Safeguarding Tunisian Democracy Act of 2023

II Calendar No. 152 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2006 To foster Tunisia’s democratic institutions, to limit funds until Tunisia re- stores checks and balances, and to authorize the creation of a fund to support democratic reforms. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 15, 2023 Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JULY 25, 2023 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To foster Tunisia’s democratic institutions, to limit funds until Tunisia restores checks and balances, and to au- thorize the creation of a fund to support democratic reforms. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguarding Tunisian 4 Democracy Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2006 RS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) In 2010 and 2011, waves of anti-govern- 3 ment protests and violence reshaped governments 4 across the Middle East and North Africa. 5 (2) While other countries in the Middle East 6 and North Africa experienced violent crackdown, 7 rapid changes in government, or descent into civil 8 war, Tunisia’s ‘‘Jasmine Revolution’’ saw the ouster 9 of autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and 10 the emergence of a nascent, growing democracy. 11 (3) On October 14, 2019, Tunisians overwhelm- 12 ingly elected Kais Saied, a constitutional law pro- 13 fessor, as President based on his pledges to combat 14 corruption and improve Tunisia’s economic outlook. 15 (4) On July 25, 2021, President Saied unilater- 16 ally suspended parliament and dismissed the Prime 17 Minister, citing exceptional circumstances and Arti- 18 cle 80 of the 2014 constitution. 19 (5) On September 22, 2021, President Saied 20 issued Presidential Decree 117, consolidating full ex- 21 ecutive and legislative powers within the presidency 22 and authorizing further decrees regulating the judi- 23 ciary, media, political parties, electoral law, freedoms 24 and human rights. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2006 RS (6) On February 6, 2022, President Saied dis- 1 solved the Supreme Judicial Council, eliminating an 2 independent judiciary. 3 (7) On March 30, 2022, President Saied offi- 4 cially dissolved parliament, further consolidating 5 power and eliminating checks and balances on the 6 presidency. 7 (8) On June 30, 2022, President Saied unilat- 8 erally introduced a new draft constitution, subject to 9 a referendum, consolidating broad powers under ex- 10 ecutive rule. 11 (9) On July 25, 2022, Saied claimed victory in 12 a constitutional referendum widely criticized for its 13 lack of credibility and participation. 14 (10) On September 13, 2022, President Saied 15 announced Presidential Decree 2022–54 on 16 Cybercrime, imposing prison terms for ‘‘false infor- 17 mation or rumors’’ online and crippling free speech. 18 (11) On September 15, 2022, President Saied 19 announced Presidential Decree 2022–55 which 20 weakened the role of political parties and imposed 21 burdensome requirements to run for parliament. 22 (12) On October 15, 2022, the International 23 Monetary Fund reached a staff-level agreement to 24 support Tunisia’s economic policies with a 48-month 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2006 RS arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility of 1 $1,900,000,000 and the potential for more from 2 international donors. 3 (13) On December 17, 2022, only 11 percent of 4 Tunisians participated in parliamentary elections, 5 reflecting dissatisfaction with the referendum, bar- 6 riers to political parties, and low public trust for 7 democratic institutions in Tunisia. 8 (14) On January 20, 2023, 4 political oppo- 9 nents of President Saied were sentenced through 10 military courts for ‘‘insulting a public official’’ and 11 disturbing public order. 12 (15) On January 29, 2023, only 11 percent of 13 Tunisians participated in parliamentary run-off elec- 14 tions, reaffirming low public trust for democratic in- 15 stitutions in Tunisia. 16 (16) On February 1, 2023, President Saied ex- 17 tended the state of emergency until the end of 2023. 18 (17) On February 10, 2023, President Saied 19 announced strengthened diplomatic ties with the 20 Government of Syria, a United States-designated 21 State Sponsor of Terrorism. 22 (18) On February 11, 2023, and in the fol- 23 lowing weeks, President Saied launched a political 24 crackdown by arresting political activists, journal- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2006 RS ists, and business leaders for allegedly plotting 1 against the state, including by opening a criminal in- 2 vestigation against a former Nidaa Tounes parlia- 3 mentarian. 4 (19) On February 21, 2023, President Saied 5 justified widespread arrests and harassment of Afri- 6 can migrants and Black Tunisians by accusing 7 ‘‘hordes of irregular migrants’’ of criminality and vi- 8 olence, claiming a ‘‘criminal enterprise hatched at 9 the beginning of this century to change the demo- 10 graphic composition of Tunisia’’ threatened national 11 security. 12 (20) On February 22, 2023, Tunisian authori- 13 ties arrested Republican Party leader Issam Chebbi 14 and National Salvation Front member Chaima Issa. 15 (21) On February 24, 2023, Tunisian authori- 16 ties arrested National Salvation Front member 17 Jawher Ben Mbarek. 18 (22) On April 17, 2023, President Kais Saied 19 vowed ‘‘relentless war’’ against opposition figures, 20 jailed Ennahdha party leader Rached Ghannouchi, 21 detained president of the National Salvation Front 22 coalition Nejib Chebbi, and shuttered Ennahdha of- 23 fices and those of an ideologically broad opposition 24 coalition. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2006 RS (23) As of April 20, 2023, an International 1 Monetary Fund loan for Tunisia remains stalled as 2 President Saied’s characterized necessary reforms as 3 ‘‘foreign diktats’’ and decried proposed cuts in sub- 4 sidies as socially destabilizing. 5 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 6 It shall be the policy of the United States— 7 (1) to forge a strong and lasting partnership 8 with the Government of Tunisia to support shared 9 national security interests to include countering the 10 enduring threat of transnational terrorism and pro- 11 moting regional stability; 12 (2) to develop and implement a security strat- 13 egy that builds partner capacity to address shared 14 threats and cements the role of the United States as 15 the partner of choice; 16 (3) to encourage standards and training for the 17 Tunisian Armed Forces that enshrines military pro- 18 fessionalism and respect for civil-military relations; 19 (4) to support the Tunisian people’s aspirations 20 for a democratic future and support democratic 21 principles in Tunisia, to include a robust civil soci- 22 ety, respect for freedoms of expression and associa- 23 tion, press freedom, separation of powers, and the 24 rule of law; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2006 RS (5) to support the Tunisian people’s livelihoods 1 and aspirations for economic dignity; 2 (6) to work in tandem with our G7 and other 3 partners to promote Tunisia’s return to democratic 4 principles in a manner that halts democratic back- 5 sliding, stabilizes the economic crisis, spurs economic 6 development, and mitigates destabilizing migration 7 flows; and 8 (7) to readjust bilateral United States foreign 9 assistance, including security assistance, based on 10 the progress of the Government of Tunisia toward 11 meeting the democratic aspirations and economic 12 needs of the Tunisian people. 13 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON FUNDS; CREATION OF TUNISIA DE- 14 MOCRACY SUPPORT FUND; REPORT. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective upon the date of the en- 16 actment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in conjunction 17 with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 18 International Development— 19 (1) shall limit funding to Tunisia, as provided 20 for in subsection (b); and 21 (2) is authorized to establish a ‘‘Tunisia De- 22 mocracy Support Fund’’, as provided for in sub- 23 section (c), to encourage reforms that restore Tuni- 24 sian democracy and rule of law. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2006 RS (b) LIMITATION ON FUNDS.—Of the funds author- 1 ized to be appropriated or otherwise made available in fis- 2 cal years 2024 and 2025 to carry out chapters 1 and 8 3 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 4 2151 et seq.), chapters 1 through 6, 8, and 9 of part II 5 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and section 23 of 6 the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2763) for the 7 Government of Tunisia, an aggregate amount of 25 per- 8 cent for each such fiscal year shall be withheld from obli- 9 gation, with the exception of funding for Tunisian civil so- 10 ciety, until the Secretary of State determines and certifies 11 to the appropriate congressional committees that the state 12 of emergency declared on July 25, 2021, has been termi- 13 nated. 14 (c) TUNISIA DEMOCRACY SUPPORT FUND AUTHOR- 15 IZED.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 17 appropriated to the Secretary of State $100,000,000 18 for each of the fiscal years 2024 and 2025, which 19 shall be used to establish the ‘‘Tunisia Democracy 20 Support Fund’’ for the purpose of encouraging re- 21 forms that restore Tunisia’s democratic institutions 22 and rule of law. 23 (2) LIMITATION.—Funds authorized to be ap- 24 propriated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2006 RS available for obligation until the Secretary of State 1 certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional 2 committees that the Government of Tunisia has 3 demonstrated measurable progress towards the 4 democratic benchmarks outlined in subsection (d). 5 (d) DEMOCRATIC BENCHMARKS.—Pursuant to sub- 6 section (c)(2), the democratic benchmarks to be addressed 7 in the Secretary of State’s certification are whether the 8 Government of Tunisia— 9 (1) appropriately empowers Parliament to serve 10 the Tunisian people and serve as an independent, co- 11 equal branch of government essential to a healthy 12 democracy; 13 (2) restores judicial independence and estab- 14 lishes the Constitutional Court in a manner that fos- 15 ters an independent judiciary and serves as a check 16 on the presidency; 17 (3) is taking credible steps to respect freedoms 18 of expression, association, and the press; 19 (4) creates an enabling operating environment 20 in which Tunisian civil society organizations can op- 21 erate without undue interference, including permit- 22 ting international funding; 23 (5) ceases use of military courts to try civilians; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2006 RS (6) ceases efforts to intimidate Tunisian inde- 1 pendent media through arbitrary arrests and crimi- 2 nal prosecutions of journalists on illegitimate 3 charges. 4 (e) INITIAL REPORT, ANNUAL REPORT AND BRIEF- 5 ING.— 6 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 120 days 7 after the date of the enactment of this Act and an- 8 nually thereafter through 2028, the Secretary of 9 State shall provide a report and accompanying brief- 10 ing on the state of Tunisia’s democracy and associ- 11 ated progress on the democratic benchmarks out- 12 lined in subsection (d) to the appropriate congres- 13 sional committees. 14 (2) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required by 15 paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 16 form, but may include a classified annex. 17 (f) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State may waive the 18 limitation on funding under subsection (b) if the Sec- 19 retary, not later than 15 days before the waiver is to take 20 effect, certifies to the appropriate congressional commit- 21 tees that such waiver is in the national interest of the 22 United States. The Secretary shall submit with the certifi- 23 cation a detailed justification explaining the reasons for 24 the waiver. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2006 RS (g) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘‘ap- 1 propriate congressional committees’’ means— 2 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 3 Senate; 4 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 5 Senate; 6 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 7 House of Representatives; and 8 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 9 House of Representatives. 10 SEC. 5. TERMINATION. 11 This Act shall terminate on the date that is 5 years 12 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 13 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 14 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguarding Tunisian 15 Democracy Act of 2023’’. 16 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 17 Congress makes the following findings: 18 (1) In 2010 and 2011, waves of anti-government 19 protests and violence reshaped governments across the 20 Middle East and North Africa. 21 (2) While other countries in the Middle East and 22 North Africa experienced violent crackdown, rapid 23 changes in government, or descent into civil war, 24 Tunisia’s ‘‘Jasmine Revolution’’ saw the ouster of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:23 Jul 26, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2006.RS S2006 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2006 RS autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the 1 emergence of a nascent, growing democracy. 2 (3) On October 14, 2019, Tunisians overwhelm- 3 ingly elected Kais Saied, a constitutional law pro- 4 fessor, as President based on his pledges to combat 5 corru [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]