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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1067 Referred in House (RFH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1067

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2010

              Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To support stabilization and lasting peace in northern Uganda and areas 
    affected by the Lord's Resistance Army through development of a 
   regional strategy to support multilateral efforts to successfully 
    protect civilians and eliminate the threat posed by the Lord's 
  Resistance Army and to authorize funds for humanitarian relief and 
reconstruction, reconciliation, and transitional justice, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament 
and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) For over 2 decades, the Government of Uganda engaged in 
        an armed conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in 
        northern Uganda that led to the internal displacement of more 
        than 2,000,000 Ugandans from their homes.
            (2) The members of the Lord's Resistance Army used brutal 
        tactics in northern Uganda, including mutilating, abducting and 
        forcing individuals into sexual servitude and forcing a large 
        number of children and youth in Uganda, estimated by the Survey 
        for War Affected Youth to be over 66,000, to fight as part of 
        the rebel force.
            (3) The Secretary of State has placed the Lord's Resistance 
        Army on the Terrorist Exclusion list pursuant to section 
        212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1182(a)(3)), and LRA leader Joseph Kony has been designated a 
        ``specially designated global terrorist'' pursuant to Executive 
        Order 13224.
            (4) In late 2005, according to the United Nations Office 
        for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Lord's Resistance 
        Army shifted their primary base of operations from southern 
        Sudan to northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the 
        rebels have since withdrawn from northern Uganda.
            (5) Representatives of the Government of Uganda and the 
        Lord's Resistance Army began peace negotiations in 2006, 
        mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan in Juba, Sudan, 
        and signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement on August 20, 
        2006, which provided for hundreds of thousands of internally 
        displaced people to return home in safety.
            (6) After nearly 2 years of negotiations, representatives 
        from the parties reached the Final Peace Agreement in April 
        2008, but Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance 
        Army, refused to sign the Final Peace Agreement in May 2008 and 
        his forces launched new attacks in northeastern Congo.
            (7) According to the United Nations Office for the 
        Coordination of Humanitarian Relief and the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Refugees, the new activity of the Lord's 
        Resistance Army in northeastern Congo and southern Sudan since 
        September 2008 has led to the abduction of at least 1,500 
        civilians, including hundreds of children, and the displacement 
        of more than 540,000 people.
            (8) In December 2008, the military forces of Uganda, the 
        Democratic Republic of Congo, and southern Sudan launched a 
        joint operation against the Lord's Resistance Army's bases in 
        northeastern Congo, but the operation failed to apprehend 
        Joseph Kony, and his forces retaliated with a series of new 
        attacks and massacres in Congo and southern Sudan, killing an 
        estimated 900 people in 2 months alone.
            (9) Despite the refusal of Joseph Kony to sign the Final 
        Peace Agreement, the Government of Uganda has committed to 
        continue reconstruction plans for northern Uganda, and to 
        implement those mechanisms of the Final Peace Agreement not 
        conditional on the compliance of the Lord's Resistance Army.
            (10) Since 2008, recovery efforts in northern Uganda have 
        moved forward with the financial support of the United States 
        and other donors, but have been hampered by a lack of strategic 
        coordination, logistical delays, and limited leadership from 
        the Government of Uganda.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to work with regional 
governments toward a comprehensive and lasting resolution to the 
conflict in northern Uganda and other affected areas by--
            (1) providing political, economic, military, and 
        intelligence support for viable multilateral efforts to protect 
        civilians from the Lord's Resistance Army, to apprehend or 
        remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield 
        in the continued absence of a negotiated solution, and to 
        disarm and demobilize the remaining Lord's Resistance Army 
        fighters;
            (2) targeting assistance to respond to the humanitarian 
        needs of populations in northeastern Congo, southern Sudan, and 
        Central African Republic currently affected by the activity of 
        the Lord's Resistance Army; and
            (3) further supporting and encouraging efforts of the 
        Government of Uganda and civil society to promote comprehensive 
        reconstruction, transitional justice, and reconciliation in 
        northern Uganda as affirmed in the Northern Uganda Crisis 
        Response Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-283) and subsequent 
        resolutions, including Senate Resolution 366, 109th Congress, 
        agreed to February 2, 2006, Senate Resolution 573, 109th 
        Congress, agreed to September 19, 2006, Senate Concurrent 
        Resolution 16, 110th Congress, agreed to in the Senate March 1, 
        2007, and House Concurrent Resolution 80, 110th Congress, 
        agreed to in the House of Representatives June 18, 2007.

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO SUPPORT THE DISARMAMENT OF THE 
              LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY.

    (a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall develop and 
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a strategy to guide 
future United States support across the region for viable multilateral 
efforts to mitigate and eliminate the threat to civilians and regional 
stability posed by the Lord's Resistance Army.
    (b) Content of Strategy.--The strategy shall include the following:
            (1) A plan to help strengthen efforts by the United Nations 
        and regional governments to protect civilians from attacks by 
        the Lord's Resistance Army while supporting the development of 
        institutions in affected areas that can help to maintain the 
        rule of law and prevent conflict in the long term.
            (2) An assessment of viable options through which the 
        United States, working with regional governments, could help 
        develop and support multilateral efforts to eliminate the 
        threat posed by the Lord's Resistance Army.
            (3) An interagency framework to plan, coordinate, and 
        review diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military 
        elements of United States policy across the region regarding 
        the Lord's Resistance Army.
            (4) A description of the type and form of diplomatic 
        engagement across the region undertaken to coordinate and 
        implement United States policy regarding the Lord's Resistance 
        Army and to work multilaterally with regional mechanisms, 
        including the Tripartite Plus Commission and the Great Lakes 
        Pact.
            (5) A description of how this engagement will fit within 
        the context of broader efforts and policy objectives in the 
        Great Lakes Region.
    (c) Form.--The strategy under this section shall be submitted in 
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 5. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR AREAS OUTSIDE UGANDA AFFECTED BY 
              THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY.

    In accordance with section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292) and section 2 of the Migration and Refugee 
Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601), the President is authorized to 
provide additional assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo, 
southern Sudan, and Central African Republic to respond to the 
humanitarian needs of populations directly affected by the activity of 
the Lord's Resistance Army.

SEC. 6. ASSISTANCE FOR RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION IN NORTHERN UGANDA.

    (a) Authority.--It is the sense of Congress that the President 
should support efforts by the people of northern Uganda and the 
Government of Uganda--
            (1) to assist internally displaced people in transition and 
        returnees to secure durable solutions by spurring economic 
        revitalization, supporting livelihoods, helping to alleviate 
        poverty, and advancing access to basic services at return 
        sites, specifically clean water, health care, and schools;
            (2) to enhance the accountability and administrative 
        competency of local governance institutions and public agencies 
        in northern Uganda with regard to budget management, provision 
        of public goods and services, and related oversight functions;
            (3) to strengthen the operational capacity of the civilian 
        police in northern Uganda to enhance public safety, prevent 
        crime, and deal sensitively with gender-based violence, while 
        strengthening accountability measures to prevent corruption and 
        abuses;
            (4) to rebuild and improve the capacity of the justice 
        system in northern Uganda, including the courts and penal 
        systems, with particular sensitivity to the needs and rights of 
        women and children;
            (5) to establish mechanisms for the disarmament, 
        demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants and 
        those abducted by the LRA, including vocational education and 
        employment opportunities, with attention given to the roles and 
        needs of men, women and children; and
            (6) to promote programs to address psychosocial trauma, 
        particularly post-traumatic stress disorder.
    (b) Future Year Funding.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary of State and Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development should work with the appropriate committees 
of Congress to increase assistance in future fiscal years to support 
activities described in this section if the Government of Uganda 
demonstrates a commitment to transparent and accountable reconstruction 
in war-affected areas of northern Uganda, specifically by--
            (1) finalizing the establishment of mechanisms within the 
        Office of the Prime Minister to sufficiently manage and 
        coordinate the programs under the framework of the Peace 
        Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP);
            (2) increasing oversight activities and reporting, at the 
        local and national level in Uganda, to ensure funds under the 
        Peace Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda 
        framework are used efficiently and with minimal waste; and
            (3) committing substantial funds of its own, above and 
        beyond standard budget allocations to local governments, to the 
        task of implementing the Peace Recovery and Development Plan 
        for Northern Uganda such that communities affected by the war 
        can recover.
    (c) Coordination With Other Donor Nations.--The United States 
should work with other donor nations to increase contributions for 
recovery efforts in northern Uganda and better leverage those 
contributions to enhance the capacity and encourage the leadership of 
the Government of Uganda in promoting transparent and accountable 
reconstruction in northern Uganda.
    (d) Termination of Assistance.--It is the sense of Congress that 
the Secretary of State should withhold non-humanitarian bilateral 
assistance to the Republic of Uganda if the Secretary determines that 
the Government of Uganda is not committed to reconstruction and 
reconciliation in the war-affected areas of northern Uganda and is not 
taking proactive steps to ensure this process moves forward in a 
transparent and accountable manner.

SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FOR RECONCILIATION AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN 
              NORTHERN UGANDA.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, despite 
reconstruction and development efforts, a continued failure to take 
meaningful steps toward national reconciliation and accountability 
risks perpetuating longstanding political grievances and fueling new 
conflicts.
    (b) Authority.--In accordance with section 531 of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346), the President is authorized to 
support efforts by the people of northern Uganda and the Government of 
Uganda to advance efforts to promote transitional justice and 
reconciliation on both local and national levels, including to 
encourage implementation of the mechanisms outlined in the Annexure to 
the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation between the 
Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army/Movement, signed at 
Juba February 19, 2008, namely--
            (1) a body to investigate the history of the conflict, 
        inquire into human rights violations committed during the 
        conflict by all sides, promote truth-telling in communities, 
        and encourage the preservation of the memory of events and 
        victims of the conflict through memorials, archives, 
        commemorations, and other forms of preservation;
            (2) a special division of the High Court of Uganda to try 
        individuals alleged to have committed serious crimes during the 
        conflict, and a special unit to carry out investigations and 
        prosecutions in support of trials;
            (3) a system for making reparations to victims of the 
        conflict; and
            (4) a review and strategy for supporting transitional 
        justice mechanisms in affected areas to promote reconciliation 
        and encourage individuals to take personal responsibility for 
        their conduct during the war.

SEC. 8. REPORT.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the submission of 
the strategy required under section 4, the Secretary of State shall 
prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 
on the progress made toward the implementation of the strategy required 
under section 4 and a description and evaluation of the assistance 
provided under this Act toward the policy objectives described in 
section 3.
    (b) Contents.--The report required under section (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a description and evaluation of actions taken toward 
        the implementation of the strategy required under section 4;
            (2) a description of assistance provided under sections 5, 
        6, and 7;
            (3) an evaluation of bilateral assistance provided to the 
        Republic of Uganda and associated programs in light of stated 
        policy objectives;
            (4) a description of the status of the Peace Recovery and 
        Development Plan for Northern Uganda and the progress of the 
        Government of Uganda in fulfilling the steps outlined in 
        section 6(b); and
            (5) a description of amounts of assistance committed, and 
        amounts provided, to northern Uganda during the reporting 
        period by the Government of Uganda and each donor country.
    (c) Form.--The report under this section shall be submitted in 
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON FUNDING.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) of the total amounts to be appropriated for fiscal year 
        2011 for the Department of State and foreign operations, up to 
        $10,000,000 should be used to carry out activities under 
        section 5; and
            (2) of the total amounts to be appropriated for fiscal year 
        2011 through 2013 for the Department of State and foreign 
        operations, up to $10,000,000 in each such fiscal year should 
        be used to carry out activities under section 7.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means the Committee on 
        Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
            (2) Great lakes region.--The term ``Great Lakes Region'' 
        means the region comprising Burundi, Democratic Republic of 
        Congo, Rwanda, southern Sudan, and Uganda.
            (3) LRA-affected areas.--The term ``LRA-affected areas'' 
        means those portions of northern Uganda, southern Sudan, 
        northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and southeastern 
        Central African Republic determined by the Secretary of State 
        to be affected by the Lord's Resistance Army as of the date of 
        the enactment of this Act.

            Passed the Senate March 10, 2010.

            Attest:

                                                NANCY ERICKSON,

                                                             Secretary.
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