[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2032 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2032
To provide assistance and security for women and children in
Afghanistan, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 27, 2004
Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide assistance and security for women and children 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 Security and Freedom
Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Taliban regime denied women in Afghanistan the most
basic human rights, including the rights to work, to an
education, to health care, and to move freely.
(2) The Taliban regime subjected any women who attempted to
exercise her human rights to beatings and imprisonment and
women in Afghanistan who lived under the Taliban regime suffer
from long-term consequences of such oppression.
(3) According to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs, as
a result of 23 years of war and the restrictions imposed by the
Taliban after the war ended, most women in Afghanistan do not
have adequate food, access to health care, or opportunities for
education, employment, or economic livelihood, and such women
have experienced violence to themselves or their families.
(4) Women in Afghanistan have one of the highest mortality
rates in the world, with an estimated 16,000 maternal deaths
annually.
(5) The strengthening of institutions and non-governmental
organizations that are led by women in Afghanistan is essential
to building civil society and holding the Government of
Afghanistan accountable for protecting women's rights and human
rights.
(6) It is necessary for significant numbers of women to
hold positions within the Government of Afghanistan, including
in the cabinet, the Loya Jirga, government commissions, and
other key posts, and to hold official positions within United
Nations agencies working in Afghanistan to foster democracy and
protect the rights of women in Afghanistan.
(7) Despite the collapse of the Taliban regime in
Afghanistan in 2001, warlords and the Taliban are reorganizing
and reemerging in Afghanistan, imperiling the stability of the
central government, the security of the people, and the
exercise of human rights by women.
(8) The United Nations Secretary-General's Special
Representative to Afghanistan said that the deteriorating
security situation in Afghanistan may force a delay in
elections in Afghanistan and that expansion of international
peacekeeping forces is necessary to make fair, democratic voter
registration and elections possible.
(9) In January 2004, the Government of Afghanistan adopted
a new constitution that includes basic rights for women, but
enforcement of the provisions of the constitution will be
difficult unless security in Afghanistan is dramatically
improved.
(10) Despite the fact that violations of human rights and
women's rights continue with impunity in Afghanistan,
Provincial Reconstruction Teams composed of United States
military forces, Department of Defense civil affairs officers,
representatives of United States agencies and allied personnel do not
have the authority needed to intervene to stop such violations.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the protection of the rights of women, the
reestablishment of democracy, and the elimination of terrorism
are essential to the reconstruction of a stable Afghanistan and
to achieve such a reconstruction the international community
should commit substantial resources, including the expansion of
international peacekeeping forces inside and outside of the
city of Kabul;
(2) the United States should provide strong support for the
Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs and the Afghan Independent
Human Rights Commission, both of which were created by the Bonn
Agreement to remedy past violations of women's rights and human
rights and to establish institutions and programs to advance
such rights;
(3) the mandate of international peacekeeping forces and
Provincial Reconstruction Teams composed of United States
military forces, Department of Defense civil affairs officers,
representatives of United States agencies and allied personnel
should be authorized to intervene to stop violations of human
rights and women's rights;
(4) United States foreign policy should ensure that the
rights of women and girls are restored in Afghanistan, assist
in the recovery of women and girls from the repression of the
Taliban and 23 years of war, and strengthen Afghan institutions
that are led by women; and
(5) grants and assistance provided to Afghanistan should be
conditioned upon the Government of Afghanistan adhering to
international standards for women's rights and human rights.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION FOR ASSISTANCE.
(a) Authority.--The President is authorized to provide assistance
for women and children in Afghanistan.
(b) Provision of Assistance.--Assistance under this section may be
provided directly to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs, other
Afghan Government ministries, the Afghan Independent Human Rights
Commission, local and international nonprofit organizations, and United
Nations agencies.
(c) Categories of Assistance.--The assistance under this section
may be provide as grants, technical assistance, training, or in any
other form that the President determines is appropriate.
(d) Purposes.--Assistance under this section may be used for the
following purposes:
(1) Political and human rights.--Assistance under this
section is authorized to be used to promote women's rights and
human rights in Afghanistan, including women's political
participation and legal rights, including for the following
purposes:
(A) To provide assistance to the Afghan Ministry of
Women's Affairs, other ministries of the Government of
Afghanistan, and the Afghan Independent Human Rights
Commission for programs to advance the status of women.
(B) To disseminate information throughout
Afghanistan on the rights of women and on international
standards for human rights.
(C) To provide information and assistance to enable
women to exercise property, inheritance, and voting
rights, and to participate in relief programs.
(D) To provide, monitor, and investigate violations
of women's rights and to provide legal assistance to
women who have suffered violations of their rights.
(E) To provide training related to women's rights
and human rights to military, police, and legal
personnel.
(F) To build the infrastructure of the Afghan
Independent Human Rights Commission through the
construction of provincial and district offices.
(G) To enforce the provisions of the Afghan
constitution that ensure equal rights for women.
(H) To operate programs to encourage and facilitate
the registration of women voters.
(2) Health care.--Assistance under this section is
authorized to be used to provide health care for the people of
Afghanistan, including for the following purposes:
(A) To provide equipment, medical supplies, and
other assistance to health care facilities for the
purpose of reducing maternal and infant mortality and
morbidity.
(B) To train nurses, midwives, and traditional
birth attendants for the purposes of improving staffing
at clinics and hospitals, and expanding networks of
community health educators.
(C) To promote awareness about the health and
nutrition of women, and programs related to hygiene,
sanitation, and immunization.
(D) To develop, establish, and expand programs to
provide services to women and girls suffering from
post-traumatic stress, depression, and mental illness.
(E) To provide mobile health units that include
reproductive health programs and that are accessible to
women and girls who have been disabled due to landmines
or war-related injuries, including such women and girls
who are in wheelchairs.
(3) Education and training.--Assistance under this section
is authorized to be used to provide education and training to
the people of Afghanistan, including for the following
purposes:
(A) To establish, maintain, and expand primary and
secondary schools for girls that include mathematics,
science, and languages in their primary curriculum.
(B) To develop and expand technical and vocational
training programs for women to enable women who
participate in such programs to provide support for
themselves and their families.
(C) To develop, maintain, and expand literacy
programs, including economic literacy programs that
promote the well-being of women and their families.
(D) To provide special educational opportunities
for girls whose schooling was ended by the Taliban and
who now face obstacles to participating in the normal
education system, such as girls who are now married and
girls who are older than the normal age for their
classes.
(4) Security, protection, and shelter.--Assistance under
this section is authorized to be used to provide security,
protection, and shelter for the people of Afghanistan,
including for the following purposes:
(A) To develop and implement programs to protect
women and girls against sexual and physical abuse,
abduction, trafficking, exploitation, and sex
discrimination in the delivery of humanitarian supplies
and services.
(B) To direct humanitarian assistance to the large
population of widows and their children who are in need
in war-torn Afghanistan.
(C) To provide emergency shelters, food,
sanitation, health care, and other relief services to
internally displaced women and their families.
(D) To support the return of refugees and
internally displaced persons, the majority of whom are
women and children, to their home areas.
(E) To provide security measures, such as building
improvements and staffing, for the purpose of
preventing violent attacks to schools that educate
girls and to repair or replace equipment and facilities
of a school that is subject to such an attack.
(F) To improve security for women in the Loya Jirga
and for women who exercise their right to register to
vote and to participate in elections.
(G) To provide security for women's centers for the
purpose of enabling women to participate in meetings,
discussions, and programs regarding the constitution,
elections, and women's rights.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PROVISIONS OF ASSISTANCE.
It is the sense of Congress that, in providing assistance under
this Act, the President should--
(1) condition the provision such assistance on the
recipient adhering to international standards for women's
rights and human rights;
(2) place a high priority on the provision of such
assistance to the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs, the
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, and other agencies
of the Government of Afghanistan that are able to implement
programs to improve the lives and advance the rights of women;
(3) place a high priority on the provision of such
assistance that will be used to provide to training and
capacity-building programs in Afghanistan;
(4) ensure that such assistance is distributed throughout
different regions of Afghanistan on the basis of need;
(5) place a high priority on the provision of such
assistance to non-governmental organizations in Afghanistan
that have demonstrated experience in delivering services to
Afghan women and children and that are--
(A) led by women; or
(B) located in Afghanistan; and
(6) ensure that of the assistance made available under this
Act in each fiscal year not less than 25 percent of such
assistance is provided to non-governmental organizations that
are--
(A) led by women; and
(B) located in Afghanistan.
SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.
(a) Requirement for Report.--Not less than once every 6 months, the
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development shall submit a report to the appropriate
congressional committees on the activities carried out under this Act.
Such report shall include the amount of assistance provided under this
Act to--
(1) the Afghan Ministry of Women's Affairs;
(2) other ministries of the Government of Afghanistan;
(3) the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission;
(4) Afghan nonprofit organizations;
(5) international nonprofit organizations; and
(6) United Nations agencies.
(b) Initial Report.--The initial report required under subsection
(a) shall be submitted not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(c) Termination of Requirement.--Subsection (a) shall be effective
during the 3 year period beginning on the date of enactment of this
Act.
(d) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this section the term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and
the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on International
Relations of the House of Representatives.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the
President $300,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2005, 2006, and
2007 to carry out the provisions of this Act, of which--
(1) $20,000,000 is authorized to be available to the Afghan
Ministry of Women's Affairs for each such fiscal year; and
(2) $10,000,000 is authorized to be available to the Afghan
Independent Human Rights Commission for each such fiscal year.
(b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to
paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended.
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