[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 89 (Thursday, June 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3822-S3823]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1747. Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. Ayotte) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1463 proposed by Mr.
McCain to the bill H.R. 1735, to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2016 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for
military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for
such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on
the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle A of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1209. SUPPORT FOR SECURITY OF AFGHAN WOMEN AND GIRLS.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Through the sacrifice and dedication of members of the
Armed Forces, civilian personnel, and our Afghan partners as
well as the American people's generous investment, oppressive
Taliban rule has given way to a nascent democracy in
Afghanistan. It is in our national security interest to help
prevent Afghanistan from ever again becoming a safe haven and
training ground for international terrorism and to solidify
and preserve the gains our men and women in uniform fought so
hard to establish.
(2) The United States through its National Action Plan on
Women, Peace, and Security has made firm commitments to
support the
[[Page S3823]]
human rights of the women and girls of Afghanistan. The
National Action Plan states that ``the engagement and
protection of women as agents of peace and stability will be
central to United States efforts to promote security,
prevent, respond to, and resolve conflict, and rebuild
societies''.
(3) As stated in the Department of Defense's October 2014
Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in
Afghanistan, the Department of Defense and the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ``maintain a robust program
dedicated to improving the recruitment, retention, and
treatment of women in the Afghan National Security Forces
(ANSF), and to improving the status of Afghan women in
general''.
(4) According to the Department of Defense's October 2014
Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in
Afghanistan, the ``Afghan MoI showed significant support for
women in the MoI and is taking steps to protect and empower
female police and female MoI staff''. Although some positive
steps have been made, progress remains slow to reach the
MoI's goal of recruiting 10,000 women in the Afghan National
Police (ANP) in the next 10 years.
(5) According to Inclusive Security, women only make up
approximately 1 percent of the Afghan National Police. There
are about 2,200 women serving in the police force, fewer than
the goal of 5,000 women set by the Government of Afghanistan.
(6) According to the International Crisis Group, there are
not enough female police officers to staff all provincial
Family Response Units (FRUs). United Nations Assistance
Mission Afghanistan and the Office of the High Commissioner
for Refugees found that ``in the absence of Family Response
Units or visible women police officers, women victims almost
never approach police stations willingly, fearing they will
be arrested, their reputations stained or worse''.
(b) Sense of Congress on Promotion of Security of Afghan
Women.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) it is in the national security interests of the United
States to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a safe
haven and training ground for international terrorism;
(2) as an important part of a strategy to achieve this
objective and to help Afghanistan achieve its full potential,
the United States Government should continue to regularly
press the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
to commit to the meaningful inclusion of women in the
political, economic, and security transition process and to
ensure that women's concerns are fully reflected in relevant
negotiations;
(3) the United States Government and the Government of
Afghanistan should reaffirm their commitment to supporting
Afghan civil society, including women's organizations, as
agreed to during the meeting between the International
Community and the Government of Afghanistan on the Tokyo
Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF) in July 2013;
(4) the United States Government should continue to support
and encourage efforts to recruit and retain women in the
Afghan National Security Forces, who are critical to the
success of NATO's Resolute Support Mission and future
Enduring Partnership mission; and
(5) the United States should bid on no less than one gender
advisor billet within the Resolute Support Mission Gender
Advisory Unit and continue to work with other countries to
ensure that the Resolute Support Mission Gender Advisory Unit
billets are fully staffed.
(c) Plan to Promote Security of Afghan Women.--
(1) Reporting requirement.--The Secretary of Defense, in
conjunction with the Secretary of State, shall include in the
report required under section 1225 of the Carl Levin and
Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-291; 128 Stat. 3550)--
(A) an assessment of the security of Afghan women and
girls, including information regarding efforts to increase
the recruitment and retention of women in the ANSF; and
(B) an assessment of the implementation of the plans for
the recruitment, integration, retention, training, treatment,
and provision of appropriate facilities and transportation
for women in the ANSF, including the challenges associated
with such implementation and the steps being taken to address
those challenges.
(2) Plan required.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of Defense shall, in
coordination with the Secretary of State, to the extent
practicable, support the efforts of the Government of
Afghanistan to promote the security of Afghan women and girls
during and after the security transition process through the
development and implementation by the Government of
Afghanistan of an Afghan-led plan that should include the
elements described in this paragraph.
(B) Training.--The Secretary of Defense, working with the
NATO-led Resolute Support mission should encourage the
Government of Afghanistan to develop--
(i) measures for the evaluation of the effectiveness of
existing training for Afghan National Security Forces on this
issue;
(ii) a plan to increase the number of female security
officers specifically trained to address cases of gender-
based violence, including ensuring the Afghan National
Police's Family Response Units (FRUs) have the necessary
resources and are available to women across Afghanistan;
(iii) mechanisms to enhance the capacity for units of
National Police's Family Response Units to fulfill their
mandate as well as indicators measuring the operational
effectiveness of these units;
(iv) a plan to address the development of accountability
mechanisms for ANA and ANP personnel who violate codes of
conduct related to the human rights of women and girls,
including female members of the ANSF; and
(v) a plan to develop training for the ANA and the ANP to
increase awareness and responsiveness among ANA and ANP
personnel regarding the unique security challenges women
confront when serving in those forces.
(C) Enrollment and treatment.--The Secretary of Defense, in
cooperation with the Afghan Ministries of Defense and
Interior, shall seek to assist the Government of Afghanistan
in including as part of the plan developed under subparagraph
(A) the development and implementation of a plan to increase
the number of female members of the ANA and ANP and to
promote their equal treatment, including through such steps
as providing appropriate equipment, modifying facilities, and
ensuring literacy and gender awareness training for recruits.
(D) Allocation of funds.--
(i) In general.--Of the funds available to the Department
of Defense for the Afghan Security Forces Fund for Fiscal
Year 2016, no less than $10,000,000 should be used for the
recruitment, integration, retention, training, and treatment
of women in the ANSF as well as the recruitment, training,
and contracting of female security personnel for future
elections.
(ii) Types of programs and activities.--Such programs and
activities may include--
(I) efforts to recruit women into the ANSF, including the
special operations forces;
(II) programs and activities of the Afghan Ministry of
Defense Directorate of Human Rights and Gender Integration
and the Afghan Ministry of Interior Office of Human Rights,
Gender and Child Rights;
(III) development and dissemination of gender and human
rights educational and training materials and programs within
the Afghan Ministry of Defense and the Afghan Ministry of
Interior;
(IV) efforts to address harassment and violence against
women within the ANSF;
(V) improvements to infrastructure that address the
requirements of women serving in the ANSF, including
appropriate equipment for female security and police forces,
and transportation for policewomen to their station
(VI) support for ANP Family Response Units; and
(VII) security provisions for high-profile female police
and army officers.
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