[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2478 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2478

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 19, 2009

Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Royce, and Mr. Miller of North Carolina) 
 introduced the following bill; which was 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 designated the Lord's 
        Resistance Army as a terrorist organization and 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)).
            (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, 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 711 
        civilians, including 540 children, and the displacement of more 
        than 160,000 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.
            (9) The escalated activity of the Lord's Resistance Army 
        over recent months and the inability of military operations to 
        stop them or protect civilians has perpetuated fears amongst 
        communities in northern Uganda that the rebels could cross back 
        into Uganda in the future, which complicates ongoing recovery 
        efforts.
            (10) 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.
            (11) Since April 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 capacity 
        of the Government of Uganda.
            (12) Continued economic disparities between northern Uganda 
        and the rest of the country and a failure to take meaningful 
        steps toward reconciliation and accountability, if unchanged, 
        risk perpetuating longstanding political grievances and fueling 
        new conflicts.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to work vigorously for a 
lasting resolution to the conflict in northern and eastern Uganda and 
other affected areas by--
            (1) eliminating the threat posed by the Lord's Resistance 
        Army to civilians and regional stability through political, 
        economic, military, and intelligence support for a 
        comprehensive multilateral effort to protect civilians in 
        affected areas, to apprehend or otherwise remove Joseph Kony 
        and his top commanders from the battlefield, and to disarm and 
        demobilize Lord's Resistance Army fighters; and
            (2) further supporting comprehensive reconstruction, 
        transitional justice, and reconciliation efforts 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 REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR DISARMING 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 regional strategy to 
guide United States support for multilateral efforts to protect 
civilians from attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army, to eliminate the 
threat to civilians and regional stability posed by the Lord's 
Resistance Army, and to enforce the rule of law and ensure full 
humanitarian access in LRA-affected areas.
    (b) Content of Strategy.--The strategy should include the 
following:
            (1) A viable plan to protect civilians from attacks by the 
        Lord's Resistance Army and eliminate the threat posed by the 
        Lord's Resistance Army, while building institutions in the 
        affected areas that can help to maintain the rule of law and 
        prevent conflict in the long term.
            (2) An interagency framework to plan, coordinate, and 
        execute all diplomatic economic, intelligence, and military 
        elements of United States policy across the region regarding 
        the Lord's Resistance Army.
            (3) A description of the type and form of diplomatic 
        engagement to work with regional mechanisms, including the 
        Tripartite Plus Commission and the Great Lakes Pact, and to 
        coordinate the implementation of United States policy toward 
        the Lord's Resistance Army across the region.
            (4) A description of how this engagement will fit within 
        the context of broader efforts and policy objectives in the 
        Great Lakes Region.
            (5) A framework to evaluate the progress and effectiveness 
        of the United States strategy toward eliminating the threat 
        posed by the Lord's Resistance Army.
    (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.

    (a) Authority.--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 assistance to respond to the humanitarian needs 
of populations in northeastern Congo, southern Sudan, and Central 
African Republic affected by the activity of the Lord's Resistance 
Army.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 to carry out this 
section.

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, 
        including vocational education and employment opportunities; 
        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 and eastern 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 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, on a bilateral and multilateral 
basis, to increase contributions for recovery efforts in northern 
Uganda and strengthen accountability mechanisms to ensure the 
transparent and timely use of those funds.
    (d) Termination of Assistance.--It is the sense of Congress that 
the Secretary of State should withhold bilateral assistance to the 
Republic of Uganda for the purposes described under this section if the 
Secretary determines that the Government of Uganda is not committed to 
transparent and accountable reconstruction and reconciliation in the 
war-affected areas of northern and eastern Uganda.

SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FOR RECONCILIATION AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN 
              NORTHERN UGANDA.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
President should 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 implement the following 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.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2012 to 
carry out this section.

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 section 5 
        and section 6;
            (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 to take 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, each donor country, and all 
        relevant organizations.

SEC. 9. 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 
        International Relations 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 the territory affected by the activity of the Lord's 
        Resistance Army in the past and as of the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, comprising all or parts of northern Uganda, 
        southern Sudan, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and 
        southeastern Central African Republic.
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