Reaffirming the importance of diplomacy and development in United States-African Union relations, promoting strategic partnerships and shared objectives between the United States and the African Union, and expressing strong support for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 261 Reaffirming the importance of diplomacy and development in United States- African Union relations, promoting strategic partnerships and shared objectives between the United States and the African Union, and express- ing strong support for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 28, 2023 Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE (for herself, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. EVANS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. CARSON, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. HORSFORD, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KEATING, Mr. LIEU, Ms. OMAR, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs RESOLUTION Reaffirming the importance of diplomacy and development in United States-African Union relations, promoting stra- tegic partnerships and shared objectives between the United States and the African Union, and expressing strong support for the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Whereas, since the formation of the African Union in July 2002, succeeding the Organization of African Unity VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR261.IH HR261 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 261 IH founded in 1963, the African Union has set out notable goals to foster peace and security, socioeconomic develop- ment and growth, democratic and accountable govern- ance, and economic engagement and investment across the continent and its member States; Whereas the United States Government recognized the Afri- can Union as an international organization in 2005, and initiated the United States Mission to the African Union in 2006, making the United States the first non-African country to establish a diplomatic mission to the African Union; Whereas the United States has collaborated with the African Union since 2002, and in 2010, the United States and the African Union held their first bilateral meeting of senior officials, which sought to strengthen mutual United States-African Union interests, promote shared values in a new strategic partnership, and foster coopera- tion on a range of issues, notably those relating to peace and security, democratic governance, economic growth, public health, and food security in Africa; Whereas the Department of State continues to maintain ro- bust relations with the African Union through the annual United States-African Union Commission High-Level Dialogue between the Secretary of State and Chairperson of the African Union Commission in addition to sub-cabi- net officials across the United States Government and their African Union counterparts, and the eighth annual dialogue in March 2022 reaffirmed both parties’ commit- ment to collaboration on issues of global concern; Whereas the second United States-Africa Leaders Summit was held in December 2022 and affirmed renewed United States engagement with the African Continent, including VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR261.IH HR261 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 261 IH in areas related to peace and security, public health and infectious disease outbreaks, food security, human rights, and economic development; Whereas the African Union has mobilized peacekeeping mis- sions to regions on the continent experiencing conflict and in 2018 revitalized the Peace Fund through which its member states will finance African peace and security op- erations; Whereas the United States has provided security support to the African Union Commission Peace Support Operations Division and 23 African nations; Whereas the United States supports the African Union’s Agenda 2063 goal of fostering improved education on the continent and the development of the next generation of African leaders through support for basic and secondary education, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and people-to-people ties through cultural and edu- cational exchange programs benefitting Africa’s youth and young Americans seeking to enhance their under- standing of the continent; Whereas the United States continues to support the member States of the African Union through various longstanding global health initiatives, including the President’s Emer- gency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative, and efforts to combat infectious dis- ease outbreaks and build the capacity of health systems to benefit the health and well-being of hundreds of mil- lions of Africans; Whereas the United States partnered with the African Union to establish the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and remains strongly com- VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR261.IH HR261 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 261 IH mitted to assisting the Africa CDC in its fight against COVID–19 and other infectious disease outbreaks; Whereas the COVID–19 pandemic and resulting border clo- sures, travel and commercial activity restrictions, and supply chain challenges shrunk African economic output by $95 billion in 2020 alone according to the Inter- national Monetary Fund, highlighting the need for the African Union and its member States to expand their ca- pacities to mitigate future economic shocks through self- reliance and regional economic integration; Whereas the United States African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) initiated and expanded trade with four-fifths of sub-Saharan African countries since its enactment in 2001 and established an important instrument for engag- ing African nations on issues of trade, capacity building, good governance, human rights protections, and economic growth and job creation in the United States and Africa; Whereas the African Union’s formation in 2018 of the Afri- can Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has created the world’s largest trade bloc by number of countries with the potential to substantially boost economic growth, create economic opportunities for women and youth, pro- mote significant commercial investment, and fundamen- tally transform and expand economic engagement on the continent; Whereas the World Bank estimates that full implementation of the AfCFTA could: surge Africa’s cumulative GDP by approximately $450 billion—with most of those gains coming from streamlining the cost and efficiency of cus- toms procedures, raise the total value of Africa’s exports in goods and services by $560 billion (40 percent of which will be from intra-African trade), lift 30 million Af- VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR261.IH HR261 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 261 IH ricans out of extreme poverty, boost the wages of African women and unskilled workers in particular, and enhance manufacturing production while increasing the rest of the world’s GDP by $76 billion; Whereas the Department of State, United States Agency for International Development, and other United States de- velopment agencies have facilitated private sector invest- ment and United States commercial engagement in Afri- ca through interagency initiatives such as Power Africa and Prosper Africa, and continue to promote regional in- tegration in sectors such as technology, infrastructure, transportation, telecommunications, and energy; and Whereas the United States recognizes the importance of the strategic partnership between the United States and the African Union and is committed to advancing their con- tinued mutually advantageous cooperation, including by promoting and expanding economic engagement with and within Africa: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) notes the African Union’s efforts toward 2 strengthening political and governance institutions 3 across the continent and encourages the African 4 Union and its member countries to prioritize and ad- 5 vance political and economic reforms which uphold 6 human rights, combat corruption, create an enabling 7 business climate for private sector investment, and 8 promote transparent and accountable governance; 9 (2) affirms the sustained use of diplomacy and 10 multilateral engagement with the African Union and 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR261.IH HR261 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HRES 261 IH its member countries on areas of mutual benefit to 1 African countries and the United States and calls 2 for urgent efforts to explore expanded partnerships 3 with the African Union and its member countries to 4 promote security and stability, strengthen economic 5 engagement, and address infectious disease out- 6 breaks, humanitarian crises, and food insecurity; 7 (3) supports the strengthening of technical and 8 operational capacities of the African Union and sub- 9 regional organizations to effectively address peace 10 and security challenges and mobilize African re- 11 sources to bolster continent-led stabilization mis- 12 sions; 13 (4) underscores the significance of the African 14 Union’s promotion of inclusive regional economic de- 15 velopment, initiation of the AfCFTA, and advance- 16 ment of continental economic integration; 17 (5) supports efforts to partner with the 18 AfCFTA Secretariat and African Union to facilitate 19 the implementation of the AfCFTA, including by 20 building regional capacity and encouraging commer- 21 cial investment, deeper economic ties, and public-pri- 22 vate partnerships; and 23 (6) encourages President Biden and Secretary 24 Blinken to carry out the commitments from the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR261.IH HR261 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HRES 261 IH United States-Africa Leaders Summit, including ini- 1 tiatives to bolster trade, investment, and inclusive 2 economic growth, elevate diplomatic engagement, 3 combat food insecurity and climate change, invest in 4 technological innovation and health care, protect de- 5 mocracy, and promote peace and security. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR261.IH HR261 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB