103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4541

AN ACT

To authorize assistance to promote the peaceful resolution

of conflicts in Africa.

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 ‘‘African Conflict Reso5 lution Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following

8 findings:
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1 (1) It is in the national interest of the United

2 States to help build African capability in conflict

3 resolution. A relatively small investment of assist4 ance in promoting African conflict resolution—

5 (A) would reduce the enormous human

6 suffering which is caused by wars in Africa;

7 (B) would help the United States avoid

8 huge future expenditures necessitated by Soma9 lia-like humanitarian disasters; and

10 (C) would reduce the need for United Na11 tions intervention as African institutions de12 velop the ability to resolve African conflicts.

13 (2) Africa, to a greater extent than any other

14 continent, is afflicted by war. Africa has been

15 marred by more than 20 major civil wars since

16 1960. Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Sudan, Liberia,

17 and Burundi are among those countries that have

18 recently suffered serious armed conflict.

19 (3) In the last decade alone, between 2,000,000

20 and 4,000,000 Africans have died because of war.

21 There were 5,200,000 refugees and 13,100,000 dis22 placed people in Africa in 1993. In Angola, relief or23 ganizations estimated that 1,000 people were dying

24 each day at the end of 1993. In Rwanda, more than

25 200,000 people died in less than 5 weeks of fighting
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1 during 1994, while 300,000 people fled to other

2 countries to escape war.

3 (4) Millions more Africans are currently at risk

4 of war-related death. Looming or ongoing conflicts

5 in Zaire, Angola, Sudan, Rwanda, and other coun6 tries threaten Africa’s future.

7 (5) War has caused untold economic and social

8 damage to the countries of Africa. Food production

9 is impossible in conflict areas, and famine often re10 sults. Widespread conflict has condemned many of

11 Africa’s children to lives of misery and, in certain

12 cases, has threatened the existence of traditional Af13 rican cultures.

14 (6) Conflict and instability in Africa, particu15 larly in large, potentially rich countries such as An16 gola, Sudan, and Zaire, deprive the global economy

17 of resources and opportunities for trade and invest18 ment. Peace in these countries could make a signifi19 cant contribution to global economic growth, while

20 creating new opportunities for United States busi21 nesses.

22 (7) Many African armies are far too large,

23 threatening political and economic stability while di24 verting scarce resources from development needs.

25 Military expenditures in Africa average over twice
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1 the level in Latin America. Demobilization and other

2 measures to reduce military expenditures are thus a

3 critical need for many African countries.

4 (8) Conflict prevention, mediation, and demobi5 lization are prerequisites to the success of develop6 ment assistance programs. Nutrition and education

7 programs, for example, cannot succeed in a nation

8 at war. Billions of dollars of development assistance

9 have been virtually wasted in war-ravaged countries

10 such as Liberia, Somalia, and Sudan.

11 (9) Africans have a long tradition of informal

12 mediation. This tradition should be built upon to

13 create effective institutions through which Africans

14 can resolve African conflicts.

15 (10) The Organization of African Unity, under

16 the leadership of Secretary General Salim Salim, has

17 established a conflict resolution mechanism and has

18 been active in mediation and conflict resolution in

19 several African countries. Various subregional orga20 nizations have also become active in conflict resolu21 tion efforts. These are encouraging developments.

22 (b) UNITED STATES POLICY.—The Congress de23 clares, therefore, that a key goal for United States foreign

24 policy should be to help institutionalize conflict resolution

25 capability in Africa.
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1 SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILI2 TIES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN

3 UNITY.

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi5 dent is authorized to provide assistance to strengthen the

6 conflict resolution capability of the Organization of Afri7 can Unity, as follows:

8 (1) Funds may be provided to the Organization

9 of African Unity for use in supporting its conflict

10 resolution capability.

11 (2) Funds may be used for expenses of sending

12 individuals with expertise in conflict resolution to

13 work with the Organization of African Unity.

14 (b) FUNDING.—Of the foreign assistance funds that

15 are allocated for sub-Saharan Africa, not less than

16 $1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1998

17 should be used to carry out subsection (a).

18 SEC. 4. IMPROVING CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILITIES

19 OF MULTILATERAL SUBREGIONAL ORGANI20 ZATIONS IN AFRICA.

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi22 dent is authorized to provide assistance to strengthen the

23 conflict resolution capabilities of subregional organizations

24 established by countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as follows:
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1 (1) Funds may be provided to such an organi2 zation for use in supporting its conflict resolution

3 capability.

4 (2) Funds may be used for the expenses of

5 sending individuals with expertise in conflict resolu6 tion to work with such an organization.

7 (b) FUNDING.—Of the foreign assistance funds that

8 are allocated for sub-Saharan Africa, such sums as may

9 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 through

10 1998 may be used to carry out subsection (a).

11 SEC. 5. AFRICAN DEMOBILIZATION AND RETRAINING PRO12 GRAM.

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—In order to

14 facilitate reductions in the size of the armed forces of

15 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the President is author16 ized to provide assistance for—

17 (1) the encampment and related activities for

18 the purpose of demobilization of such forces; and

19 (2) the reintegration of demobilized military

20 personnel into civilian society through activities such

21 as retraining for civilian occupations, creation of in22 come-generating opportunities, the reintegration into

23 agricultural activities, and the transportation to the

24 home areas of such personnel.
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1 (b) FUNDING.—Of the foreign assistance funds that

2 are allocated for sub-Saharan Africa, $25,000,000 for

3 each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996 should be used

4 for the assistance described in subsection (a), if conditions

5 permit.

6 SEC. 6. TRAINING FOR AFRICANS IN CONFLICT RESOLU7 TION AND PEACEKEEPING.

8 Chapter 5 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act

9 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2347 et seq.) is amended by adding

10 at the end the following new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 546. CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND PEACEKEEPING

12 PROGRAM FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

13 ‘‘In addition to the other education and training ac14 tivities carried out under this chapter, the President is au15 thorized to establish a program to provide education and

16 training in conflict resolution and peacekeeping for civilian

17 and military personnel of countries in sub-Saharan

18 Africa.’’.

19 SEC. 7. BUILDING MEDIATION CAPABILITY IN AFRICA.

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi21 dent is authorized to provide assistance to nongovern22 mental organizations that are engaged in mediation and

23 reconciliation efforts in Africa.

24 (b) FUNDING.—Of the foreign assistance funds that

25 are allocated for sub-Saharan Africa, such sums as may
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1 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996

2 should be used to carry out subsection (a).

3 SEC. 8. PLAN FOR UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR CON4 FLICT RESOLUTION AND DEMOBILIZATION IN

5 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In furtherance of and building

7 upon the provisions of sections 3 through 7, the President

8 shall develop an integrated long-term plan to provide sup9 port for the enhancement of conflict resolution capabilities

10 and demobilization activities in sub-Saharan Africa.

11 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—Such plan shall identify,

12 among other things, the following:

13 (1) The type, purpose, amount, and duration of

14 assistance that is planned to be provided to conflict

15 resolution units in sub-Saharan Africa.

16 (2) The type and amount of assistance that is

17 planned to be provided for the demobilization of

18 military personnel of countries of sub-Saharan Afri19 ca, including—

20 (A) a list of which countries will receive

21 such assistance and an explanation of why such

22 countries were chosen for such assistance; and

23 (B) a list of other countries and inter24 national organizations that are providing assist25 ance for such demobilization.
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1 (3) The type and amount of assistance that is

2 planned to be provided to nongovernmental organi3 zations that are engaged in mediation and reconcili4 ation efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

5 (4) A description of proposed training programs

6 for Africans in conflict resolution and peacekeeping,

7 including a list of prospective participants and plans

8 to expand such programs.

9 (5) The mechanisms to be used to coordinate

10 interagency efforts to administer the plan.

11 (6) Efforts to seek the participation of other

12 countries and international organizations to achieve

13 the objectives of the plan.

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

15 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit

16 to the appropriate congressional committees a report con17 taining a description of the plan developed under this sec18 tion.

19 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President

22 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees

23 a report describing the efforts and progress made in carry24 ing out the provisions of this Act.
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1 SEC. 10. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.

2 The President shall consult with the appropriate con3 gressional committees prior to providing assistance under

4 section 3 or section 5.

5 SEC. 11. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE6 FINED.

7 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate con8 gressional committees’’ means the Committee on Foreign

9 Affairs, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Com10 mittee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives

11 and the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee

12 on Appropriations, and the Committee on Armed Services

13 of the Senate.

Passed the House of Representatives September 19,

1994.

Attest:

Clerk.

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4541

AN ACT

To authorize assistance to promote the peaceful

resolution of conflicts in Africa.