II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2125 

To promote relief, security, and democracy in the Democratic Republic of 

the Congo. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 16, 2005 

Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. DEWINE) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To promote relief, security, and democracy in the Democratic 

Republic of the Congo. 

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 ‘‘Democratic Republic 

5 of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion 

6 Act of 2005’’. 
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1 TITLE I—BILATERAL ACTION ON 

2 ADDRESSING URGENT NEEDS 

3 IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUB4 LIC OF THE CONGO 

5 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress makes the following findings: 

7 (1) The National Security Strategy of the 

8 United States, dated September 17, 2002, concludes 

9 that ‘‘[i]n Africa, promise and opportunity sit side10 by-side with disease, war, and desperate poverty. 

11 This threatens both a core value of the United 

12 States preserving human dignity and our strategic 

13 priority combating global terror. American interests 

14 and American principles, therefore, lead in the same 

15 direction: we will work with others for an African 

16 continent that lives in liberty, peace, and growing 

17 prosperity.’’ 

18 (2) On February 16, 2005, the Director of the 

19 Central Intelligence Agency testified, ‘‘In Africa, 

20 chronic instability will continue to hamper 

21 counterterrorism efforts and pose heavy humani22 tarian and peacekeeping burdens.’’ 

23 (3) According to the United States Agency for 

24 International Development, ‘‘Given its size, popu25 lation, and resources, the Congo is an important 
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1 player in Africa and of long-term interest to the 

2 United States.’’ 

3 (4) The Democratic Republic of Congo is 

2,345,410 square miles (approximately 1 4 ⁄4 the size of 

5 the United States), lies at the heart of Africa, and 

6 touches every major region of sub-Saharan Africa. 

7 Therefore, promoting security, peace, and prosperity 

8 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo would have 

9 a profound impact on progress throughout Africa. 

10 (5) A mortality study completed in December 

11 2004 by the International Rescue Committee found 

12 that 31,000 people were dying monthly and 

13 3,800,000 people had died in the previous 6 years 

14 because of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of 

15 the Congo and resulting disintegration of the social 

16 service infrastructure and that ‘‘improving and 

17 maintaining security and increasing simple, proven 

18 and cost-effective interventions such as basic medical 

19 care, immunizations and clean water would save 

20 hundreds of thousands of lives in the Congo. There’s 

21 no shortage of evidence. It’s sustained compassion 

22 and political will that’s lacking.’’ 

23 (6) The International Crisis Group concluded, 

24 ‘‘The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the 

25 Congo remains one of the deadliest conflicts since 
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1 World War II and has resulted in the loss of nearly 

2 4 million lives since 1998. . . The international com3 munity, and the United Nations Security Council in 

4 particular, must take strong and urgent action to 

5 support the transition, establish a national army and 

6 secure lasting peace in the Democratic Republic of 

7 the Congo, if it is to live up to its responsibility to 

8 protect those in need.’’ 

9 (7) According to the Department of State, ‘‘re10 turning one of Africa’s largest countries [the Demo11 cratic Republic of the Congo] to full peace and sta12 bility will require significant United States invest13 ments in support of national elections, the reintegra14 tion of former combatants, the return and reintegra15 tion of refugees and [internally displaced persons], 

16 establishment of central government control over 

17 vast territories, and promotion of national reconcili18 ation and good governance’’. 

19 (8) A recent assessment completed by 4 well20 known nongovernmental organizations concluded 

21 that ‘‘[r]ecent fighting in North Kivu which dis22 placed over 150,000 people, as well as fighting in 

23 Ituri and other areas, is potent evidence that states 

24 in the Great Lakes region, particularly Rwanda and 

25 Uganda, and members of the transitional govern-
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1 ment still harbor different and conflicting interests 

2 and concerns which place the entire transition pro3 gram in jeopardy’’. 

4 (9) According to the 2004 Department of State 

5 report on human rights practices in the Democratic 

6 Republic of the Congo, ‘‘In areas under government 

7 control, the human rights record remained poor, and 

8 numerous serious abuses occurred.. . . Government 

9 security forces committed unlawful killings, torture, 

10 beatings, acts of rape, extortion, and other abuses, 

11 such as lootings and interference with citizens’ right 

12 to privacy.. . . In areas under marginal government 

13 control, where there were many armed groups, those 

14 with weapons controlled the population and extorted 

15 money, goods, and services.. . . These groups often 

16 acted independently, were poorly trained, and undis17 ciplined and committed numerous, serious human 

18 rights abuses with impunity.’’ 

19 SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

20 It is the policy of the United States— 

21 (1) to promote, reinvigorate, and support the 

22 political process in the Democratic Republic of the 

23 Congo in order to press all parties in the Transi24 tional National Government to move forward with 

25 approval of an electoral law and put in place mecha-
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1 nisms, including national and international election 

2 observers, fair and transparent voter registration 

3 procedures, and a significant civic awareness and 

4 public education campaign, to ensure fair and demo5 cratic elections within the timeframe provided by the 

6 Sun City Peace Accords; 

7 (2) to ensure that, once a stable national gov8 ernment is established in the Democratic Republic of 

9 the Congo, it is committed to multiparty democracy, 

10 open and transparent governance, respect for human 

11 rights and religious freedom, ending the violence 

12 throughout the country, promoting peace and sta13 bility with its neighbors, rehabilitating the national 

14 judicial system and enhancing the rule of law, and 

15 combating corruption; 

16 (3) to assist the Government of the Democratic 

17 Republic of the Congo in meeting the basic needs of 

18 its citizens, including security, safety, and access to 

19 health care, education, food, shelter, and clean 

20 drinking water; 

21 (4) to engage in security sector reform by help22 ing the Government of the Democratic Republic of 

23 the Congo establish a viable and professional na24 tional army and police force that respects human 

25 rights and the rule of law, is under effective civilian 
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1 control, and possesses a viable presence throughout 

2 the entire country, including by contributing to the 

3 provision of necessary equipment and training; 

4 (5) to expedite planning and implementation of 

5 programs associated with the disarmament, demobi6 lization, repatriation, reintegration, and rehabilita7 tion process in the Democratic Republic of the 

8 Congo; 

9 (6) to support efforts of the Government of the 

10 Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Na11 tions Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Re12 public of the Congo (MONUC), and other entities, 

13 as appropriate, to disarm, demobilize, and repatriate 

14 the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwan15 da; 

16 (7) to ensure that the Government of the 

17 Democratic Republic of the Congo— 

18 (A) is committed to responsible and trans19 parent management of natural resources across 

20 the country; and 

21 (B) takes active measures— 

22 (i) to promote economic development; 

23 (ii) to hold accountable individuals 

24 who misuse the country’s natural resources 

25 for personal gain; and 
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1 (iii) to implement the Extractive In2 dustries Transparency Initiative by enact3 ing laws requiring disclosure and inde4 pendent auditing of company payments 

5 and government receipts for natural re6 source extraction; 

7 (8) to promote a viable civil society and to en8 hance nongovernmental organizations and institu9 tions, including religious organizations, the media, 

10 political parties, trade unions, and trade and busi11 ness associations, that can act as a stabilizing force 

12 and effective check on the government; 

13 (9) to rebuild and enhance infrastructure, com14 munications, and other mechanisms that will in15 crease the ability of the central government to man16 age internal affairs, encourage economic develop17 ment, and facilitate relief efforts of humanitarian or18 ganizations; 

19 (10) to halt the high prevalence of sexual abuse 

20 and violence perpetrated against women and children 

21 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and miti22 gate the detrimental effects from acts of this type of 

23 violence by undertaking a number of health, edu24 cation, and financial support measures, including 

25 psycho-social programs, counseling, and HIV/AIDS 
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1 testing and treatment, and providing financial sup2 port; 

3 (11) to work aggressively on a bilateral basis to 

4 urge governments of countries contributing troops to 

5 the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the 

6 Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to 

7 enact and enforce laws on trafficking in persons and 

8 sexual abuse that meet international standards, pro9 mote codes of conduct for troops serving as part of 

10 United Nations peacekeeping missions, and imme11 diately investigate and punish citizens who are re12 sponsible for abuses in the Democratic Republic of 

13 the Congo; 

14 (12) to undertake steps that— 

15 (A) protect internally displaced persons 

16 and refugees in the Democratic Republic of the 

17 Congo and border regions from all forms of vio18 lence, including gender-based violence and other 

19 human rights abuses; 

20 (B) address other basic needs of vulnerable 

21 populations with the goal of allowing these con22 flict-affected individuals to ultimately return to 

23 their homes; and 

24 (C) assess the magnitude of the problem in 

25 the Democratic Republic of the Congo of or-
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1 phans from conflict and HIV/AIDS, and work 

2 to establish a program of national support; 

3 (13) to engage with governments working to 

4 promote peace and security throughout the Demo5 cratic Republic of the Congo and hold accountable 

6 individuals, entities, and countries working to desta7 bilize the country; and 

8 (14) to promote appropriate use of the forests 

9 of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a man10 ner that benefits the rural population in that coun11 try that depends on the forests for their livelihoods 

12 and protects national and environmental interests. 

13 SEC. 103. BILATERAL ASSISTANCE TO THE DEMOCRATIC 

14 REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. 

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts oth17 erwise available for such purposes, including 

18 amounts from regional funds, there is authorized to 

19 be appropriated $52,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 for 

20 bilateral assistance programs in the Democratic Re21 public of the Congo under the Foreign Assistance 

22 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), the Agricul23 tural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 

24 1954 (68 Stat. 454, chapter 469), and the Arms Ex25 port Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.). 
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1 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro2 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) are authorized to 

3 remain available until expended. 

4 (b) USES OF ASSISTANCE.—Amounts appropriated 

5 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be used to accomplish the 

6 policy objectives in section 102. 

7 (c) FUTURE YEAR FUNDING.—The Department of 

8 State should submit budget requests in fiscal years 2007, 

9 2008, and 2009 that contain increases in bilateral assist10 ance for the Democratic Republic of the Congo that are 

11 appropriate and similar to the increase authorized under 

12 subsection (a) for fiscal year 2006 if progress is being 

13 made, particularly cooperation by the Government of the 

14 Democratic Republic of the Congo, toward accomplishing 

15 the objectives in section 102. 

16 (d) OFFSETS.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State should 

18 consult with the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the 

19 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Ap20 propriations, and the Committee on the Budget of the 

21 Senate and the Committee on International Relations, the 

22 Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on the 

23 Budget of the House of Representatives to determine ap24 propriate reductions in funding, especially redundant or 
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1 duplicative programs, to offset the increase in funding au2 thorized in subsection (a). 

3 (e) USES OF SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—Security as4 sistance that is authorized to be appropriated under this 

5 section shall be made available consistent with section 551 

6 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related 

7 Programs Appropriations Act, 2005 (division D of the 

8 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005; Public Law 108– 

9 447; 118 Stat. 3015) and other provisions of law related 

10 to eligibility. 

11 (f) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONOR NA12 TIONS.—The United States should work with other donor 

13 nations, on a bilateral and multilateral basis, to increase 

14 international contributions to the Democratic Republic of 

15 the Congo and accomplish the policy objectives described 

16 in section 102. 

17 SEC. 104. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF 

18 THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. 

19 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) the Government of the Democratic Republic 

22 of the Congo must be committed to achieving the 

23 policy objectives described in this Act if the efforts 

24 of the United States and other members of the 

25 international community are to be effective in bring-
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1 ing relief, security, and democracy to the country; 

2 and 

3 (2) the international community, through the 

4 United Nations peacekeeping mission, humanitarian 

5 and development relief, and other forms of assist6 ance, is providing a substantial amount of funding 

7 that is giving the Government of the Democratic Re8 public of the Congo an opportunity to make progress 

9 towards accomplishing the policy objectives in sec10 tion 102, but this assistance cannot continue in per11 petuity. 

12 (b) REPORT ON PROGRESS.— 

13 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one 

14 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

15 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub16 mit to Congress a report on the progress made to17 ward accomplishing the policy objectives described in 

18 section 102. 

19 (2) CONTENT.—The report required under 

20 paragraph (1) shall include— 

21 (A) a description of any major impedi22 ments that prevent the accomplishment of the 

23 policy objectives described in section 102; 
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1 (B) an evaluation of United States policies 

2 and foreign assistance programs designed to ac3 complish such policy objectives; and 

4 (C) recommendations for— 

5 (i) improving these policies and pro6 grams; and 

7 (ii) any additional bilateral or multi8 lateral actions necessary to promote peace 

9 and prosperity in the Democratic Republic 

10 of the Congo. 

11 (c) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

12 of State may withhold assistance otherwise available under 

13 this Act if the Secretary determines and reports to Con14 gress that the Government of the Democratic Republic of 

15 the Congo is not making sufficient progress towards ac16 complishing the policy objectives described in section 102. 

17 SEC. 105. STRATEGY ON PROMOTING HUMANITARIAN RE18 LIEF, SECURITY, AND DEMOCRACY IN THE 

19 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. 

20 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the President shall submit to the Com22 mittee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appro23 priations of the Senate and the Committee on Inter24 national Relations and the Committee on Appropriations 

25 of the House of Representatives a report setting forth a 
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1 strategy for achieving the policy objectives described in 

2 section 102, including a description of an effective mecha3 nism for coordination of United States Government efforts 

4 to implement this strategy. 

5 SEC. 106. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE GREAT LAKES REGION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the President should 

8 appoint a Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region to 

9 resolve the instability and insecurity in Eastern Congo, 

10 which is the result of multiple international and domestic 

11 factors, and to enhance the regional harmonization of 

12 United States policies and assistance programs. 

13 (b) CONSULTATION.—In appointing the Special 

14 Envoy, the President should consult with the Majority 

15 Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker 

16 and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and 

17 the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Committee on 

18 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 

19 International Relations of the House of Representatives. 
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1 TITLE II—MULTILATERAL AC2 TIONS TO ADDRESS URGENT 

3 NEEDS IN THE DEMOCRATIC 

4 REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 

5 SEC. 201. PROMOTION OF UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD 

6 THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 

7 IN THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUN8 CIL. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall use its 

10 voice and vote in the United Nations Security Council— 

11 (1) to address exploitation at the United Na12 tions Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Re13 public of the Congo (MONUC) by urging, when 

14 credible allegations exist, appropriate investigation 

15 of alleged perpetrators and, as necessary, prosecu16 tion of United Nations personnel responsible for sex17 ual abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; 

18 (2) to ensure that appropriate guidelines, codes 

19 of conduct, and programs for the prevention of sex20 ual abuse and trafficking in persons are undertaken 

21 by the United Nations; 

22 (3) to strengthen the authority and capacity of 

23 MONUC by— 
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1 (A) providing specific authority and obliga2 tion to prevent and effectively counter imminent 

3 threats; 

4 (B) clarifying and strengthening 

5 MONUC’s rules of engagement to enhance the 

6 protection of vulnerable civilian populations; 

7 (C) enhancing the surveillance and intel8 ligence-gathering capabilities available to 

9 MONUC; 

10 (D) where consistent with United States 

11 policy, making available personnel, communica12 tions, and military assets that improve the ef13 fectiveness of robust peacekeeping, mobility, 

14 and command and control capabilities of 

15 MONUC; and 

16 (E) providing MONUC with the authority 

17 and resources needed to support efforts sur18 rounding national elections and the referendum 

19 on the constitution, and to monitor arms traf20 ficking and natural resource exploitation at key 

21 border posts and airfields in the eastern part of 

22 the Democratic Republic of the Congo; 

23 (4) to encourage regular visits of the United 

24 Nations Security Council to monitor the situation in 

25 the Democratic Republic of the Congo; 
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1 (5) to ensure that the practice of recruiting and 

2 arming children in the Democratic Republic of the 

3 Congo is immediately halted pursuant to Security 

4 Council Resolutions 1460 (2003) and 1539 (2004); 

5 (6) to strengthen the arms embargo imposed 

6 pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1493 

7 (2003) and ensure that violators are held account8 able through appropriate measures, including the 

9 possible imposition of sanctions; 

10 (7) to allow for the more effective protection 

11 and monitoring of natural resources in the Demo12 cratic Republic of the Congo, especially in the east13 ern part of the country, and for public disclosure 

14 and independent auditing of natural resource reve15 nues to help ensure transparent and accountable 

16 management of these revenues; 

17 (8) to press countries in the Congo region to 

18 help facilitate an end to the violence in the Demo19 cratic Republic of the Congo and promote relief, se20 curity, and democracy throughout the region; and 

21 (9) to encourage the United Nations Secretary22 General to become more involved in completing the 

23 policy objectives described in paragraphs (1) and (2) 

24 of section 102 and ensure that recent fighting in 

25 North Kivu, which displaced over 150,000 people, as 
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1 well as fighting in Ituri and other areas, does not 

2 create widespread instability throughout the country. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

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

5 submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations and Com6 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee 

7 on International Relations and the Committee on Appro8 priations of the House of Representatives a report on the 

9 feasibility and desirability of increasing the size and scope 

10 of MONUC to more effectively achieve the objectives de11 scribed in subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 202. INCREASING CONTRIBUTIONS AND OTHER HU13 MANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT ASSIST14 ANCE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZA15 TIONS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall instruct the 

17 United States permanent representative or executive direc18 tor, as the case may be, to the United Nations voluntary 

19 agencies, including the World Food Program, the United 

20 Nations Development Program, and the United Nations 

21 High Commissioner for Refugees, international financial 

22 institutions, and other appropriate international organiza23 tions to use the voice and vote of the United States to 

24 support additional humanitarian and development assist-
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1 ance for the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order 

2 to accomplish the objectives described in section 102. 

3 (b) SUPPORT CONTINGENT ON PROGRESS.— 

4 (1) REPORT ON LACK OF PROGRESS.—If the 

5 Secretary of State determines that the Government 

6 of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is not mak7 ing sufficient progress towards accomplishing the 

8 policy objectives in section 102, the Secretary shall 

9 submit to the President and Congress a report on 

10 such determination. 

11 (2) WITHDRAWAL OF SUPPORT.—Upon receiv12 ing a report under paragraph (1), the President 

13 shall consider withdrawing United States support for 

14 the assistance described in subsection (a) when fu15 ture funding decisions are considered. 

Æ