[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1067 Referred in House (RFH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1067
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2010
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support stabilization and lasting peace in northern Uganda and areas
affected by the Lord's Resistance Army through development of a
regional strategy to support multilateral efforts to successfully
protect civilians and eliminate the threat posed by the Lord's
Resistance Army and to authorize funds for humanitarian relief and
reconstruction, reconciliation, and transitional justice, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament
and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) For over 2 decades, the Government of Uganda engaged in
an armed conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in
northern Uganda that led to the internal displacement of more
than 2,000,000 Ugandans from their homes.
(2) The members of the Lord's Resistance Army used brutal
tactics in northern Uganda, including mutilating, abducting and
forcing individuals into sexual servitude and forcing a large
number of children and youth in Uganda, estimated by the Survey
for War Affected Youth to be over 66,000, to fight as part of
the rebel force.
(3) The Secretary of State has placed the Lord's Resistance
Army on the Terrorist Exclusion list pursuant to section
212(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(3)), and LRA leader Joseph Kony has been designated a
``specially designated global terrorist'' pursuant to Executive
Order 13224.
(4) In late 2005, according to the United Nations Office
for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Lord's Resistance
Army shifted their primary base of operations from southern
Sudan to northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the
rebels have since withdrawn from northern Uganda.
(5) Representatives of the Government of Uganda and the
Lord's Resistance Army began peace negotiations in 2006,
mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan in Juba, Sudan,
and signed the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement on August 20,
2006, which provided for hundreds of thousands of internally
displaced people to return home in safety.
(6) After nearly 2 years of negotiations, representatives
from the parties reached the Final Peace Agreement in April
2008, but Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance
Army, refused to sign the Final Peace Agreement in May 2008 and
his forces launched new attacks in northeastern Congo.
(7) According to the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Relief and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, the new activity of the Lord's
Resistance Army in northeastern Congo and southern Sudan since
September 2008 has led to the abduction of at least 1,500
civilians, including hundreds of children, and the displacement
of more than 540,000 people.
(8) In December 2008, the military forces of Uganda, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, and southern Sudan launched a
joint operation against the Lord's Resistance Army's bases in
northeastern Congo, but the operation failed to apprehend
Joseph Kony, and his forces retaliated with a series of new
attacks and massacres in Congo and southern Sudan, killing an
estimated 900 people in 2 months alone.
(9) Despite the refusal of Joseph Kony to sign the Final
Peace Agreement, the Government of Uganda has committed to
continue reconstruction plans for northern Uganda, and to
implement those mechanisms of the Final Peace Agreement not
conditional on the compliance of the Lord's Resistance Army.
(10) Since 2008, recovery efforts in northern Uganda have
moved forward with the financial support of the United States
and other donors, but have been hampered by a lack of strategic
coordination, logistical delays, and limited leadership from
the Government of Uganda.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to work with regional
governments toward a comprehensive and lasting resolution to the
conflict in northern Uganda and other affected areas by--
(1) providing political, economic, military, and
intelligence support for viable multilateral efforts to protect
civilians from the Lord's Resistance Army, to apprehend or
remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield
in the continued absence of a negotiated solution, and to
disarm and demobilize the remaining Lord's Resistance Army
fighters;
(2) targeting assistance to respond to the humanitarian
needs of populations in northeastern Congo, southern Sudan, and
Central African Republic currently affected by the activity of
the Lord's Resistance Army; and
(3) further supporting and encouraging efforts of the
Government of Uganda and civil society to promote comprehensive
reconstruction, transitional justice, and reconciliation in
northern Uganda as affirmed in the Northern Uganda Crisis
Response Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-283) and subsequent
resolutions, including Senate Resolution 366, 109th Congress,
agreed to February 2, 2006, Senate Resolution 573, 109th
Congress, agreed to September 19, 2006, Senate Concurrent
Resolution 16, 110th Congress, agreed to in the Senate March 1,
2007, and House Concurrent Resolution 80, 110th Congress,
agreed to in the House of Representatives June 18, 2007.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO SUPPORT THE DISARMAMENT OF THE
LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY.
(a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall develop and
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a strategy to guide
future United States support across the region for viable multilateral
efforts to mitigate and eliminate the threat to civilians and regional
stability posed by the Lord's Resistance Army.
(b) Content of Strategy.--The strategy shall include the following:
(1) A plan to help strengthen efforts by the United Nations
and regional governments to protect civilians from attacks by
the Lord's Resistance Army while supporting the development of
institutions in affected areas that can help to maintain the
rule of law and prevent conflict in the long term.
(2) An assessment of viable options through which the
United States, working with regional governments, could help
develop and support multilateral efforts to eliminate the
threat posed by the Lord's Resistance Army.
(3) An interagency framework to plan, coordinate, and
review diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military
elements of United States policy across the region regarding
the Lord's Resistance Army.
(4) A description of the type and form of diplomatic
engagement across the region undertaken to coordinate and
implement United States policy regarding the Lord's Resistance
Army and to work multilaterally with regional mechanisms,
including the Tripartite Plus Commission and the Great Lakes
Pact.
(5) A description of how this engagement will fit within
the context of broader efforts and policy objectives in the
Great Lakes Region.
(c) Form.--The strategy under this section shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 5. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR AREAS OUTSIDE UGANDA AFFECTED BY
THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY.
In accordance with section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292) and section 2 of the Migration and Refugee
Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601), the President is authorized to
provide additional assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo,
southern Sudan, and Central African Republic to respond to the
humanitarian needs of populations directly affected by the activity of
the Lord's Resistance Army.
SEC. 6. ASSISTANCE FOR RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION IN NORTHERN UGANDA.
(a) Authority.--It is the sense of Congress that the President
should support efforts by the people of northern Uganda and the
Government of Uganda--
(1) to assist internally displaced people in transition and
returnees to secure durable solutions by spurring economic
revitalization, supporting livelihoods, helping to alleviate
poverty, and advancing access to basic services at return
sites, specifically clean water, health care, and schools;
(2) to enhance the accountability and administrative
competency of local governance institutions and public agencies
in northern Uganda with regard to budget management, provision
of public goods and services, and related oversight functions;
(3) to strengthen the operational capacity of the civilian
police in northern Uganda to enhance public safety, prevent
crime, and deal sensitively with gender-based violence, while
strengthening accountability measures to prevent corruption and
abuses;
(4) to rebuild and improve the capacity of the justice
system in northern Uganda, including the courts and penal
systems, with particular sensitivity to the needs and rights of
women and children;
(5) to establish mechanisms for the disarmament,
demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants and
those abducted by the LRA, including vocational education and
employment opportunities, with attention given to the roles and
needs of men, women and children; and
(6) to promote programs to address psychosocial trauma,
particularly post-traumatic stress disorder.
(b) Future Year Funding.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Secretary of State and Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development should work with the appropriate committees
of Congress to increase assistance in future fiscal years to support
activities described in this section if the Government of Uganda
demonstrates a commitment to transparent and accountable reconstruction
in war-affected areas of northern Uganda, specifically by--
(1) finalizing the establishment of mechanisms within the
Office of the Prime Minister to sufficiently manage and
coordinate the programs under the framework of the Peace
Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda (PRDP);
(2) increasing oversight activities and reporting, at the
local and national level in Uganda, to ensure funds under the
Peace Recovery and Development Plan for Northern Uganda
framework are used efficiently and with minimal waste; and
(3) committing substantial funds of its own, above and
beyond standard budget allocations to local governments, to the
task of implementing the Peace Recovery and Development Plan
for Northern Uganda such that communities affected by the war
can recover.
(c) Coordination With Other Donor Nations.--The United States
should work with other donor nations to increase contributions for
recovery efforts in northern Uganda and better leverage those
contributions to enhance the capacity and encourage the leadership of
the Government of Uganda in promoting transparent and accountable
reconstruction in northern Uganda.
(d) Termination of Assistance.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Secretary of State should withhold non-humanitarian bilateral
assistance to the Republic of Uganda if the Secretary determines that
the Government of Uganda is not committed to reconstruction and
reconciliation in the war-affected areas of northern Uganda and is not
taking proactive steps to ensure this process moves forward in a
transparent and accountable manner.
SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FOR RECONCILIATION AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN
NORTHERN UGANDA.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, despite
reconstruction and development efforts, a continued failure to take
meaningful steps toward national reconciliation and accountability
risks perpetuating longstanding political grievances and fueling new
conflicts.
(b) Authority.--In accordance with section 531 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346), the President is authorized to
support efforts by the people of northern Uganda and the Government of
Uganda to advance efforts to promote transitional justice and
reconciliation on both local and national levels, including to
encourage implementation of the mechanisms outlined in the Annexure to
the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation between the
Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army/Movement, signed at
Juba February 19, 2008, namely--
(1) a body to investigate the history of the conflict,
inquire into human rights violations committed during the
conflict by all sides, promote truth-telling in communities,
and encourage the preservation of the memory of events and
victims of the conflict through memorials, archives,
commemorations, and other forms of preservation;
(2) a special division of the High Court of Uganda to try
individuals alleged to have committed serious crimes during the
conflict, and a special unit to carry out investigations and
prosecutions in support of trials;
(3) a system for making reparations to victims of the
conflict; and
(4) a review and strategy for supporting transitional
justice mechanisms in affected areas to promote reconciliation
and encourage individuals to take personal responsibility for
their conduct during the war.
SEC. 8. REPORT.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the submission of
the strategy required under section 4, the Secretary of State shall
prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
on the progress made toward the implementation of the strategy required
under section 4 and a description and evaluation of the assistance
provided under this Act toward the policy objectives described in
section 3.
(b) Contents.--The report required under section (a) shall
include--
(1) a description and evaluation of actions taken toward
the implementation of the strategy required under section 4;
(2) a description of assistance provided under sections 5,
6, and 7;
(3) an evaluation of bilateral assistance provided to the
Republic of Uganda and associated programs in light of stated
policy objectives;
(4) a description of the status of the Peace Recovery and
Development Plan for Northern Uganda and the progress of the
Government of Uganda in fulfilling the steps outlined in
section 6(b); and
(5) a description of amounts of assistance committed, and
amounts provided, to northern Uganda during the reporting
period by the Government of Uganda and each donor country.
(c) Form.--The report under this section shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON FUNDING.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) of the total amounts to be appropriated for fiscal year
2011 for the Department of State and foreign operations, up to
$10,000,000 should be used to carry out activities under
section 5; and
(2) of the total amounts to be appropriated for fiscal year
2011 through 2013 for the Department of State and foreign
operations, up to $10,000,000 in each such fiscal year should
be used to carry out activities under section 7.
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means the Committee on
Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(2) Great lakes region.--The term ``Great Lakes Region''
means the region comprising Burundi, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Rwanda, southern Sudan, and Uganda.
(3) LRA-affected areas.--The term ``LRA-affected areas''
means those portions of northern Uganda, southern Sudan,
northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and southeastern
Central African Republic determined by the Secretary of State
to be affected by the Lord's Resistance Army as of the date of
the enactment of this Act.
Passed the Senate March 10, 2010.
Attest:
NANCY ERICKSON,
Secretary.