[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2779 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2779

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To amend the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.

    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 ``Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic 
Recovery Amendment Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. RECONSTRUCTION AND REBUILDING OF ZIMBABWE.

    Section 2 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 
2001 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note; Public Law 107-99) is amended by striking 
``and restore the rule of law'' and inserting ``restore the rule of 
law, reconstruct and rebuild Zimbabwe, and come to terms with the past 
through a process of genuine reconciliation that acknowledges past 
human rights abuses and orders inquiries into disappearances, including 
the disappearance of human rights activists, such as Patrick Nabanyama, 
Itai Dzamara, and Paul Chizuze''.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Section 4(a) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 
2001 is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``costly deployment of 
        troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo'' and inserting 
        ``private appropriation of public assets''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) In October 2016, the Government of Zimbabwe cleared a 
        small hurdle in its longstanding public sector arrears with the 
        IMF.''.

SEC. 4. PROVISIONS RELATED TO MULTILATERAL DEBT RELIEF AND OTHER 
              FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

    Section 4(b)(2) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act 
of 2001 is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``to propose that the 
        bank should undertake a review of the feasibility of 
        restructuring, rescheduling, or eliminating the sovereign debt 
        of Zimbabwe held by that bank'' and inserting ``to support 
        efforts to reevaluate plans to restructure, rebuild, 
        reschedule, or eliminate Zimbabwe's sovereign debt held by that 
        bank and provide an analysis based on reasonable financial 
        options to achieve those goals''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``dollar'' and 
        inserting ``currency''.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE UNITED STATES-ZIMBABWE BILATERAL 
              RELATIONSHIP.

    It is the sense of Congress that the United States should seek to 
forge a stronger bilateral relationship with Zimbabwe, including in the 
areas of trade and investment, if the following conditions are 
satisfied:
            (1) The Government of Zimbabwe takes the concrete, tangible 
        steps outlined in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 4(d) of 
        the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, as 
        amended by section 6 of this Act.
            (2) The Government of Zimbabwe takes concrete, tangible 
        steps towards--
                    (A) good governance, including respect for the 
                opposition, rule of law, and human rights;
                    (B) economic reforms that promote growth, address 
                unemployment and underdevelopment, restore livelihoods, 
                ensure respect for contracts and private property 
                rights, and promote significant progress toward 
                monetary policy reforms, particularly with the Reserve 
                Bank of Zimbabwe, and currency exchange reforms; and
                    (C) identification and recovery of stolen private 
                and public assets within Zimbabwe and in other 
                countries.
            (3) The Government of Zimbabwe holds an election that is 
        widely accepted as free and fair, based on the following pre- 
        and post-election criteria or conditions:
                    (A) Establishment and public release, without cost, 
                of a provisional and a final voter registration roll.
                    (B) The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is permitted 
                to entirely carry out the functions assigned to it 
                under section 239 of Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution in an 
                independent manner, and the chairperson meets and 
                consults regularly with representatives of political 
                parties represented in the parliament of Zimbabwe and 
                the parties contesting the elections.
                    (C) Consistent with Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution, 
                the Defence Forces of Zimbabwe--
                            (i) are neither permitted to actively 
                        participate in campaigning for any candidate 
                        nor to intimidate voters;
                            (ii) are required to verifiably and 
                        credibly uphold their constitutionally-mandated 
                        duty to respect the fundamental rights and 
                        freedoms of all persons and to be nonpartisan 
                        in character; and
                            (iii) are not permitted to print, transfer, 
                        or control ballots or transmit the results of 
                        elections.
                    (D) International observers, including observers 
                from the United States, the African Union, the Southern 
                African Development Community, and the European Union--
                            (i) are permitted to observe the entire 
                        electoral process prior to, on, and following 
                        voting day, including by monitoring polling 
                        stations and tabulation centers; and
                            (ii) are able to independently access and 
                        analyze vote tallying tabulation and the 
                        transmission and content of voting results.
                    (E) Candidates are allowed access to public 
                broadcasting media during the election period, 
                consistent with Zimbabwe's Electoral Act and are able 
                to campaign in an environment that is free from 
                intimidation and violence.
                    (F) Civil society organizations are able to freely 
                and independently carry out voter and civic education 
                and monitor the entire electoral process, including by 
                observing, recording, and transmitting publicly-posted 
                or announced voting results at the ward, constituency, 
                and all higher levels of the vote tallying process.
            (4) Laws enacted prior to the passage of Zimbabwe's March 
        2013 Constitution that are inconsistent with the new 
        Constitution are amended, repealed, or subjected to a formal 
        process for review and correction so that such laws are 
        consistent with the new Constitution.
            (5) The Government of Zimbabwe--
                    (A) has made significant progress on the 
                implementation of all elements of the new Constitution; 
                and
                    (B) has demonstrated its commitment to sustain such 
                efforts in achieving full implementation of the new 
                Constitution.
            (6) Traditional leaders of Zimbabwe observe section 281 of 
        the 2013 Constitution and are not using humanitarian assistance 
        provided by outside donor organizations or countries in a 
        politicized manner to intimidate or pressure voters during the 
        campaign period.

SEC. 6. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 4(d) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 
2001 is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``consistent with'' and 
        all that follows through ``September 1998'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (4); and
            (3) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4).

SEC. 7. REMOVAL OF AUTHORITY TO PAY LAND ACQUISITION COSTS.

    Section 5(a) of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 
2001 is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``, including the payment 
        of costs'' and all that follows through ``thereto; and'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) identify and recover stolen public assets.''.

SEC. 8. INCLUSION OF AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE AFRICAN UNION, 
              AND THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY IN 
              CONSULTATIONS ABOUT ZIMBABWE.

    Section 6 of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 
2001 is amended by inserting ``Australia, the United Kingdom, the 
African Union, the Southern African Development Community,'' after 
``Canada,''.

SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENFORCEMENT OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN 
              DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY TRIBUNAL RULINGS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Government of Zimbabwe and the 
Southern African Development Community (referred to in this section as 
``SADC'') should enforce the SADC tribunal rulings issued between 2007 
to 2010, including 18 disputes involving employment, commercial, and 
human rights cases surrounding dispossessed Zimbabwean commercial 
farmers and agricultural companies.

            Passed the Senate July 25, 2018.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2779

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

   To amend the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.