Sec. 6472. Strategy and reporting related to United States engagement in Somalia
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Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and other relevant Federal department and agencies, shall develop and submit a strategy for advancing United States diplomatic, humanitarian, development, counterterrorism, and regional security priorities in Somalia that includes a detailed outline of United States national security interests and policy objectives in Somalia. The strategy required by subsection
(a)shall include the following: An assessment of the United States diplomatic and defense footprint in Somalia and a related plan to continue diplomatic, humanitarian, development, counterterrorism and security cooperation with the federal Government of Somalia, and regional security cooperation with partners and allies in the region, including consideration of the impact of reducing the presence of the United States Armed Forces, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces, and other foreign forces contributing to security in Somalia. A comprehensive assessment of the terrorist threat in Somalia posed by al-Shabaab and the Somalia-based Islamic State affiliate ISIS-Somalia, including each group’s: capacity to strike the United States homeland and United States persons and interests in the region or elsewhere, and the threat posed to other countries in the East Africa region and beyond; major sources of revenue and capacity to raise funds and recruit from the United States and elsewhere, including illicit and licit activities used to fund operations and financial flows originating from outside of Somalia; and connectivity to and relationship with other terrorist affiliates, including linkages to Al Qaida and the Islamic State, and their respective senior leaders. An overview of ongoing and planned efforts, including a detailed breakdown of United States foreign assistance, to— build the capacity of the federal Government of Somalia, federal members states, and their respective civilian security, defense, criminal justice and law enforcement, financial, and other institutions, including through support for completing the constitutional review process; degrade Al-Shabaab and ISIS in Somalia, counter terrorist financing and recruitment, rehabilitate and reintegrate terrorist fighters, improve border security, judicial capacity, and anti-corruption efforts, and political, economic, and social reforms in Somalia, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of these activities to date; and provide emergency and non-emergency humanitarian and development assistance throughout Somalia, including an overview of the United States’s use of third party monitoring, partner vetting, and other risk mitigation measures for the provision of assistance in security restrictive environments, as appropriate. A plan to enhance diplomatic engagement and other initiatives in Somalia to address protracted political crises and tensions between the federal Government of Somalia and its member states, delayed electoral processes, and increasing governance challenges, including an assessment of Somalia’s internal and regional political dynamics and the role of United States and other foreign partner engagement on these dynamics. An analysis of foreign influence over the federal Government of Somalia and federal member states, including external actor objectives and an assessment of non-United States financial assistance and financial contributions to Somali officials and institutions. An analysis of the economic situation in Somalia, including ongoing debt relief efforts, remaining external debt, efforts to improve revenue sharing among the central government and member states and advance other economic reforms, and measures such as domestic and international sanctions designed to hold accountable those involved in corruption, human rights abuses, and other activities to undermine state and international institutions. A plan to address state fragility and drivers of terrorist recruitment, including efforts to promote economic growth and human development, improve conflict resolution and governance capacity, counter foreign propaganda and disinformation, combat corruption and support development needs of local communities, including through rehabilitation, reintegration, and reconciliation. A detailed breakdown of United States assistance to support the training, equipping, advising, assisting, and accompanying of Somali forces and those forces aligned with the troop contributing countries of AMISOM during last five fiscal years. Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State, in coordination with other relevant Federal department and agencies as deemed necessary, shall submit to appropriate congressional committees a report related to recent events in Somalia, that includes the following: A detailed account of the January 2020 terrorist attack, including an assessment of the role United-States-trained-and-equipped Kenyan forces had in countering the attack and if and how this attack and others shaped United States decisions surrounding the United States strategy in Somalia and elsewhere in East Africa. An assessment of how the January 2021 United States military retrograde from or repositioning in Somalia affected United States capacity to achieve policy objectives, including those surrounding diplomatic security and the implementation of a range of United States-funded programs and activities that have commenced or were planned, such as humanitarian assistance, good governance initiatives, and human rights promotion. An assessment of the legal authorities justifying unilateral direct action against terrorist targets in Somalia. Not later than 1 year after the submission of the strategy required under subsection (a), and annually thereafter for 3 years, the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees an update on implementation of the strategy and an evaluation of progress toward achieving United States national security interests and policy objectives in Somalia. Each report required by this section shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.