Sec. 6211. Congressional oversight of United States talks with Taliban officials and Afghanistan’s comprehensive peace process

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In this section: The term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives. The term Government of Afghanistan means the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities.

The term the Taliban — refers to the organization that refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan , that was founded by Mohammed Omar, and that is currently led by Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada; and includes subordinate organizations, such as the Haqqani Network, and any successor organization. The term February 29 Agreement refers to the political arrangement between the United States and the Taliban titled Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan Between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America signed at Doha, Qatar February 29, 2020.

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall continue to submit to the appropriate congressional committees materials relevant to the February 29 Agreement. The Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees, within 5 days of conclusion and on an ongoing basis thereafter, any future agreement or arrangement involving the Taliban in any manner, as well as materials relevant to any future agreement or arrangement involving the Taliban in any manner.

In this subsection, the terms materials relevant to the February 29 Agreement and materials relevant to any future agreement or arrangement include all annexes, appendices, and instruments for implementation of the February 29 Agreement or a future agreement or arrangement, as well as any understandings or expectations related to the Agreement or a future agreement or arrangement. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every 120 days thereafter, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report verifying whether the key tenets of the February 29 Agreement, or future agreements, and accompanying implementing frameworks are being preserved and honored.

At the time of each report submitted under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of State shall direct a Senate-confirmed Department of State official and other appropriate officials to brief the appropriate congressional committees on the contents of the report. The Director of National Intelligence shall also direct an appropriate official to participate in the briefing. The report and briefing required under paragraph

(1)shall include— an assessment— of the Taliban’s compliance with counterterrorism guarantees, including guarantees to deny safe haven and freedom of movement to al-Qaeda and other terrorist threats from operating on territory under its influence; and whether the United States intelligence community has collected any intelligence indicating the Taliban does not intend to uphold its commitments; an assessment of Taliban actions against terrorist threats to United States national security interests; an assessment of whether Taliban officials have made a complete, transparent, public, and verifiable breaking of all ties with al-Qaeda; an assessment of the current relationship between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, including any interactions between members of the two groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan, or other countries, and any change in Taliban conduct towards al-Qaeda since February 29, 2020; an assessment of the relationship between the Taliban and any other terrorist group that is assessed to threaten the security of the United States or its allies, including any change in conduct since February 29, 2020; an assessment of whether the Haqqani Network has broken ties with al-Qaeda, and whether the Haqqani Network’s leader Sirajuddin Haqqani remains part of the leadership structure of the Taliban; an assessment of threats emanating from Afghanistan against the United States homeland and United States partners, and a description of how the United States Government is responding to those threats; an assessment of intra-Afghan discussions, political reconciliation, and progress towards a political roadmap that seeks to serve all Afghans; an assessment of the viability of any intra-Afghan governing agreement; an assessment as to whether the terms of any reduction in violence or ceasefire are being met by all sides in the conflict; a detailed overview of any United States and NATO presence remaining in Afghanistan and any planned changes to such force posture; an assessment of the status of human rights, including the rights of women, minorities, and youth; an assessment of the access of women, minorities, and youth to education, justice, and economic opportunities in Afghanistan; an assessment of the status of the rule of law and governance structures at the central, provincial, and district levels of government; an assessment of the media and of the press and civil society’s operating space in Afghanistan; an assessment of illicit narcotics production in Afghanistan, its linkages to terrorism, corruption, and instability, and policies to counter illicit narcotics flows; an assessment of corruption in Government of Afghanistan institutions at the district, provincial, and central levels of government; an assessment of the number of Taliban and Afghan prisoners and any plans for the release of such prisoners from either side; an assessment of any malign Iranian, Chinese, and Russian influence in Afghanistan; an assessment of how other regional actors, such as Pakistan, are engaging with Afghanistan; a detailed overview of national-level efforts to promote transitional justice, including forensic efforts and documentation of war crimes, mass killings, or crimes against humanity, redress to victims, and reconciliation activities; A detailed overview of United States support for Government of Afghanistan and civil society efforts to promote peace and justice at the local level and how these efforts are informing government-level policies and negotiations; an assessment of the progress made by the Afghanistan Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Attorney General to address gross violations of human rights (GVHRs) by civilian security forces, Taliban, and non-government armed groups, including— a breakdown of resources provided by the Government of Afghanistan towards these efforts; and a summary of assistance provided by the United States Government to support these efforts; and an overview of civilian casualties caused by the Taliban, non-government armed groups, and Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, including— an estimate of the number of destroyed or severely damaged civilian structures; a description of steps taken by the Government of Afghanistan to minimize civilian casualties and other harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure; an assessment of the Government of Afghanistan’s capacity and mechanisms for investigating reports of civilian casualties; and an assessment of the Government of Afghanistan’s efforts to hold local militias accountable for civilian casualties. In the event that the Taliban does not meet its counterterrorism obligations under the February 29 Agreement, the report and briefing required under this subsection shall include information detailing the United States’ counterterrorism strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The report required under subparagraph

(A)of paragraph

(1)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, and the briefing required under subparagraph

(B)of such paragraph shall be conducted at the appropriate classification level. Nothing in this section shall prejudice whether a future deal involving the Taliban in any manner constitutes a treaty for purposes of Article II of the Constitution of the United States. Except for subsections

(b)and (d), the provisions of this section shall cease to be effective on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.