[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4117 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4117

     To provide assistance and security for women and children in 
                  Afghanistan, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2004

Mrs. Maloney (for herself, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Ms. Corrine Brown 
    of Florida, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Frost, Mr. McNulty, Ms. 
    DeLauro, Mr. Wynn, Ms. Lofgren, and Mr. Wexler) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To provide assistance and security for women and children in 
                  Afghanistan, 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 ``Afghan Women Security and Freedom 
Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Taliban regime denied women in Afghanistan the most 
        basic human rights, including the rights to work, to an 
        education, to health care, and to move freely.
            (2) The Taliban regime subjected any women who attempted to 
        exercise her human rights to beatings and imprisonment and 
        women in Afghanistan who lived under the Taliban regime suffer 
        from long-term consequences of such oppression.
            (3) According to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs, as 
        a result of 23 years of war and the restrictions imposed by the 
        Taliban after the war ended, most women in Afghanistan do not 
        have adequate food, access to health care, or opportunities for 
        education, employment, or economic livelihood, and such women 
        have experienced violence to themselves or their families.
            (4) Women in Afghanistan have one of the highest mortality 
        rates in the world, with an estimated 16,000 maternal deaths 
        annually.
            (5) The strengthening of institutions and non-governmental 
        organizations that are led by women in Afghanistan is essential 
        to building civil society and holding the Government of 
        Afghanistan accountable for protecting women's rights and human 
        rights.
            (6) It is necessary for significant numbers of women to 
        hold positions within the Government of Afghanistan, including 
        in the cabinet, the Loya Jirga, government commissions, and 
        other key posts, and to hold official positions within United 
        Nations agencies working in Afghanistan to foster democracy and 
        protect the rights of women in Afghanistan.
            (7) Despite the collapse of the Taliban regime in 
        Afghanistan in 2001, warlords and the Taliban are reorganizing 
        and reemerging in Afghanistan, imperiling the stability of the 
        central government, the security of the people, and the 
        exercise of human rights by women.
            (8) The United Nations Secretary-General's Special 
        Representative to Afghanistan said that the deteriorating 
        security situation in Afghanistan may force a delay in 
        elections in Afghanistan and that expansion of international 
        peacekeeping forces is necessary to make fair, democratic voter 
        registration and elections possible.
            (9) In January 2004, the Government of Afghanistan adopted 
        a new constitution that includes basic rights for women, but 
        enforcement of the provisions of the constitution will be 
        difficult unless security in Afghanistan is dramatically 
        improved.
            (10) Despite the fact that violations of human rights and 
        women's rights continue with impunity in Afghanistan, 
        Provincial Reconstruction Teams composed of United States 
        military forces, Department of Defense civil affairs officers, 
        representatives of United States agencies and allied personnel 
        do not have the authority needed to intervene to stop such 
        violations.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the protection of the rights of women, the 
        reestablishment of democracy, and the elimination of terrorism 
        are essential to the reconstruction of a stable Afghanistan and 
        to achieve such a reconstruction the international community 
        should commit substantial resources, including the expansion of 
        international peacekeeping forces inside and outside of the 
        city of Kabul;
            (2) the United States should provide strong support for the 
        Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Afghan Independent 
        Human Rights Commission, both of which were created by the Bonn 
        Agreement to remedy past violations of women's rights and human 
        rights and to establish institutions and programs to advance 
        such rights;
            (3) the mandate of international peacekeeping forces and 
        Provincial Reconstruction Teams composed of United States 
        military forces, Department of Defense civil affairs officers, 
        representatives of United States agencies and allied personnel 
        should be authorized to intervene to stop violations of human 
        rights and women's rights;
            (4) United States foreign policy should ensure that the 
        rights of women and girls are restored in Afghanistan, assist 
        in the recovery of women and girls from the repression of the 
        Taliban and 23 years of war, and strengthen Afghan institutions 
        that are led by women; and
            (5) grants and assistance provided to Afghanistan should be 
        conditioned upon the Government of Afghanistan adhering to 
        international standards for women's rights and human rights.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Authority.--The President is authorized to provide assistance 
for women and children in Afghanistan.
    (b) Provision of Assistance.--Assistance under this section may be 
provided directly to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs, other 
Afghan Government ministries, the Afghan Independent Human Rights 
Commission, local and international nonprofit organizations, and United 
Nations agencies.
    (c) Categories of Assistance.--The assistance under this section 
may be provided as grants, technical assistance, training, or in any 
other form that the President determines is appropriate.
    (d) Purposes.--Assistance under this section may be used for the 
following purposes:
            (1) Political and human rights.--Assistance under this 
        section is authorized to be used to promote women's rights and 
        human rights in Afghanistan, including women's political 
        participation and legal rights, including for the following 
        purposes:
                    (A) To provide assistance to the Afghan Ministry of 
                Women's Affairs, other ministries of the Government of 
                Afghanistan, and the Afghan Independent Human Rights 
                Commission for programs to advance the status of women.
                    (B) To disseminate information throughout 
                Afghanistan on the rights of women and on international 
                standards for human rights.
                    (C) To provide information and assistance to enable 
                women to exercise property, inheritance, and voting 
                rights, and to participate in relief programs.
                    (D) To provide, monitor, and investigate violations 
                of women's rights and to provide legal assistance to 
                women who have suffered violations of their rights.
                    (E) To provide training related to women's rights 
                and human rights to military, police, and legal 
                personnel.
                    (F) To build the infrastructure of the Afghan 
                Independent Human Rights Commission through the 
                construction of provincial and district offices.
                    (G) To enforce the provisions of the Afghan 
                constitution that ensure equal rights for women.
                    (H) To operate programs to encourage and facilitate 
                the registration of women voters.
            (2) Health care.--Assistance under this section is 
        authorized to be used to provide health care for the people of 
        Afghanistan, including for the following purposes:
                    (A) To provide equipment, medical supplies, and 
                other assistance to health care facilities for the 
                purpose of reducing maternal and infant mortality and 
                morbidity.
                    (B) To train nurses, midwives, and traditional 
                birth attendants for the purposes of improving staffing 
                at clinics and hospitals, and expanding networks of 
                community health educators.
                    (C) To promote awareness about the health and 
                nutrition of women, and programs related to hygiene, 
                sanitation, and immunization.
                    (D) To develop, establish, and expand programs to 
                provide services to women and girls suffering from 
                post-traumatic stress, depression, and mental illness.
                    (E) To provide mobile health units that include 
                reproductive health programs and that are accessible to 
                women and girls who have been disabled due to landmines 
                or war-related injuries, including such women and girls 
                who are in wheelchairs.
            (3) Education and training.--Assistance under this section 
        is authorized to be used to provide education and training to 
        the people of Afghanistan, including for the following 
        purposes:
                    (A) To establish, maintain, and expand primary and 
                secondary schools for girls that include mathematics, 
                science, and languages in their primary curriculum.
                    (B) To develop and expand technical and vocational 
                training programs for women to enable women who 
                participate in such programs to provide support for 
                themselves and their families.
                    (C) To develop, maintain, and expand literacy 
                programs, including economic literacy programs that 
                promote the well-being of women and their families.
                    (D) To provide special educational opportunities 
                for girls whose schooling was ended by the Taliban and 
                who now face obstacles to participating in the normal 
                education system, such as girls who are now married and 
                girls who are older than the normal age for their 
                classes.
            (4) Security, protection, and shelter.--Assistance under 
        this section is authorized to be used to provide security, 
        protection, and shelter for the people of Afghanistan, 
        including for the following purposes:
                    (A) To develop and implement programs to protect 
                women and girls against sexual and physical abuse, 
                abduction, trafficking, exploitation, and sex 
                discrimination in the delivery of humanitarian supplies 
                and services.
                    (B) To direct humanitarian assistance to the large 
                population of widows and their children who are in need 
                in war-torn Afghanistan.
                    (C) To provide emergency shelters, food, 
                sanitation, health care, and other relief services to 
                internally displaced women and their families.
                    (D) To support the return of refugees and 
                internally displaced persons, the majority of whom are 
                women and children, to their home areas.
                    (E) To provide security measures, such as building 
                improvements and staffing, for the purpose of 
                preventing violent attacks to schools that educate 
                girls and to repair or replace equipment and facilities 
                of a school that is subject to such an attack.
                    (F) To improve security for women in the Loya Jirga 
                and for women who exercise their right to register to 
                vote and to participate in elections.
                    (G) To provide security for women's centers for the 
                purpose of enabling women to participate in meetings, 
                discussions, and programs regarding the constitution, 
                elections, and women's rights.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PROVISIONS OF ASSISTANCE.

    It is the sense of Congress that, in providing assistance under 
this Act, the President should--
            (1) condition the provision such assistance on the 
        recipient adhering to international standards for women's 
        rights and human rights;
            (2) place a high priority on the provision of such 
        assistance to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs, the 
        Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, and other agencies 
        of the Government of Afghanistan that are able to implement 
        programs to improve the lives and advance the rights of women;
            (3) place a high priority on the provision of such 
        assistance that will be used to provide to training and 
        capacity-building programs in Afghanistan;
            (4) ensure that such assistance is distributed throughout 
        different regions of Afghanistan on the basis of need;
            (5) place a high priority on the provision of such 
        assistance to non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan 
        that have demonstrated experience in delivering services to 
        Afghan women and children and that are--
                    (A) led by women; or
                    (B) located in Afghanistan; and
            (6) ensure that of the assistance made available under this 
        Act in each fiscal year not less than 25 percent of such 
        assistance is provided to non-governmental organizations that 
        are--
                    (A) led by women; and
                    (B) located in Afghanistan.

SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Requirement for Report.--Not less than once every 6 months, the 
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency 
for International Development shall submit a report to the appropriate 
congressional committees on the activities carried out under this Act. 
Such report shall include the amount of assistance provided under this 
Act to--
            (1) the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs;
            (2) other ministries of the Government of Afghanistan;
            (3) the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission;
            (4) Afghan nonprofit organizations;
            (5) international nonprofit organizations; and
            (6) United Nations agencies.
    (b) Initial Report.--The initial report required under subsection 
(a) shall be submitted not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (c) Termination of Requirement.--Subsection (a) shall be effective 
during the 3 year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 
Act.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section the term 
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on International 
Relations of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
President $300,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 
2007 to carry out the provisions of this Act, of which--
            (1) $20,000,000 is authorized to be available to the Afghan 
        Ministry of Women's Affairs for each such fiscal year; and
            (2) $10,000,000 is authorized to be available to the Afghan 
        Independent Human Rights Commission for each such fiscal year.
    (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended.
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