[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1745 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1745
To promote security, stability and good governance in Somalia through a
coordinated interagency strategy that supports the consolidation of
recent security and political gains in Somalia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 20, 2013
Mr. Coons introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote security, stability and good governance in Somalia through a
coordinated interagency strategy that supports the consolidation of
recent security and political gains in Somalia.
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 ``Somalia Stabilization Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Since the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991,
Somalia has struggled to rebuild a government and assert order
and control over warlords, clan militias, and extremist groups.
(2) The lack of functioning state and governing structures
led to chronic humanitarian need within Somalia and enabled
terrorist groups, maritime crime, illicit trafficking, and mass
refugee flows to flourish.
(3) In 2007, the Ethiopian military ousted the Islamic
Courts Union and the United Nations authorized the African
Union to deploy a peacekeeping force to Somalia, the African
Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM), in order to support the
Transitional Federal Government to establish order in Somalia.
AMISOM currently consists of troops from Burundi, Djibouti,
Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.
(4) In 2008, Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (al-Shabaab)
was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist entity by the United States
Government.
(5) In 2010, al-Shabaab took control of southern and
central Somalia and instituted strict Sharia law.
(6) In July 2010, Al-Shabaab retaliated against a
contributor to AMISOM by carrying out an attack in Kampala,
Uganda, which killed 74 people and injured 70 others.
(7) In 2010, in response to growing al-Shabaab dominance
and brutality, the AMISOM mandate was expanded to directly
target and counter al-Shabaab in Somalia.
(8) In 2011 and 2012, when many parts of the country were
suffering from severe food insecurity and famine, al-Shabaab
denied humanitarian access to its residents, resulting in the
death of close to 260,000 people and acute food insecurity for
millions.
(9) In 2011, the Kenyan Defense Force joined AMISOM, to
help take control of urban areas like Mogadishu and Kismayo
from al-Shabaab control.
(10) In 2012, improved security in much of urban Somalia
enabled the Transitional Federal Government to complete a draft
constitution and end its transitional term.
(11) In 2012, a regionally representative Somali
constituent assembly elected a new Federal parliament, which in
turn elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
(12) The United States, Arab and European countries, the
United Nations, and the African Union officially recognized the
new Somali government, citing the process that created it as
being the most credible and inclusive process to date.
(13) On March 6, 2013, the United Nations Security Council
passed Resolution 2093, creating a new exemption to the 21-
year-old arms embargo for a period of 12 months, to allow for
``deliveries of weapons or military equipment or the provision
of advice, assistance or training, intended solely for the
development of the National Security Forces of the Federal
Government of Somalia'', and calling for the training,
equipping, and capacity-building of Somali Security Forces,
including both its armed forces and police, with special focus
on the development of infrastructure to ``ensure the safe
storage, registration, maintenance and distribution of military
equipment,'' and ``procedures and codes of conduct . . . for
the registration, distribution, use, and storage of weapons''.
(14) On May 2, 2013, the United National Security Council
passed Resolution 2102, establishing the United Nations
Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) under the leadership of a
Special Representative of the Secretary-General to support the
Government of Somalia with peace-building, state-building and
governance, as well as the coordination of international
assistance.
(15) Though greeted with great optimism, the Government of
Somalia has run into many challenges, which has stalled its
efforts to finalize the constitution, guide the structure of
the new state, or provide services to the population.
(16) President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his government
have committed to the completion of these tasks and to holding
a constitutional referendum and national election by 2016.
(17) On September 16, 2013, the international community and
a high level Somali delegation endorsed a compact based on the
``New Deal Strategy for Engagement in Fragile States.'' Donors
pledged $2,400,000,000 over three years to support Somali
development priorities, including $69,000,000 from the United
States.
(18) Al Shabaab continues to use terrorist tactics to
attack soft targets. On September 21-24, 2013, al-Shabaab
perpetrated an attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya,
killing at least 67 people.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States should--
(1) support the Somali Federal Government, regional
administrations, Federal units, and people in their ongoing
efforts to consolidate political gains and develop credible,
transparent, and representative government systems and
institutions, and foster complementary processes at the local,
regional, and national levels;
(2) continue to support African-led regional efforts to
improve security and stability in Somalia, including through
the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) and the United
Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM);
(3) support the people and Government of Somalia to develop
professional and regionally and ethnically representative
Somali security forces that are capable of maintaining and
expanding security within Somalia, confronting international
security threats such as terrorism, and preventing human rights
abuses;
(4) continue to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance
as needed, while bolstering resilience and building a
foundation for sustained, inclusive development for the people
of Somalia; and
(5) carry out all diplomatic, economic, intelligence,
military, and development activities in Somalia within the
context of a comprehensive strategy coordinated through an
interagency process.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A STRATEGY TO SUPPORT THE CONSOLIDATION OF
SECURITY AND GOVERNANCE GAINS IN SOMALIA.
(a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a strategy to guide future United
States action in support of the Government and people of Somalia to
foster economic growth and opportunity, counter armed threats to
stability, and develop credible, transparent, and representative
government systems and institutions.
(b) Content of Strategy.--The strategy required under subsection
(a) should include the following elements:
(1) A clearly stated policy toward Somalia on supporting
the consolidation of political gains at the national level,
while also encouraging and supporting complementary processes
at the local and regional levels.
(2) Measures to support the development goals identified by
the people and Government of Somalia.
(3) Plans for strengthening efforts by the Government of
Somalia, the African Union, and regional governments to
stabilize the security situation within Somalia and further
degrade al-Shabaab's capabilities, in order to enable the
eventual transfer of security operations to Somali security
forces capable of--
(A) maintaining and expanding security within
Somalia;
(B) confronting international security threats; and
(C) preventing human rights abuses.
(4) Plans for supporting the development and
professionalization of regionally and ethnically representative
Somali security forces, including the infrastructure and
procedures required to ensure chain of custody and the safe
storage of military equipment and an assessment of the benefits
and risks of the provision of weaponry to the Somali security
forces by the United States.
(5) A description of United States national security
objectives addressed through military-to-military cooperation
activities with Somali security forces.
(6) A description of security risks to United States
personnel conducting security cooperation activities within
Somalia and plans to assist the Somali security forces in
preventing infiltration and insider attacks, including through
the application of lessons learned in United States military
training efforts in Afghanistan.
(7) A description of United States tools for monitoring and
responding to violations of the United Nations Security Council
arms embargo, charcoal ban, and other international agreements
affecting the stability of Somalia.
(8) A description of mechanisms for coordinating United
States military and non-military assistance with other
international donors, regional governments, and relevant
multilateral organizations.
(9) Plans to increase United States diplomatic engagement
with Somalia, including through the future establishment of an
embassy or other diplomatic posts in Mogadishu.
(10) Any other element the President determines
appropriate.
(c) Reports.--Not later than 180 days from the submission of the
strategy required under subsection (a), and annually thereafter for
three years, the President shall submit to the appropriate committees
of Congress an update on implementation of the strategy and progress
made in Somalia in security, stability, development, and governance.
(d) Form.--The strategy under this section shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. The reports may
take the form of a briefing, unclassified report, or unclassified
report with a classified annex.
(e) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed
Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed
Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives.
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