I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 550

To prohibit economic assistance, military assistance, or arms transfers to

the Government of Mauritania until appropriate action is taken to eliminate chattel slavery in Mauritania.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 17, 1995

Mr. ZIMMER (for himself, Mr. PORTER, Mr. LANTOS, and Mr. PAYNE of New

Jersey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on International Relations

A BILL

To prohibit economic assistance, military assistance, or arms

transfers to the Government of Mauritania until appropriate action is taken to eliminate chattel slavery in

Mauritania.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 The Congress makes the following findings:

5 (1) The practice of slavery in Mauritania has

6 been officially abolished 3 times in Mauritania’s his7 tory, including a 1961 constitutional prohibition and

8 a 1980 government decree declaring that ‘‘slavery is
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1 definitely abolished throughout the national terri2 tory’’ of Mauritania. Yet, despite these legal prohibi3 tions of slavery, slavery remains a common practice

4 in Mauritania.

5 (2) The United States Department of State’s

6 Country Reports on Human Rights for 1993 noted

7 that tens of thousands of people live in slavery or

8 near slavery even though ‘‘slavery has been officially

9 abolished several times’’, and that many former

10 slaves who now live independently still continue to

11 perform unpaid labor for their former masters out of

12 a sense of fear and duty.

13 (3) Human Rights Watch/Africa estimated in a

14 1994 report that 100,000 people live in servitude in

15 Mauritania and noted that the sale of slaves still

16 persists despite claims by the Government of Mauri17 tania that slave sales ended in the 1960’s.

18 (4) In Mauritania, for which more than

19 $3,900,000 in United States foreign aid was appro20 priated in fiscal year 1994, there is no indication

21 that the present government of Mauritania has seri22 ously attempted to enforce the prohibition against

23 slavery, to prosecute slaveholders, or to educate the

24 people of Mauritania about their rights of freedom.
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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE, MILI2 TARY ASSISTANCE, OR ARMS TRANSFERS TO

3 THE GOVERNMENT OF MAURITANIA UNLESS

4 APPROPRIATE ACTION IS TAKEN TO ELIMI5 NATE CHATTEL SLAVERY.

6 The President may not provide economic assistance,

7 military assistance, or arms transfers to the Government

8 of Mauritania unless the President certifies to the Con9 gress that such Government has taken appropriate action

10 to eliminate chattel slavery in Mauritania, including—

11 (1) the enactment of anti-slavery laws that pro12 vide appropriate punishment for violators of such

13 laws; and

14 (2) the rigorous enforcement of such laws.

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

16 For purposes of this Act:

17 (1) ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘eco18 nomic assistance’’ means any assistance under part

19 I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.

20 2151 et seq.) and any assistance under chapter 4 of

21 part II of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.) (relat22 ing to the economic support fund), except that such

23 term does not include humanitarian assistance.

24 (2) MILITARY ASSISTANCE OR ARMS TRANS25 FERS.—The term ‘‘military assistance or arms

26 transfers’’ means—
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1 (A) assistance under chapter 2 of part II

2 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

3 U.S.C. 2311 et seq.) (relating to military assist4 ance), including the transfer of excess defense

5 articles under sections 516 through 519 of that

6 Act (22 U.S.C. 2321j through 2321m);

7 (B) assistance under chapter 5 of part II

8 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22

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

10 military education and training);

11 (C) assistance under the ‘‘Foreign Military

12 Financing Program’’ under section 23 of the

13 Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763); or

14 (D) the transfer of defense articles, de15 fense services, or design and construction serv16 ices under the Arms Export Control Act (22

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

18 and defense services licensed or approved for

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

20 2778).

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