22 USC 7515 - Sense of Congress regarding promoting cooperation in opium producing areas

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§ 7511. Declaration of policy
§ 7512. Purposes of assistance
§ 7513. Authorization of assistance
§ 7514. Coordination of assistance
§ 7515. Sense of Congress regarding promoting cooperation in opium producing areas
§ 7516. Administrative provisions
§ 7517. Relationship to other authority
§ 7518. Authorization of appropriations

§ 7511. Declaration of policy

Congress makes the following declarations:

(1) The United States and the international community should support efforts that advance the development of democratic civil authorities and institutions in Afghanistan and the establishment of a new broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, and fully representative government in Afghanistan.

(2) The United States, in particular, should provide its expertise to meet immediate humanitarian and refugee needs, fight the production and flow of illicit narcotics, and aid in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

(3) By promoting peace and security in Afghanistan and preventing a return to conflict, the United States and the international community can help ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a source for international terrorism.

(4) The United States should support the objectives agreed to on December 5, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, regarding the provisional arrangement for Afghanistan as it moves toward the establishment of permanent institutions and, in particular, should work intensively toward ensuring the future neutrality of Afghanistan, establishing the principle that neighboring countries and other countries in the region do not threaten or interfere in one another’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence, including supporting diplomatic initiatives to support this goal.

(5) The special emergency situation in Afghanistan, which from the perspective of the American people combines security, humanitarian, political, law enforcement, and development imperatives, requires that the President should receive maximum flexibility in designing, coordinating, and administering efforts with respect to assistance for Afghanistan and that a temporary special program of such assistance should be established for this purpose.

(6) To foster stability and democratization and to effectively eliminate the causes of terrorism, the United States and the international community should also support efforts that advance the development of democratic civil authorities and institutions in the broader Central Asia region.

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 101, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2798.)

§ 7512. Purposes of assistance

The purposes of assistance authorized by this subchapter are—

(1) to help assure the security of the United States and the world by reducing or eliminating the likelihood of violence against United States or allied forces in Afghanistan and to reduce the chance that Afghanistan will again be a source of international terrorism;

(2) to support the continued efforts of the United States and the international community to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and among Afghan refugees in neighboring countries;

(3) to fight the production and flow of illicit narcotics, to control the flow of precursor chemicals used in the production of heroin, and to enhance and bolster the capacities of Afghan governmental authorities to control poppy cultivation and related activities;

(4) to help achieve a broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, and fully representative government in Afghanistan that is freely chosen by the people of Afghanistan and that respects the human rights of all Afghans, particularly women, including authorizing assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Afghanistan with a particular emphasis on meeting the educational, health, and sustenance needs of women and children to better enable their full participation in Afghan society;

(5) to support the Government of Afghanistan in its development of the capacity to facilitate, organize, develop, and implement projects and activities that meet the needs of the Afghan people;

(6) to foster the participation of civil society in the establishment of the new Afghan government in order to achieve a broad-based, multi-ethnic, gender-sensitive, fully representative government freely chosen by the Afghan people, without prejudice to any decisions which may be freely taken by the Afghan people about the precise form in which their government is to be organized in the future;

(7) to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan through, among other things, programs that create jobs, facilitate clearance of landmines, and rebuild the agriculture sector, the health care system, and the educational system of Afghanistan;

(8) to provide resources to the Ministry for Women’s Affairs of Afghanistan to carry out its responsibilities for legal advocacy, education, vocational training, and women’s health programs; and

(9) to foster the growth of a pluralistic society that promotes and respects religious freedom.

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 102, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2798.)

§ 7513. Authorization of assistance

(a) In general

(1) Urgent humanitarian needsTo assist in meeting the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan, including assistance such as—

(A) emergency food, shelter, and medical assistance;

(B) clean drinking water and sanitation;

(C) preventative health care, including childhood vaccination, therapeutic feeding, maternal child health services, and infectious diseases surveillance and treatment;

(D) family tracing and reunification services; and

(E) clearance of landmines and other unexploded ordinance.1

1 So in original. Probably should be “ordnance.”

(2) Repatriation and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced personsTo assist refugees and internally displaced persons as they return to their home communities in Afghanistan and to support their reintegration into those communities, including assistance such as—

(A) assistance identified in paragraph (1);

(B) assistance to communities, including those in neighboring countries, that have taken in large numbers of refugees in order to rehabilitate or expand social, health, and educational services that may have suffered as a result of the influx of large numbers of refugees;

(C) assistance to international organizations and host governments in maintaining security by screening refugees to ensure the exclusion of armed combatants, members of foreign terrorist organizations, and other individuals not eligible for economic assistance from the United States; and

(D) assistance for voluntary refugee repatriation and reintegration inside Afghanistan and continued assistance to those refugees who are unable or unwilling to return, and humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons, including those persons who need assistance to return to their homes, through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other organizations charged with providing such assistance.

(3) Counternarcotics efforts

(A) To assist in the eradication of poppy cultivation, the disruption of heroin production, and the reduction of the overall supply and demand for illicit narcotics in Afghanistan and the region, with particular emphasis on assistance to—

(i) eradicate opium poppy, promote alternatives to poppy cultivation, including the introduction of high value crops that are suitable for export and the provision of appropriate technical assistance and credit mechanisms for farmers, purchase nonopium products from farmers in opium-growing areas, quick-impact public works programs to divert labor from narcotics production, develop projects directed specifically at narcotics production, processing, or trafficking areas to provide incentives to cooperation in narcotics suppression activities, and related programs;

(ii) establish or provide assistance to one or more entities within the Government of Afghanistan, including the Afghan State High Commission for Drug Control, and to provide training and equipment for the entities, to help enforce counternarcotics laws in Afghanistan and limit illicit narcotics growth, production, and trafficking in Afghanistan, and to create special counternarcotics courts, prosecutors, and places of incarceration;

(iii) train and provide equipment for customs, police, and other border control entities in Afghanistan and the region relating to illicit narcotics interdiction and relating to precursor chemical controls and interdiction to help disrupt heroin production in Afghanistan and the region, in particular, notwithstanding section 2420 of this title, by providing non-lethal equipment, training (including training in internationally recognized standards of human rights, the rule of law, anti-corruption, and the promotion of civilian police roles that support democracy), and payments, during fiscal years 2005 through 2008, for salaries for special counternarcotics police and supporting units;

(iv) continue the annual opium crop survey and strategic studies on opium crop planting and farming in Afghanistan;

(v) reduce demand for illicit narcotics among the people of Afghanistan, including refugees returning to Afghanistan; and

(vi) assist the Afghan National Army with respect to any of the activities under this paragraph.

(B) For each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2006, $15,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to be made available for a contribution to the United Nations Drug Control Program for the purpose of carrying out activities described in clauses (i) through (v) of subparagraph (A). Amounts made available under the preceding sentence are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.

(4) Reestablishment of food security, rehabilitation of the agriculture sector, improvement in health conditions, and the reconstruction of basic infrastructureTo assist in expanding access to markets in Afghanistan, to increase the availability of food in markets in Afghanistan, to rehabilitate the agriculture sector in Afghanistan by creating jobs for former combatants, returning refugees, and internally displaced persons, to improve health conditions, and assist in the rebuilding of basic infrastructure in Afghanistan, including assistance such as—

(A) rehabilitation of the agricultural infrastructure, including irrigation systems and rural roads;

(B) extension of credit;

(C) provision of critical agricultural inputs, such as seeds, tools, and fertilizer, and strengthening of seed multiplication, certification, and distribution systems;

(D) improvement in the quantity and quality of water available through, among other things, rehabilitation of existing irrigation systems and the development of local capacity to manage irrigation systems;

(E) livestock rehabilitation through market development and other mechanisms to distribute stocks to replace those stocks lost as a result of conflict or drought;

(F) mine awareness and demining programs and programs to assist mine victims, war orphans, and widows;

(G) programs relating to infant and young child feeding, immunizations, vitamin A supplementation, and prevention and treatment of diarrheal diseases and respiratory infections;

(H) programs to improve maternal and child health and reduce maternal and child mortality;

(I) programs to improve hygienic and sanitation practices and for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria;

(J) programs to reconstitute the delivery of health care, including the reconstruction of health clinics or other basic health infrastructure, with particular emphasis on health care for children who are orphans;

(K) programs for housing (including repairing homes damaged during military operations), rebuilding urban infrastructure, and supporting basic urban services;

(L) disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of armed combatants into society, particularly child soldiers; and

(M) assistance in identifying and surveying key road and rail routes that are essential for economic renewal in Afghanistan and the region and support for the establishment of a customs service and training for customs officers.

(5) Education, the rule of law, and related issues

(A) EducationTo assist in the development of the capacity of the Government of Afghanistan to provide education to the people of Afghanistan, including assistance such as—

(i) support for an educated citizenry through improved access to basic education, with particular emphasis on basic education for children, especially orphans;

(ii) programs to enable the Government of Afghanistan to recruit and train teachers, with special focus on the recruitment and training of female teachers;

(iii) programs to enable the Government of Afghanistan to develop school curricula that incorporate relevant information such as landmine awareness, food security and agricultural education, civic education, and human rights education, including education relating to religious freedom;

(iv) programs to construct, renovate, or rebuild, and to equip and provide teacher training, for primary schools, secondary schools, and universities; and

(v) programs to increase educational exchanges and partnerships between the United States and Afghanistan.

(B) Rule of lawTo assist in the development of the rule of law and good governance and reduced corruption in Afghanistan, including assistance such as—

(i) support for the activities of the Government of Afghanistan to implement its constitution, to develop modern legal codes and court rules, to provide for the creation of legal assistance programs, and other initiatives to promote the rule of law in Afghanistan;

(ii) support for improvements in the capacity and physical infrastructure of the justice system in Afghanistan, such as for professional training (including for women) to improve the administration of justice, for programs to enhance prosecutorial and judicial capabilities and to protect participants in judicial cases, for improvements in the instruction of law enforcement personnel (including human rights training), and for the promotion of civilian police roles that support democracy;

(iii) support for rehabilitation and rebuilding of courthouses and detention facilities;

(iv) support for the effective administration of justice at the national, regional, and local levels, including programs to improve penal institutions and the rehabilitation of prisoners, and to establish a responsible and community-based police force;

(v) support to increase the transparency, accountability, and participatory nature of governmental institutions, including programs designed to combat corruption and other programs for the promotion of good governance, such as the development of regulations relating to financial disclosure for public officials, political parties, and candidates for public office, and transparent budgeting processes and financial management systems;

(vi) support for establishment of a central bank and central budgeting authority;

(vii) support for international organizations that provide civil advisers to the Government of Afghanistan; and

(viii) support for Afghan and international efforts to investigate human rights atrocities committed in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime, opponents of such regime, and terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, including the collection of forensic evidence relating to such atrocities.

(C) Civil society and democracyTo support the development of democratic institutions in Afghanistan, including assistance for—

(i) international monitoring and observing of, and the promotion of, free and fair elections;

(ii) strengthening democratic political parties;

(iii) international exchanges and professional training for members or officials of government, political, and civic or other nongovernmental entities;

(iv) national, regional, and local elections and political party development;

(v) an independent media;

(vi) programs that support the expanded participation of women and members of all ethnic groups in government at national, regional, and local levels; and

(vii) programs to strengthen civil society organizations that promote human rights, including religious freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of association, and support human rights monitoring.

(D) Protection of sites

(6) Market economyTo support the establishment of a market economy, the establishment of private financial institutions, the adoption of policies to promote foreign direct investment, the development of a basic telecommunication infrastructure, and the development of trade and other commercial links with countries in the region and with the United States, including policies to—

(A) encourage the return of Afghanistan citizens or nationals living abroad who have marketable and business-related skills;

(B) establish financial institutions, including credit unions, cooperatives, and other entities providing microenterprise credits and other income-generation programs for the poor, with particular emphasis on women;

(D) promote and foster respect for basic workers’ rights and protections against exploitation of child labor;

(E) develop handicraft and other small-scale industries; and

(F) provide financing programs for the reconstruction of Kabul and other major cities in Afghanistan.

(7) Assistance to women and girls

(A) Assistance objectivesTo assist women and girls in Afghanistan in the areas of political and human rights, health care, education, training, security, and shelter, with particular emphasis on assistance—

(i) to support construction of, provide equipment and medical supplies to, and otherwise facilitate the establishment and rehabilitation of, health care facilities in order to improve the health care of women, children, and infants;

(ii) to expand immunization programs for women and children;

(iii) to establish, maintain, and expand primary and secondary schools for girls that include mathematics, science, and languages in their primary curriculum;

(iv) to develop and expand technical and vocational training programs and income-generation projects for women;

(v) to provide special educational opportunities for girls whose schooling was ended by the Taliban, and to support the ability of women to have access to higher education;

(vi) 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;

(vii) to provide emergency shelters for women and girls who face danger from violence;

(viii) to direct humanitarian assistance to widows, who make up a very large and needy population in war-torn Afghanistan;

(ix) to support the work of women-led and local nongovernmental organizations with demonstrated experience in delivering services to Afghan women and children;

(x) to disseminate information throughout Afghanistan on the rights of women and on international standards of human rights, including the rights of religious freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of association;

(xi) to provide women’s rights and human rights training for military, police, and legal personnel; and

(xii) to support the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission in programs to promote women’s rights and human rights, including the rights of religious freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of association, and in the investigation and monitoring of women’s rights and human rights abuses.

(B) Availability of fundsFor each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2006—

(i) $15,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to be made available to the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs; and

(ii) $5,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to be made available to the National Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan.

(b) Limitation

(1) In general

(2) Waiver

(A) In general

(B) Contents of certification

(1) Authorization of appropriations

(2) Availability of funds

(d) Monitoring of assistance for Afghanistan

(1) Report

(A) In general

(B) ContentsEach such report shall set forth, for the preceding annual period and cumulatively, a description of—

(i) the activities and the purposes for which funds were obligated;

(ii) the source of the funds stated specifically by fiscal year, agency, and program;

(iii) the participation of each United States Government department or agency; and

(iv) such other information as the Secretary considers appropriate to fully inform Congress on such matters.

(2) Submission of information for report

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 103, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2799; Pub. L. 108–458, title VII, § 7104(e)(1)(B), (f)(2)–(g), (j)(1), (k)(2), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3782, 3783, 3785, 3787, 3788.)

§ 7514. Coordination of assistance

(a) In general

The President shall designate, within the Department of State, a coordinator who shall be responsible for—

(1) designing an overall strategy to advance United States interests in Afghanistan;

(2) ensuring program and policy coordination among agencies of the United States Government in carrying out the policies set forth in this subchapter;

(3) pursuing coordination with other countries and international organizations with respect to assistance to Afghanistan;

(4) ensuring that United States assistance programs for Afghanistan are consistent with this subchapter;

(5) ensuring proper management, implementation, and oversight by agencies responsible for assistance programs for Afghanistan; and

(6) resolving policy and program disputes among United States Government agencies with respect to United States assistance for Afghanistan.

(b) Rank and status of the coordinator

(1) Submission to Congress

The coordinator designated under subsection (a) shall annually submit the Afghanistan assistance plan of the Administration to—

(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;

(B) the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives;

(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

(2) Contents

The assistance plan submitted under paragraph (1) shall describe—

(A) how the plan relates to the strategy provided pursuant to section 7554 of this title; and

(B) how the plan builds upon United States assistance provided to Afghanistan since 2001.

(d) Coordination with international community

(1) In general

(2) International financial institutions

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 104, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2804; Pub. L. 108–458, title VII, § 7104(c)(2), (d), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3781.)

§ 7515. Sense of Congress regarding promoting cooperation in opium producing areas

It is the sense of Congress that the President should—

(1) to the extent practicable, under such procedures as the President may prescribe, withhold United States bilateral assistance from, and oppose multilateral assistance to, opium-producing areas of Afghanistan if, within such areas, appropriate cooperation is not provided to the United States, the Government of Afghanistan, and international organizations with respect to the suppression of narcotics cultivation and trafficking, and if withholding such assistance would promote such cooperation;

(2) redistribute any United States bilateral assistance (and to promote the redistribution of any multilateral assistance) withheld from an opium-producing area to other areas with respect to which assistance has not been withheld as a consequence of this section; and

(3) define or redefine the boundaries of opium producing areas of Afghanistan for the purposes of this section.

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 105, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2805.)

§ 7516. Administrative provisions

(a) Applicable administrative authorities

(b) Use of the expertise of Afghan-Americans

In providing assistance authorized by this subchapter, the President should—

(1) maximize the use, to the extent feasible, of the services of Afghan-Americans who have expertise in the areas for which assistance is authorized by this subchapter; and

(2) in the awarding of contracts and grants to implement activities authorized under this subchapter, encourage the participation of such Afghan-Americans (including organizations employing a significant number of such Afghan-Americans).

In providing assistance authorized by this subchapter, the President, to the maximum extent practicable, should—

(1) encourage the donation of appropriate excess or obsolete manufacturing and related equipment by United States businesses (including small businesses) for the reconstruction of Afghanistan; and

(2) utilize research conducted by United States colleges and universities and the technical expertise of professionals within those institutions, particularly in the areas of agriculture and rural development.

(d) Administrative expenses

(e) Monitoring

(1) Comptroller General

(2) Inspector General of USAID

(f) Priority for direct assistance to the Government of Afghanistan

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 106, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2805.)

§ 7517. Relationship to other authority

The authority to provide assistance under this subchapter is in addition to any other authority to provide assistance to the Government of Afghanistan.

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 107, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2806.)

§ 7518. Authorization of appropriations

(a) In general

(b) Availability

Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) are—

(1) authorized to remain available until expended; and

(2) in addition to funds otherwise available for such purposes, including, with respect to food assistance under section 7513(a)(1) of this title, funds available under title II of the Food for Peace Act [7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.], section 1736o of title 7, and section 1431(b) of title 7.

(Pub. L. 107–327, title I, § 108, Dec. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 2806; Pub. L. 108–106, title II, § 2214, Nov. 6, 2003, 117 Stat. 1232; Pub. L. 108–458, title VII, § 7104(m), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3788; Pub. L. 110–246, title III, § 3001(c), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1821.)