[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69290-69292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28862]


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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

[MCC 11-11]


Report on Countries That Are Candidates for Millennium Challenge 
Account Eligibility in Fiscal Year 2012 and Countries That Would Be 
Candidates But For Legal Prohibitions

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Section 608(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 
requires the Millennium Challenge Corporation to publish a report that 
identifies countries that are ``candidate countries'' for Millennium 
Challenge Account assistance during FY 2012. The report is set forth in 
full below and updates the report published September 7, 2011 (76 FR 
55419) to reflect the issuance of presidential determinations that 
waived sanctions with respect to certain countries under Section 110 of 
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-386), as 
amended.

    Dated: November 2, 2011.
Melvin F. Williams, Jr.,
VP/General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Millennium Challenge 
Corporation.

Report on Countries that are Candidates for Millennium Challenge 
Account Eligibility for Fiscal Year 2012 and Countries that would be 
Candidates but for Legal Prohibitions

Summary

    This report to Congress is provided in accordance with section 
608(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 
7701, 7707(a) (the ``Act'').
    The Act authorizes the provision of Millennium Challenge Account 
(MCA) assistance for countries that enter into a Millennium Challenge 
Compact with the United States to support policies and programs that 
advance the progress of such countries to achieve lasting economic 
growth and poverty reduction. The Act requires the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation (MCC) to take a number of steps in selecting countries with 
which MCC will seek to enter into a compact, including (a) Determining 
the countries that will be eligible for MCA assistance for fiscal year 
2012 (FY12) based on a country's demonstrated commitment to (i) Just 
and democratic governance, (ii) economic freedom, and (iii) investments 
in its people; and (b) considering the opportunity to reduce poverty 
and generate economic growth in the country. These steps include the 
submission of reports to the congressional committees specified in the 
Act and the publication of notices in the Federal Register that 
identify:

    The countries that are ``candidate countries'' for MCA 
assistance for FY12 based on per capita income levels and 
eligibility to receive assistance under U.S. law, and countries that 
would be candidate countries but for specified legal prohibitions on 
assistance (section 608(a) of the Act);
    The criteria and methodology that the MCC Board of Directors 
(Board) will use to measure and evaluate the relative policy 
performance of the ``candidate countries'' consistent with the 
requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of section 607 of the Act in 
order to determine ``MCA eligible countries'' from among the 
``candidate countries'' (section 608(b) of the Act); and
    The list of countries determined by the Board to be ``MCA 
eligible countries'' for FY12, identification of such countries with 
which the Board will seek to enter into compacts, and a 
justification for such eligibility determination and selection for 
compact negotiation (section 608(d) of the Act).


[[Page 69291]]


    This report is the first of three required reports listed above.

Candidate Countries for FY12

    The Act requires the identification of all countries that are 
candidates for MCA assistance for FY12 and the identification of all 
countries that would be candidate countries but for specified legal 
prohibitions on assistance. Sections 606(a) and (b) of the Act provide 
that for FY12 a country shall be a candidate for the MCA if it:

    Meets one of the following two income tests:
    Has a per capita income equal to or less than the historical 
ceiling of the International Development Association eligibility for 
the fiscal year involved (or $1,915 gross national income (GNI) per 
capita for FY12) (the ``low income category''); or
    Is classified as a lower middle income country in the then most 
recent edition of the World Development Report for Reconstruction 
and Development published by the International Bank for 
Reconstruction and Development and has an income greater than the 
historical ceiling for International Development Association 
eligibility for the fiscal year involved (or $1,916 to $3,975 GNI 
per capita for FY12) (the ``lower middle income category''); and
    Is not ineligible to receive U.S. economic assistance under part 
I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, (the ``Foreign 
Assistance Act''), by reason of the application of the Foreign 
Assistance Act or any other provision of law.

    Pursuant to section 606(c) of the Act, the Board has identified the 
following countries as candidate countries under the Act for FY12. In 
so doing, the Board has anticipated that prohibitions against 
assistance as applied to countries in the Department of State, Foreign 
Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2010 (Div. F, Pub. 
L. 111-117) (the ``FY 2010 SFOAA''), will again apply for FY12, even 
though the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related 
Programs Appropriations Act for FY12 has not yet been enacted and 
certain findings under other statutes have not yet been made. As noted 
below, MCC will provide any required updates on subsequent changes in 
applicable legislation or other circumstances that affect the status of 
any country as a candidate country for FY12. All section references 
identified as prohibitions on assistance to a given country are taken 
from the FY 2010 SFOAA as carried over by the Full-Year Continuing 
Appropriations Act, 2011 (Div. B, Pub. L. 112-10) unless another statue 
is identified.

Candidate Countries: Low Income Category

Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Benin
Bolivia
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Cote D'Ivoire
Dem. Rep. of the Congo
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Gambia, The
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Haiti
Honduras
India
Kenya
Kyrgyz Republic
Lao PDR
Lesotho
Liberia
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Moldova
Mongolia
Mozambique
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
Somalia
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Timor-Leste
Togo
Uganda
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia

Candidate Countries: Lower Middle Income Category

Angola
Armenia
Belize
Bhutan
Cape Verde
Congo, Republic of the
Egypt, Arab Republic
El Salvador
Fiji
Georgia
Guatemala
Guyana
Indonesia
Iraq
Kiribati
Kosovo
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Morocco
Paraguay
Philippines
Samoa
Sri Lanka
Swaziland
Tonga
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Ukraine
Vanuatu

Countries that Would be Candidate Countries but for Legal Prohibitions 
that Prohibit Assistance

    Countries that would be considered candidate countries for FY12, 
but are ineligible to receive United States economic assistance under 
part I of the Foreign Assistance Act by reason of the application of 
any provision of the Foreign Assistance Act or any other provision of 
law are listed below. As noted above, this list is based on legal 
prohibitions against economic assistance that apply for fiscal year 
2011 and that are anticipated to apply again for FY12.

Prohibited Countries: Low Income Category

    Burma is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to section 570 of the FY 1997 Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 104-208), 
which prohibits assistance to the government of Burma until it makes 
progress on improving human rights and implementing democratic 
government, and due to its status as a major drug-transit or major 
illicit drug producing country for 2009 (Presidential Determination No. 
2009-30 (9/15/2009)).
    Eritrea is subject to restrictions due to its status as a Tier III 
country under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended, 22 
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.
    Madagascar is subject to section 7008 of the FY 2010 SFOAA, which 
prohibits assistance to the government of a country whose duly elected 
head of government is deposed by military coup or decree and also 
section 7086(c) of the FY 2010 SFOAA regarding budget transparency. It 
is also subject to restrictions due to its status as a Tier III country 
under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 
7101 et seq.
    North Korea is subject to numerous restrictions, including section 
7007 of the FY 2010 SFOAA which prohibits any direct assistance to the 
government.
    Sudan is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to

[[Page 69292]]

section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act which prohibits assistance 
to governments supporting international terrorism, section 7012 of the 
FY 2010 SFOAA and section 620(q) of the Foreign Assistance Act, both of 
which prohibit assistance to countries in default in payment to the 
U.S. in certain circumstances, section 7008 of the FY 2010 SFOAA, which 
prohibits assistance to the government of a country whose duly elected 
head of government is deposed by military coup or decree, and section 
7070(f) of the FY 2010 SFOAA.
    Uzbekistan's central government is subject to section 7076(a) of 
the FY 2009 SFOAA, which is largely incorporated by reference and 
carried forward by section 7075 of the FY 2010 SFOAA. This restriction 
states that funds (other than expanded international military education 
and training funds) may be made available for assistance to the central 
government of Uzbekistan only if the Secretary of State determines and 
reports to the Congress that the government is making substantial and 
continuing progress in meeting its commitments under a framework 
agreement with the United States.
    Zimbabwe is subject to several restrictions, including section 
7070(i)(2) of the FY 2010 SFOAA which prohibits assistance (except for 
macroeconomic growth assistance) to the central government of Zimbabwe, 
unless the Secretary of State determines and reports to Congress that 
the rule of law has been restored in Zimbabwe.

Prohibited Countries: Lower Middle Income Category

    Syria is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act which prohibits 
assistance to governments supporting international terrorism, section 
7007 of the FY 2010 SFOAA which prohibits direct assistance, and 
section 7012 of the FY 2010 SFOAA and section 620(q) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act, both of which prohibit assistance to countries in 
default in payment to the U.S. in certain circumstances.
    The countries identified above as candidate countries, as well as 
countries that would be considered candidate countries but for the 
applicability of legal provisions that prohibit U.S. economic 
assistance, may be the subject of future statutory restrictions or 
determinations, or changed country circumstances, that affect their 
legal eligibility for assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance 
Act by reason of application of the Foreign Assistance Act or any other 
provision of law for FY12. MCC will include any required updates on 
such statutory eligibility that affect countries' identification as 
candidate countries for FY12, at such time as it publishes the notices 
required by sections 608(b) and 608(d) of the Act or at other 
appropriate times. Any such updates with regard to the eligibility or 
ineligibility of particular countries identified in this report will 
not affect the date on which the Board is authorized to determine 
eligible countries from among candidate countries which, in accordance 
with section 608(a) of the Act, shall be no sooner than 90 days from 
the date of publication of this report.
[FR Doc. 2011-28862 Filed 11-7-11; 8:45 am]
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