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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1745 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1745

To promote security, stability and good governance in Somalia through a 
  coordinated interagency strategy that supports the consolidation of 
            recent security and political gains in Somalia.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 20, 2013

   Mr. Coons introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To promote security, stability and good governance in Somalia through a 
  coordinated interagency strategy that supports the consolidation of 
            recent security and political gains in Somalia.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Somalia Stabilization Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Since the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, 
        Somalia has struggled to rebuild a government and assert order 
        and control over warlords, clan militias, and extremist groups.
            (2) The lack of functioning state and governing structures 
        led to chronic humanitarian need within Somalia and enabled 
        terrorist groups, maritime crime, illicit trafficking, and mass 
        refugee flows to flourish.
            (3) In 2007, the Ethiopian military ousted the Islamic 
        Courts Union and the United Nations authorized the African 
        Union to deploy a peacekeeping force to Somalia, the African 
        Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), in order to support the 
        Transitional Federal Government to establish order in Somalia. 
        AMISOM currently consists of troops from Burundi, Djibouti, 
        Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.
            (4) In 2008, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (al-Shabaab) 
        was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially 
        Designated Global Terrorist entity by the United States 
        Government.
            (5) In 2010, al-Shabaab took control of southern and 
        central Somalia and instituted strict Sharia law.
            (6) In July 2010, Al-Shabaab retaliated against a 
        contributor to AMISOM by carrying out an attack in Kampala, 
        Uganda, which killed 74 people and injured 70 others.
            (7) In 2010, in response to growing al-Shabaab dominance 
        and brutality, the AMISOM mandate was expanded to directly 
        target and counter al-Shabaab in Somalia.
            (8) In 2011 and 2012, when many parts of the country were 
        suffering from severe food insecurity and famine, al-Shabaab 
        denied humanitarian access to its residents, resulting in the 
        death of close to 260,000 people and acute food insecurity for 
        millions.
            (9) In 2011, the Kenyan Defense Force joined AMISOM, to 
        help take control of urban areas like Mogadishu and Kismayo 
        from al-Shabaab control.
            (10) In 2012, improved security in much of urban Somalia 
        enabled the Transitional Federal Government to complete a draft 
        constitution and end its transitional term.
            (11) In 2012, a regionally representative Somali 
        constituent assembly elected a new Federal parliament, which in 
        turn elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
            (12) The United States, Arab and European countries, the 
        United Nations, and the African Union officially recognized the 
        new Somali government, citing the process that created it as 
        being the most credible and inclusive process to date.
            (13) On March 6, 2013, the United Nations Security Council 
        passed Resolution 2093, creating a new exemption to the 21-
        year-old arms embargo for a period of 12 months, to allow for 
        ``deliveries of weapons or military equipment or the provision 
        of advice, assistance or training, intended solely for the 
        development of the National Security Forces of the Federal 
        Government of Somalia'', and calling for the training, 
        equipping, and capacity-building of Somali Security Forces, 
        including both its armed forces and police, with special focus 
        on the development of infrastructure to ``ensure the safe 
        storage, registration, maintenance and distribution of military 
        equipment,'' and ``procedures and codes of conduct . . . for 
        the registration, distribution, use, and storage of weapons''.
            (14) On May 2, 2013, the United National Security Council 
        passed Resolution 2102, establishing the United Nations 
        Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) under the leadership of a 
        Special Representative of the Secretary-General to support the 
        Government of Somalia with peace-building, state-building and 
        governance, as well as the coordination of international 
        assistance.
            (15) Though greeted with great optimism, the Government of 
        Somalia has run into many challenges, which has stalled its 
        efforts to finalize the constitution, guide the structure of 
        the new state, or provide services to the population.
            (16) President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his government 
        have committed to the completion of these tasks and to holding 
        a constitutional referendum and national election by 2016.
            (17) On September 16, 2013, the international community and 
        a high level Somali delegation endorsed a compact based on the 
        ``New Deal Strategy for Engagement in Fragile States.'' Donors 
        pledged $2,400,000,000 over three years to support Somali 
        development priorities, including $69,000,000 from the United 
        States.
            (18) Al Shabaab continues to use terrorist tactics to 
        attack soft targets. On September 21-24, 2013, al-Shabaab 
        perpetrated an attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, 
        killing at least 67 people.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the United States should--
            (1) support the Somali Federal Government, regional 
        administrations, Federal units, and people in their ongoing 
        efforts to consolidate political gains and develop credible, 
        transparent, and representative government systems and 
        institutions, and foster complementary processes at the local, 
        regional, and national levels;
            (2) continue to support African-led regional efforts to 
        improve security and stability in Somalia, including through 
        the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and the United 
        Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM);
            (3) support the people and Government of Somalia to develop 
        professional and regionally and ethnically representative 
        Somali security forces that are capable of maintaining and 
        expanding security within Somalia, confronting international 
        security threats such as terrorism, and preventing human rights 
        abuses;
            (4) continue to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance 
        as needed, while bolstering resilience and building a 
        foundation for sustained, inclusive development for the people 
        of Somalia; and
            (5) carry out all diplomatic, economic, intelligence, 
        military, and development activities in Somalia within the 
        context of a comprehensive strategy coordinated through an 
        interagency process.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO SUPPORT THE CONSOLIDATION OF 
              SECURITY AND GOVERNANCE GAINS IN SOMALIA.

    (a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 120 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
appropriate committees of Congress a strategy to guide future United 
States action in support of the Government and people of Somalia to 
foster economic growth and opportunity, counter armed threats to 
stability, and develop credible, transparent, and representative 
government systems and institutions.
    (b) Content of Strategy.--The strategy required under subsection 
(a) should include the following elements:
            (1) A clearly stated policy toward Somalia on supporting 
        the consolidation of political gains at the national level, 
        while also encouraging and supporting complementary processes 
        at the local and regional levels.
            (2) Measures to support the development goals identified by 
        the people and Government of Somalia.
            (3) Plans for strengthening efforts by the Government of 
        Somalia, the African Union, and regional governments to 
        stabilize the security situation within Somalia and further 
        degrade al-Shabaab's capabilities, in order to enable the 
        eventual transfer of security operations to Somali security 
        forces capable of--
                    (A) maintaining and expanding security within 
                Somalia;
                    (B) confronting international security threats; and
                    (C) preventing human rights abuses.
            (4) Plans for supporting the development and 
        professionalization of regionally and ethnically representative 
        Somali security forces, including the infrastructure and 
        procedures required to ensure chain of custody and the safe 
        storage of military equipment and an assessment of the benefits 
        and risks of the provision of weaponry to the Somali security 
        forces by the United States.
            (5) A description of United States national security 
        objectives addressed through military-to-military cooperation 
        activities with Somali security forces.
            (6) A description of security risks to United States 
        personnel conducting security cooperation activities within 
        Somalia and plans to assist the Somali security forces in 
        preventing infiltration and insider attacks, including through 
        the application of lessons learned in United States military 
        training efforts in Afghanistan.
            (7) A description of United States tools for monitoring and 
        responding to violations of the United Nations Security Council 
        arms embargo, charcoal ban, and other international agreements 
        affecting the stability of Somalia.
            (8) A description of mechanisms for coordinating United 
        States military and non-military assistance with other 
        international donors, regional governments, and relevant 
        multilateral organizations.
            (9) Plans to increase United States diplomatic engagement 
        with Somalia, including through the future establishment of an 
        embassy or other diplomatic posts in Mogadishu.
            (10) Any other element the President determines 
        appropriate.
    (c) Reports.--Not later than 180 days from the submission of the 
strategy required under subsection (a), and annually thereafter for 
three years, the President shall submit to the appropriate committees 
of Congress an update on implementation of the strategy and progress 
made in Somalia in security, stability, development, and governance.
    (d) Form.--The strategy under this section shall be submitted in 
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. The reports may 
take the form of a briefing, unclassified report, or unclassified 
report with a classified annex.
    (e) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed 
        Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select 
        Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed 
        Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent 
        Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
        Representatives.
                                 <all>
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