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A legislation has been introduced in the United States Senate to suspend US government aid to the Gambia unless president Yahya Jammeh's administration makes significant efforts to release and account for political prisoners, including Ebrimah Manneh.
The bill which was put in the Senate on July 29, seeks to limit funding under "International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement' and "International Military Education and Training' for the Gambia to no more than $120,000. If passed into law, the Republic of The Gambia and a number of other African countries, including Zimbabwe, Sudan, Somali and Uganda, will lose millions of US dollars as direct result of their poor human rights records.
It could be recalled that some US Senators, among them Illinois Senator Durbin and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, have repeatedly urged the Gambia government to release journalist Ebrima Manneh who is believed to be in government custody for more than two years.
Below we reproduce a part of the Bill in the US Senate on Africa:
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 29, 2010
Mr. Leahy, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported the following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar
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A BILL
Making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes, namely:
Africa
Sec. 7039. (a) International Military Education and Training.--
(1) Funds appropriated under the heading "International Military Education and Training' in this Act that are made available for assistance for Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Zimbabwe may be made available only for expanded international military education and training and for training related to international peacekeeping operations.
(2) None of the funds appropriated under the heading "International Military Education and Training" in this Act may be made available for assistance for Equatorial Guinea or Somalia.
(b) Ethiopia.--
(1) None of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading "Foreign Military Financing Program' that are available for assistance for Ethiopia may be made available unless the Secretary of State--
(A) certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Ethiopia is making significant efforts to respect due process and the rights of its citizens to peaceful expression and association; and
(B) submits a report to such Committees on the types and amounts of United States training and equipment proposed to be provided to the Ethiopian military including steps that will be taken to ensure that such assistance is not provided to military units or personnel that have violated internationally recognized human rights.
(2) The restriction in paragraph (1) shall not apply to assistance to support the deployment of members of the Ethiopian military in international peacekeeping operations.
(c) Conflict Minerals.--
(1) None of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading "Foreign Military Financing Program' may be made available for assistance for Rwanda or Uganda if the Secretary of State has credible evidence that the Government of Rwanda or the Government of Uganda is providing political, military or financial support to armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that are involved in the illegal exportation of minerals out of the DRC or have committed violations of internationally recognized human rights, including rape.
(2) The restriction in paragraph (1) shall not apply to assistance to improve border controls to prevent the illegal exportation of minerals out of the DRC by such groups, to protect relief efforts, or to support the training and deployment of members of the Rwandan or Ugandan militaries in international peacekeeping operations.
(d) Sudan Limitation on Assistance.--
(1) Subject to paragraph (2):
(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds appropriated by this Act may be made available for assistance for the Government of Sudan.
(B) None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be made available for the cost, as defined in section 502, of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, of modifying loans and loan guarantees held by the Government of Sudan, including the cost of selling, reducing, or canceling amounts owed to the United States, and modifying concessional loans, guarantees, and credit agreements.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if the Secretary of State determines and certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that:
(A) The Government of Sudan honors its pledges to cease attacks upon civilians and disarms and demobilizes the Janjaweed and other government-supported militias;
(B) The Government of Sudan and all government-supported militia groups are honoring their commitments made in all previous cease-fire agreements; and
(C) The Government of Sudan is allowing unimpeded access to Darfur to humanitarian aid organizations, the human rights investigation and humanitarian teams of the United Nations, including protection officers, and an international monitoring
(3) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
(A) humanitarian assistance;
(B) assistance for the Darfur region, Southern Sudan, Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains State, Blue Nile State, and Abyei; and
(C) assistance to support implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Darfur Peace Agreement or any other internationally recognized viable peace agreement in Sudan.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, the term "Government of Sudan' shall not include the Government of Southern Sudan.
(5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, assistance in this Act may be made available to the Government of Southern Sudan to provide nonlethal military assistance, military education and training, and defense services controlled under the International
(A) determines that the provision of such items is in the national interest of the United States; and
(B) not later than 15 days before the provision of any such assistance, notifies the Committees on Appropriations of such determination.
(e) Southern Sudan.--
The Secretary of State shall request regular audits of the financial accounts of the Government of Southern Sudan to ensure transparency and accountability of funds, including revenues from the extraction of oil and gas, and the public disclosure of such audits in a timely manner: Provided, That in determining amounts and types of United States assistance to make available to the Government of Southern Sudan, the Secretary shall consider the extent to which such government is ensuring transparency and accountability of funds:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall, as appropriate, assist the Government of Southern Sudan in conducting such audits, and shall submit a report not later than 90 days after enactment of this Act to the Committees on Appropriations detailing the steps that will be taken by the Government of Southern Sudan, which are additional to those which were taken in the previous fiscal year, to improve natural resource management and ensure transparency and accountability of funds.
(f) The Gambia.--
(1) Of the funds appropriated under the headings "International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement' and "International Military Education and Training' that are available for assistance for The Gambia, not more than $120,000 may be made available unless the Secretary of State certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of The Gambia is making significant efforts to release and account for political prisoners, including Ebrimah Manneh.
(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Directors of the international financial institutions to vote against any loan, agreement, or other financial support for The Gambia, except to meet basic human needs, unless the Secretary of State makes the certification required in paragraph (1).
(g) War Crimes in Africa.--
(1) The Congress reaffirms its support for the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to bring to justice individuals responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in a timely manner.
(2) Funds appropriated by this Act, including funds for debt restructuring, may be made available for assistance for the central government of a country in which individuals indicted by ICTR and SCSL are credibly alleged to be living, if the Secretary of State determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such government is cooperating with ICTR and SCSL: Provided, That the United States shall use its voice and vote in the United Nations Security Council to fully support efforts by ICTR and SCSL to bring to justice individuals indicted by such tribunals in a timely manner.
(3) The prohibition in paragraph (2) may be waived on a country-by-country basis if the President determines that doing so is in the national security interest of the United States.
(h) Zimbabwe.--
(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each international financial institution to vote against any extension by the respective institution of any loans to the Government of Zimbabwe, except to meet basic human needs or to promote democracy, unless the Secretary of State determines and reports in writing to the Committees on Appropriations that the rule of law has been restored in Zimbabwe, including respect for ownership and title to property, freedom of speech and association.
(2) None of the funds appropriated by this Act shall be made available for assistance for the Central Government of Zimbabwe, except for health, education, and macroeconomic growth assistance, unless the Secretary of State makes the determination pursuant to paragraph (1).
