[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2760 Engrossed in House (EH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2760
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To limit United States assistance for Ethiopia and Eritrea if those
countries are not in compliance with the terms and conditions of
agreements entered into by the two countries to end hostilities and
provide for a demarcation of the border between the two countries, 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 ``Resolution of the Ethiopia-Eritrea
Border Dispute Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Algiers agreements.--The term ``Algiers Agreements''
means the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(3) Cessation of hostilities agreement.--The term
``Cessation of Hostilities Agreement'' means the Agreement on
the Cessation of Hostilities signed on June 18, 2000, in
Algiers, Algeria, by the Government of Ethiopia and the
Government of Eritrea that established a temporary
demilitarized security zone within Eritrea to be enforced by
the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
(UNMEE).
(4) Comprehensive peace agreement.--The term
``Comprehensive Peace Agreement'' means the agreement signed on
December 12, 2000, in Algiers, Algeria, by the Government of
Ethiopia and the Government of Eritrea, under the auspices of
the Organization of African Unity (OAU), that provided for an
end to military hostilities between the two countries,
assurances by the countries to refrain from the threat or use
of force against each other, and established a neutral Boundary
Commission to delimit and demarcate the border between the two
countries.
(5) Economic assistance.--The term ``economic assistance''
means--
(A) assistance under chapter 1 of part I of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to development
assistance); and
(B) assistance under chapter 4 of part II of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to economic
support fund assistance).
(6) Military assistance and arms transfers.--The term
``military assistance and arms transfers'' means--
(A) assistance under chapter 2 of part II of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to military
assistance), including the transfer of excess defense
articles under section 516 of that Act;
(B) assistance under chapter 5 of part II of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to
international military education and training or
``IMET''), including military education and training
for civilian personnel under section 541 of that Act
(commonly referred to as ``Expanded IMET''); and
(C) assistance under the ``Foreign Military
Financing'' Program under section 23 of the Arms Export
Control Act and the transfer of defense articles,
defense services, design and construction services, or
any other defense-related training under that Act.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On May 6, 1998, a conflict erupted between Ethiopia and
Eritrea, two of the world's poorest countries.
(2) The two-year war claimed 100,000 lives, displaced more
than 1,000,000 people, cost Ethiopia more than $2,900,000,000,
and caused a 62 percent decline in food production in Eritrea.
(3) Millions of dollars were diverted from much needed
development projects into military activities and weapons
procurements at a time when severe drought threatened a famine
in both Ethiopia and Eritrea, as bad as the famine in 1984 in
those countries, putting more than 13,000,000 lives at risk.
(4) On June 18, 2000, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and President Isaias
Afewerki of the State of Eritrea signed the Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement in Algiers, Algeria. On December 12,
2000, the two countries also signed the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement in Algiers under the auspices of the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) and in the presence of United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan and President Abdel-Aziz
Boutheflika of Algeria.
(5) Article 4.2 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement states
the following: ``The parties agree that a neutral Boundary
Commission composed of five members shall be established with a
mandate to delimit and demarcate the colonial treaty border
[between the two countries] based on pertinent colonial
treaties (1900, 1902 and 1908) and applicable international
law.''.
(6) Article 4.15 of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
states the following: ``The parties agree that the delimitation
and demarcation determinations of the Commission shall be final
and binding. Each party shall respect the border so determined,
as well as territorial integrity and sovereignty of the other
party.''.
(7)(A) The President of the United Nations Security
Council, on behalf of the Security Council, confirmed the
Security Council's endorsement of the terms and conditions of
the Algiers Agreements, with special reference to the neutral
Boundary Commission described in Article 4.2 of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement and its mandate.
(B) In addition, the Security Council reaffirmed its
support for the Algiers Agreements in United Nations Security
Council Resolutions 1312 (July 31, 2000), 1320 (September 15,
2000), 1344 (March 15, 2001), 1369 (September 14, 2001), 1398
(March 15, 2002), 1430 (August 14, 2002), 1434 (September 6,
2002), 1466 (March 14, 2003), 1507 (September 12, 2003), 1531
(March 12, 2004), and 1560 (September 14, 2004).
(8) On April 13, 2002, the neutral Boundary Commission
announced its ``Delimitation Decision'', reiterating that both
parties had agreed that it would be ``final and binding''.
(9) Following the decision of the Boundary Commission that
the heavily disputed town of Badme would be zoned to the
Eritrean side of the new border, Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin
of Ethiopia announced on April 15, 2003, that ``[n]o-one
expects the [G]overnment of Ethiopia to accept these mistakes
committed by the Commission''. Further, the Ethiopian Ministry
of Information released a statement accusing the Boundary
Commission of an ``unfair tendency'' in implementing the border
ruling and ``misinterpreting'' the Algiers Agreements.
(10) In his March 6, 2003, ``Progress Report'' to the
United Nations Security Council, Secretary General Kofi Annan
reported that Prime Minister Zenawi of Ethiopia had expressed
to his Special Representative, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, that
``if its concerns were not properly addressed Ethiopia might
eventually reject the demarcation-related decisions of the
Commission''.
(11) On September 19, 2003, Prime Minister Zenawi wrote to
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and stated: ``As
the Commission's decisions could inevitably lead the two
countries into another round of fratricidal war, the Security
Council has an obligation, arising out of the UN Charter, to
avert such a threat to regional peace and stability.''.
(12) On October 3, 2003, the United Nations Security
Council wrote to Prime Minister Zenawi and stated: ``The
members of the Security Council therefore wish to convey to you
their deep regret at the intention of the government of
Ethiopia not to accept the entirety of the delimitation and
demarcation decision as decided by the boundary commission.
They note in particular, that Ethiopia has committed itself
under the Algiers Agreements to accept the boundary decision as
final and binding.''.
(13)(A) In an attempt to resolve the continued impasse,
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan offered his good
offices to the two parties and appointed Mr. Lloyd Axworthy,
former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, to serve as his
Special Envoy for Ethiopia and Eritrea on January 29, 2004.
(B) Despite the assurances of the United Nations Secretary
General, including in his Progress Reports of March 6, 2004,
and July 7, 2004, that the appointment of the Special Envoy was
``not intended to establish an alternative mechanism to the
Boundary Commission or to renegotiate its final and binding
decision'', President Isaias of Eritrea has refused to meet
with the Special Envoy or otherwise engage in political
dialogue aimed at resolving the current impasse.
(14) In his July 7, 2004, ``Progress Report'' to the United
Nations Security Council, Secretary General Kofi Annan reported
that the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to
reiterate its position that ``the current demarcation line
would disrupt the lives of border communities and lead to
future conflict''.
(15) In that same report, Secretary General Annan reminded
both governments that they themselves ``entrusted the Boundary
Commission with the entire demarcation process, drew up its
mandate and selected its Commissioners'' and called upon the
Government of Ethiopia to ``unequivocally restate its
acceptance of the Boundary Commission's decision, appoint field
liaison officers, and pay its dues to and otherwise cooperate
fully and expeditiously with the Commission''.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that Ethiopia and Eritrea--
(1) should take all appropriate actions to implement the
Algiers Agreements, including by accepting the ``Delimitation
Decision'' issued by the neutral Boundary Commission on April
13, 2002, with respect to the boundary between the two
countries; and
(2) should fully cooperate with the United Nations Special
Envoy for Ethiopia-Eritrea, Lloyd Axworthy, whose mandate is
the implementation of the Algiers Agreements, the Delimitation
Decision of the Boundary Commission, and the relevant
resolutions and decisions of the United Nations Security
Council.
SEC. 5. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY.
Congress makes the following declarations:
(1) Congress expresses its support for the Boundary
Commission established by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and
calls on the international community to continue to support the
United Nations trust fund established to facilitate the process
of demarcation between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the economic
and social transition of affected communities to new borders
determined by the Commission.
(2) Congress further declares that it shall be the policy
of the United States to limit United States assistance for
Ethiopia or Eritrea if either such country is not in compliance
with, or is not taking significant steps to comply with, the
terms and conditions of the Algiers Agreements.
(3) Congress strongly condemns statements by senior
Ethiopian officials criticizing the Boundary Commission's
decision and calls on the Government of Ethiopia to immediately
and unconditionally fulfill its commitments under the Algiers
Agreements, publicly accept the Boundary Commission's decision,
and fully cooperate with the implementation of such decision.
(4) Congress recognizes the acceptance by the Government of
Eritrea of the Boundary Commission's decision as final and
binding, but condemns the Government of Eritrea's continued
refusal to take advantage of the good offices offered by the
United Nations Secretary General, to work with Special Envoy
Lloyd Axworthy, or to otherwise engage in dialogue aimed at
resolving the current impasse, and calls on the President of
Eritrea to do so without further delay.
SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.
(a) Limitation on Economic Assistance.--Economic assistance may
only be provided for Ethiopia or Eritrea for any period of time for
which the President determines that Ethiopia or Eritrea (as the case
may be) is in compliance with, or is taking significant steps to comply
with, the terms and conditions of the Algiers Agreements.
(b) Limitation on Military Assistance and Arms Transfers.--Military
assistance and arms transfers may only be provided for Ethiopia or
Eritrea for any period of time for which the President determines that
Ethiopia or Eritrea (as the case may be) is in compliance with, or is
taking significant steps to comply with, the terms and conditions of
the Algiers Agreements.
(c) Exceptions.--The limitation on assistance under subsections (a)
and (b) shall not apply with respect to humanitarian assistance (such
as food or medical assistance), assistance to protect or promote human
rights, and assistance to prevent, treat, and control HIV/AIDS.
(d) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of subsection
(a) or (b) with respect to Ethiopia or Eritrea, particularly for the
provision of peacekeeping assistance or counterterrorism assistance, if
the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional
committees that it is in the national interests of the United States to
do so.
SEC. 7. INTEGRATION AND BORDER DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE.
(a) Assistance.--After the date on which the border demarcation
between Ethiopia and Eritrea is finalized (consistent with the decision
of the Boundary Commission established by the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement), the President shall establish and carry out an initiative
in conjunction with the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea under which
assistance is provided to reduce the adverse humanitarian impacts on
the populations of the border region, prevent conflict which might
result from the demarcation process, and further social and economic
development projects that are identified and evaluated by local
authorities to establish sustainable integration, development, and
trade at the border region.
(b) Project Examples.--Examples of development projects referred to
in subsection (a) are--
(1) startup initiatives, including farming projects, to
promote community economic development and the free flow of
trade across the border between the two countries;
(2) generous compensation packages for families displaced
by the border demarcation and support for relocation;
(3) effective mechanisms for managing movement of persons
across the border between the two countries;
(4) an increase in the supply of basic services in the
border region, including water, sanitation, housing, health
care, and education; and
(5) support for local efforts to reinforce peace and
reconciliation in the border region.
SEC. 8. REPORT.
Until the date on which the border demarcation between Ethiopia and
Eritrea is finalized, the President shall prepare and transmit on a
regular basis to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
contains a description of progress being made toward such demarcation,
including the extent to which Ethiopia and Eritrea are in compliance
with, or are taking significant steps to comply with, the terms and
conditions of the Algiers Agreements, and are otherwise cooperating
with internationally-sanctioned efforts to resolve the current impasse.
Passed the House of Representatives October 8, 2004.
Attest:
Clerk.
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2760
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To limit United States assistance for Ethiopia and Eritrea if those
countries are not in compliance with the terms and conditions of
agreements entered into by the two countries to end hostilities and
provide for a demarcation of the border between the two countries, and
for other purposes.