II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 226

To promote democracy and good governance in Nigeria, and for other

purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 19, 1999

Mr. FEINGOLD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To promote democracy and good governance in Nigeria, and

for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Nigerian Democracy

5 and Civil Society Empowerment Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find8 ings:

9 (1) The rule by successive military regimes in

10 Nigeria has harmed the lives of the people of Nige-
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1 ria, undermined confidence in the Nigerian economy,

2 damaged relations between Nigeria and the United

3 States, and threatened the political and economic

4 stability of West Africa.

5 (2) The current military regime, under the

6 leadership of Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, has made

7 significant progress in liberalizing the political envi8 ronment in Nigeria, including the release of many

9 political prisoners, increased respect for freedom of

10 assembly, expression and association, and the estab11 lishment of a timeframe for a transition to civilian

12 rule.

13 (3) Previous military regimes allowed Nigeria to

14 become a haven for international drug trafficking

15 rings and other criminal organizations, although the

16 current government has taken some steps to cooper17 ate with the United States Government in halting

18 such trafficking.

19 (4) Since 1993, the United States and other

20 members of the international community have im21 posed limited sanctions against Nigeria in response

22 to human rights violations and political repression,

23 although some of these sanctions have been lifted in

24 response to recent political liberalization.
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1 (5) Despite the progress made in protecting

2 certain freedoms, numerous decrees are still in force

3 that suspend the constitutional protection of fun4 damental human rights, allow indefinite detention

5 without charge, and revoke the jurisdiction of civil6 ian courts over executive actions.

7 (6) As a party to the International Covenant on

8 Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African

9 Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and a sig10 natory to the Harare Commonwealth Declaration,

11 Nigeria is obligated to fairly conduct elections that

12 guarantee the free expression of the will of the elec13 tors.

14 (7) As the leading military force within the

15 Economic Community of West African States

16 (ECOWAS) peacekeeping force, Nigeria has played

17 a major role in attempting to secure peace in Liberia

18 and Sierra Leone.

19 (8) Despite the optimism expressed by many

20 observers about the progress that has been made in

21 Nigeria, the country’s recent history raises serious

22 questions about the potential success of the transi23 tion process. In particular, events in the Niger Delta

24 over the New Year underscore the critical need for

25 ongoing monitoring of the situation and indicate
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1 that a return by the military to repressive methods

2 is still a possibility.

3 (b) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—Congress declares

4 that the United States should encourage political, eco5 nomic, and legal reforms necessary to ensure rule of law

6 and respect for human rights in Nigeria and support a

7 timely, effective, and sustainable transition to democratic,

8 civilian government in Nigeria.

9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

10 (a) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—It is the sense

11 of Congress that the President should actively seek to co12 ordinate with other countries to further—

13 (1) the United States policy of promoting the

14 rule of law and respect for human rights; and

15 (2) the transition to democratic civilian govern16 ment.

17 (b) UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMIS18 SION.—It is the sense of Congress that, in light of the

19 importance of Nigeria to the region and the severity of

20 successive military regimes, the President should instruct

21 the United States Representative to the United Nations

22 Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) to use the voice

23 and vote of the United States at the annual meeting of

24 the Commission—
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1 (1) to condemn human rights abuses in Nigeria,

2 as appropriate, while recognizing the progress that

3 has been made; and

4 (2) to press for the continued renewal of the

5 mandate of, and continued access to Nigeria for, the

6 special rapporteur on Nigeria.

7 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY AND CIVIL

8 SOCIETY IN NIGERIA.

9 (a) DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made avail11 able for fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002 to carry

12 out chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance

13 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), not less than

14 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, not less than

15 $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and not less than

16 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 should be available

17 for assistance described in paragraph (2) for Nige18 ria.

19 (2) ASSISTANCE DESCRIBED.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The assistance de21 scribed in this paragraph is assistance provided

22 to nongovernmental organizations for the pur23 pose of promoting democracy, good governance,

24 and the rule of law in Nigeria.
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1 (B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—In pro2 viding assistance under this subsection, the Ad3 ministrator of the United States Agency for

4 International Development shall ensure that

5 nongovernmental organizations receiving such

6 assistance represent a broad cross-section of so7 ciety in Nigeria and seek to promote democ8 racy, human rights, and accountable govern9 ment.

10 (3) GRANTS FOR PROMOTION OF HUMAN

11 RIGHTS.—Of the amounts made available for fiscal

12 years 2000, 2001, and 2002 under paragraph (1),

13 not less than $500,000 for each such fiscal year

14 should be available to the United States Agency for

15 International Development for the purpose of provid16 ing grants of not more than $25,000 each to sup17 port individuals or nongovernmental organizations

18 that seek to promote, directly or indirectly, the ad19 vancement of human rights in Nigeria.

20 (b) USIA INFORMATION ASSISTANCE.—Of the

21 amounts made available for fiscal years 2000, 2001, and

22 2002 under subsection (a)(1), not less than $1,000,000

23 for fiscal year 2000, $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2001, and

24 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 should be made available

25 to the United States Information Agency for the purpose
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1 of supporting its activities in Nigeria, including the pro2 motion of greater awareness among Nigerians of constitu3 tional democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human

4 rights.

5 (c) STAFF LEVELS AND ASSIGNMENTS OF UNITED

6 STATES PERSONNEL IN NIGERIA.—

7 (1) FINDING.—Congress finds that staff levels

8 at the office of the United States Agency for Inter9 national Development in Lagos, Nigeria, are inad10 equate.

11 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

12 Congress that the Administrator of the United

13 States Agency for International Development

14 should—

15 (A) increase the number of United States

16 personnel at such Agency’s office in Lagos, Ni17 geria, from within the current, overall staff re18 sources of such Agency in order for such office

19 to be sufficiently staffed to carry out subsection

20 (a); and

21 (B) consider placement of personnel else22 where in Nigeria.
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1 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE TO THE

2 GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA; PROHIBITION ON

3 MILITARY ASSISTANCE FOR NIGERIA; RE4 QUIREMENT TO OPPOSE MULTILATERAL AS5 SISTANCE FOR NIGERIA.

6 (a) PROHIBITION ON ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Economic assistance (includ8 ing funds previously appropriated for economic as9 sistance) shall not be provided to the Government of

10 Nigeria.

11 (2) ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—As used

12 in this subsection, the term ‘‘economic assistance’’—

13 (A) means—

14 (i) any assistance under part I of the

15 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.

16 2151 et seq.) and any assistance under

17 chapter 4 of part II of such Act (22 U.S.C.

18 2346 et seq.) (relating to economic support

19 fund); and

20 (ii) any financing by the Export-Im21 port Bank of the United States, financing

22 and assistance by the Overseas Private In23 vestment Corporation, and assistance by

24 the Trade and Development Agency; and

25 (B) does not include disaster relief assist26 ance, refugee assistance, or narcotics control as-
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1 sistance under chapter 8 of part I of the For2 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2291 et

3 seq.).

4 (b) PROHIBITION ON MILITARY ASSISTANCE OR

5 ARMS TRANSFERS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Military assistance (includ7 ing funds previously appropriated for military assist8 ance) or arms transfers shall not be provided to Ni9 geria.

10 (2) MILITARY ASSISTANCE OR ARMS TRANS11 FERS.—The term ‘‘military assistance or arms

12 transfers’’ means—

13 (A) assistance under chapter 2 of part II

14 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

15 U.S.C. 2311 et seq.) (relating to military assist16 ance), including the transfer of excess defense

17 articles under section 516 of that Act (22

18 U.S.C. 2321j);

19 (B) assistance under chapter 5 of part II

20 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

21 U.S.C. 2347 et seq.) (relating to international

22 military education and training);

23 (C) assistance under the ‘‘Foreign Military

24 Financing Program’’ under section 23 of the

25 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763); or
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1 (D) the transfer of defense articles, de2 fense services, or design and construction serv3 ices under the Arms Export Control Act (22

4 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), including defense articles

5 and defense services licensed or approved for

6 export under section 38 of that Act (22 U.S.C.

7 2778).

8 (c) REQUIREMENT TO OPPOSE MULTILATERAL AS9 SISTANCE.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas11 ury shall instruct the United States executive direc12 tor to each of the international financial institutions

13 described in paragraph (2) to use the voice and vote

14 of the United States to oppose any assistance to the

15 Government of Nigeria.

16 (2) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

17 DESCRIBED.—The international financial institutions

18 described in this paragraph are the African Develop19 ment Bank, the International Bank for Reconstruc20 tion and Development, the International Develop21 ment Association, the International Finance Cor22 poration, the Multilateral Investment Guaranty

23 Agency, and the International Monetary Fund.
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1 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ADMISSION INTO

2 THE UNITED STATES OF CERTAIN NIGERIAN

3 NATIONALS.

4 It is the sense of Congress that unless the President

5 determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional

6 committees by July 1, 1999, that a democratic transition

7 to civilian rule has taken place in Nigeria, the Secretary

8 of State should deny a visa to any alien who is a senior

9 member of the Nigerian government or a military officer

10 currently in the armed forces of Nigeria.

11 SEC. 7. WAIVER OF PROHIBITIONS AGAINST NIGERIA IF

12 CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS MET.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive any of

14 the prohibitions contained in section 5 or 6 for any fiscal

15 year if the President makes a determination under sub16 section (b) for that fiscal year and transmits a notification

17 to Congress of that determination under subsection (c).

18 (b) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—A

19 determination under this subsection is a determination

20 that—

21 (1) the Government of Nigeria—

22 (A) is not harassing or imprisoning human

23 rights and democracy advocates and individuals

24 for expressing their political views;

25 (B) has implemented the transition pro26 gram announced in July 1998;
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1 (C) is respecting freedom of speech, assem2 bly, and the media, including cessation of har3 assment of journalists;

4 (D) has released the remaining individuals

5 who have been imprisoned without due process

6 or for political reasons;

7 (E) is continuing to provide access for

8 independent international human rights mon9 itors;

10 (F) has repealed all decrees and laws

11 that—

12 (i) grant undue powers to the mili13 tary;

14 (ii) suspend the constitutional protec15 tion of fundamental human rights;

16 (iii) allow indefinite detention without

17 charge, including the State of Security

18 (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2 of

19 1984; or

20 (iv) create special tribunals that do

21 not respect international standards of due

22 process; and

23 (G) has ensured that the policing of the oil

24 producing communities is carried out without

25 excessive use of force or systematic and wide-
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1 spread human rights violations against the civil2 ian population of the area; or

3 (2) it is in the national interests of the United

4 States to waive the prohibition in section 5 or 6, as

5 the case may be.

6 (c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Notification

7 under this subsection is written notification of the deter8 mination of the President under subsection (b) provided

9 to the appropriate congressional committees not less than

10 15 days in advance of any waiver of any prohibition in

11 section 5 or 6, subject to the procedures applicable to re12 programming notifications under section 634A of the For13 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394–1).

14 SEC. 8. REPORT OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA.

15 Not later than 3 months after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, and annually for the next 5 years there17 after, the Secretary of State shall prepare and submit to

18 the appropriate congressional committees, and make avail19 able to the public, a report on corruption in Nigeria. This

20 report shall include—

21 (1) evidence of corruption by government offi22 cials in Nigeria;

23 (2) the impact of corruption on the delivery of

24 government services in Nigeria;
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1 (3) the impact of corruption on United States

2 business interests in Nigeria;

3 (4) the impact of advance fee fraud, and other

4 fraudulent business schemes originating in Nigeria,

5 on United States citizens; and

6 (5) the impact of corruption on Nigeria’s for7 eign policy.

8 SEC. 9. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE9 FINED.

10 Except as provided in section 6, in this Act, the term

11 ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means—

12 (1) the Committee on International Relations of

13 the House of Representatives;

14 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the

15 Senate; and

16 (3) the Committees on Appropriations of the

17 House of Representatives and the Senate.

18 SEC. 10. TERMINATION DATE.

19 The provisions of this Act shall terminate on Septem20 ber 30, 2004.

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