103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2475

AN ACT

To authorize assistance to promote the peaceful

resolution of conflicts in Africa.
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2475

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’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

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

3 findings:

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

5 States to help build African capability in conflict

6 resolution. A relatively small investment of assist7 ance in promoting African conflict resolution—

8 (A) would reduce the enormous human

9 suffering which is caused by wars in Africa;

10 (B) would help the United States avoid

11 huge future expenditures necessitated by Soma12 lia-like humanitarian disasters; and

13 (C) would reduce the need for United Na14 tions intervention as African institutions de15 velop the ability to resolve African conflicts.

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

17 continent, is afflicted by war. Africa has been

18 marred by more than 20 major civil wars since

19 1960. Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Sudan, Liberia,

20 and Burundi are among those countries that have

21 recently suffered serious armed conflict.

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

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

24 There were 5,200,000 refugees and 13,100,000 dis25 placed people in Africa in 1993.
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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) Excessive military expenditures threaten po21 litical and economic stability in Africa while divert22 ing scarce resources from development needs. Demo23 bilization and other measures to reduce the size of

24 African armies, and civilian control of the military
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1 under the rule of law are in the interest of inter2 national security and economic development.

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 effectiveness of U.S. support for con15 flict resolution programs requires coordination and

16 collaboration with multilateral institutions and other

17 bilateral donors.

18 (11) African institutions are playing an active

19 role in conflict resolution and mediation utilizing the

20 experience of elder statesmen. Groups such as the

21 All African Council of Churches have assisted in de22 fusing conflicts. The Economic Community of West

23 African States (ECOWAS) has sought to address

24 the conflict in Liberia by deploying an African

25 peacekeeping force. The Southern African states
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1 have been working to prevent a crisis in Lesotho.

2 The Intergovernmental Authority on Desertification

3 and Drought (IGADD) has been engaged in at4 tempting to resolve the conflict in Sudan.

5 (12) The Organization of African Unity, under

6 the leadership of Secretary General Salim Salim, has

7 established a conflict resolution mechanism and has

8 been active in mediation and conflict resolution in

9 several African countries.

10 (b) UNITED STATES POLICY.—The Congress de11 clares, therefore, that a key goal for United States foreign

12 policy should be to help institutionalize conflict resolution

13 capability in Africa.

14 SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILI15 TIES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN

16 UNITY.

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi18 dent is authorized to provide assistance to strengthen the

19 conflict resolution capability of the Organization of Afri20 can Unity, as follows:

21 (1) Funds may be provided to the Organization

22 of African Unity for use in supporting its conflict

23 resolution capability, including providing technical

24 assistance.
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1 (2) Funds may be used for expenses of sending

2 individuals with expertise in conflict resolution to

3 work with the Organization of African Unity.

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

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

6 $1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1998

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

8 SEC. 4. IMPROVING CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILITIES

9 OF MULTILATERAL SUBREGIONAL ORGANI10 ZATIONS IN AFRICA.

11 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi12 dent is authorized to provide assistance to strengthen the

13 conflict resolution capabilities of subregional organizations

14 established by countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as follows:

15 (1) Funds may be provided to such organiza16 tions for use in supporting their conflict resolution

17 capability, including providing technical assistance.

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

19 sending individuals with expertise in conflict resolu20 tion to work with such organizations.

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

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

23 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 through

24 1998 may be used to carry out subsection (a).
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1 SEC. 5. IMPROVING CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILITIES

2 OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi4 dent is authorized to provide assistance to nongovern5 mental organizations that are engaged in mediation and

6 reconciliation efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

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 and 1996

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

11 SEC. 6. 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—

17 (1) provide assistance for the encampment and

18 related activities for the purpose of demobilization of

19 such forces; and

20 (2) provide assistance for the reintegration of

21 demobilized military personnel into civilian society

22 through activities such as retraining for civilian oc23 cupations, creation of income-generating opportuni24 ties, their reintegration into agricultural activities,

25 and the transportation to the home areas of such

26 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 (c) CIVILIAN INVOLVEMENT.—The President is also

7 authorized to promote civilian involvement in the planning

8 and organization of demobilization and reintegration ac9 tivities.

10 SEC. 7. TRAINING FOR AFRICANS IN CONFLICT RESOLU11 TION AND PEACEKEEPING.

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President is authorized to

13 establish a program to provide education and training in

14 conflict resolution and peacekeeping for civilian and mili15 tary personnel of countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

16 (b) FUNDING.—Of the funds made available under

17 chapter 5 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,

18 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years

19 1995 and 1996 should be used for the purposes of sub20 section (a).

21 SEC. 8. PLAN FOR UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR CON22 FLICT RESOLUTION AND DEMOBILIZATION IN

23 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the provisions of sec25 tions 3 through 7, the President should develop an inte-
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1 grated long-term plan, which incorporates local perspec2 tives, to provide support for the enhancement of conflict

3 resolution capabilities and demobilization activities in sub4 Saharan Africa.

5 (b) CONTENTS OF PLAN.—Such plan should include:

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

7 assistance that is planned to be provided to conflict

8 resolution units in sub-Saharan Africa.

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

10 planned to be provided for the demobilization of

11 military personnel of countries of sub-Saharan Afri12 ca, including—

13 (A) a list of which countries will receive

14 such assistance and an explanation of why such

15 countries were chosen for such assistance; and

16 (B) a list of other countries and inter17 national organizations that are providing assist18 ance for such demobilization.

19 (3) The type and amount of assistance that is

20 planned to be provided to nongovernmental organi21 zations that are engaged in mediation and reconcili22 ation efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

23 (4) A description of proposed training programs

24 for Africans in conflict resolution and peacekeeping
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1 under section 7, including a list of prospective par2 ticipants and plans to expand such programs.

3 (5) The mechanisms to be used to coordinate

4 interagency efforts to administer the plan.

5 (6) Efforts to seek the participation of other

6 countries and international organizations to achieve

7 the objectives of the plan.

8 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date

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

10 to the appropriate congressional committees a report con11 taining a description of the plan developed under this sec12 tion.

13 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

14 (a) REQUIREMENT.—The President shall submit to

15 the appropriate congressional committees a report describ16 ing the efforts and progress made in carrying out the pro17 visions of this Act.

18 (b) DATE OF SUBMISSION.—The first report submit19 ted under subsection (a) shall be submitted no latter than

20 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and

21 shall be submitted annually thereafter.

22 SEC. 10. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.

23 The President shall consult with the appropriate con24 gressional committees prior to providing assistance under

25 sections 3 through 7.
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1 SEC. 11. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE2 FINED.

3 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate con4 gressional committees’’ means the Committee on Foreign

5 Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the

6 House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign

7 Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the

8 Senate.

Passed the Senate October 4 (legislative day, September 12), 1994.

Attest:

Secretary.