[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 261 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 261

   Reaffirming the importance of diplomacy and development in United 
 States-African Union relations, promoting strategic partnerships and 
shared objectives between the United States and the African Union, and 
  expressing strong support for the successful implementation of the 
                  African Continental Free Trade Area.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 28, 2023

  Ms. Kamlager-Dove (for herself, Mr. Allred, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Dean of 
    Pennsylvania, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Moore of 
     Wisconsin, Mr. Evans, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Carson, Ms. Lee of 
   California, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Horsford, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. 
Castro of Texas, Mr. Payne, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, 
Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Keating, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Omar, 
Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Sherman, and Mr. 
  Jackson of Illinois) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Reaffirming the importance of diplomacy and development in United 
 States-African Union relations, promoting strategic partnerships and 
shared objectives between the United States and the African Union, and 
  expressing strong support for the successful implementation of the 
                  African Continental Free Trade Area.

Whereas, since the formation of the African Union in July 2002, succeeding the 
        Organization of African Unity founded in 1963, the African Union has set 
        out notable goals to foster peace and security, socioeconomic 
        development and growth, democratic and accountable governance, and 
        economic engagement and investment across the continent and its member 
        States;
Whereas the United States Government recognized the African Union as an 
        international organization in 2005, and initiated the United States 
        Mission to the African Union in 2006, making the United States the first 
        non-African country to establish a diplomatic mission to the African 
        Union;
Whereas the United States has collaborated with the African Union since 2002, 
        and in 2010, the United States and the African Union held their first 
        bilateral meeting of senior officials, which sought to strengthen mutual 
        United States-African Union interests, promote shared values in a new 
        strategic partnership, and foster cooperation on a range of issues, 
        notably those relating to peace and security, democratic governance, 
        economic growth, public health, and food security in Africa;
Whereas the Department of State continues to maintain robust relations with the 
        African Union through the annual United States-African Union Commission 
        High-Level Dialogue between the Secretary of State and Chairperson of 
        the African Union Commission in addition to sub-cabinet officials across 
        the United States Government and their African Union counterparts, and 
        the eighth annual dialogue in March 2022 reaffirmed both parties' 
        commitment to collaboration on issues of global concern;
Whereas the second United States-Africa Leaders Summit was held in December 2022 
        and affirmed renewed United States engagement with the African 
        Continent, including in areas related to peace and security, public 
        health and infectious disease outbreaks, food security, human rights, 
        and economic development;
Whereas the African Union has mobilized peacekeeping missions to regions on the 
        continent experiencing conflict and in 2018 revitalized the Peace Fund 
        through which its member states will finance African peace and security 
        operations;
Whereas the United States has provided security support to the African Union 
        Commission Peace Support Operations Division and 23 African nations;
Whereas the United States supports the African Union's Agenda 2063 goal of 
        fostering improved education on the continent and the development of the 
        next generation of African leaders through support for basic and 
        secondary education, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and 
        people-to-people ties through cultural and educational exchange programs 
        benefitting Africa's youth and young Americans seeking to enhance their 
        understanding of the continent;
Whereas the United States continues to support the member States of the African 
        Union through various longstanding global health initiatives, including 
        the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President's 
        Malaria Initiative, and efforts to combat infectious disease outbreaks 
        and build the capacity of health systems to benefit the health and well-
        being of hundreds of millions of Africans;
Whereas the United States partnered with the African Union to establish the 
        Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and 
        remains strongly committed to assisting the Africa CDC in its fight 
        against COVID-19 and other infectious disease outbreaks;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting border closures, travel and 
        commercial activity restrictions, and supply chain challenges shrunk 
        African economic output by $95 billion in 2020 alone according to the 
        International Monetary Fund, highlighting the need for the African Union 
        and its member States to expand their capacities to mitigate future 
        economic shocks through self-reliance and regional economic integration;
Whereas the United States African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiated 
        and expanded trade with four-fifths of sub-Saharan African countries 
        since its enactment in 2001 and established an important instrument for 
        engaging African nations on issues of trade, capacity building, good 
        governance, human rights protections, and economic growth and job 
        creation in the United States and Africa;
Whereas the African Union's formation in 2018 of the African Continental Free 
        Trade Area (AfCFTA) has created the world's largest trade bloc by number 
        of countries with the potential to substantially boost economic growth, 
        create economic opportunities for women and youth, promote significant 
        commercial investment, and fundamentally transform and expand economic 
        engagement on the continent;
Whereas the World Bank estimates that full implementation of the AfCFTA could: 
        surge Africa's cumulative GDP by approximately $450 billion--with most 
        of those gains coming from streamlining the cost and efficiency of 
        customs procedures, raise the total value of Africa's exports in goods 
        and services by $560 billion (40 percent of which will be from intra-
        African trade), lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty, boost 
        the wages of African women and unskilled workers in particular, and 
        enhance manufacturing production while increasing the rest of the 
        world's GDP by $76 billion;
Whereas the Department of State, United States Agency for International 
        Development, and other United States development agencies have 
        facilitated private sector investment and United States commercial 
        engagement in Africa through interagency initiatives such as Power 
        Africa and Prosper Africa, and continue to promote regional integration 
        in sectors such as technology, infrastructure, transportation, 
        telecommunications, and energy; and
Whereas the United States recognizes the importance of the strategic partnership 
        between the United States and the African Union and is committed to 
        advancing their continued mutually advantageous cooperation, including 
        by promoting and expanding economic engagement with and within Africa: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) notes the African Union's efforts toward strengthening 
        political and governance institutions across the continent and 
        encourages the African Union and its member countries to 
        prioritize and advance political and economic reforms which 
        uphold human rights, combat corruption, create an enabling 
        business climate for private sector investment, and promote 
        transparent and accountable governance;
            (2) affirms the sustained use of diplomacy and multilateral 
        engagement with the African Union and its member countries on 
        areas of mutual benefit to African countries and the United 
        States and calls for urgent efforts to explore expanded 
        partnerships with the African Union and its member countries to 
        promote security and stability, strengthen economic engagement, 
        and address infectious disease outbreaks, humanitarian crises, 
        and food insecurity;
            (3) supports the strengthening of technical and operational 
        capacities of the African Union and sub-regional organizations 
        to effectively address peace and security challenges and 
        mobilize African resources to bolster continent-led 
        stabilization missions;
            (4) underscores the significance of the African Union's 
        promotion of inclusive regional economic development, 
        initiation of the AfCFTA, and advancement of continental 
        economic integration;
            (5) supports efforts to partner with the AfCFTA Secretariat 
        and African Union to facilitate the implementation of the 
        AfCFTA, including by building regional capacity and encouraging 
        commercial investment, deeper economic ties, and public-private 
        partnerships; and
            (6) encourages President Biden and Secretary Blinken to 
        carry out the commitments from the United States-Africa Leaders 
        Summit, including initiatives to bolster trade, investment, and 
        inclusive economic growth, elevate diplomatic engagement, 
        combat food insecurity and climate change, invest in 
        technological innovation and health care, protect democracy, 
        and promote peace and security.
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