IIB
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3879
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 4, 2000
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
AN ACT
To support the Government of the Republic of Sierra Leone
in its peace-building efforts, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sierra Leone Peace
Support Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following
findings:
(1) Eight years of civil war and massive human
rights violations have created a humanitarian crisis
in the Republic of Sierra Leone, leaving over 50,000
dead and 1,000,000 displaced from their homes.
(2) As many as 480,000 Sierra Leoneans have
fled into neighboring countries, especially Guinea.
(3) All parties to the conflict have committed
abuses, but the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)
and its ally, the former Sierra Leonean army
(AFRC) are responsible for the overwhelming major-
ity.
(4) The RUF and AFRC have systematically
abducted, raped, mutilated, killed, or forced children
to fight alongside RUF soldiers.
(5) The RUF continues to hold hundreds and
perhaps thousands of prisoners, including many
child soldiers, despite the agreement of RUF leader-
ship at Lome to release all children.
(6) The civil defense forces committed human
rights violations, including killings and recruitment
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of child soldiers, and Economic Community of West
African States Military Observer Group (ECOMOG)
forces have also committed human rights abuses, in-
cluding executions of captured combatants and
killings of civilians.
(7) Neighboring countries, especially Liberia
and Burkina Faso, have contributed greatly to the
destruction of Sierra Leone by aiding and arming
the RUF and providing sanctuary for RUF fighters.
(8) International humanitarian efforts to assist
Sierra Leoneans, both at home and in Guinea, have
fallen far short of need such that conditions in ref-
ugee camps and among displaced persons camps are
deplorable, food and medicine is dangerously inad-
equate, and the refugee population on the Sierra
Leonean border continues to be preyed upon by
RUF insurgents and subjected to rape, mutilation,
or killing.
(9) Demobilization, demilitarization, and re-
integration (DDR) efforts, as called for in the Lome
agreement of July 1999, have begun months late
and are still at beginning stages.
(10) With the withdrawal of the West African
peacekeeping forces, the United Nations Security
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Council has approved the deployment of 11,000
peacekeeping forces for Sierra Leone.
(11) There are approximately 45,000 combat-
ants, including many child soldiers, in Sierra Leone
who must be demobilized, provided with alternate
employment, and reintegrated into their commu-
nities.
(12) Both the Government of Sierra Leone and
the RUF/AFRC formally agreed in the Lome Con-
vention of July 7, 1999, to uphold, promote, and
protect the human rights (including the right to life
and liberty, freedom from torture, the right to a fair
trial, freedom of conscience, expression, and associa-
tion, and the right to take part in the governance of
one’s country) of every Sierra Leonean as well as
the enforcement of humanitarian law.
(b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—The Congress urges
the President to vigorously promote efforts to end further
degradation of conditions in the Republic of Sierra Leone,
to dramatically increase United States assistance to demo-
bilization, demilitarization, and reintegration (DDR) ef-
forts and humanitarian initiatives, to assist in the collec-
tion of documentation about human rights abuses by all
parties, and to engage in diplomatic initiatives aimed at
consolidating the peace and protecting human rights.
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SEC. 3. DEMOBILIZATION, DEMILITARIZATION, AND RE-
INTEGRATION ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to the President $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2001
for assistance under chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2221 et seq.) to the
Sierra Leone DDR Trust Fund of the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development for demobilization,
demilitarization, and reintegration assistance in Sierra
Leone. Assistance under the preceding sentence may not
be used to provide stipends to ex-combatants of the civil
war in the Republic of Sierra Leone.
(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Amounts appro-
priated pursuant to subsection (a)—
(1) are in addition to any other amounts avail-
able for the purpose described in such subsection;
and
(2) are authorized to remain available until ex-
pended.
SEC. 4. DEMOCRATIZATION, ELECTORAL, AND JUDICIAL AS-
SISTANCE.
(a) JUDICIAL ASSISTANCE.—There is authorized to
be appropriated to the President $5,000,000 for fiscal
year 2001 for assistance to rebuild and strengthen the ca-
pacity of the judiciary in the Republic of Sierra Leone and
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to assist efforts to establish the rule of law and maintain
law and order in Sierra Leone.
(b) EXPANDED INTERNATIONAL MILITARY EDU-
CATION AND TRAINING ASSISTANCE.—Beginning 1 year
after the conclusion of free and fair elections in Sierra
Leone, the President may provide expanded international
military education and training assistance to the military
forces and related civilian personnel of Sierra Leone under
section 541 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2347) solely for the purpose of providing training
relating to defense management, civil-military relations,
law enforcement cooperation, and military justice.
(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Amounts appro-
priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations
under subsection (a)—
(1) are in addition to any other amounts avail-
able for the purposes described in such subsection;
and
(2) are authorized to remain available until ex-
pended.
SEC. 5. ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) STATEMENT
OF
CONGRESSIONAL
CONCERN
ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.—It is the sense of the Congress
that a thorough and nonpartisan initiative to collect infor-
mation on human rights abuses by all parties to the con-
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flict in the Republic of Sierra Leone be undertaken. Com-
prehensive and detailed information, particularly the iden-
tification of specific units, individuals, and commanders
found to have been especially abusive, will be essential for
vetting human rights abusers from the newly formed
armed forces and police forces of Sierra Leone and for
deterring abuses by all parties in the future. Accordingly,
the Congress calls upon the administration to strongly
support an independent process of data collection on
human rights abuses in Sierra Leone, for use by the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission when it has been estab-
lished, and to support any future initiatives of inter-
national accountability for Sierra Leone.
(b) ASSISTANCE FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
COMMISSION.—
(1) ASSISTANCE
FOR
ESTABLISHMENT
AND
SUPPORT
OF
COMMISSION.—The President is au-
thorized to provide assistance for the establishment
and support of a Truth and Reconciliation Commis-
sion to establish accountability for human rights
abuses in the Republic of Sierra Leone.
(2) ASSISTANCE
FOR
HUMAN
RIGHTS
DATA
COLLECTION.—The 
Secretary 
of 
State, 
acting
through the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, is authorized
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to collect human rights data with respect to Sierra
Leone and assist the Truth and Reconciliation Com-
mission in carrying out its functions.
(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(A) ESTABLISHMENT
AND
SUPPORT
OF
COMMISSION.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated to the President $1,500,000 for fiscal
year 2001 for assistance under chapter 4 of
part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
to carry out paragraph (1).
(B) HUMAN RIGHTS DATA COLLECTION.—
There is authorized to be appropriated to the
Secretary of State $500,000 for fiscal year
2001 to carry out paragraph (2). Amounts ap-
propriated pursuant to the authorization of ap-
propriations under the preceding sentence shall
be deposited in the ‘‘Human Rights Fund’’ of
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and
Labor of the Department of State.
(C) 
AVAILABILITY.—Amounts 
appro-
priated pursuant to the authorization of appro-
priations under subparagraphs (A) and (B) are
authorized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 6. NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES OF SIERRA LEONE.
(a) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—
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(3) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.—In this sub-
section, the term ‘‘United States assistance’’ means
assistance of any kind which is provided by grant,
sale, loan, lease, credit, guaranty, or insurance, or
by any other means, by any agency or instrumen-
tality of the United States Government.
Passed the House of Representatives May 3, 2000.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.