[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4097 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4097
To require a report on the participation of Afghan women in
negotiations and dialogue relating to the Afghan peace process and a
strategy for post-conflict engagement by the United States in
Afghanistan, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 2019
Mr. Keating (for himself, Mrs. Wagner, Ms. Frankel, and Mr. Wilson of
South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a report on the participation of Afghan women in
negotiations and dialogue relating to the Afghan peace process and a
strategy for post-conflict engagement by the United States 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's Inclusion in
Negotiations Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 was signed
into law on October 6, 2017, requiring the United States
Government to promote the meaningful participation of women in
all aspects of overseas conflict prevention, management, and
resolution, and postconflict relief and recovery efforts.
(2) The meaningful participation of women in peace
negotiations has been shown to make resulting peace agreements
35 percent more likely to last, according to the International
Peace Institute, and their sustained engagement and leadership
in conflict prevention and conflict resolution processes helps
to promote more inclusive and democratic societies and is
critical to the long-term stability of countries and regions.
(3) The United States National Security Strategy states,
``governments that fail to treat women equally do not allow
their societies to reach their potential'' and ``societies that
empower women to participate fully in civic and economic life
are more prosperous and peaceful''.
(4) Today, millions of Afghan women have voted in elections
and women have a significant presence in the National Assembly,
ministries, local government, and the diplomatic corps
including as Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United States.
(5) According to the United States Institute of Peace, more
than 68,000 Afghan women are employed in schools and
universities, and at least 10,000 women are doctors and health
care professionals.
(6) Afghan women entrepreneurs have invested an estimated
$77 million in their businesses, creating 77,000 jobs for
Afghans.
(7) In 2015, Afghanistan approved a National Action Plan on
Women, Peace, and Security to increase women's participation in
peace processes and the security sector as well as address
issues around protection and relief and recovery services.
(8) In 2018, Afghanistan reaffirmed its Law to Eliminate
Violence Against Women.
(9) Afghan women have advocated relentlessly for peace,
equality, and basic rights under the Taliban, including by
educating the next generation of Afghans in underground schools
and successfully negotiating with the Taliban to reopen girls'
schools, release hostages, and prevent violence.
(10) Afghan women participated in the 2001 Bonn
International Conference on Afghanistan, participated alongside
then-President Karzai at the 2010 National Consultative Peace
Jirga on reconciliation between the Afghan government and
insurgent leaders, served on the country's Provincial Peace
Councils, and today serve on Afghanistan's High Peace Council.
(11) Through various coalitions, women have mobilized to
demand an immediate ceasefire and their rightful seat at the
table including through rallies and consultations with
communities across all of Afghanistan's provinces, including a
``Peace Consultative Loya Jirga'' which brought together
politicians, tribal elders, and other prominent leaders to
decide on a common approach for peace talks with the Taliban.
(12) Over the first seven rounds of bilateral talks between
the United States and the Taliban, neither the Afghan
Government nor Afghan women or civil society groups were
permitted to participate in the negotiations.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) corresponding with the Women, Peace, and Security Act
of 2017 (Public Law 115-68) and the U.S. Strategy on Women,
Peace, and Security, the United States has a commitment to
promoting the meaningful participation of women throughout the
Afghan peace process;
(2) representatives of Afghan women, youth, and other
marginalized groups from rural and urban provinces and
especially from those most affected by violence, should
meaningfully participate and engage in all peace talks,
implementation commissions, and other bodies if an agreement is
reached, alongside the Government of Afghanistan, the Afghan
political opposition, and the Taliban, and that their security
must be protected throughout and their concerns prioritized in
those respective agendas;
(3) training and gender expertise should be made available
to the United States mediators of the peace talks and all
participating delegations, including one or more gender
advisors with expertise in structuring inclusive peace process
and conflict mediation, and who have local language skills and
mediation expertise to establish a safe communication channel
for engagement with and training of a diverse range of Afghan
women's groups;
(4) financial, technical, and logistical support, including
security precautions for their protection, should be provided
to women delegates to the talks, mediators, peace builders, and
stakeholders, enabling them to travel safely to and from the
location of the peace talks and to meaningfully participate;
and
(5) a component of any international aid package that is
awarded to Afghanistan as part of the peace process should be
directed to programming focused on gender equality and women's
empowerment, including for efforts to ensure that
implementation of the peace agreement is shaped by gender
analysis, and that funds are made available as grants for local
Afghan women-led and women's empowerment organizations as well
as for education and necessary services for women and girls.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate not later than 30 days
after the conclusion of each round of negotiations relating to the
Afghan peace process an unclassified report, which may contain a
classified annex, relating to the peace process.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a)
shall include information, in accordance with the requirements of the
Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-68), on--
(1) the participation of Afghan women and the protection of
their rights and gains;
(2) the actions of the Department of State and other
relevant Federal departments and agencies to advance the
priorities described in section 3, including United States
efforts to consult with and train local women-led civil society
organizations and to advocate for their inclusion and
participation in national, provincial, and community-level
peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and post-conflict
reconciliation.
SEC. 5. STRATEGY FOR POST-CONFLICT ENGAGEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES IN
AFGHANISTAN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
and other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate not later than 120
days after a final Afghan Reconciliation Agreement is reached, a
strategy for post-conflict engagement by the United States in
Afghanistan to support the implementation of commitments for women and
girls' inclusion and empowerment in the Agreement, as well as to
protect and promote basic human rights in Afghanistan, especially the
human rights of women and girls.
(b) Required Elements.--The Secretary of State shall seek to ensure
that activities carried out under the strategy--
(1) employ rigorous monitoring and evaluation
methodologies, including ex-post evaluation, and gender
analysis as defined by the Women's Entrepreneurship and
Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-428) and
required by the U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security;
(2) disaggregate all data collected and reported by age,
gender, marital and motherhood status, disability, and
urbanity, to the extent practicable and appropriate; and
(3) adhere to the Policy Guidance on Promoting Gender
Equality of the Department of State and the Gender Equality and
Female Empowerment Policy of the United States Agency for
International Development.
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