Foreign Relations Authorization, FY2004 and FY2005: State Department and Foreign Assistance Page: 39 of 55
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CRS-34
Development Fund for Africa. Title XXI, Subtitle A, Section 2101 (d)
would technically amend Section 497 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 as it
relates to the authorization of appropriations for the Development Fund For Africa.
African Development Foundation. The African Development Foundation
(ADF) is a public corporation and federal agency created by Congress in 1980. Its
activities center on the extension of small direct grants to African self-help
organizations. Its grant work and other activities, administered primarily by local
hires, support community-level self-help initiatives aimed at alleviating poverty,
promoting sustainable, participatory development in Africa, and supporting the
growth of small, local development institutions. Title XXI, Subtitle C, Section 2132
would authorize $17 million - the amount requested by the Administration in its
FY2005 budget request - for the African Development Foundation for FY2005 by
amending Section 510 of the International Security and Development Cooperation
Act of 1980.37
Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP). The CBFP is an association of
governmental and nongovernmental organizations that supports projects, programs,
and policies to promote sustainable management of central African Congo Basin
Forest ecosystems and wildlife. It seeks to improve the income earning potential and
quality of life of Basin residents through sustainable community-based natural
resource and forestry concession management, and agriculture and eco-tourism
projects; and help Basin countries to develop effectively-managed parks, protected
areas, and ecological corridors. Title XXII, Subtitle A, Section 2223 would endorse
the aims of the CBFP and U.S. participation in the initiative, and in "sense of
Congress" language recommend that in FY2005 the President should make available
"for all [U.S.] agencies participating" in the CBFP "at least" the amount he submitted
in his FY2005 foreign assistance budget request.38
Independent Media in Ethiopia. According to the State Department, the
private press in Ethiopia is active and often publishes articles that are highly critical
of the government. Nevertheless, the Department reports, constitutionally-protected
freedoms of expression in Ethiopia are frequently restricted by the government,
which prosecutes journalists and editors for violating press laws; some journalists
practice self-censorship; and "the majority of private papers... [are] printed at
government-owned presses." The State Department also reports that "much" of the
private press lacks reporting professionalism, and publishes "inaccurate information,
unsubstantiated stories, and harsh anti-government articles," though such actions are
often not penalized by the government, and some print media are developing into
"more responsible" fora.39 Title XXV, Subtitle B, Section 2513 would authorize the
expenditure of "such sums as are necessary" to strengthen the "capacity" of
37 On the ADF, see the website of the African Development Foundation
[http://www.adf.gov] and CRS Issue Brief IB95052, Africa: U.S. Foreign Assistance Issues.
38 On the CBFP, among other sources, see USAID, "Congo Basin Forest Partnership,"
[http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharanafrica/initiatives/cbfp.html].
39 See State Department, "Ethiopia," Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2003,
Feb. 25, 2004.
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Epstein, Susan B. Foreign Relations Authorization, FY2004 and FY2005: State Department and Foreign Assistance, report, April 1, 2004; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809594/m1/39/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.