Calendar No. 694

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2475

A BILL

To authorize assistance to promote the peaceful

resolution of conflicts in Africa.

SEPTEMBER 29 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Read twice and placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 694

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2475

To authorize assistance to promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts in

Africa.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 29 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 12), 1994

Mr. PELL, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported the following

original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar

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

2 States to help build African capability in conflict

3 resolution. A relatively small investment of assist4 ance in promoting African conflict resolution—

5 (A) would reduce the enormous human

6 suffering which is caused by wars in Africa;

7 (B) would help the United States avoid

8 huge future expenditures necessitated by Soma9 lia-like humanitarian disasters; and

10 (C) would reduce the need for United Na11 tions intervention as African institutions de12 velop the ability to resolve African conflicts.

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

14 continent, is afflicted by war. Africa has been

15 marred by more than 20 major civil wars since

16 1960. Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Sudan, Liberia,

17 and Burundi are among those countries that have

18 recently suffered serious armed conflict.

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

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

21 There were 5,200,000 refugees and 13,100,000 dis22 placed people in Africa in 1993.

23 (4) Millions more Africans are currently at risk

24 of war-related death. Looming or ongoing conflicts
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1 in Zaire, Angola, Sudan, Rwanda, and other coun2 tries threaten Africa’s future.

3 (5) War has caused untold economic and social

4 damage to the countries of Africa. Food production

5 is impossible in conflict areas, and famine often re6 sults. Widespread conflict has condemned many of

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

8 cases, has threatened the existence of traditional Af9 rican cultures.

10 (6) Conflict and instability in Africa, particu11 larly in large, potentially rich countries such as An12 gola, Sudan, and Zaire, deprive the global economy

13 of resources and opportunities for trade and invest14 ment. Peace in these countries could make a signifi15 cant contribution to global economic growth, while

16 creating new opportunities for United States busi17 nesses.

18 (7) Excessive military expenditures threaten po19 litical and economic stability in Africa while divert20 ing scarce resources from development needs. Demo21 bilization and other measures to reduce the size of

22 African armies, and civilian control of the military

23 under the rule of law are in the interest of inter24 national security and economic development.
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1 (8) Conflict prevention, mediation, and demobi2 lization are prerequisites to the success of develop3 ment assistance programs. Nutrition and education

4 programs, for example, cannot succeed in a nation

5 at war. Billions of dollars of development assistance

6 have been virtually wasted in war-ravaged countries

7 such as Liberia, Somalia, and Sudan.

8 (9) Africans have a long tradition of informal

9 mediation. This tradition should be built upon to

10 create effective institutions through which Africans

11 can resolve African conflicts.

12 (10) The effectiveness of U.S. support for con13 flict resolution programs requires coordination and

14 collaboration with multilateral institutions and other

15 bilateral donors.

16 (11) African institutions are playing an active

17 role in conflict resolution and mediation utilizing the

18 experience of elder statesmen. Groups such as the

19 All African Council of Churches have assisted in de20 fusing conflicts. The Economic Community of West

21 African States (ECOWAS) has sought to address

22 the conflict in Liberia by deploying an African

23 peacekeeping force. The Southern African states

24 have been working to prevent a crisis in Lesotho.

25 The Intergovernmental Authority on Desertification
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1 and Drought (IGADD) has been engaged in at2 tempting to resolve the conflict in Sudan.

3 (12) The Organization of African Unity, under

4 the leadership of Secretary General Salim Salim, has

5 established a conflict resolution mechanism and has

6 been active in mediation and conflict resolution in

7 several African countries.

8 (b) UNITED STATES POLICY.—The Congress de9 clares, therefore, that a key goal for United States foreign

10 policy should be to help institutionalize conflict resolution

11 capability in Africa.

12 SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILI13 TIES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN

14 UNITY.

15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi16 dent is authorized to provide assistance to strengthen the

17 conflict resolution capability of the Organization of Afri18 can Unity, as follows:

19 (1) Funds may be provided to the Organization

20 of African Unity for use in supporting its conflict

21 resolution capability, including providing technical

22 assistance.

23 (2) Funds may be used for expenses of sending

24 individuals with expertise in conflict resolution to

25 work with the Organization of African Unity.
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1 (b) FUNDING.—Of the foreign assistance funds that

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

3 $1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1998

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

5 SEC. 4. IMPROVING CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILITIES

6 OF MULTILATERAL SUBREGIONAL ORGANI7 ZATIONS IN AFRICA.

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi9 dent is authorized to provide assistance to strengthen the

10 conflict resolution capabilities of subregional organizations

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

12 (1) Funds may be provided to such organiza13 tions for use in supporting their conflict resolution

14 capability, including providing technical assistance.

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

16 sending individuals with expertise in conflict resolu17 tion to work with such organizations.

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

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

20 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 through

21 1998 may be used to carry out subsection (a).

22 SEC. 5. IMPROVING CONFLICT RESOLUTION CAPABILITIES

23 OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi25 dent is authorized to provide assistance to nongovern-
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1 mental organizations that are engaged in mediation and

2 reconciliation efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

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

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

5 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996

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

7 SEC. 6. AFRICAN DEMOBILIZATION AND RETRAINING

8 PROGRAM.

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—In order to

10 facilitate reductions in the size of the armed forces of

11 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the President is author12 ized to—

13 (1) provide assistance for the encampment and

14 related activities for the purpose of demobilization of

15 such forces; and

16 (2) provide assistance for the reintegration of

17 demobilized military personnel into civilian society

18 through activities such as retraining for civilian oc19 cupations, creation of income-generating opportuni20 ties, their reintegration into agricultural activities,

21 and the transportation to the home areas of such

22 personnel.

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

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

25 each of the fiscal years 1995 and 1996 should be used
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1 for the assistance described in subsection (a), if conditions

2 permit.

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

4 authorized to promote civilian involvement in the planning

5 and organization of demobilization and reintegration ac6 tivities.

7 SEC. 7. TRAINING FOR AFRICANS IN CONFLICT RESOLU8 TION AND PEACEKEEPING.

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

10 establish a program to provide education and training in

11 conflict resolution and peacekeeping for civilian and mili12 tary personnel of countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

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

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

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

16 1995 and 1996 should be used for the purposes of sub17 section (a).

18 SEC. 8. PLAN FOR UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR CON19 FLICT RESOLUTION AND DEMOBILIZATION IN

20 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the provisions of sec22 tions 3 through 7, the President should develop an inte23 grated long-term plan, which incorporates local perspec24 tives, to provide support for the enhancement of conflict
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1 resolution capabilities and demobilization activities in sub2 Saharan Africa.

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

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

5 assistance that is planned to be provided to conflict

6 resolution units in sub-Saharan Africa.

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

8 planned to be provided for the demobilization of

9 military personnel of countries of sub-Saharan Afri10 ca, including—

11 (A) a list of which countries will receive

12 such assistance and an explanation of why such

13 countries were chosen for such assistance; and

14 (B) a list of other countries and inter15 national organizations that are providing assist16 ance for such demobilization.

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

18 planned to be provided to nongovernmental organi19 zations that are engaged in mediation and reconcili20 ation efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

21 (4) A description of proposed training programs

22 for Africans in conflict resolution and peacekeeping

23 under section 7, including a list of prospective par24 ticipants and plans to expand such programs.
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1 (5) The mechanisms to be used to coordinate

2 interagency efforts to administer the plan.

3 (6) Efforts to seek the participation of other

4 countries and international organizations to achieve

5 the objectives of the plan.

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

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

8 to the appropriate congressional committees a report con9 taining a description of the plan developed under this sec10 tion.

11 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

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

13 the appropriate congressional committees a report describ14 ing the efforts and progress made in carrying out the pro15 visions of this Act.

16 (b) DATE OF SUBMISSION.—The first report submit17 ted under subsection (a) shall be submitted no latter than

18 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and

19 shall be submitted annually thereafter.

20 SEC. 10. CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.

21 The President shall consult with the appropriate con22 gressional committees prior to providing assistance under

23 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.