[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4423 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4423

   To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of security, human 
          rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 18, 2005

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To encourage and facilitate the consolidation of security, human 
          rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia.

    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 ``Ethiopia Consolidation Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

     It is the policy of the United States to support the advancement 
of human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in the Federal 
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in concert with United States security 
interests, in order to better enable Ethiopia to play a leading role in 
participating with the United States and other countries in fostering 
stability, democracy, and economic development in Africa.

SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN ETHIOPIA.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Despite improvements in its human rights record, as 
        noted by the Department of State in its 2004 Country Reports on 
        Human Rights Practices, the Government of the Federal 
        Democratic Republic of Ethiopia continues to violate the 
        internationally-established rights of its citizens, including 
        unlawful killings by security forces (including the June 2005 
        shootings by government security forces of more than 40 
        election demonstrators), arbitrary or politically-motivated 
        arrests, long detentions without charge or trial and beatings 
        and torture, with human rights violations increasing in the 
        aftermath of the May 15, 2005, elections and subsequent 
        protests of suspected election fraud.
            (2) According to the 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights 
        Practices, the Ethiopian judiciary has demonstrated encouraging 
        signs of independence, but the justice system--from the police 
        to the courts to the prisons--remains inadequate and does not 
        effectively uphold the human and civil rights of the citizens 
        of Ethiopia.
            (3) According to the Department of State's International 
        Religious Freedom Report for 2004, Ethiopia generally provides 
        for freedom of religion, although local authorities continue to 
        infringe on this right.
            (4) The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 
        Ethiopia continues to imprison journalists and the Government 
        of Ethiopia continues to refuse to revise a repressive media 
        bill that further endangers the right to free speech.
            (5) Because literacy in Ethiopia is less than 50 percent, 
        broadcasting is a key source of information for citizens, but 
        the Ethiopian Government has delayed accepting licenses for 
        private radio or television since a licensing law was passed in 
        1999, leaving the Ethiopian Broadcasting Service as a radio and 
        television monopoly and infringing on freedom of information.
    (b) Support for Human Rights Training.--The President, acting 
through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, shall revise the Agency's country plan for Ethiopia to 
provide support for capacity building for more effective independent 
human rights monitoring operations in Ethiopia and provide training for 
government officials on international human rights standards.
    (c) Training for Police, Security, and Prison Personnel.--The 
President, acting through the head of the International Criminal 
Investigative Training Assistance Program of the Department of Justice, 
shall provide necessary training for Ethiopian police, security, and 
prison personnel in recognizing and maintaining international standards 
for arresting and interrogating suspects and otherwise handling 
prisoners and detainees.
    (d) Training for Court System Personnel.--The President, acting 
through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, shall support programs directed at increasing the 
independence and competence of the Ethiopian judicial system, 
especially training for Ethiopian court personnel on handling suspects 
and defendants throughout the pre-trial and trial process in order to 
ensure their human and civil rights as defined by international 
accords.
    (e) Free Media.--The President, Secretary of State, and other 
relevant officials of the Government of the United States, shall 
encourage the Government of Ethiopia to abide by its own laws and 
ensure the open and transparent licensing of independent radio and 
television and use all available means to support the establishment of 
independent radio and television as means of broadening the access of 
average citizens to information.

SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIZATION IN ETHIOPIA.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic 
        Front has held power through three improving general elections 
        since the overthrow of the government of President Mengistu 
        Hailemariam in 1991.
            (2) Human Rights Watch has reported the harassment, 
        detention, and even torture of critics of the Government of the 
        Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, especially in the 
        Oromia region of Ethiopia, ostensibly to silence political 
        opponents.
            (3) The European Union election observers in the May 15, 
        2005, elections accused the Government of Ethiopia of employing 
        ``hate speech'' and listed acts of violence and intimidation in 
        a letter to the National Electoral Board.
            (4) The Government of Ethiopia on March 30, 2005, expelled 
        three internationally respected United States nongovernmental 
        organizations--the International Republican Institute, the 
        National Democratic Institute, and the International Foundation 
        for Electoral Systems--that were promoting democratic 
        development, ostensibly due to their failure to register for 
        such activities.
            (5) Complaints about the conduct of the May 15, 2005, 
        elections were lodged by the main opposition coalition and the 
        ruling party in 299 of Ethiopia's 547 constituencies, but more 
        than 90 percent of opposition party filings were thrown out by 
        the Ethiopian agency investigating electoral complaints, while 
        only 10 percent of ruling party complaints have been found to 
        be unsubstantiated.
            (6) International election observers reported the turnout 
        of millions of eligible voters in the May 15, 2005, elections, 
        further confirming the desire of the citizens of Ethiopia to 
        express their political will through the ballot.
            (7) The Government of Ethiopia failed to meet its stated 
        July 8, 2005, deadline for releasing full results of the May 
        15, 2005, elections and continues to refuse to release 
        customary detailed results of balloting, creating ongoing 
        uncertainty and suspicion about the validity of the election.
    (b) Transparency of Election Results.--Congress urges the 
Government of Ethiopia to allow and facilitate a transparent review of 
the May 15, 2005, election results and to support a legal review of 
those results that are credibly shown to be questionable.
    (c) Readmittance of United States Democracy Organizations.--
Congress urges the Government of Ethiopia to readmit the International 
Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and the 
International Foundation for Electoral Systems which were expelled 
prior to the May 15, 2005, elections and expeditiously work out any 
legitimate issues involving their registration.
    (d) Training of Political Parties and Civil Society Election 
Observers.--In order to better ensure continued progress in the conduct 
of the electoral process in Ethiopia, the President, acting through the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, shall revise the Agency's country plan for Ethiopia to 
provide support for training political parties on organization building 
and message development and for training political parties and civil 
society groups in election monitoring.
    (e) Facilitation of Equitable Electoral Environment.--As part of 
its support for democratization in Ethiopia, the President, acting 
through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, shall provide assistance to facilitate ongoing 
communication between political parties and the Government of Ethiopia 
through the National Electoral Board in order to address issues 
involving delimitation of constituencies, voter registration, party 
registration, candidate registration, and related matters to ensure the 
credibility of the next election in Ethiopia.

SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ETHIOPIA.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the World Bank Institute's governance 
        ratings for 2004, the rating of the Federal Democratic Republic 
        of Ethiopia is measurably worse than its last rating in 2002 in 
        government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and control of 
        corruption, which examine a government's capacity to formulate 
        and implement economic policies.
            (2) The 2005 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Ethiopia's 
        economy as mostly unfree, largely due to a cumbersome 
        bureaucracy that deters investment, a judicial system that does 
        not offer sufficient protection of property rights, and a 
        system of higher tariffs on imported products.
            (3) The U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service reports in its 
        2005 country commercial guide for Ethiopia that Ethiopia's 
        continuing refusal to alter its policy of considering all land 
        to be public property that can only be leased and not owned 
        prevents financing of ventures in which land would be 
        collateral for a loan and also makes investors vulnerable to 
        smallholders claiming the right to use part of their land.
            (4) Members of the Ethiopian diaspora in the United States 
        have accused the Government of Ethiopia of failing to live up 
        to promises of repatriation of property confiscated by the 
        Mengistu government, and in some cases, allowing others to 
        profit from these seized properties.
            (5) According to Ethiopia's poverty reduction strategy 
        paper, its per capita income is among the lowest of even least 
        developed countries, and poverty is widespread, affecting 
        nearly half the country's population in both urban and rural 
        areas.
            (6) Lack of water is a major reason for the cause of 
        famine, but the dire situation in Ethiopia's agriculture sector 
        is exacerbated by Ethiopian Government policies, including its 
        refusal to allow private ownership of land, excessive taxation 
        of farmers, and the high cost of fertilizer sold by companies 
        affiliated with the Ethiopian Government.
    (b) Economic Policy Assistance.--Utilizing training and other 
technical assistance programs offered by the Department of the 
Treasury, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and the 
Department of Justice, the President shall assist the Government of 
Ethiopia in developing policies that will address key economic 
obstacles, including such areas as budgeting, taxation, debt 
management, bank supervision, and anti-money laundering, that inhibit 
private sector development and limit participation in donor programs 
such as the United States Millennium Challenge Account.
    (c) Resource Policy Assistance.--The President, acting through the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, shall provide assistance for sustainable development of 
Ethiopia's Nile and Awash River resources, including assistance to help 
Ethiopia with the technology necessary for the construction of dams, 
irrigation systems, and hydroelectric power that might prevent future 
famine.
    (d) Financing for United States-Ethiopian Commercial Ventures.--The 
President shall use all available financing programs to provide 
adequate financing of United States and Ethiopian commercial ventures, 
including programs of the United States Agency for International 
Development, the Small Business Administration (including the Export 
Express and Export Working Capital programs), the Overseas Private 
Investment Corporation (including the Small Business Center and the 
Small and Medium Enterprise and Structural Finance programs), and the 
Export-Import Bank of the United States (including the Short-Term 
Africa Pilot Program).

SEC. 6. ENSURING GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY, AND 
              ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is an 
        important United States partner in the Horn of Africa region, 
        whose stability is vital to United States interests in East 
        Africa and the Middle East.
            (2) Ethiopia has been a strong United States ally in the 
        fight against global terrorism by its participation in the 
        coalition of the willing in Iraq.
            (3) Ethiopia has a strong military, which has been involved 
        in international peacekeeping operations since the Korean 
        conflict in the 1950s.
            (4) Two ethnically-based opposition groups--the Oromo 
        Liberation Front and the Ogadeni National Liberation Front--
        have been committed to waging an armed struggle against the 
        Government of Ethiopia, but the incidence of actual armed 
        attacks has been limited and sporadic.
            (5) Historically a nation with a large Christian majority, 
        Ethiopia has experienced significant growth in its Muslim 
        population, and Christians and Muslims for the first time are 
        nearly equal in numbers, which places this key East African 
        nation on a religious fault line that will require proactive 
        efforts to minimize conflict.
    (b) Suspension of Joint Security Activities.--
            (1) Suspension.--The President shall suspend all joint 
        security activities of the Government of the United States with 
        the Government of Ethiopia, including activities through the 
        U.S. East Africa Counterterrorism Initiative until such time as 
        the certification described in paragraph (2) is made in 
        accordance with such paragraph.
            (2) Certification.--The certification described in this 
        subsection is a certification by the President to Congress that 
        the Government of Ethiopia is observing international standards 
        of human rights and enforcing the principle of the rule of law, 
        especially by conducting a credible investigation of the 
        killing of civilian protesters by security forces, as well as 
        trying or releasing detainees and granting access for detainees 
        to their families, counsel, and the International Red Cross.
    (c) Resolution of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Dispute.--
            (1) Declaration of policy.--Congress declares that the 
        current stalemate in the border dispute between Ethiopia and 
        Eritrea has the potential to lead to conflict and must be 
        addressed.
            (2) Prohibition on assistance.--
                    (A) Prohibition.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), funds available to any department of 
                agency of the Government of the United States may not 
                be made available for assistance for the central 
                Governments of Ethiopia or Eritrea unless the Secretary 
                of State certifies and reports to the Committee on 
                Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate that the 
                central Government of Ethiopia or Eritrea, as the case 
                may be, is taking steps to comply with the terms of the 
                Algiers Agreements.
                    (B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) does not apply to 
                assistance for democracy, rule of law, peacekeeping 
                programs and activities, child survival and health, 
                basic education, and agriculture programs.
    (d) Democracy Enhancement.--
            (1) Assistance.--United States technical assistance for 
        democracy promotion in Ethiopia may be made available to the 
        ruling party as well as opposition parties in Ethiopia.
            (2) Restriction.--
                    (A) In general.--Non-essential United States 
                assistance may not be made available to the Government 
                of Ethiopia if the Government of Ethiopia acts to 
                obstruct United States technical assistance for 
                opposition parties in Ethiopia.
                    (B) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term ``non-
                essential United States assistance'' means assistance 
                under any provision of law, other than humanitarian 
                assistance, assistance under emergency food programs, 
                assistance to combat HIV/AIDS, and other health care 
                assistance, including assistance for fistula treatment, 
                health service planning, training, delivery and 
                reporting, post-partum hemorrhage, safe motherhood, and 
                abandonment of harmful traditional practices.
    (e) Support for OLF Reintegration.--In light of recent reports that 
the Oromo Liberation Front in Ethiopia may be prepared to abandon its 
armed struggle and participate in the democratic process, it is the 
sense of Congress that the Government of the United States should 
encourage the Government of Ethiopia to take advantage of this 
opportunity to enter into discussions with the Oromo Liberation Front 
to bring them into full participation in the political and economic 
affairs of Ethiopia, including their legalization as a political party, 
and the Government of the United States should provide such assistance 
as is warranted and necessary to help achieve this goal.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

     Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the President shall transmit a report to Congress on the 
implementation of this Act, including a description of a comprehensive 
plan to address the security, human rights, democratization, and 
economic freedom concerns that potentially threaten the stability of 
the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008.
    (b) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) are authorized to 
remain available until expended.
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