Title: Somaliland Partnership Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Somaliland Partnership Act
This bill requires the Department of State to annually report to Congress on U.S. assistance to Somaliland. The State Department must also report to Congress on the feasibility of establishing a U.S.-Somaliland partnership, including opportunities for collaboration on regional security issues.
For the purposes of this bill, Somaliland is the territory within Somalia that has been a self-declared independent and sovereign state since 1991 that is not internationally recognized.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3861 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3861

To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports to Congress 
 on the assistance provided to Somaliland and to conduct a feasibility 
study, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, on establishing a 
security partnership with Somaliland, without recognizing Somaliland as 
                         an independent state.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2022

Mr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Rounds) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports to Congress 
 on the assistance provided to Somaliland and to conduct a feasibility 
study, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, on establishing a 
security partnership with Somaliland, without recognizing Somaliland as 
                         an independent state.

    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 ``Somaliland Partnership Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) a stronger relationship between the United States and 
        Somaliland would provide numerous, mutually beneficial, 
        strategic opportunities due to Somaliland's--
                    (A) geographic location in the Horn of Africa and 
                next to the Gulf of Aden;
                    (B) democratic credentials, including peaceful 
                transfers of power following elections; and
                    (C) relative stability in the Horn of Africa;
            (2) Somaliland's security situation, level of development, 
        and other challenges differ significantly from the situation in 
        Mogadishu and other regions of Somalia, which necessitates--
                    (A) a different approach to engagement, assistance, 
                and travel by personnel of the Department of State and 
                the United States Agency for International Development; 
                and
                    (B) the avoidance of a ``one-size-fits-all'' policy 
                approach to Somalia; and
            (3) the status of Somaliland should not serve as an 
        obstacle for deeper and meaningful cooperation that will serve 
        the mutual interests of our two governments.

SEC. 3. DEFINED TERM.

    In this Act, the term ``Somaliland'' means the territory that--
            (1) received its independence from the United Kingdom on 
        June 26, 1960, before the creation of the Somali Republic;
            (2) has been a self-declared independent and sovereign 
        state since 1991 that is not internationally recognized; and
            (3) exists as a semi-autonomous region of the Federal 
        Republic of Somalia.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND OTHER ACTIVITIES IN 
              SOMALILAND.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives.
    (b) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than September 30, 2022, and 
        annually thereafter until the date that is 5 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development, shall submit a report to the 
        appropriate congressional committees that, with respect to the 
        most recently concluded 12-month period--
                    (A) describes United States foreign assistance to 
                Somaliland, including--
                            (i) the value of such assistance (in United 
                        States dollars);
                            (ii) the source from which such assistance 
                        was funded;
                            (iii) the names of the programs through 
                        which such assistance was administered;
                            (iv) the implementing partners through 
                        which such assistance was provided;
                            (v) the sponsoring bureau of the United 
                        States Government; and
                            (vi) if the assistance broadly targeted the 
                        Federal Republic of Somalia, the portion of 
                        such assistance that was--
                                    (I) explicitly intended to support 
                                Somaliland; and
                                    (II) ultimately employed in 
                                Somaliland;
                    (B) details the staffing and responsibilities of 
                the Department of State and the United States Agency 
                for International Development supporting foreign 
                assistance, diplomatic relations, consular services, 
                and security initiatives in Somaliland, including the 
                location of such personnel (duty station) and their 
                corresponding bureau;
                    (C) provides--
                            (i) a detailed account of travel to 
                        Somaliland by employees of the Department of 
                        State and the United States Agency for 
                        International Development, if any, including 
                        the position, duty station, and trip purpose 
                        for each such trip; or
                            (ii) the justification for not traveling to 
                        Somaliland if no such personnel traveled during 
                        the reporting period;
                    (D) describes consular services provided by the 
                Department of State for the residents of Somaliland;
                    (E) discusses the Department of State's Travel 
                Advisory for Somalia related to the region of 
                Somaliland; and
                    (F) if the Travel Advisory for all or part of 
                Somaliland is identical to the Travel Advisory for 
                other regions of Somalia, justifies such ranking based 
                on a security assessment of the region of Somaliland.
            (2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified 
        annex.

SEC. 5. FEASIBILITY STUDY ON IMPROVED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND A 
              SECURITY AND DEFENSE PARTNERSHIP WITH SOMALILAND.

    (a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
        Representatives.
    (b) Feasibility Study.--The Secretary of State, in coordination 
with the Secretary of Defense, shall conduct a feasibility study 
regarding the establishment of a partnership between the United States 
and Somaliland that--
            (1) includes coordination with Somaliland government 
        security organs, including Somaliland's Ministry of Foreign 
        Affairs and Ministry of Defense;
            (2) determines opportunities for collaboration in the 
        pursuit of United States national security interests in the 
        Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, and the broader Indo-Pacific 
        region;
            (3) identifies opportunities for United States training of 
        Somaliland security sector actors to improve their 
        professionalization and capacity; and
            (4) assesses the prospect of establishing a nonprofit 
        corporation, to be known as the ``American Institute of 
        Somaliland'', for the purpose of conducting and carrying out 
        programs, transactions, and other relations with Somaliland in 
        the City of Hargeisa on behalf of the United States Government.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with 
the Secretary of Defense and the heads of other relevant Federal 
departments and agencies, shall submit a classified report to the 
appropriate congressional committees that contains the results of the 
feasibility study required under subsection (b), including an 
assessment of the extent to which--
            (1) opportunities exist for the United States to support 
        the training of Somaliland's security sector actors with a 
        specific focus on counterterrorism and border and maritime 
        security;
            (2) Somaliland's security forces were implicated, if any, 
        in gross violations of human rights during the 3-year period 
        immediately preceding the date of the enactment of this Act;
            (3) the United States has provided or discussed with 
        government and military officials of Somaliland the provision 
        of training to security forces, including--
                    (A) where such training has occurred;
                    (B) the extent to which Somaliland security forces 
                have demonstrated the ability to absorb previous 
                training; and
                    (C) the ability of Somaliland security forces to 
                maintain and appropriately utilize such training, as 
                applicable;
            (4) a United States security and defense partnership with 
        Somaliland would have a strategic impact, including by 
        protecting the United States and allied maritime interests in 
        the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and at Somaliland's Port of Berbera;
            (5) Somaliland could--
                    (A) serve as a maritime gateway in East Africa for 
                the United States and its allies; and
                    (B) counter Iran's presence in the Gulf of Aden and 
                China's growing regional military presence;
            (6) a United States security and defense partnership 
        would--
                    (A) bolster security and defense cooperation and 
                capabilities between Somaliland and Taiwan;
                    (B) stabilize this semi-autonomous region of 
                Somalia further as a democratic counterweight to anti-
                democratic forces in the greater Horn of Africa region; 
                and
                    (C) impact the capacity of the United States to 
                achieve policy objectives in Somalia, particularly to 
                degrade and ultimately defeat the terrorist threat 
                posed by Al-Shabaab, the Islamic State in Somalia (the 
                Somalia-based Islamic State affiliate), and other 
                terrorist groups operating in Somalia;
            (7) the extent to which an improved diplomatic relationship 
        with Somaliland could--
                    (A) support United States policy focused on the Red 
                Sea corridor, the Indo-Pacific region, and the Horn of 
                Africa;
                    (B) improve cooperation on counterterrorism and 
                intelligence sharing;
                    (C) enable cooperation on counter-trafficking, 
                including the trafficking of humans, wildlife, weapons, 
                and illicit goods; and
                    (D) support trade and development, including how 
                Somaliland could benefit from Prosper Africa and other 
                regional trade initiatives.
    (d) Form.--The report required under subsection (c) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act, including the reporting requirement under 
section 4 and the conduct of the feasibility study under section 5, may 
be construed to convey United States recognition of Somaliland as an 
independent state.
                                 <all>