[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 132 (Thursday, August 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4889-S4891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY ACT OF 2017
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 123, S. 1141.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1141) to ensure that the United States promotes
the meaningful participation of women in mediation and
negotiation processes seeking to prevent, mitigate, or
resolve violent conflict.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered
read a third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read
the third time.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the
bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, the bill having
been read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill pass?
The bill (S. 1141) was passed, as follows:
S. 1141
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 ``Women, Peace, and Security
Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Around the world, women remain under-represented in
conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict
peace building efforts.
(2) Women in conflict-affected regions have achieved
significant success in--
(A) moderating violent extremism;
(B) countering terrorism;
(C) resolving disputes through nonviolent mediation and
negotiation; and
(D) stabilizing societies by enhancing the effectiveness of
security services, peacekeeping efforts, institutions, and
decisionmaking processes.
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(3) Research suggests that peace negotiations are more
likely to succeed and to result in durable peace agreements
when women participate in the peace process.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the meaningful participation of women in conflict
prevention and conflict resolution processes helps to promote
more inclusive and democratic societies and is critical to
the long-term stability of countries and regions;
(2) the political participation, and leadership of women in
fragile environments, particularly during democratic
transitions, is critical to sustaining lasting democratic
institutions; and
(3) the United States should be a global leader in
promoting the meaningful participation of women in conflict
prevention, management, and resolution, and post-conflict
relief and recovery efforts.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States to promote the
meaningful participation of women in all aspects of overseas
conflict prevention, management, and resolution, and post-
conflict relief and recovery efforts, reinforced through
diplomatic efforts and programs that--
(1) integrate the perspectives and interests of affected
women into conflict-prevention activities and strategies;
(2) encourage partner governments to adopt plans to improve
the meaningful participation of women in peace and security
processes and decision-making institutions;
(3) promote the physical safety, economic security, and
dignity of women and girls;
(4) support the equal access of women to aid distribution
mechanisms and services;
(5) collect and analyze gender data for the purpose of
developing and enhancing early warning systems of conflict
and violence;
(6) adjust policies and programs to improve outcomes in
gender equality and the empowerment of women; and
(7) monitor, analyze, and evaluate the efforts related to
each strategy submitted under section 5 and the impact of
such efforts.
SEC. 5. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PROMOTE THE PARTICIPATION
OF WOMEN IN CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACE
BUILDING.
(a) Requirement.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and again four years thereafter,
the President, in consultation with the heads of the relevant
Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees and make publicly
available a single government-wide strategy, to be known as
the Women, Peace, and Security Strategy, that provides a
detailed description of how the United States intends to
fulfill the policy objectives in section 4. The strategy
shall--
(1) support and be aligned with plans developed by other
countries to improve the meaningful participation of women in
peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peace
building, transitional processes, and decisionmaking
institutions; and
(2) include specific and measurable goals, benchmarks,
performance metrics, timetables, and monitoring and
evaluation plans to ensure the accountability and
effectiveness of all policies and initiatives carried out
under the strategy.
(b) Specific Plans for Departments and Agencies.--Each
strategy under subsection (a) shall include a specific
implementation plan from each of the relevant Federal
departments and agencies that describes--
(1) the anticipated contributions of the department or
agency, including technical, financial, and in-kind
contributions, to implement the strategy; and
(2) the efforts of the department or agency to ensure that
the policies and initiatives carried out pursuant to the
strategy are designed to achieve maximum impact and long-term
sustainability.
(c) Coordination.--The President should promote the
meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention, in
coordination and consultation with international partners,
including, as appropriate, multilateral organizations,
stakeholders, and other relevant international organizations,
particularly in situations in which the direct engagement of
the United States Government is not appropriate or advisable.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the President, in implementing each strategy submitted under
subsection (a), should--
(1) provide technical assistance, training, and logistical
support to female negotiators, mediators, peace builders, and
stakeholders;
(2) address security-related barriers to the meaningful
participation of women;
(3) encourage increased participation of women in existing
programs funded by the United States Government that provide
training to foreign nationals regarding law enforcement, the
rule of law, or professional military education;
(4) support appropriate local organizations, especially
women's peace building organizations;
(5) support the training, education, and mobilization of
men and boys as partners in support of the meaningful
participation of women;
(6) encourage the development of transitional justice and
accountability mechanisms that are inclusive of the
experiences and perspectives of women and girls;
(7) expand and apply gender analysis, as appropriate, to
improve program design and targeting; and
(8) conduct assessments that include the perspectives of
women regarding new initiatives in support of peace
negotiations, transitional justice and accountability,
efforts to counter violent extremism, or security sector
reform.
SEC. 6. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THE PARTICIPATION OF
WOMEN IN CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACE
BUILDING.
(a) Foreign Service.--The Secretary of State, in
conjunction with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall ensure that all
appropriate personnel (including special envoys, members of
mediation or negotiation teams, relevant members of the civil
service or Foreign Service, and contractors) responsible for
or deploying to countries or regions considered to be at risk
of, undergoing, or emerging from violent conflict obtain
training, as appropriate, in the following areas, each of
which shall include a focus on women and ensuring meaningful
participation by women:
(1) Conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution.
(2) Protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and
trafficking in persons.
(3) International human rights law and international
humanitarian law.
(b) Department of Defense.--The Secretary of Defense shall
ensure that relevant personnel receive training, as
appropriate, in the following areas:
(1) Training in conflict prevention, peace processes,
mitigation, resolution, and security initiatives that
specifically addresses the importance of meaningful
participation by women.
(2) Gender considerations and meaningful participation by
women, including training regarding--
(A) international human rights law and international
humanitarian law, as relevant; and
(B) protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and
trafficking in persons.
(3) Effective strategies and best practices for ensuring
meaningful participation by women.
SEC. 7. CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development may establish guidelines or take other steps to
ensure overseas United States personnel of the Department of
State or the United States Agency for International
Development, as the case may be, consult with appropriate
stakeholders, including local women, youth, ethnic, and
religious minorities, and other politically under-represented
or marginalized populations, regarding United States efforts
to--
(1) prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent conflict; and
(2) enhance the success of mediation and negotiation
processes by ensuring the meaningful participation of women.
(b) Collaboration and Coordination.--The Secretary of State
should work with international, regional, national, and local
organizations to increase the meaningful participation of
women in international peacekeeping operations, and should
promote training that provides international peacekeeping
personnel with the substantive knowledge and skills needed to
ensure effective physical security and meaningful
participation of women in conflict prevention and peace
building.
SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
first submission of a strategy required under section 5, the
Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development and
the Secretary of Defense, shall brief the appropriate
congressional committees on existing, enhanced, or newly
established training carried out pursuant to section 6.
(b) Report on Women, Peace, and Security Strategy.--Not
later than 2 years after the date of the submission of each
strategy required under section 5, the President shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report that--
(1) summarizes and evaluates the implementation of such
strategy and the impact of United States diplomatic efforts
and foreign assistance programs, projects, and activities to
promote the meaningful participation of women;
(2) describes the nature and extent of the coordination
among the relevant Federal departments and agencies on the
implementation of such strategy;
(3) outlines the monitoring and evaluation tools,
mechanisms, and common indicators to assess progress made on
the policy objectives set forth in section 4; and
(4) describes the existing, enhanced, or newly established
training carried out pursuant to section 6.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the of
the House of Representatives.
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(2) Relevant federal departments and agencies.--The term
``relevant Federal departments and agencies'' means--
(A) the United States Agency for International Development;
(B) the Department of State;
(C) the Department of Defense;
(D) the Department of Homeland Security; and
(E) any other department or agency specified by the
President for purposes of this Act.
(3) Stakeholders.--The term ``stakeholders'' means non-
governmental and private sector entities engaged in or
affected by conflict prevention and stabilization, peace
building, protection, security, transition initiatives,
humanitarian response, or related efforts.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________