Afghan Women’s Inclusion in Negotiations Act

Afghan Women's Inclusion in Negotiations Act

This bill requires the Department of State to report on the participation of Afghan women in the Afghan peace process and a strategy for U.S. post-conflict engagement in Afghanistan.

Specifically, the State Department must report on (1) the participation of Afghan women in negotiations and dialogue related to the Afghan peace process and the protection of their rights and gains; and (2) the actions of the State Department to consult with and train local women-led civil society organizations and to advocate for their inclusion and participation in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and post-conflict reconciliation.

The State Department must also develop a strategy for U.S. post-conflict engagement in Afghanistan to support the implementation of commitments for women and girls' inclusion and empowerment, as well as to protect and promote basic human rights.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4097 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4097

      To require a report on the participation of Afghan women in 
 negotiations and dialogue relating to the Afghan peace process and a 
     strategy for post-conflict engagement by the United States in 
                  Afghanistan, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2019

 Mr. Keating (for himself, Mrs. Wagner, Ms. Frankel, and Mr. Wilson of 
 South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To require a report on the participation of Afghan women in 
 negotiations and dialogue relating to the Afghan peace process and a 
     strategy for post-conflict engagement by the United States in 
                  Afghanistan, 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 ``Afghan Women's Inclusion in 
Negotiations Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 was signed 
        into law on October 6, 2017, requiring the United States 
        Government to promote the meaningful participation of women in 
        all aspects of overseas conflict prevention, management, and 
        resolution, and postconflict relief and recovery efforts.
            (2) The meaningful participation of women in peace 
        negotiations has been shown to make resulting peace agreements 
        35 percent more likely to last, according to the International 
        Peace Institute, and their sustained engagement and leadership 
        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.
            (3) The United States National Security Strategy states, 
        ``governments that fail to treat women equally do not allow 
        their societies to reach their potential'' and ``societies that 
        empower women to participate fully in civic and economic life 
        are more prosperous and peaceful''.
            (4) Today, millions of Afghan women have voted in elections 
        and women have a significant presence in the National Assembly, 
        ministries, local government, and the diplomatic corps 
        including as Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United States.
            (5) According to the United States Institute of Peace, more 
        than 68,000 Afghan women are employed in schools and 
        universities, and at least 10,000 women are doctors and health 
        care professionals.
            (6) Afghan women entrepreneurs have invested an estimated 
        $77 million in their businesses, creating 77,000 jobs for 
        Afghans.
            (7) In 2015, Afghanistan approved a National Action Plan on 
        Women, Peace, and Security to increase women's participation in 
        peace processes and the security sector as well as address 
        issues around protection and relief and recovery services.
            (8) In 2018, Afghanistan reaffirmed its Law to Eliminate 
        Violence Against Women.
            (9) Afghan women have advocated relentlessly for peace, 
        equality, and basic rights under the Taliban, including by 
        educating the next generation of Afghans in underground schools 
        and successfully negotiating with the Taliban to reopen girls' 
        schools, release hostages, and prevent violence.
            (10) Afghan women participated in the 2001 Bonn 
        International Conference on Afghanistan, participated alongside 
        then-President Karzai at the 2010 National Consultative Peace 
        Jirga on reconciliation between the Afghan government and 
        insurgent leaders, served on the country's Provincial Peace 
        Councils, and today serve on Afghanistan's High Peace Council.
            (11) Through various coalitions, women have mobilized to 
        demand an immediate ceasefire and their rightful seat at the 
        table including through rallies and consultations with 
        communities across all of Afghanistan's provinces, including a 
        ``Peace Consultative Loya Jirga'' which brought together 
        politicians, tribal elders, and other prominent leaders to 
        decide on a common approach for peace talks with the Taliban.
            (12) Over the first seven rounds of bilateral talks between 
        the United States and the Taliban, neither the Afghan 
        Government nor Afghan women or civil society groups were 
        permitted to participate in the negotiations.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) corresponding with the Women, Peace, and Security Act 
        of 2017 (Public Law 115-68) and the U.S. Strategy on Women, 
        Peace, and Security, the United States has a commitment to 
        promoting the meaningful participation of women throughout the 
        Afghan peace process;
            (2) representatives of Afghan women, youth, and other 
        marginalized groups from rural and urban provinces and 
        especially from those most affected by violence, should 
        meaningfully participate and engage in all peace talks, 
        implementation commissions, and other bodies if an agreement is 
        reached, alongside the Government of Afghanistan, the Afghan 
        political opposition, and the Taliban, and that their security 
        must be protected throughout and their concerns prioritized in 
        those respective agendas;
            (3) training and gender expertise should be made available 
        to the United States mediators of the peace talks and all 
        participating delegations, including one or more gender 
        advisors with expertise in structuring inclusive peace process 
        and conflict mediation, and who have local language skills and 
        mediation expertise to establish a safe communication channel 
        for engagement with and training of a diverse range of Afghan 
        women's groups;
            (4) financial, technical, and logistical support, including 
        security precautions for their protection, should be provided 
        to women delegates to the talks, mediators, peace builders, and 
        stakeholders, enabling them to travel safely to and from the 
        location of the peace talks and to meaningfully participate; 
        and
            (5) a component of any international aid package that is 
        awarded to Afghanistan as part of the peace process should be 
        directed to programming focused on gender equality and women's 
        empowerment, including for efforts to ensure that 
        implementation of the peace agreement is shaped by gender 
        analysis, and that funds are made available as grants for local 
        Afghan women-led and women's empowerment organizations as well 
        as for education and necessary services for women and girls.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall submit to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate not later than 30 days 
after the conclusion of each round of negotiations relating to the 
Afghan peace process an unclassified report, which may contain a 
classified annex, relating to the peace process.
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a) 
shall include information, in accordance with the requirements of the 
Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-68), on--
            (1) the participation of Afghan women and the protection of 
        their rights and gains;
            (2) the actions of the Department of State and other 
        relevant Federal departments and agencies to advance the 
        priorities described in section 3, including United States 
        efforts to consult with and train local women-led civil society 
        organizations and to advocate for their inclusion and 
        participation in national, provincial, and community-level 
        peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and post-conflict 
        reconciliation.

SEC. 5. STRATEGY FOR POST-CONFLICT ENGAGEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES IN 
              AFGHANISTAN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 
and other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate not later than 120 
days after a final Afghan Reconciliation Agreement is reached, a 
strategy for post-conflict engagement by the United States in 
Afghanistan to support the implementation of commitments for women and 
girls' inclusion and empowerment in the Agreement, as well as to 
protect and promote basic human rights in Afghanistan, especially the 
human rights of women and girls.
    (b) Required Elements.--The Secretary of State shall seek to ensure 
that activities carried out under the strategy--
            (1) employ rigorous monitoring and evaluation 
        methodologies, including ex-post evaluation, and gender 
        analysis as defined by the Women's Entrepreneurship and 
        Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-428) and 
        required by the U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security;
            (2) disaggregate all data collected and reported by age, 
        gender, marital and motherhood status, disability, and 
        urbanity, to the extent practicable and appropriate; and
            (3) adhere to the Policy Guidance on Promoting Gender 
        Equality of the Department of State and the Gender Equality and 
        Female Empowerment Policy of the United States Agency for 
        International Development.
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