II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3861 

To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports to Congress 

on the assistance provided to Somaliland and to conduct a feasibility 

study, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, on establishing 

a security partnership with Somaliland, without recognizing Somaliland 

as an independent state. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2022 

Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports 

to Congress on the assistance provided to Somaliland 

and to conduct a feasibility study, in coordination with 

the Secretary of Defense, on establishing a security partnership with Somaliland, without recognizing Somaliland 

as an independent state. 

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 ‘‘Somaliland Partner5 ship Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) a stronger relationship between the United 

4 States and Somaliland would provide numerous, mu5 tually beneficial, strategic opportunities due to 

6 Somaliland’s— 

7 (A) geographic location in the Horn of Af8 rica and next to the Gulf of Aden; 

9 (B) democratic credentials, including 

10 peaceful transfers of power following elections; 

11 and 

12 (C) relative stability in the Horn of Africa; 

13 (2) Somaliland’s security situation, level of de14 velopment, and other challenges differ significantly 

15 from the situation in Mogadishu and other regions 

16 of Somalia, which necessitates— 

17 (A) a different approach to engagement, 

18 assistance, and travel by personnel of the De19 partment of State and the United States Agen20 cy for International Development; and 

21 (B) the avoidance of a ‘‘one-size-fits-all’’ 

22 policy approach to Somalia; and 

23 (3) the status of Somaliland should not serve as 

24 an obstacle for deeper and meaningful cooperation 

25 that will serve the mutual interests of our two gov26 ernments. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINED TERM. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Somaliland’’ means the terri3 tory that— 

4 (1) received its independence from the United 

5 Kingdom on June 26, 1960, before the creation of 

6 the Somali Republic; 

7 (2) has been a self-declared independent and 

8 sovereign state since 1991 that is not internationally 

9 recognized; and 

10 (3) exists as a semi-autonomous region of the 

11 Federal Republic of Somalia. 

12 SEC. 4. REPORT ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND OTHER AC13 TIVITIES IN SOMALILAND. 

14 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap15 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

16 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

17 Senate; and 

18 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

19 House of Representatives. 

20 (b) REPORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

22 30, 2022, and annually thereafter until the date that 

23 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 

24 Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

25 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

26 International Development, shall submit a report to 


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1 the appropriate congressional committees that, with 

2 respect to the most recently concluded 12-month pe3 riod— 

4 (A) describes United States foreign assist5 ance to Somaliland, including— 

6 (i) the value of such assistance (in 

7 United States dollars); 

8 (ii) the source from which such assist9 ance was funded; 

10 (iii) the names of the programs 

11 through which such assistance was admin12 istered; 

13 (iv) the implementing partners 

14 through which such assistance was pro15 vided; 

16 (v) the sponsoring bureau of the 

17 United States Government; and 

18 (vi) if the assistance broadly targeted 

19 the Federal Republic of Somalia, the por20 tion of such assistance that was— 

21 (I) explicitly intended to support 

22 Somaliland; and 

23 (II) ultimately employed in 

24 Somaliland; 


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1 (B) details the staffing and responsibilities 

2 of the Department of State and the United 

3 States Agency for International Development 

4 supporting foreign assistance, diplomatic rela5 tions, consular services, and security initiatives 

6 in Somaliland, including the location of such 

7 personnel (duty station) and their cor8 responding bureau; 

9 (C) provides— 

10 (i) a detailed account of travel to 

11 Somaliland by employees of the Depart12 ment of State and the United States Agen13 cy for International Development, if any, 

14 including the position, duty station, and 

15 trip purpose for each such trip; or 

16 (ii) the justification for not traveling 

17 to Somaliland if no such personnel traveled 

18 during the reporting period; 

19 (D) describes consular services provided by 

20 the Department of State for the residents of 

21 Somaliland; 

22 (E) discusses the Department of State’s 

23 Travel Advisory for Somalia related to the re24 gion of Somaliland; and 


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1 (F) if the Travel Advisory for all or part 

2 of Somaliland is identical to the Travel Advi3 sory for other regions of Somalia, justifies such 

4 ranking based on a security assessment of the 

5 region of Somaliland. 

6 (2) FORM.—The report required under para7 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 

8 but may contain a classified annex. 

9 SEC. 5. FEASIBILITY STUDY ON IMPROVED DIPLOMATIC 

10 RELATIONS AND A SECURITY AND DEFENSE 

11 PARTNERSHIP WITH SOMALILAND. 

12 (a) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap13 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 

14 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

15 Senate; 

16 (2) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

17 Senate; 

18 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

19 House of Representatives; and 

20 (4) the Committee on Armed Services of the 

21 House of Representatives. 

22 (b) FEASIBILITY STUDY.—The Secretary of State, in 

23 coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall conduct 

24 a feasibility study regarding the establishment of a part25 nership between the United States and Somaliland that— 


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1 (1) includes coordination with Somaliland gov2 ernment security organs, including Somaliland’s 

3 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense; 

4 (2) determines opportunities for collaboration in 

5 the pursuit of United States national security inter6 ests in the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, and 

7 the broader Indo-Pacific region; 

8 (3) identifies opportunities for United States 

9 training of Somaliland security sector actors to im10 prove their professionalization and capacity; and 

11 (4) assesses the prospect of establishing a non12 profit corporation, to be known as the ‘‘American 

13 Institute of Somaliland’’, for the purpose of con14 ducting and carrying out programs, transactions, 

15 and other relations with Somaliland in the City of 

16 Hargeisa on behalf of the United States Govern17 ment. 

18 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense 

21 and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and 

22 agencies, shall submit a classified report to the appro23 priate congressional committees that contains the results 

24 of the feasibility study required under subsection (b), in25 cluding an assessment of the extent to which— 


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1 (1) opportunities exist for the United States to 

2 support the training of Somaliland’s security sector 

3 actors with a specific focus on counterterrorism and 

4 border and maritime security; 

5 (2) Somaliland’s security forces were impli6 cated, if any, in gross violations of human rights 

7 during the 3-year period immediately preceding the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act; 

9 (3) the United States has provided or discussed 

10 with government and military officials of Somaliland 

11 the provision of training to security forces, includ12 ing— 

13 (A) where such training has occurred; 

14 (B) the extent to which Somaliland secu15 rity forces have demonstrated the ability to ab16 sorb previous training; and 

17 (C) the ability of Somaliland security 

18 forces to maintain and appropriately utilize 

19 such training, as applicable; 

20 (4) a United States security and defense part21 nership with Somaliland would have a strategic im22 pact, including by protecting the United States and 

23 allied maritime interests in the Bab-el-Mandeb 

24 Strait and at Somaliland’s Port of Berbera; 

25 (5) Somaliland could— 


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1 (A) serve as a maritime gateway in East 

2 Africa for the United States and its allies; and 

3 (B) counter Iran’s presence in the Gulf of 

4 Aden and China’s growing regional military 

5 presence; 

6 (6) a United States security and defense part7 nership would— 

8 (A) bolster security and defense coopera9 tion and capabilities between Somaliland and 

10 Taiwan; 

11 (B) stabilize this semi-autonomous region 

12 of Somalia further as a democratic counter13 weight to anti-democratic forces in the greater 

14 Horn of Africa region; and 

15 (C) impact the capacity of the United 

16 States to achieve policy objectives in Somalia, 

17 particularly to degrade and ultimately defeat 

18 the terrorist threat posed by Al-Shabaab, the 

19 Islamic State in Somalia (the Somalia-based Is20 lamic State affiliate), and other terrorist groups 

21 operating in Somalia; 

22 (7) the extent to which an improved diplomatic 

23 relationship with Somaliland could— 


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1 (A) support United States policy focused 

2 on the Red Sea corridor, the Indo-Pacific re3 gion, and the Horn of Africa; 

4 (B) improve cooperation on counterter5 rorism and intelligence sharing; 

6 (C) enable cooperation on counter-traf7 ficking, including the trafficking of humans, 

8 wildlife, weapons, and illicit goods; and 

9 (D) support trade and development, includ10 ing how Somaliland could benefit from Prosper 

11 Africa and other regional trade initiatives. 

12 (d) FORM.—The report required under subsection (c) 

13 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

14 a classified annex. 

15 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

16 Nothing in this Act, including the reporting require17 ment under section 4 and the conduct of the feasibility 

18 study under section 5, may be construed to convey United 

19 States recognition of Somaliland as an independent state. 

Æ 


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