Boko Haram Disarmament and Northeast Nigeria Recovery Act of 2014 - Directs the President to develop and submit to Congress a regional strategy to guide U.S. support for multilateral efforts to: (1) eliminate the threat to civilians and regional stability from Boko Haram, and (2) enforce the rule of law and ensure full humanitarian access in Boko Haram-affected areas.
States that such strategy should include a plan to work with Nigeria and other international partners to liberate Boko Haram's kidnapping victims.
Authorizes the President to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the populations in Boko Haram-affected areas. Makes funds available for such assistance pursuant to final judgment of a specified legal case.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should support efforts by the people of Boko Haram-affected areas and the governments of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger to:
Expresses the sense of Congress that:
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5778 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5778
To support stabilization and lasting peace in northeast Nigeria and
areas affected by Boko Haram through development of a regional strategy
to support multilateral efforts to successfully protect civilians and
eliminate the threat posed by Boko Haram, to support efforts to rescue
female students abducted in Nigeria on April 14, 2014, as well as other
kidnapping victims of Boko Haram, and to provide funds for humanitarian
relief, development programs, transitional justice, and victim support,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 1, 2014
Ms. Wilson of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support stabilization and lasting peace in northeast Nigeria and
areas affected by Boko Haram through development of a regional strategy
to support multilateral efforts to successfully protect civilians and
eliminate the threat posed by Boko Haram, to support efforts to rescue
female students abducted in Nigeria on April 14, 2014, as well as other
kidnapping victims of Boko Haram, and to provide funds for humanitarian
relief, development programs, transitional justice, and victim support,
and for other purposes.
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 ``Boko Haram Disarmament and Northeast
Nigeria Recovery Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On the night of April 14, 2014, 276 female students,
most of them between 15 and 18 years old, were abducted by Boko
Haram from the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School, a
boarding school located in Borno state in the Federal Republic
of Nigeria.
(2) All public secondary schools in Borno state were closed
in March 2014 because of increasing attacks by Boko Haram that
killed hundreds of students, but the schoolgirls returned to
school, despite the potential dangers, determined to pursue
their education.
(3) Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for subsequent
kidnappings in the region.
(4) Boko Haram leaders have threatened to sell the
kidnapped schoolgirls into slavery and according to reports,
has previously kept female hostages as slaves and committed
sexual violence against them.
(5) Boko Haram seems determined to carry out sophisticated
and deadly attacks and to expand its area of operation.
(6) Boko Haram has targeted schools, mosques, churches,
villages, and agricultural centers, as well as government
facilities, in hopes of creating an Islamic state in northern
Nigeria.
(7) There are estimates that Boko Haram has killed more
than 4,000 people since 2011, and more than 2,000 people this
year alone.
(8) There is a possibility that many of the girls may have
been taken into neighboring countries.
(9) Boko Haram and other terrorist organizations pose a
growing threat to United States interests in the region, as
well as to broader regional peace and security.
(10) In an effort to locate the kidnapped schoolgirls, the
United States authorized the deployment of up to 80 military
personnel to Chad in order to help with intelligence and
surveillance.
(11) The United States military have provided training,
equipment, and other support for counter-terrorism units in the
Sahel region to combat Al Qaeda affiliates and related groups
in Africa.
(12) Cameroon, Niger, and Chad have deployed troops in an
effort to secure their borders against Boko Haram.
(13) The United States named several individuals linked to
Boko Haram as Specially Designated Global Terrorists in 2012
and designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization
in November 2013.
(14) On May 22, 2014, the United Nations Security Council
added Boko Haram to the 1267 sanctions list, a list of Al
Qaeda-linked terrorist organizations subject to weapons
embargoes, travel bans, and asset freezes.
(15) The Senate and House have both passed resolutions
condemning Boko Haram and the abduction of female students by
the group from schools in the northeastern province of Borno in
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to work vigorously for a
lasting resolution to the conflict in northeast Nigeria and other Boko
Haram-affected areas by--
(1) eliminating the threat posed by Boko Haram to civilians
and regional stability through political, economic,
humanitarian, law enforcement, military, and intelligence
support for a comprehensive multilateral effort to protect
civilians in affected areas and to defeat and demobilize Boko
Haram fighters;
(2) supporting efforts to rescue those individuals who have
been abducted by Boko Haram; and
(3) further supporting comprehensive reconstruction,
transitional justice, development and humanitarian programs,
and reconciliation efforts.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT OF A REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR DEFEATING BOKO HARAM.
(a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall develop and
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a regional strategy to
guide United States support for multilateral efforts to protect
civilians from attacks by Boko Haram, to eliminate the threat to
civilians and regional stability posed by Boko Haram, and to enforce
the rule of law and ensure full humanitarian access in areas affected
by Boko Haram.
(b) Content of Strategy.--The strategy should include the
following:
(1) A plan to work with Nigeria and other international
partners to find Boko Haram's kidnapping victims and liberate
them and a viable plan to protect civilians and eliminate the
threat posed by Boko Haram.
(2) An interagency framework to plan, coordinate, and
execute all diplomatic, economic, intelligence, development,
humanitarian, law enforcement, and military elements of United
States policy across the region regarding Boko Haram.
(3) A framework to evaluate the progress and effectiveness
of the United States strategy toward eliminating the threat
posed by Boko Haram.
(c) Form.--The strategy under this section shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 5. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR AREAS AFFECTED BY BOKO HARAM.
(a) Authority.--In accordance with section 491 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292) and section 2 of the Migration
and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601), the President is
authorized to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the
populations in areas affected by Boko Haram.
(b) Availability of Amounts.--
(1) In general.--Amounts equivalent to the funds received
by the United States Government pursuant to the final judgment
in the case specified in paragraph (2) shall, notwithstanding
any other provision of law, be made available to carry out this
section.
(2) Case.--The case referred to in paragraph (1) is United
States of America v. All Assets Held in Account Number
80020796, in name of Doraville Properties Corporation, at
Deutsche Bank International, Limited in Jersey, Channel
Islands, and All Interest, Benefits, or Assets Traceable
Thereto, et al., Case No. 1:13-cv-01832-JDB (D.D.C.).
SEC. 6. ASSISTANCE FOR RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION IN AREAS AFFECTED BY
BOKO HARAM.
(a) Authority.--It is the sense of Congress that the President
should support efforts by the people of Boko Haram-affected areas and
the Governments of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, as security
conditions permit--
(1) to assist internally displaced people and returnees in
securing durable solutions by spurring economic growth,
supporting livelihoods, helping to alleviate poverty, and
promoting access to basic services in northeast Nigeria,
including education and employment opportunities;
(2) to enhance the accountability and administrative
competency of state and local governance institutions and
public agencies in northeast Nigeria with regard to budget
management, provision of public goods and services, and related
oversight functions;
(3) to provide all children with a quality basic education
while ensuring the safety of students and school faculty;
(4) to strengthen the operational capacity of the civilian
police in Nigeria to enhance public safety, prevent crime and
communal and sectarian violence, and deal sensitively with
gender-based violence, while strengthening accountability
measures to prevent corruption and abuses; and
(5) to promote programs to address physical harm and
psychosocial trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
(b) Future Year Funding.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Secretary of State and Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development should work with the appropriate committees
of Congress to increase assistance in future fiscal years to support
activities described in this section if the Government of Nigeria
demonstrates a commitment to transparent and accountable reconstruction
in Boko Haram-affected areas of Nigeria, specifically by--
(1) increasing oversight activities and reporting to ensure
funds used to combat Boko Haram are used efficiently and with
minimal waste; and
(2) committing substantial funds of its own, above and
beyond standard budget allocations to state and local
governments, for the task of combating Boko Haram and
rebuilding those regions affected by Boko Haram attacks.
(c) Coordination With Other Donor Nations.--The United States
should work with other donor nations, on a bilateral and multilateral
basis, to increase contributions for recovery efforts in northeast
Nigeria and other areas affected by Boko Haram, and strengthen
accountability mechanisms to ensure the transparent and timely use of
those funds.
(d) Termination of Assistance.--It is the sense of Congress that
the Secretary of State should withhold bilateral assistance to Nigeria
for the purposes described under this section if the Secretary
determines that the Government of Nigeria is not committed to
transparent and accountable reconstruction and reconciliation in the
Boko Haram-affected areas of Nigeria.
SEC. 7. REPORT.
(a) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the submission of
the strategy required under section 4, the Secretary of State shall
prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
on the progress made toward the implementation of the strategy required
under section 4 and a description and evaluation of the assistance
provided under this Act toward the policy objectives described in
section 3.
(b) Contents.--The report required under section (a) shall
include--
(1) a description and evaluation of actions taken toward
the implementation of the strategy required under section 4;
(2) a description of assistance provided under section 5
and section 6;
(3) an evaluation of bilateral assistance provided to
Nigeria and associated programs in light of stated policy
objectives; and
(4) a description of amounts of assistance committed, and
amounts provided, to Nigeria during the reporting period by the
Government of Nigeria, each donor country, and all relevant
organizations.
SEC. 8. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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