[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3861 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3861
To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports to Congress
on the assistance provided to Somaliland and to conduct a feasibility
study, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, on establishing a
security partnership with Somaliland, without recognizing Somaliland as
an independent state.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 17, 2022
Mr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Rounds) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports to Congress
on the assistance provided to Somaliland and to conduct a feasibility
study, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, on establishing a
security partnership with Somaliland, without recognizing Somaliland as
an independent state.
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 ``Somaliland Partnership Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) a stronger relationship between the United States and
Somaliland would provide numerous, mutually beneficial,
strategic opportunities due to Somaliland's--
(A) geographic location in the Horn of Africa and
next to the Gulf of Aden;
(B) democratic credentials, including peaceful
transfers of power following elections; and
(C) relative stability in the Horn of Africa;
(2) Somaliland's security situation, level of development,
and other challenges differ significantly from the situation in
Mogadishu and other regions of Somalia, which necessitates--
(A) a different approach to engagement, assistance,
and travel by personnel of the Department of State and
the United States Agency for International Development;
and
(B) the avoidance of a ``one-size-fits-all'' policy
approach to Somalia; and
(3) the status of Somaliland should not serve as an
obstacle for deeper and meaningful cooperation that will serve
the mutual interests of our two governments.
SEC. 3. DEFINED TERM.
In this Act, the term ``Somaliland'' means the territory that--
(1) received its independence from the United Kingdom on
June 26, 1960, before the creation of the Somali Republic;
(2) has been a self-declared independent and sovereign
state since 1991 that is not internationally recognized; and
(3) exists as a semi-autonomous region of the Federal
Republic of Somalia.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND OTHER ACTIVITIES IN
SOMALILAND.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than September 30, 2022, and
annually thereafter until the date that is 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development, shall submit a report to the
appropriate congressional committees that, with respect to the
most recently concluded 12-month period--
(A) describes United States foreign assistance to
Somaliland, including--
(i) the value of such assistance (in United
States dollars);
(ii) the source from which such assistance
was funded;
(iii) the names of the programs through
which such assistance was administered;
(iv) the implementing partners through
which such assistance was provided;
(v) the sponsoring bureau of the United
States Government; and
(vi) if the assistance broadly targeted the
Federal Republic of Somalia, the portion of
such assistance that was--
(I) explicitly intended to support
Somaliland; and
(II) ultimately employed in
Somaliland;
(B) details the staffing and responsibilities of
the Department of State and the United States Agency
for International Development supporting foreign
assistance, diplomatic relations, consular services,
and security initiatives in Somaliland, including the
location of such personnel (duty station) and their
corresponding bureau;
(C) provides--
(i) a detailed account of travel to
Somaliland by employees of the Department of
State and the United States Agency for
International Development, if any, including
the position, duty station, and trip purpose
for each such trip; or
(ii) the justification for not traveling to
Somaliland if no such personnel traveled during
the reporting period;
(D) describes consular services provided by the
Department of State for the residents of Somaliland;
(E) discusses the Department of State's Travel
Advisory for Somalia related to the region of
Somaliland; and
(F) if the Travel Advisory for all or part of
Somaliland is identical to the Travel Advisory for
other regions of Somalia, justifies such ranking based
on a security assessment of the region of Somaliland.
(2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
SEC. 5. FEASIBILITY STUDY ON IMPROVED DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS AND A
SECURITY AND DEFENSE PARTNERSHIP WITH SOMALILAND.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``appropriate
congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Feasibility Study.--The Secretary of State, in coordination
with the Secretary of Defense, shall conduct a feasibility study
regarding the establishment of a partnership between the United States
and Somaliland that--
(1) includes coordination with Somaliland government
security organs, including Somaliland's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Ministry of Defense;
(2) determines opportunities for collaboration in the
pursuit of United States national security interests in the
Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden, and the broader Indo-Pacific
region;
(3) identifies opportunities for United States training of
Somaliland security sector actors to improve their
professionalization and capacity; and
(4) assesses the prospect of establishing a nonprofit
corporation, to be known as the ``American Institute of
Somaliland'', for the purpose of conducting and carrying out
programs, transactions, and other relations with Somaliland in
the City of Hargeisa on behalf of the United States Government.
(c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with
the Secretary of Defense and the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies, shall submit a classified report to the
appropriate congressional committees that contains the results of the
feasibility study required under subsection (b), including an
assessment of the extent to which--
(1) opportunities exist for the United States to support
the training of Somaliland's security sector actors with a
specific focus on counterterrorism and border and maritime
security;
(2) Somaliland's security forces were implicated, if any,
in gross violations of human rights during the 3-year period
immediately preceding the date of the enactment of this Act;
(3) the United States has provided or discussed with
government and military officials of Somaliland the provision
of training to security forces, including--
(A) where such training has occurred;
(B) the extent to which Somaliland security forces
have demonstrated the ability to absorb previous
training; and
(C) the ability of Somaliland security forces to
maintain and appropriately utilize such training, as
applicable;
(4) a United States security and defense partnership with
Somaliland would have a strategic impact, including by
protecting the United States and allied maritime interests in
the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and at Somaliland's Port of Berbera;
(5) Somaliland could--
(A) serve as a maritime gateway in East Africa for
the United States and its allies; and
(B) counter Iran's presence in the Gulf of Aden and
China's growing regional military presence;
(6) a United States security and defense partnership
would--
(A) bolster security and defense cooperation and
capabilities between Somaliland and Taiwan;
(B) stabilize this semi-autonomous region of
Somalia further as a democratic counterweight to anti-
democratic forces in the greater Horn of Africa region;
and
(C) impact the capacity of the United States to
achieve policy objectives in Somalia, particularly to
degrade and ultimately defeat the terrorist threat
posed by Al-Shabaab, the Islamic State in Somalia (the
Somalia-based Islamic State affiliate), and other
terrorist groups operating in Somalia;
(7) the extent to which an improved diplomatic relationship
with Somaliland could--
(A) support United States policy focused on the Red
Sea corridor, the Indo-Pacific region, and the Horn of
Africa;
(B) improve cooperation on counterterrorism and
intelligence sharing;
(C) enable cooperation on counter-trafficking,
including the trafficking of humans, wildlife, weapons,
and illicit goods; and
(D) support trade and development, including how
Somaliland could benefit from Prosper Africa and other
regional trade initiatives.
(d) Form.--The report required under subsection (c) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.
SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, including the reporting requirement under
section 4 and the conduct of the feasibility study under section 5, may
be construed to convey United States recognition of Somaliland as an
independent state.
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