 years after independence, the 

9 five countries of Central Asia—Kazakhstan, 

10 Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 
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1 Uzbekistan—are struggling, to varying degrees, with 

2 their transition from authoritarian rule to demo3 cratic societies that fully respect human rights and 

4 uphold their freely undertaken commitments as par5 ticipating States in the Organization for Security 

6 and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 

7 (2) As OSCE participating States, the countries 

8 of Central Asia committed themselves in the Charter 

9 of Paris for a New Europe to ‘‘build, consolidate 

10 and strengthen democracy as the only system of gov11 ernment of our nations’’. 

12 (3) In the Global War on Terrorism, the United 

13 States is increasingly engaged with the countries of 

14 Central Asia on a political, economic, and military 

15 basis. 

16 (4) In the Global War on Terrorism, policies 

17 that bolster authoritarian governments which sup18 press and terrorize their own people will ultimately 

19 be self defeating, as repression often breeds extre20 mism and terrorism. 

21 (5) The Final Report of the National Commis22 sion on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 

23 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘9/11 Commission’’) 

24 recommended: ‘‘The U.S. government must define 

25 what the message is, what it stands for. We should 
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1 offer an example of moral leadership in the world, 

2 committed to treat people humanely, abide by the 

3 rule of law, and be generous and caring to our 

4 neighbors.’’. 

5 (6) The September 2004 Final Report of the 

6 Defense Science Board Task Force on Strategic 

7 Communication stated: ‘‘The perception of intimate 

8 U.S. support of tyrannies in the Muslim World is 

9 perhaps the critical vulnerability in American strat10 egy. It strongly undercuts our message, while 

11 strongly promoting that of the enemy.’’. 

12 (7) In a speech to the United Nations General 

13 Assembly on September 21, 2004, President George 

14 W. Bush stated: ‘‘People everywhere are capable of 

15 freedom, and worthy of freedom . . . For too long, 

16 many nations, including my own, tolerated, even ex17 cused, oppression in the Middle East in the name of 

18 stability. Oppression became common, but stability 

19 never arrived. We must take a different approach.’’. 

20 (8) In keeping with the President’s objectives 

21 outlined in the September 21, 2004, speech to the 

22 United Nations General Assembly, the United States 

23 has a clear opportunity to implement short-term 

24 policies promoting stability in the countries of Cen25 tral Asia, stand for human dignity, foster security, 
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1 and build long-term popular support for the United 

2 States. 

3 (9) The September 2002 National Security 

4 Strategy of the United States of America stated: 

5 ‘‘America must stand firmly for the nonnegotiable 

6 demands of human dignity: the rule of law; limits on 

7 the absolute power of the state; free speech; freedom 

8 of worship; equal justice; respect for women; reli9 gious and ethnic tolerance; and respect for private 

10 property.’’. 

11 (10) The National Security Strategy of the 

12 United States of America further elaborated that the 

13 United States must ‘‘make freedom and the develop14 ment of democratic institutions key themes in our 

15 bilateral relations, seeking solidarity and cooperation 

16 from other democracies while we press governments 

17 that deny human rights to move toward a better fu18 ture’’. 

19 (11) In his second inaugural address on Janu20 ary 20, 2005, President George W. Bush stated: 

21 ‘‘For as long as whole regions of the world simmer 

22 in resentment and tyranny—prone to ideologies that 

23 feed hatred and excuse murder—violence will gather, 

24 and multiply in destructive power, and cross the 

25 most defended borders, and raise a mortal threat.’’. 
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1 In this address, President Bush further declared: ‘‘It 

2 is the policy of the United States to seek and sup3 port the growth of democratic movements and insti4 tutions in every nation and culture, with the ulti5 mate goal of ending tyranny in our world.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) the United States should support those gov9 ernments and individuals making substantial and 

10 sustained progress to establish democracy, guarantee 

11 the rule of law, and protect human rights; 

12 (2) the United States should use every means 

13 at its disposal to encourage the countries of Central 

14 Asia to provide greater respect for democracy, the 

15 rule of law, and human rights, thereby promoting 

16 the long-term stability and security of the Central 

17 Asian region, and ensure that all assistance pro18 grams for the Central Asian region support and 

19 communicate this goal; and 

20 (3) the United States should seek and support 

21 the growth of democratic movements and institu22 tions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate 

23 goal of ending tyranny in our world. 
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1 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY, RULE OF 

2 LAW, AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE COUN3 TRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA. 

4 (a) PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.—The purposes of as5 sistance under this section include— 

6 (1) to encourage free and fair presidential, par7 liamentary, and local elections in the countries of 

8 Central Asia, conducted in a manner consistent with 

9 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Eu10 rope (OSCE) and internationally accepted standards 

11 and under the supervision of international observers; 

12 (2) to ensure in the countries of Central Asia 

13 the full respect for all human rights, including free14 dom of expression and the media, freedom of reli15 gion and association, prevention of torture, and the 

16 end of human trafficking from, to, and through the 

17 Central Asian region; and 

18 (3) to develop rule of law, in particular inde19 pendent judicial systems and professional law en20 forcement, and to combat corruption. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.—To carry out 

22 the purposes of subsection (a), the President is authorized 

23 to provide assistance for the countries of Central Asia to 

24 support the activities described in subsection (c). 

25 (c) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—Activities that may be 

26 supported by assistance under subsection (b) include— 
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1 (1) observing elections and promoting free and 

2 fair electoral processes; 

3 (2) developing sustainable civic organizations, 

4 including democratic political parties; 

5 (3) establishing nongovernmental organizations 

6 that promote democracy and support human rights; 

7 (4) developing independent media to work in 

8 the countries of Central Asia, supported by 

9 nonstate-controlled printing facilities; 

10 (5) independent radio and television broad11 casting to and within the countries of Central Asia; 

12 (6) encouraging the liberalization of laws affect13 ing religious practice and their enforcement to pro14 mote greater freedoms for individuals to meet alone 

15 or in community with others, and in the sharing of 

16 beliefs; 

17 (7) educating law enforcement officials with re18 spect to the existence and enforcement of legal pro19 hibitions concerning torture; 

20 (8) prosecuting human traffickers, as well as 

21 providing increased police training and education ef22 forts; 

23 (9) training and assistance for judicial reform 

24 and development; 
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1 (10) training in effective human rights and hu2 manitarian law as a part of training programs for 

3 security forces of the countries of Central Asia; 

4 (11) establishing programs to combat corrup5 tion and support good governance; and 

6 (12) other activities consistent with the pur7 poses of this section. 

8 (d) REPORT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than six months 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

11 every six months thereafter, the President shall 

12 transmit to the appropriate congressional commit13 tees a report on assistance provided for the countries 

14 of Central Asia under this section for the six-month 

15 period ending 30 days prior to the transmission of 

16 the report. 

17 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include with 

18 respect to each country of Central Asia a detailed 

19 description of each of the following: 

20 (A) The types and amount of assistance 

21 provided under this section, including the types 

22 and amount of defense articles and defense 

23 services and the amount of financial assistance. 

24 (B) The use of such assistance, including 

25 the use of defense articles, defense services, and 
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1 financial assistance, by units of the armed 

2 forces, border guards, or other security forces 

3 of the country. 

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

6 appropriated to the President to carry out this sec7 tion not less than $188,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 

8 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

9 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur10 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 

11 paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available 

12 until expended. 

13 SEC. 5. RADIO BROADCASTING TO THE COUNTRIES OF CEN14 TRAL ASIA. 

15 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to au16 thorize increased support for surrogate radio broadcasting 

17 to the countries of Central Asia that will facilitate the 

18 unhindered dissemination of information in the Central 

19 Asian region. 

20 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi21 tion to such sums as are otherwise authorized to be appro22 priated, there are authorized to be appropriated not less 

23 than $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 and each subse24 quent fiscal year for Voice of America and RFE/RL, In25 corporated for expanded radio broadcasting to the people 
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1 of the countries of Central Asia in languages spoken in 

2 Central Asia. 

3 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

5 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re6 port on how funds are appropriated and allocated pursu7 ant to the authorizations of appropriations under sub8 section (b) and section 4(d) will be used to provide AM 

9 and FM broadcasting that covers the Central Asian region 

10 and delivers independent and uncensored programming. 

11 SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE TO 

12 THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA. 

13 (a) LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE.—Subject to para14 graphs (1) through (3) of subsection (c), the full amount 

15 of assistance described in subsection (e) that is allocated 

16 for the government of a country of Central Asia for a fis17 cal year may be provided to the government of the country 

18 only if the President certifies to the appropriate congres19 sional committees that the government of the country 

20 meets the requirements described in subsection (b). 

21 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements described in 

22 this subsection are the following: 

23 (1) DEMOCRATIZATION.—The government of 

24 the country is making substantial, sustained, and 

25 demonstrable progress toward democratization, such 
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1 as the establishment of a legal framework, the con2 duct of free and fair elections (as determined by 

3 monitors of the Organization for Security and Co4 operation in Europe (OSCE)), the establishment of 

5 political pluralism, and equal opportunity for women. 

6 (2) FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND THE

7 MEDIA.—The government of the country is making 

8 substantial, sustained, and demonstrable progress 

9 toward freedom of expression, such as the establish10 ment of a legal framework, the elimination of sup11 pressive government actions and the elimination of 

12 legal penalties for criticizing the government or gov13 ernment officials, and openness of media. 

14 (3) FREEDOM OF RELIGION, ASSOCIATION, AND

15 THE RIGHT OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY.—The govern16 ment of the country is making substantial, sus17 tained, and demonstrable progress toward— 

18 (A) freedom of religion, such as the ability 

19 of individuals and communities to freely profess 

20 and practice their faith, to share beliefs openly, 

21 the opportunity for religious organizations to 

22 gain legal status, and the ability or individuals 

23 and communities to congregate for worship or 

24 other functions openly; 

25 (B) freedom of association; and 
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1 (C) the right of peaceful assembly and the 

2 absence of prisoners of conscience. 

3 (4) PREVENTION OF TORTURE.—The govern4 ment of the country is making substantial, sus5 tained, and demonstrable progress toward the estab6 lishment and enforcement of legal prohibitions 

7 against torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading 

8 treatment or punishment, public denunciations of 

9 torture, cooperation with the International Com10 mittee of the Red Cross and the United Nations 

11 Special Rapporteur on Torture on these matters, as 

12 appropriate, and the prosecution of individuals ac13 cused of perpetrating acts of torture. 

14 (5) RULE OF LAW; NONDISCRIMINATION.—The 

15 government of the country is making substantial, 

16 sustained, and demonstrable progress toward the es17 tablishment and enforcement of the right to a fair 

18 trial, independence of the judiciary, implementation 

19 of anti-corruption programs, efforts to combat traf20 ficking in persons, and nondiscriminatory treatment 

21 of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. 

22 (c) WITHHOLDING OF ASSISTANCE.— 

23 (1) FIRST FISCAL YEAR.—If the President does 

24 not certify under subsection (a) that the government 

25 of a country of Central Asia meets the requirements 
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1 described in subsection (b) for a fiscal year, then 33 

2 percent of the amount of assistance described in 

3 subsection (e) that is allocated for the government 

4 of the country for such fiscal year shall be withheld 

5 from obligation and expenditure. 

6 (2) SECOND FISCAL YEAR.—If the President 

7 does not certify under subsection (a) that the gov8 ernment of a country of Central Asia meets the re9 quirements described in subsection (b) for a second 

10 consecutive fiscal year, then 66 percent of the 

11 amount of assistance described in subsection (e) that 

12 is allocated for the government of the country for 

13 such fiscal year shall be withheld from obligation 

14 and expenditure. 

15 (3) THIRD AND SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.— 

16 (A) WITHHOLDING.—If the President does 

17 not certify under subsection (a) that the gov18 ernment of a country of Central Asia meets the 

19 requirements described in subsection (b) for a 

20 third consecutive fiscal year, then 100 percent 

21 of the amount of assistance described in sub22 section (e) that is allocated for the government 

23 of the country for such fiscal year, and each 

24 consecutive subsequent fiscal year with respect 

25 to which a presidential certification under sub-
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1 section (a) is not made, shall be withheld from 

2 obligation and expenditure. 

3 (B) WAIVER.—The President may waive 

4 the application of subparagraph (A) with re5 spect to a third consecutive fiscal year, or a 

6 consecutive subsequent fiscal year described in 

7 such subparagraph, if the President determines 

8 and certifies to the appropriate congressional 

9 committees that it is important to the national 

10 security of the United States to do so. If the 

11 President exercises the waiver authority under 

12 this subparagraph for a fiscal year, then 66 

13 percent of the amount of assistance described in 

14 subsection (e) that is allocated for the govern15 ment of the country for such fiscal year shall be 

16 withheld from obligation and expenditure. 

17 (4) USE OF WITHHELD ASSISTANCE.—Amounts 

18 withheld from obligation and expenditure under this 

19 subsection for a fiscal year are authorized to be 

20 made available for assistance under section 4 of this 

21 Act. 

22 (d) REINSTATEMENT OF ASSISTANCE.—If the Presi23 dent certifies under subsection (a) that the government 

24 of a country of Central Asia meets the requirements of 

25 subsection (b) for a fiscal year following a fiscal year with 
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1 respect to which funds are withheld from obligation and 

2 expenditure under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection 

3 (c), then the amount of assistance described in subsection 

4 (e) that is allocated for the government of the country for 

5 such fiscal year, and each consecutive subsequent fiscal 

6 year with respect to which an additional presidential cer7 tification under subsection (a) is made, may be increased 

8 by 33 percent for each such fiscal year, not to exceed 100 

9 percent of the amount of assistance described in sub10 section (e) that is allocated for the government of the 

11 country for any such fiscal year. 

12 (e) ASSISTANCE DESCRIBED.—Assistance described 

13 in this subsection is the following: 

14 (1) Assistance under the Foreign Assistance 

15 Act of 1961, including programs under title IV of 

16 chapter 2 of part I of such Act (relating to the Over17 seas Private Investment Corporation) and assistance 

18 under chapter 12 of part I of such Act (relating to 

19 support for the economic and political independence 

20 of the countries of the South Caucasus and Central 

21 Asia), other than— 

22 (A) disaster relief assistance, including any 

23 assistance under chapter 9 of part I of that 

24 Act; 
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1 (B) assistance which involves the provision 

2 of food (including monetization of food) or med3 icine; 

4 (C) assistance for refugees; and 

5 (D) assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, in6 cluding any assistance under section 104A of 

7 that Act. 

8 (2) Sales, or financing on any terms, under the 

9 Arms Export Control Act. 

10 (3) Assistance made available by reason of the 

11 application of section 9009 of the Department of 

12 Defense Appropriations Act, 2005, or any related or 

13 successor provision of law. 

14 (4) The provision of training, equipment, trans15 portation, or other support for the armed forces 

16 under any provision of law, other than assistance 

17 under programs and activities specified in section 

18 1501(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act 

19 for Fiscal Year 1997 (relating to Cooperative Threat 

20 Reduction programs). 

21 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this sec22 tion apply with respect to funds appropriated for assist23 ance for the governments of the countries of Central Asia 

24 for fiscal year 2006 and subsequent fiscal years. 
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1 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

7 the Committee on International Relations of the 

8 House of Representatives; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

10 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen11 ate. 

12 (2) COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA.—The term 

13 ‘‘countries of Central Asia’’ means Kazakhstan, 

14 Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and 

15 Uzbekistan. 

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