H. R. 4818—224
‘‘Development Assistance’’, not less than the amount of funds ini-
tially allocated pursuant to section 653(a) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 for fiscal year 2004 should be made available for
El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras.
(b) Not to exceed $3,227,000 in prior year ‘‘Military Assistance
Program’’ funds that are available for Guatemala may be made
available for non-lethal defense items for Guatemala if the Secretary
of State certifies to the Committees on Appropriations and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee
on International Relations of the House of Representatives that—
(1) the role of the Guatemalan military has been limited,
in doctrine and in practice, to substantially those activities
in defense of Guatemala’s sovereignty and territorial integrity
that are permitted by the 1996 Peace Accords, and the Govern-
ment of Guatemala is taking steps to pass a new governing
law of the Army (Ley Constitutiva del Eje´rcito);
(2) the Guatemalan military is cooperating with civilian
judicial authorities, including providing full cooperation on
access to witnesses, documents and classified intelligence files,
in investigations and prosecutions of military personnel who
have been implicated in human rights violations and other
criminal activity;
(3) the Government of Guatemala is working with the
United Nations to resolve legal impediments to the establish-
ment of the Commission for the Investigation of Illegal Groups
and Clandestine Security Organizations (CICIACS), so that
CICIACS can effectively accomplish its mission of investigating
and bringing to justice illegal groups and members of clandes-
tine security organizations;
(4) the Government of Guatemala is continuing its efforts
to make the military budget process transparent and accessible
to civilian authorities and to the public, for both present and
past expenditures;
(5) the Government of Guatemala is working to facilitate
the prompt establishment of an office in Guatemala of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with
the unimpeded authority to investigate and report on human
rights in Guatemala; and
(6) the Government of Guatemala is taking steps to
increase its efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and organized
crime.
(c) Section 527 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (22 U.S.C. 2370(a)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(i) CERTAIN CLAIMS FOR EXPROPRIATION BY THE GOVERNMENT
OF NICARAGUA.—
‘‘(1) Any action of the types set forth in subparagraphs
(A), (B), and (C) of subsection (a)(1) that was taken by the
Government of Nicaragua during the period beginning on
January 1, 1956, and ending on January 9, 2002, shall not
be considered in implementing the prohibition under subsection
(a) unless the action has been presented in accordance with
the procedure set forth in paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) An action shall be deemed presented for purposes
of paragraph (1) if it is—
‘‘(A) in writing; and
H. R. 4818—225
‘‘(B) received by the United States Department of State
on or before 120 days after the date specified in paragraph
(3) at—
‘‘(i) the headquarters of the United States Depart-
ment of State in Washington, D.C.; or
‘‘(ii) the Embassy of the United States of America
to Nicaragua.
‘‘(3) The date to which paragraph (2) refers is a date after
enactment of this subsection that is specified by the Secretary
of State, in the Secretary’s discretion, in a notice published
in the Federal Register.’’.
WAR CRIMES IN AFRICA
SEC. 585. (a) The Congress recognizes the important contribu-
tion that the democratically elected Government of Nigeria has
played in fostering stability in West Africa.
(b) The Congress reaffirms its support for the efforts of the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special
Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to bring to justice individuals respon-
sible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in a timely
manner.
(c) Funds appropriated by this Act, including funds for debt
restructuring, may be made available for assistance to the central
government of a country in which individuals indicted by ICTR
and SCSL are credibly alleged to be living, if the Secretary of
State determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations
that such government is cooperating with ICTR and SCSL,
including the surrender and transfer of indictees in a timely
manner: Provided, That this subsection shall not apply to assistance
provided under section 551 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
or to project assistance under title II of this Act: Provided further,
That the United States shall use its voice and vote in the United
Nations Security Council to fully support efforts by ICTR and
SCSL to bring to justice individuals indicted by such tribunals
in a timely manner.
(d) The prohibition in subsection (c) may be waived on a country
by country basis if the President determines that doing so is in
the national security interest of the United States: Provided, That
prior to exercising such waiver authority, the President shall submit
a report to the Committees on Appropriations, in classified form
if necessary, on: (1) the steps being taken to obtain the cooperation
of the government in surrendering the indictee in question to SCSL
or ICTR; (2) a strategy for bringing the indictee before ICTR or
SCSL; and (3) the justification for exercising the waiver authority.
ADMISSION OF REFUGEES
SEC. 586. (a) The Secretary of State shall utilize private vol-
untary organizations with expertise in the protection needs of refu-
gees in the processing of refugees overseas for admission and
resettlement to the United States, and shall utilize such agencies
in addition to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
in the identification and referral of refugees.
(b) The Secretary of State should maintain a system for
accepting referrals of appropriate candidates for resettlement from
local private, voluntary organizations and work to ensure that
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particularly vulnerable refugee groups receive special consideration
for admission into the United States, including—
(1) long-stayers in countries of first asylum;
(2) unaccompanied refugee minors;
(3) refugees outside traditional camp settings; and
(4) refugees in woman-headed households.
(c) The Secretary of State shall give special consideration to—
(1) refugees of all nationalities who have close family ties
to citizens and residents of the United States; and
(2) other groups of refugees who are of special concern
to the United States.
CODE OF CONDUCT
SEC. 587. (a) None of the funds made available by title II
under the heading ‘‘Migration and Refugee Assistance’’ or ‘‘Transi-
tion Initiatives’’ to provide assistance to refugees or internally dis-
placed persons may be provided to an organization that has failed
to adopt a code of conduct consistent with the Inter-Agency Standing
Committee Task Force on Protection From Sexual Exploitation and
Abuse in Humanitarian Crises six core principles for the protection
of beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance.
(b) In administering the amounts made available for the
accounts described in subsection (a), the Secretary of State and
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development shall incorporate specific policies and programs for
the purpose of identifying specific needs of, and particular threats
to, women and children at the various stages of humanitarian
emergencies, especially at the onset of such emergency.
UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT HIRING
AUTHORITY
SEC. 588. (a) AUTHORITY.—Up to $37,500,000 of the funds made
available in this Act to carry out the provisions of part I of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including funds appropriated under
the heading ‘‘Assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States’’,
may be used by the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment (USAID) to hire and employ individuals in the United States
and overseas on a limited appointment basis pursuant to the
authority of sections 308 and 309 of the Foreign Service Act of
1980.
(b) RESTRICTIONS.—
(1) The number of individuals hired in any fiscal year
pursuant to the authority contained in subsection (a) may not
exceed 175, of which not more than 75 may be hired for employ-
ment in the United States.
(2) The authority to hire individuals contained in subsection
(a) shall expire on September 30, 2007.
(c) CONDITIONS.—The authority of this section may only be
used—
(1) to the extent that an equivalent number of positions
that are filled by personal services contractors or other non-
direct-hire employees of USAID, who are compensated with
funds appropriated to carry out part I of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961, including funds appropriated under the heading
‘‘Assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States’’, are
eliminated; and