IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 261 
Reaffirming the importance of diplomacy and development in United States- 
African Union relations, promoting strategic partnerships and shared 
objectives between the United States and the African Union, and express-
ing strong support for the successful implementation of the African 
Continental Free Trade Area. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2023 
Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE (for herself, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. DEAN of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. MOORE of 
Wisconsin, Mr. EVANS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. CARSON, Ms. LEE of 
California, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. HORSFORD, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, 
Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. THOMPSON of 
Mississippi, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KEATING, 
Mr. LIEU, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. 
JACOBS, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs 
RESOLUTION 
Reaffirming the importance of diplomacy and development 
in United States-African Union relations, promoting stra-
tegic partnerships and shared objectives between the 
United States and the African Union, and expressing 
strong support for the successful implementation of the 
African Continental Free Trade Area. 
Whereas, since the formation of the African Union in July 
2002, succeeding the Organization of African Unity 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:30 Mar 29, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 261 IH 
founded in 1963, the African Union has set out notable 
goals to foster peace and security, socioeconomic develop-
ment and growth, democratic and accountable govern-
ance, and economic engagement and investment across 
the continent and its member States; 
Whereas the United States Government recognized the Afri-
can Union as an international organization in 2005, and 
initiated the United States Mission to the African Union 
in 2006, making the United States the first non-African 
country to establish a diplomatic mission to the African 
Union; 
Whereas the United States has collaborated with the African 
Union since 2002, and in 2010, the United States and 
the African Union held their first bilateral meeting of 
senior officials, which sought to strengthen mutual 
United States-African Union interests, promote shared 
values in a new strategic partnership, and foster coopera-
tion on a range of issues, notably those relating to peace 
and security, democratic governance, economic growth, 
public health, and food security in Africa; 
Whereas the Department of State continues to maintain ro-
bust relations with the African Union through the annual 
United States-African Union Commission High-Level 
Dialogue between the Secretary of State and Chairperson 
of the African Union Commission in addition to sub-cabi-
net officials across the United States Government and 
their African Union counterparts, and the eighth annual 
dialogue in March 2022 reaffirmed both parties’ commit-
ment to collaboration on issues of global concern; 
Whereas the second United States-Africa Leaders Summit 
was held in December 2022 and affirmed renewed United 
States engagement with the African Continent, including 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Mar 29, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 261 IH 
in areas related to peace and security, public health and 
infectious disease outbreaks, food security, human rights, 
and economic development; 
Whereas the African Union has mobilized peacekeeping mis-
sions to regions on the continent experiencing conflict 
and in 2018 revitalized the Peace Fund through which its 
member states will finance African peace and security op-
erations; 
Whereas the United States has provided security support to 
the African Union Commission Peace Support Operations 
Division and 23 African nations; 
Whereas the United States supports the African Union’s 
Agenda 2063 goal of fostering improved education on the 
continent and the development of the next generation of 
African leaders through support for basic and secondary 
education, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), 
and people-to-people ties through cultural and edu-
cational exchange programs benefitting Africa’s youth 
and young Americans seeking to enhance their under-
standing of the continent; 
Whereas the United States continues to support the member 
States of the African Union through various longstanding 
global health initiatives, including the President’s Emer-
gency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s 
Malaria Initiative, and efforts to combat infectious dis-
ease outbreaks and build the capacity of health systems 
to benefit the health and well-being of hundreds of mil-
lions of Africans; 
Whereas the United States partnered with the African Union 
to establish the Africa Centres for Disease Control and 
Prevention (Africa CDC) and remains strongly com-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Mar 29, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
•HRES 261 IH 
mitted to assisting the Africa CDC in its fight against 
COVID–19 and other infectious disease outbreaks; 
Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic and resulting border clo-
sures, travel and commercial activity restrictions, and 
supply chain challenges shrunk African economic output 
by $95 billion in 2020 alone according to the Inter-
national Monetary Fund, highlighting the need for the 
African Union and its member States to expand their ca-
pacities to mitigate future economic shocks through self- 
reliance and regional economic integration; 
Whereas the United States African Growth and Opportunity 
Act (AGOA) initiated and expanded trade with four-fifths 
of sub-Saharan African countries since its enactment in 
2001 and established an important instrument for engag-
ing African nations on issues of trade, capacity building, 
good governance, human rights protections, and economic 
growth and job creation in the United States and Africa; 
Whereas the African Union’s formation in 2018 of the Afri-
can Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has created 
the world’s largest trade bloc by number of countries 
with the potential to substantially boost economic growth, 
create economic opportunities for women and youth, pro-
mote significant commercial investment, and fundamen-
tally transform and expand economic engagement on the 
continent; 
Whereas the World Bank estimates that full implementation 
of the AfCFTA could: surge Africa’s cumulative GDP by 
approximately $450 billion—with most of those gains 
coming from streamlining the cost and efficiency of cus-
toms procedures, raise the total value of Africa’s exports 
in goods and services by $560 billion (40 percent of 
which will be from intra-African trade), lift 30 million Af-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:24 Mar 29, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR261.IH
HR261
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB