I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4541

To authorize assistance to promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts in

Africa.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 8, 1994

Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida (for himself and Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign

Affairs

A BILL

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:

9 (1) It is in the national interest of the United

10 States to help build African capability in conflict
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1 resolution. A relatively small investment of assist2 ance in promoting African conflict resolution—

3 (A) would reduce the enormous human

4 suffering which is caused by wars in Africa;

5 (B) would help the United States avoid

6 huge future expenditures necessitated by Soma7 lia-like humanitarian disasters; and

8 (C) would reduce the need for United Na9 tions intervention as African institutions de10 velop the ability to resolve African conflicts.

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

12 continent, is afflicted by war. Africa has been

13 marred by more than 20 major civil wars since

14 1960. Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Sudan, Liberia,

15 and Burundi are among those countries that have

16 recently suffered serious armed conflict.

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

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

19 There were 5,200,000 refugees and 13,100,000 dis20 placed people in Africa in 1993. In Angola, relief or21 ganizations estimated that 1,000 people were dying

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

23 200,000 people died in less than 5 weeks of fighting

24 during 1994, while 300,000 people fled to other

25 countries to escape war.
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1 (4) Millions more Africans are currently at risk

2 of war-related death. Looming or ongoing conflicts

3 in Zaire, Angola, Sudan, Rwanda, and other coun4 tries threaten Africa’s future.

5 (5) War has caused untold economic and social

6 damage to the countries of Africa. Food production

7 is impossible in conflict areas, and famine often re8 sults. Widespread conflict has condemned many of

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

10 cases, has threatened the existence of traditional Af11 rican cultures.

12 (6) Conflict and instability in Africa, particu13 larly in large, potentially rich countries such as An14 gola, Sudan, and Zaire, deprive the global economy

15 of resources and opportunities for trade and invest16 ment. Peace in these countries could make a signifi17 cant contribution to global economic growth, while

18 creating new opportunities for United States busi19 nesses.

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

21 threatening political and economic stability while di22 verting scarce resources from development needs.

23 Military expenditures in Africa average over twice

24 the level in Latin America. Demobilization and other
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1 measures to reduce military expenditures are thus a

2 critical need for many African countries.

3 (8) Conflict prevention, mediation, and demobi4 lization are prerequisites to the success of develop5 ment assistance programs. Nutrition and education

6 programs, for example, cannot succeed in a nation

7 at war. Billions of dollars of development assistance

8 have been virtually wasted in war-ravaged countries

9 such as Liberia, Somalia, and Sudan.

10 (9) Africans have a long tradition of informal

11 mediation. This tradition should be built upon to

12 create effective institutions through which Africans

13 can resolve African conflicts.

14 (10) The Organization of African Unity, under

15 the leadership of Secretary General Salim Salim, has

16 established a conflict resolution mechanism and has

17 been active in mediation and conflict resolution in

18 several African countries. Various subregional orga19 nizations have also become active in conflict resolu20 tion efforts. These are encouraging developments.

21 (b) UNITED STATES POLICY.—The Congress de22 clares, therefore, that a key goal for United States foreign

23 policy should be to help institutionalize conflict resolution

24 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, up to $1,500,000 for

9 each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1998 may be used

10 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) encampment and related activities associ18 ated with demobilization of such forces, and

19 (2) the retraining for civilian occupations of

20 military personnel who have been demobilized.

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

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

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

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

25 permit.
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1 SEC. 6. TRAINING FOR AFRICANS IN CONFLICT RESOLU2 TION AND PEACEKEEPING.

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE..—The Presi4 dent is authorized to establish a program to provide edu5 cation and training in conflict resolution and peacekeeping

6 for civilian and military personnel of countries in sub-Sa7 haran Africa.

8 (b) FUNDING.—Foreign assistance funds made avail9 able for military education and training activities may be

10 used to carry out the program provided for in subsection

11 (a).

12 SEC. 7. BUILDING MEDIATION CAPABILITY IN AFRICA.

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi14 dent is authorized to provide assistance to nongovern15 mental organizations that are engaged in mediation and

16 reconciliation efforts in Africa.

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

18 are allocated for sub-Saharan Africa, $500,000 for each

19 of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996 should be used to carry

20 out subsection (a).

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