II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2779 

To amend the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2018 

Mr. FLAKE (for himself and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery 

Act of 2001. 

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 ‘‘Zimbabwe Democracy 

5 and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RECONSTRUCTION AND REBUILDING OF ZIM7 BABWE. 

8 Section 2 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 

9 Recovery Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–99; 22 U.S.C. 

10 2151 note) is amended by striking ‘‘and restore the rule 

11 of law’’ and inserting ‘‘restore the rule of law, reconstruct 


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1 and rebuild Zimbabwe, and come to terms with the past 

2 through a process of genuine reconciliation in which past 

3 human rights abuses are acknowledged and inquiries into 

4 the disappearance of prominent human rights activists, in5 cluding Patrick Nabanyama, Itai Dzamara, and Paul 

6 Chizuze, are ordered’’. 

7 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

8 Section 4(a) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Eco9 nomic Recovery Act of 2001 is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘the costly deployment of 

12 troops to the Democratic Republic of the 

13 Congo’’ and inserting ‘‘private appropriation of 

14 public assets’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘Development and’’ and in16 serting ‘‘Development, International Develop17 ment Association, and, until recently,’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(6) In October 2016, the Government of 

21 Zimbabwe cleared its longstanding arrears with the 

22 IMF.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF PROVISIONS RELATED TO MULTILAT2 ERAL DEBT RELIEF AND OTHER FINANCIAL 

3 ASSISTANCE. 

4 Section 4(b) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Eco5 nomic Recovery Act of 2001 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘RECOVERY.—’’ and all that fol7 lows through ‘‘Upon receipt’’ and inserting ‘‘RECOV8 ERY.—Upon receipt’’; and 

9 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

10 SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 

11 ASSISTANCE. 

12 Section 4(d) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Eco13 nomic Recovery Act of 2001 is amended— 

14 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(2) PRE- AND POST-ELECTION CONDITIONS.— 

17 The following pre- and post-election conditions are 

18 met: 

19 ‘‘(A) Establishment and public release, 

20 without cost, in digital format, of a provisional 

21 and final biometric voter registration roll that is 

22 endorsed by all political parties represented in 

23 the parliament of Zimbabwe and those parties 

24 contesting the elections. 

25 ‘‘(B) The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission 

26 is permitted to entirely carry out the functions 


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1 assigned to it in section 239 of Zimbabwe’s 

2 2013 constitution in an entirely independent 

3 manner, and the chairperson continues to meet 

4 with and consults regularly with representatives 

5 of political parties represented in the par6 liament of Zimbabwe and those parties con7 testing the elections. 

8 ‘‘(C) Consistent with Zimbabwe’s constitu9 tion, the Defense Forces of Zimbabwe are nei10 ther permitted to actively participate in cam11 paigning for any candidate nor to intimidate 

12 voters, and must verifiably and credibly uphold 

13 their constitutionally mandated duty to respect 

14 the fundamental rights and freedoms of all per15 sons and be non-partisan in character, and are 

16 not permitted to print, transfer, or control bal17 lots or transmit the results of elections. 

18 ‘‘(D) International observers, including 

19 from the United States, the African Union, the 

20 Southern African Development Community, the 

21 European Union, and others who apply are per22 mitted to observe the entire electoral process 

23 prior to, on, and following voting day, including 

24 by monitoring polling stations and tabulation 

25 centers and are able to independently operate in 


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1 a manner enabling them to access and analyze 

2 vote tallying tabulation and the transmission 

3 and content of voting results. 

4 ‘‘(E) Candidates are allowed free and full 

5 access to state media during the election period 

6 as defined in Zimbabwe’s Electoral Act, and 

7 must afford time and coverage to all parties 

8 contesting the elections in an impartial manner, 

9 and candidates are able to campaign in an envi10 ronment that is free from intimidation and vio11 lence. 

12 ‘‘(F) Civil society organizations are able to 

13 freely and independently carry out voter and 

14 civic education, and to monitor the entire elec15 toral process, including by observing, recording, 

16 and transmitting public-posted or announced 

17 voting results, including at the ward, constitu18 ency, and all higher levels of the vote tallying 

19 process, including through the conduct of one 

20 or more sample based observation exercises.’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (5) as 

22 paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively; 

23 (3) by striking paragraph (4); 

24 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol25 lowing new paragraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(3) PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.—Zimbabwe has 

2 held an election that is widely accepted as free, fair, 

3 and credible by independent international and do4 mestic civil society monitors, and the president-elect 

5 is free to assume the duties of the office. 

6 ‘‘(4) UPDATING STATUTES.—Laws enacted 

7 prior to passage of Zimbabwe’s new constitution in 

8 March 2013 that are inconsistent with the new con9 stitution are amended or repealed so that they are 

10 consistent with the constitution, especially through 

11 the Electoral Amendments Bill and the repeal of the 

12 Public Order and Security Act, and the Access to 

13 Information and Protection of Privacy Act. 

14 ‘‘(5) UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTION.—All ele15 ments of the constitution are being implemented. 

16 ‘‘(6) ECONOMIC REFORMS.—The Government of 

17 Zimbabwe has demonstrated a sustained commit18 ment to reforming Zimbabwe’s economy in ways that 

19 will promote economic growth, address unemploy20 ment and underdevelopment, and restore livelihoods. 

21 ‘‘(7) ROLE OF TRADITIONAL LEADERS.—Tradi22 tional leaders of Zimbabwe observe section 281 of 

23 the Constitution and are not using humanitarian as24 sistance provided by outside donor organizations or 


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1 countries in a politicized manner to intimidate or 

2 pressure voters during the campaign period.’’; and 

3 (5) in paragraph (8), as redesignated by para4 graph (2) of this subsection, by striking ‘‘consistent 

5 with’’ and all that follows through ‘‘September 

6 1998’’. 

7 SEC. 6. REMOVAL OF AUTHORITY TO PAY LAND ACQUISI8 TION COSTS. 

9 Section 5(a)(2) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and 

10 Economic Recovery Act of 2001 is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘, including the payment of costs’’ and all that follows 

12 through ‘‘thereto’’. 

13 SEC. 7. INCLUSION OF AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED KING14 DOM IN CONSULTATIONS ABOUT ZIMBABWE. 

15 Section 6 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 

16 Recovery Act of 2001 is amended by inserting ‘‘Australia, 

17 and the United Kingdom’’ after ‘‘Canada,’’. 

18 SEC. 8. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENFORCEMENT OF SADC 

19 TRIBUNAL RULINGS. 

20 It is the sense of Congress that the Government of 

21 Zimbabwe and the Southern African Development Com22 munity (SADC) should enforce the SADC tribunal rulings 

23 from 2007 to 2010, including 18 disputes involving em24 ployment, commercial, and human rights cases surVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:36 May 04, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2779.IS S2779

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1 rounding dispossessed Zimbabwean commercial farmers 

2 and agricultural companies. 

3 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES4 ZIMBABWE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

6 Government is optimistic about the possibility for a 

7 stronger bilateral relationship with Zimbabwe, including 

8 in the areas of trade and investment, if— 

9 (1) the Government of Zimbabwe takes con10 crete, tangible steps outlined in paragraphs (2) 

11 through (6) of section 4(d) of the Zimbabwe Democ12 racy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, as added 

13 by section 5 of this Act; and 

14 (2) takes concrete, tangible steps towards— 

15 (A) good governance, including respect for 

16 opposition, rule of law, and human rights; and 

17 (B) economic reforms such as respect for 

18 contracts and private property rights. 

Æ 


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