S.Amdt. 68

SA 68. Mr. INHOFE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 1, to make improvements to certain defense and
security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriation of
funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense
Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the wholesale slaughter of the
Syrian people, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

[[Page S749]]

SEC. ___. SENSE OF SENATE ON FORMAL GRANT BY THE AFRICAN
UNION OF OBSERVER STATUS FOR ISRAEL.

(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings;
(1) Israel enjoyed observer status in the predecessor
organization to the African Union known as the Organization
of African Unity until its dissolution in 2002.
(2) The late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi blocked Israel
from obtaining observer status at the African Union in 2002.
(3) Israel, in the span of a few decades, has emerged as a
developed nation and therefore offers an example of a path to
economic progress for developing countries.
(4) Israel has long been an active and valuable partner to
many African nations, cultivating strong numerous bilateral
relationships across the continent.
(b) Sense of Senate.--The Senate--
(1) encourages heightened cooperation between Israel and
African nations, particularly in areas that are significant
in progress towards the implementation of the Sustainable
Development Goals;
(2) expects that the granting of observer status to Israel
by the African Union will help enable such cooperation to
develop between Israel and the African Union; and
(3) calls for the African Union to immediately accept the
petition of Israel for observer status.
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