On November 15, both the House and Senate approved, by voice vote, amended legislation (S. 2712) that provides $2.3 billion through FY2005 for aid to Afghanistan. Lawmakers also removed a provision in the bill that would have set aside $1 billion of the Afghan funds for peacekeeping activities.
S.2712 allocates $15 million in FY2002 through FY2005 for the Afghan Ministry of Women’s Affairs. The bill also provides $5 million in each of the four years for the National Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan and specifies that assistance will be provided for political and human rights, health care, education, training, security, and shelter.
The legislation provides humanitarian assistance for a number of services, including preventive health care and maternal and child health services. The bill also provides for repatriation and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons, counternarcotics efforts, reestablishment of food security and the agriculture sector, and reconstruction of basic infrastructure.
S. 2712 emphasizes assistance to support the construction and rehabilitation of medical facilities; expand immunization programs; establish, maintain, and expand schools, including technical and vocational training and special education, for girls and women; develop and implement programs to protect women and girls against abuse, discrimination, and trafficking; provide emergency shelters for women; support women-led and local nongovernmental organizations; disseminate information on the rights of women; and support the National Human Rights Commission in investigating and monitoring human rights and women’s rights abuses.
