[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10385 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10385
To provide clarification of assistance related to safeguarding and the
elimination of landmines, other explosive remnants of war, and
conventional arms.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 12, 2024
Mr. Bera (for himself and Ms. Balint) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide clarification of assistance related to safeguarding and the
elimination of landmines, other explosive remnants of war, and
conventional arms.
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 ``Conventional Weapons Destruction and
Legacy of Senator Patrick Leahy Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Landmines and other unexploded ordnance threaten the
safety, health, and lives of civilian populations and create
humanitarian and development challenges that have serious and
lasting social, economic, and security consequences for
affected populations.
(2) During his 48 years serving in the Senate, Senator
Patrick Leahy, of Vermont, was a leading voice in United States
foreign policy and championed numerous humanitarian causes,
including working to rid the world of the scourge of landmines
and other explosive remnants of war.
(3) Senator Leahy's legacy on this issue includes numerous
achievements, including in 1989 what was later named the
Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund which provides medical and
other assistance to victims of landmines and other war-related
disabilities, section 1365 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160; 22
U.S.C. 2778 note) (commonly referred to as the ``Landmine
Export Moratorium Act''), which prohibits the export and
transfer of antipersonnel landmines, and working to make the
United States the world leader in humanitarian demining
funding--all of which have saved countless lives and made real
improvements in the livelihoods of people recovering from
conflict.
(4) The United States has provided more than $4,600,000,000
in conventional weapons destruction assistance to more than 120
countries and areas since 1993, including humanitarian demining
and weapons security programs by the Department of State, the
Department of Defense, and the United States Agency for
International Development.
(5) Conventional weapons destruction assistance has saved
countless lives around the world, improves stability and
prosperity by clearing landmines and other explosive remnants
of war and returning land to productive use, builds trust and
deepens relationships with key partners to accelerate
achievement of broader United States foreign policy objectives,
plays an important role in addressing other global issues and
United States interests, including food security and combatting
displacement and migration, and provides employment
opportunities to women.
(6) United States humanitarian demining programs, notably
those devoted to clearing unexploded bombs and other munitions
from the Vietnam War, have played a crucial role in building
new partnerships in regions of geopolitical importance.
(7) Globally, in fiscal year 2022, it is estimated that
approximately--
(A) 200,100 explosive remnants of war were
destroyed, allowing for 60,200 acres of land to be
cleared and returned to public use;
(B) 37,500 landmines and 9,000 improvised explosive
devices were destroyed; and
(C) 53,700 civilian survivors of explosive remnants
of war injuries were provided assistance and 3,400,000
civilians were provided life-saving risk education to
help avoid injury.
(8) Many countries lack the equipment and technical
capacity to properly manage government-held weapons and
ammunition stockpiles, and conventional weapons destruction
assistance enhances United States and international security by
destroying and securing small arms and light weapons, including
man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), at risk of
accidental explosions as well as proliferation to terrorists,
insurgents, and other violent non-state actors.
(9) In fiscal year 2022, approximately 14,100 small arms
and light weapons, 223 MANPADS and anti-tank guided missiles
systems (ATGMs), and 3,900 metric tons of ammunition were
destroyed.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF ASSISTANCE RELATING TO SAFEGUARDING AND
ELIMINATION OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS.
The Department of State Authorities Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-
472) is amended by inserting after section 11 (22 U.S.C. 2349bb-6) the
following new section:
``SEC. 11A. PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE FOR HUMANITARIAN DEMINING AND
ELIMINATION OR SECURING OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS.
``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
``(1) Landmines and other explosive remnants of war
threaten populations after conflicts end, and humanitarian
demining is a fundamental part of recovery from conflict.
``(2) Clearing the land of explosive remnants of war
provides quantifiable threat reduction and allows affected
persons to return to their homes and utilize the land.
``(3) Agriculture is disproportionately impacted by
unexploded ordnance, endangering farmers and exacerbating food
security. Subsistence farming, larger-scale agriculture,
grazing, and other related activities are improved through
humanitarian demining.
``(4) Decontaminated land can be returned to use for
critical infrastructure development, and many other uses that
enhance sustainable recovery and development.
``(5) Risk education bolsters the life-saving benefits of
humanitarian demining activities, helping to minimize
preventable injuries through community engagement, which in
turn creates local buy-in and awareness of this vital
assistance being provided by the United States.
``(6) Many countries lack the equipment, resources and
facilities, and technical capacity to properly manage weapons
and ammunition stockpiles. Weapons and Ammunition Management
(WAM) or Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM)
programs are security sector partnerships based on the shared
objectives of preventing the diversion of weapons, ammunition,
and explosives, as well as unplanned explosions.
``(7) These projects include armory and munitions store
construction and rehabilitation, and other security
improvements, weapons and ammunition disposal, stockpile
management training and guidelines, needs assessments,
stockpile risk assessments, mitigation and management plans,
and marking and record-keeping.
``(8) This assistance, provided to a range of security
forces including local police, is focused on providing
necessary equipment and technical expertise in a sustainable
way, allowing partners to establish, implement, and train in
WAM/PSSM best practices and compliance, as well as conduct
their own safe disposal of obsolete weapons, ammunition, and
munitions.
``(9) These programs not only reduce instability and
civilian harm from armed violence caused by weapons diversion,
but also provide the United States with key security
partnerships. By reducing armed violence and instability, these
programs can play a crucial role in addressing the root causes
of migration and forced displacement, of particular interest to
the United States as it pertains to its southern border.
``(10) Risk education expands the scope of WAM/PSSM
programs beyond the principal partnerships, providing training
to local police and communities on safer and more secure
weapons storage and salvage through community engagement that
also saves lives and creates buy-in and awareness of this vital
assistance that is being provided by the United States.
``(b) Purposes of Humanitarian Demining and Conventional Weapons
Elimination or Securing Activities.--
``(1) Humanitarian demining activities.--The purposes of
the activities authorized in section 11(b)(1) are--
``(A) to ensure the return of affected populations
to the safe access to their homes and land;
``(B) to enable affected populations to safely and
productively utilize land for agriculture;
``(C) to clear threats from land to permit and
encourage critical infrastructure and other
development;
``(D) to educate affected populations about the
dangers of landmines and other unexploded ordnance as
well as United States efforts to provide the lifesaving
benefits of humanitarian demining activities; and
``(E) to integrate humanitarian demining and
related activities with other assistance to ensure
effective recovery from conflict.
``(2) Conventional weapons elimination or securing
activities.--The purposes of the activities authorized in
section 11(b)(3) are--
``(A) to ensure the safe securing and diversion
prevention of weapons, ammunition, and explosives in
the stores of foreign partners;
``(B) to build the capacity of the security sectors
of foreign partners to properly eliminate or manage
weapons and ammunition stockpiles through WAM, PSSM,
and related programs;
``(C) to educate local police and other officials
and the wider population at the local level on safer
and more secure weapons storage and salvage as well as
United States efforts to provide the lifesaving
benefits of conventional weapons elimination, securing,
and management;
``(D) to establish and strengthen security
cooperation with foreign partners to reduce armed
violence and instability in support of important United
States national security and foreign policy objectives;
and
``(E) to integrate conventional weapons elimination
and securing and related activities with other
assistance to ensure effective recovery from
conflict.''.
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