CHAPTER 82 - AFGHANISTAN FREEDOM SUPPORT
Title 22 > CHAPTER 82
Sections (19)
§ 7501 Definition
In this chapter, the term “Government of Afghanistan” includes— the government of any political subdivision of Afghanistan; and any agency or instrumentality of the Government of Afghanistan. ( Pub. L. 107–327, § 1(c) , Dec. 4, 2002 , 116 Stat. 2797 .)
§ 7511 Declaration of policy
Congress makes the following declarations: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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— 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; 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 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 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President is authorized to provide assistance for Afghanistan for the following activities: To assist in meeting the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Afghanistan, including assistance such as— emergency food, shelter, and medical assistance; clean drinking water and sanitation; preventative health care, including childhood vaccination, therapeutic feeding, maternal child health services, and infectious diseases surveillance and treatment; family tracing and reunification services; and clearance of landmines and other unexploded ordinance. 1 To 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— assistance identified in paragraph (1); 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; 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 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. 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— 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; 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; 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; continue the annual opium crop survey and strategic studies on opium crop planting and farming in Afghanistan; reduce demand for illicit narcotics among the people of Afghanistan, including refugees returning to Afghanistan; and assist the Afghan National Army with respect to any of the activities under this paragraph. For each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2006, 15,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to be made available to the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs; and $5,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated to the President to be made available to the National Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan. Amounts made available under subparagraph (B) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.
(b) Limitation Amounts made available to carry out this subchapter (except amounts made available for assistance under paragraphs (1) through (3) and subparagraphs (F) through (I) of paragraph (4) of subsection (a)) may be provided only if the President first determines and certifies to Congress with respect to the fiscal year involved that progress is being made toward adopting a constitution and establishing a democratically elected government for Afghanistan that respects human rights. The President may waive the application of paragraph (1) if the President first determines and certifies to Congress that it is important to the national interest of the United States to do so. A certification transmitted to Congress under subparagraph (A) shall include a written explanation of the basis for the determination of the President to waive the application of paragraph (1).
(c) Enterprise fund In addition to funds otherwise available for such purpose, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President for an enterprise fund for Afghanistan $300,000,000. The provisions contained in section 5421 of this title (excluding the authorizations of appropriations provided in subsection (b) of that section) shall apply with respect to such enterprise fund and to funds made available to such enterprise fund under this subsection. Amounts appropriated pursuant to paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended.
(d) Monitoring of assistance for Afghanistan The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator for the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives a report on the obligations of United States assistance for Afghanistan from all United States Government departments and agencies. Each such report shall set forth, for the preceding annual period and cumulatively, a description of— the activities and the purposes for which funds were obligated; the source of the funds stated specifically by fiscal year, agency, and program; the participation of each United States Government department or agency; and such other information as the Secretary considers appropriate to fully inform Congress on such matters. The first report submitted under this paragraph shall include a cumulative account of information described in subparagraph (B) from all prior periods beginning with fiscal year 2001. The first report under this paragraph shall be submitted not later than March 15, 2005 . Subsequent reports shall be submitted every 12 months thereafter and may be included in the report required under section 7536(c)(2) 2 of this title. The head of each United States Government agency referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide on a timely basis to the Secretary of State such information as the Secretary may reasonably require to allow the Secretary to prepare and submit the report required under paragraph (1).
“SECTION 1 SHORT TITLE.
“This Act may be cited as the ‘Afghan Women and Children Relief Act of 2001’.
“SEC. 2 FINDINGS.
“Congress makes the following findings: In Afghanistan, Taliban restrictions on women’s participation in society make it nearly impossible for women to exercise their basic human rights. The Taliban restrictions on Afghan women’s freedom of expression, association, and movement deny women full participation in society and, consequently, from effectively securing basic access to work, education, and health care. Afghanistan has one of the highest infant (165 of 1000) and child (257 of 1000) mortality rates in the world. Only 5 percent of rural and 39 percent of urban Afghans have access to safe drinking water. It is estimated that 42 percent of all deaths in Afghanistan are due to diarrheal diseases caused by contaminated food and water. Over one-third of Afghan children under 5 years of age suffer from malnutrition, 85,000 of whom die annually. Seventy percent of the health care system in Afghanistan is dependent on foreign assistance. As of May 1998, only 20 percent of hospital medical and surgical beds dedicated to adults were available for women, and thousands of Afghan women and girls are routinely denied health care. Women are forbidden to leave their homes without being escorted by a male relative. This prevents many women from seeking basic necessities like health care and food for their children. Doctors, virtually all of whom are male, are also not permitted to provide certain types of care not deemed appropriate by the Taliban. Before the Taliban took control of Kabul, schools were coeducational, with women accounting for 70 percent of the teaching force. Women represented about 50 percent of the civil service corps, and 40 percent of the city’s physicians were women. Today, the Taliban prohibits women from working as teachers, doctors, and in any other occupation. The Taliban prohibit [sic] girls and women from attending school. In 1998, the Taliban ordered the closing of more than 100 privately funded schools where thousands of young women and girls were receiving education and training in skills that would have helped them support themselves and their families. Of the many tens of thousands of war widows in Afghanistan, many are forced to beg for food and to sell their possessions because they are not allowed to work. Resistance movements courageously continue to educate Afghan girls in secrecy and in foreign countries against Taliban law.
“SEC. 3 AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(“(a) In General.— Subject to subsection (b), the President is authorized, on such terms and conditions as the President may determine, to provide educational and health care assistance for the women and children living in Afghanistan and as refugees in neighboring countries.
(“(b) Implementation.— In providing assistance under subsection (a), the President shall ensure that such assistance is provided in a manner that protects and promotes the human rights of all people in Afghanistan, utilizing indigenous institutions and nongovernmental organizations, especially women’s organizations, to the extent possible. Beginning 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [ Dec. 12, 2001 ], and at least annually for the 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on International Relations [now Committee on Foreign Affairs] of the House of Representatives describing the activities carried out under this Act and otherwise describing the condition and status of women and children in Afghanistan and the persons in refugee camps while United States aid is given to displaced Afghans.
(“(c) Availability of Funds.— Funds made available under the 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States ( Public Law 107–38 ) [ 115 Stat. 220 ], shall be available to carry out this Act.”
§ 7514 Coordination of assistance
(a) In general The President shall designate, within the Department of State, a coordinator who shall be responsible for— designing an overall strategy to advance United States interests in Afghanistan; ensuring program and policy coordination among agencies of the United States Government in carrying out the policies set forth in this subchapter; pursuing coordination with other countries and international organizations with respect to assistance to Afghanistan; ensuring that United States assistance programs for Afghanistan are consistent with this subchapter; ensuring proper management, implementation, and oversight by agencies responsible for assistance programs for Afghanistan; and 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 The coordinator designated under subsection (a) shall have the rank and status of ambassador.
(c) Assistance plan The coordinator designated under subsection (a) shall annually submit the Afghanistan assistance plan of the Administration to— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. The assistance plan submitted under paragraph (1) shall describe— how the plan relates to the strategy provided pursuant to section 7554 of this title ; and how the plan builds upon United States assistance provided to Afghanistan since 2001.
(d) Coordination with international community The coordinator designated under subsection (a) shall work with the international community and the Government of Afghanistan to ensure that assistance to Afghanistan is implemented in a coherent, consistent, and efficient manner to prevent duplication and waste. The coordinator designated under subsection (a), under the direction of the Secretary of State, shall work through the Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Executive Directors at the international financial institutions (as defined in section 262r(c)(2) of this title ) to coordinate United States assistance for Afghanistan with international financial institutions.
§ 7515 Sense of Congress regarding promoting cooperation in opium producing areas
It is the sense of Congress that the President should— 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; 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 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 Except to the extent inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter, the administrative authorities under chapters 1 and 2 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [ 22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq., 2381 et seq.] shall apply to the provision of assistance under this subchapter to the same extent and in the same manner as such authorities apply to the provision of economic assistance under part I of such Act [ 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.].
(b) Use of the expertise of Afghan-Americans In providing assistance authorized by this subchapter, the President should— 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 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).
(c) Donations of manufacturing equipment; use of colleges and universities In providing assistance authorized by this subchapter, the President, to the maximum extent practicable, should— 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 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 Of the funds made available to carry out the purposes of assistance authorized by this subchapter in any fiscal year, up to 7 percent may be used for administrative expenses of Federal departments and agencies in connection with the provision of such assistance.
(e) Monitoring The Comptroller General shall monitor the provision of assistance under this subchapter. The Inspector General of the United States Agency for International Development shall conduct audits, inspections, and other activities, as appropriate, associated with the expenditure of the funds to carry out this subchapter.
(f) Priority for direct assistance to the Government of Afghanistan To the maximum extent practicable, assistance authorized under this subchapter should be provided directly to the Government of Afghanistan (including any appropriate ministry thereof).
§ 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 There is authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out this subchapter (other than section 7513(c) of this title ) such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 and 2006.
(b) Availability Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) are— authorized to remain available until expended; and 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 1736 o of title 7, and section 1431(b) of title 7 .
§§ 7531 to 7538 Omitted
§ 7551 Requirement to comply with procedures relating to the prohibition on assistance to drug traffickers
Assistance provided under this chapter shall be subject to the same provisions as are applicable to assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [ 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.] and the Arms Export Control Act [ 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.] under section 487 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to the prohibition on assistance to drug traffickers; 22 U.S.C. 2291f ), and the applicable regulations issued under that section. ( Pub. L. 107–327, title III, § 301 , Dec. 4, 2002 , 116 Stat. 2812 .)
§ 7552 Sense of Congress regarding protecting Afghanistan’s President
It is the sense of Congress that— any United States physical protection force provided for the personal security of the President of Afghanistan should be composed of United States diplomatic security, law-enforcement, or military personnel, and should not utilize private contracted personnel to provide actual physical protection services; United States allies should be invited to volunteer active-duty military or law enforcement personnel to participate in such a protection force; and such a protection force should be limited in duration and should be succeeded by qualified Afghan security forces as soon as practicable. ( Pub. L. 107–327, title III, § 302 , Dec. 4, 2002 , 116 Stat. 2812 .)
§ 7553 Donor contributions to Afghanistan and reports
(a) Findings The Congress finds that inadequate amounts of international assistance promised by donor states at the Tokyo donors conference and elsewhere have been delivered to Afghanistan, imperiling the rebuilding and development of civil society and infrastructure, and endangering peace and security in that war-torn country.
(b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States should use all appropriate diplomatic means to encourage all states that have pledged assistance to Afghanistan to deliver as soon as possible the total amount of assistance pledged.
(c) Reports The Secretary of State shall submit reports to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, in accordance with this paragraph, on the status of contributions of assistance from donor states to Afghanistan. The first report shall be submitted not later than 60 days after December 4, 2002 , the second report shall be submitted 90 days thereafter, and subsequent reports shall be submitted every 180 days thereafter through December 31, 2004 . Each report, which shall be unclassified and posted upon the Department of State’s Internet website, shall include, by donor country, the total amount pledged, the amount delivered within the previous 60 days, the total amount of assistance delivered, the type of assistance and type of projects supported by the assistance.
§ 7554 Reports
(a) In general The Secretary of State shall submit reports to the Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committees on International Relations and Appropriations of the House of Representatives on progress made in accomplishing the “Purposes of Assistance” set forth in section 7512 of this title utilizing assistance provided by the United States for Afghanistan.
(b) Deadline for submission The first report shall be submitted no later than December 31, 2003 , and subsequent reports shall be submitted in conjunction with reports required under section 7553 of this title and thereafter through December 31, 2004 .
(c) Form of reports Any report or other matter that is required to be submitted to Congress (including a committee of Congress) by this chapter may contain a classified annex.
§ 7555 Formulation of long-term strategy for Afghanistan
(a) Strategy Not later than 180 days after December 17, 2004 , the President shall formulate a 5-year strategy for Afghanistan and submit such strategy to— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. The strategy formulated under paragraph (1) shall include specific and measurable goals for addressing the long-term development and security needs of Afghanistan, including sectors such as agriculture and irrigation, parliamentary and democratic development, the judicial system and rule of law, human rights, education, health, telecommunications, electricity, women’s rights, counternarcotics, police, border security, anti-corruption, and other law-enforcement activities, as well as the anticipated costs and time frames associated with achieving those goals.
(b) Monitoring The President shall transmit on an annual basis through 2010 a report describing the progress made toward the implementation of the strategy required by subsection (a) and any changes to the strategy since the date of the submission of the last report to— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
§ 7556 Benchmarks to evaluate the progress being made toward the transition of security responsibilities for Afghanistan to the Government of Afghanistan
(a) Options for expansion of capacity of Afghan National Security Forces The President shall, acting through the Secretary of Defense, establish and update as appropriate, and submit to Congress, options to accelerate the expansion of the capacity of Afghan National Security Forces with the goal of— enabling the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, consistent with the Framework for Inteqal, to assume lead responsibility for security in all areas of Afghanistan, to maintain security in those areas, and to sustain the Afghan National Security Forces; achieving United States national security objectives to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist allies in Afghanistan, and preventing the establishment of safe havens for those entities; and enabling the United States to move to an enduring partnership with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, fully consistent with the Declaration by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on an Enduring Partnership as issued at the Lisbon conference on November 20, 2010 .
(b) Benchmarks The President shall establish, and may update from time to time, a comprehensive set of benchmarks to evaluate progress being made toward meeting the goals set forth in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a).
(c) Submittal to Congress The President shall include the most current set of benchmarks established pursuant to subsection (b) with each report on progress toward security and stability in Afghanistan that is submitted to Congress under sections 1230 and 1231 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 ( Public Law 110–181 ; 122 Stat. 385 , 390).