[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 144 (Thursday, September 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5065-S5066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 822. Mr. BOOKER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 2810, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2018 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
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 F of title XII, add the following:
SEC. ____. STRATEGY TO IMPROVE DEFENSE INSTITUTIONS AND
SECURITY SECTOR FORCES IN NIGERIA.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that contains a
comprehensive strategy to support improvements in defense
institutions and security sector forces in Nigeria.
(b) Matters to Be Included.--The report required by
subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) An assessment of the threats posed by terrorist and
other militant groups operating in Nigeria, including Boko
Haram, ISIS-WA, and Niger Delta militants, as well as a
description of the origins, strategic aims, tactical methods,
funding sources, and leadership structures of each such
organization.
(2) An assessment of efforts by the Government of Nigeria
to improve civilian protection, accountability for human
rights violations, and transparency in the defense
institutions and security sector forces.
(3) A plan for the United States Government to work with
the Nigerian defense institutions and security sector forces
to improve professionalism, civilian protection, detainee
conditions, and transparency.
(4) A description of the key international and United
States security and economic resources available to improve
Nigerian defense institutions and security forces to address
instability across Nigeria, and a plan to maximize the
coordination and effectiveness of these resources.
[[Page S5066]]
(5) An assessment of efforts undertaken by the security
forces of the Government of Nigeria to improve the protection
of civilians in the context of--
(A) ongoing military operations against Boko Haram in the
northeast region;
(B) addressing farmer-herder land disputes in the Middle
Belt;
(C) renewed militant attacks on oil and gas infrastructure
in the Delta; and
(D) addressing pro-Biafra protests in the southeast region.
(6) An assessment of the effectiveness of the Civilian
Joint Task Force that has been operating in parts of
northeastern Nigeria in order to ensure that underage youth
are not participating in government-sponsored vigilante
activity in violation of the Child Soldiers Accountability
Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-340).
(7) An assessment of the Government of Nigeria's plan to
eventually incorporate the Civilian Joint Task Force into
Nigeria's military or law enforcement agencies or reintegrate
its members into civilian life.
(8) A plan for the United States Government to improve the
capacity of the Nigerian military and judiciary to
transparently investigate human rights violations committed
by the security forces of the Government of Nigeria and other
security forces operating in Nigeria that have involved
civilian casualties, and to undertake tangible measures of
accountability following such investigations in order to
break the cycle of conflict.
(9) A plan for the United States Government to work with
the Nigerian military, international organizations, and
nongovernmental organizations to transition the humanitarian
response to the food insecurity and population displacement
in northeastern Nigeria from a military led effort to
civilian organizations.
(10) Any other matters the President considers appropriate.
(c) Updates.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which
the report required under subsection (a) is submitted to the
appropriate congressional committees, and annually thereafter
for 5 years, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees an update of the report containing
updated assessments and evaluations on progress made on the
plans described in the report, including--
(1) updated assessments on the information described in
paragraphs (2), (4), and (6) of subsection (a); and
(2) descriptions of the steps taken and outcomes achieved
under each of the plans described in paragraphs (7), (8),
(9), and (10) of subsection (a), as well as assessments of
the effectiveness and descriptions of the metrics used to
evaluate effectiveness for each such plan.
(d) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) and the
updates required under (c) shall be submitted in unclassified
form, but may include a classified annex.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the congressional defense committees;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and
(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Permanent
Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives.
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