II

Calendar No. 589

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2677

To restrict assistance until certain conditions are satisfied and to support

democratic and economic transition in Zimbabwe.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 7, 2000

Mr. FRIST (for himself, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mr. HELMS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

JUNE 12, 2000

Reported by Mr. HELMS, without amendment

A BILL

To restrict assistance until certain conditions are satisfied

and to support democratic and economic transition in

Zimbabwe.

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 Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows:

3 (1) Deliberate and systematic violence, intimi4 dation, and killings have been orchestrated and sup5 ported by the Government of Zimbabwe and the rul6 ing ZANU–PF party against members, sympa7 thizers, and supporters of the democratic opposition,

8 farmers, and employees. The violence has resulted in

9 death, a breakdown in the rule of law, and further

10 collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy.

11 (2) The lawlessness, harassment, violence, in12 timidation, and killings directed at the opposition

13 and their supporters, farmers and farm employees

14 continues at President Mugabe’s explicit and public

15 urging despite two court rulings that the occupations

16 are illegal and must be ended.

17 (3) The breakdown in the rule of law has jeop18 ardized Zimbabwe’s future, including international

19 support for programs which provide land ownership

20 for the large number of poor and landless

21 Zimbabweans, other donor programs, economic sta22 bility, and direct investment.

23 (4) The orchestrated violence and intimidation

24 directed at opposition supporters has created and

25 fostered an environment which seriously com26 promises the possibility of free and fair elections.
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1 (5) The crisis in Zimbabwe is further exacer2 bated by the fact that Zimbabwe is spending millions

3 of dollars each month on its involvement in the civil

4 war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Those re5 sources could finance equitable and transparent land

6 reform, other programs to promote economic growth

7 and alleviate poverty, and programs to combat the

8 spread and effects of the world’s highest HIV infec9 tion rate.

10 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is therefore the pol11 icy of the United States to support the people of

12 Zimbabwe in their struggles to effect peaceful, democratic

13 change, achieve broad-based and equitable economic

14 growth, and restore the rule of law.

15 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE OR

16 DEBT RELIEF.

17 (a) PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE.—Except as pro18 vided in subsection (b)—

19 (1) no United States assistance may be pro20 vided for the Government of Zimbabwe;

21 (2) no indebtedness owed by the Government of

22 Zimbabwe to the United States Government may be

23 canceled or reduced; and

24 (3) the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct

25 the United States Executive Director to each inter-
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1 national financial institution to oppose and vote

2 against—

3 (A) any extension by the respective institu4 tion of any assistance of any kind to the Gov5 ernment of Zimbabwe, except for assistance to

6 meet basic human needs and for good govern7 ance; and

8 (B) any cancellation or reduction of in9 debtedness owed by the Government of

10 Zimbabwe to that institution.

11 (b) CONDITIONS FOR RESTORATION OF ELIGIBILITY

12 FOR ASSISTANCE AND DEBT RELIEF.—The provisions of

13 subsection (a) shall apply until the President certifies to

14 the appropriate congressional committees that—

15 (1) the rule of law has been restored in

16 Zimbabwe, including respect for ownership and title

17 to property held prior to January 1, 2000, freedom

18 of speech and association, and an end to the lawless19 ness, violence, and intimidation sponsored, condoned,

20 or tolerated by the Government of Zimbabwe, the

21 ruling party, and their supporters or entities;

22 (2) Zimbabwe has held parliamentary elections

23 which are widely accepted by the participating par24 ties and the duly elected are free to assume their of25 fices;
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1 (3)(A) Zimbabwe has held a presidential elec2 tion which is widely accepted by the participating

3 parties and the president-elect is free to assume the

4 duties of the office; or

5 (B) the government has sufficiently improved

6 the pre-election environment to a degree consistent

7 with accepted international standards for security

8 and freedom of movement and association;

9 (4) the Government of Zimbabwe has dem10 onstrated a commitment to an equitable, legal, and

11 transparent land reform program which should—

12 (A) respect existing ownership of and title

13 to property by providing fair, market-based

14 compensation to sellers;

15 (B) benefit the truly needy and landless;

16 (C) be based on the principle of ownership

17 and title to all land, including communal areas;

18 (D) be managed and administered by an

19 independent, nongovernmental body; and

20 (E) be consistent with agreements reached

21 at the International Donors’ Conference on

22 Land Reform and Resettlement in Zimbabwe

23 held in Harare in September, 1998;

24 (5) the Government of Zimbabwe is making a

25 good faith effort toward an expeditious removal of
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1 its forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo

2 and ending all other support for any of the parties

3 to the conflict in that country; and

4 (6) the Zimbabwean Armed Forces and the Na5 tional Police of Zimbabwe are responsible to and

6 serve the elected civilian government.

7 (c) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE DEFINED.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), in this section, the term ‘‘United States

10 assistance’’ means—

11 (A) any assistance under the Foreign As12 sistance Act of 1961 (including programs under

13 title IV of chapter 2 of part I, relating to the

14 Overseas Private Investment Corporation);

15 (B) sales, or financing on any terms, under

16 the Arms Export Control Act;

17 (C) the licensing of exports under section

18 38 of the Arms Export Control Act;

19 (D) the provision of agricultural commod20 ities, other than food, under the Agricultural

21 Trade Development and Assistance Act of

22 1954; and

23 (E) financing under the Export-Import

24 Bank Act of 1945.
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1 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘‘United States

2 assistance’’ does not include—

3 (A) humanitarian assistance, including

4 food, medicine, medical supplies;

5 (B) health assistance, including health as6 sistance for the prevention, treatment, and con7 trol of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases;

8 (C) support for democratic governance and

9 the rule of law;

10 (D) support for land reform programs con11 sistent with subsection (b)(4);

12 (E) support for conservation programs;

13 and

14 (F) support for de-mining programs.

15 SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS AND

16 THE RULE OF LAW.

17 (a) ASSISTANCE FOR LEGAL EXPENSES.—As one

18 component of a comprehensive approach towards sup19 porting democratic institutions and the rule of law in

20 Zimbabwe, the President is authorized to use funds appro21 priated to carry out the provisions of part I and chapter

22 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to fi23 nance the legal and related expenses of—

24 (1) individuals and democratic institutions chal25 lenging restrictions to free speech and association in
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1 Zimbabwe, including challenges to licensing fees, re2 strictions, and other charges and penalties imposed

3 on the media or on individuals exercising their right

4 of free speech and association;

5 (2) individuals and democratic institutions and

6 organizations challenging electoral outcomes or re7 strictions to their pursuit of elective office or demo8 cratic reforms, including fees or other costs imposed

9 by the Government on those individuals or institu10 tions; and

11 (3) individuals who are the victims of torture or

12 otherwise victimized by political violence.

13 (b) AUTHORITY FOR RADIO BROADCASTING.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Broadcasting Board of

15 Governors shall further the communication of infor16 mation and ideas through the increased use of radio

17 broadcasting to Zimbabwe to ensure that radio

18 broadcasting to that country serves as a consistently

19 reliable and authoritative source of accurate, objec20 tive and comprehensive news.

21 (2) TERMINATION.—The authority of this sub22 section shall terminate upon a certification by the

23 President under section 3(b) that the conditions

24 specified in that section have been satisfied.
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1 (c) ASSISTANCE FOR DEMOCRACY TRAINING.—Dur2 ing fiscal year 2001, the President is authorized to use

3 not less than $6,000,000 of the funds made available to

4 carry out the provisions of part I and chapter 4 of part

5 II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for democracy

6 and governance programs in Zimbabwe.

7 (d) ELECTION OBSERVERS.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that the President should provide support, including

9 through the National Endowment for Democracy, for

10 international election observers to the Zimbabwean par11 liamentary elections in 2000 and the presidential election

12 scheduled for 2002, including assessments of the pre-elec13 toral environment in each case and the electoral laws of

14 Zimbabwe.

15 SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECO16 NOMIC RECOVERY.

17 Upon the certification made by the President under

18 section 3(b)—

19 (1) up to $16,000,000 of funds appropriated to

20 carry out the provisions of chapter 4 of part II of

21 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, is authorized to

22 be made available, notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, for support for alternative schemes

24 under the Inception Phase of the Land Reform and

25 Resettlement Program, including costs related to ac-
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1 quisition of land and resettlement, meeting the

2 standards in section 3(b)(4); and

3 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury shall—

4 (A) undertake a review of the feasibility of

5 restructuring, rescheduling, or eliminating the

6 sovereign debt of Zimbabwe held by any agency

7 of the United States Government;

8 (B) direct the United States Executive Di9 rector of each international financial institution

10 to which the United States is a member to pro11 pose that such institution undertake a review of

12 the feasibility of restructuring, rescheduling, or

13 eliminating the sovereign debt of Zimbabwe

14 held by that institution; and

15 (C) direct the United States Executive Di16 rector of each international financial institution

17 to which the United States is a member to pro18 pose to undertake financial and technical sup19 port for Zimbabwe, especially that intended to

20 promote Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and de21 velopment, the stabilization of the Zimbabwean

22 dollar, and the viability of Zimbabwe’s demo23 cratic institutions; and

24 (3) there shall be established a Southern Africa

25 Finance Center located in Zimbabwe that will co-lo-
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1 cate regional offices of the Overseas Private Invest2 ment Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of the

3 United States, and the Trade and Development

4 Agency for the purpose of facilitating the develop5 ment of commercial projects in Zimbabwe and the

6 southern Africa region.
Calendar No. 589

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2677

A BILL

To restrict assistance until certain conditions are

satisfied and to support democratic and economictransition in Zimbabwe.

JUNE 12, 2000

Reported without amendment