“It is the policy of the United States—“(1) to help promote, reinvigorate, and support the political process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to press all parties in the Transitional National Government and the succeeding government to implement fully and to institutionalize mechanisms, including national and international election observers, fair and transparent voter registration procedures, and a significant civic awareness and public education campaign created for the July 30, 2006, elections and future elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to ensure that elections are carried out in a fair and democratic manner;
“(2) to urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to recognize and act upon its responsibilities to immediately bring discipline to its security forces, hold those individuals responsible for atrocities and other human rights violations, particularly the rape of women and girls as an act of war, accountable and bring such individuals to justice;
“(3) to help ensure that, once a stable national government is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is committed to multiparty democracy, open and transparent governance, respect for human rights and religious freedom, ending the violence throughout the country, promoting peace and stability with its neighbors, rehabilitating the national judicial system and enhancing the rule of law, combating corruption, instituting economic reforms to promote development, and creating an environment to promote private investment;
“(4) to assist the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as it seeks to meet the basic needs of its citizens, including security, safety, and access to health care, education, food, shelter, and clean drinking water;
“(5) to support security sector reform by assisting the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to establish a viable and professional national army and police force that respects human rights and the rule of law, is under effective civilian control, and possesses a viable presence throughout the entire country, provided the Democratic Republic of the Congo meets all requirements for United States military assistance under existing law;
“(6) to help expedite planning and implementation of programs associated with the disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration, and rehabilitation process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
“(7) to support efforts of the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), and other entities, as appropriate, to disarm, demobilize, and repatriate the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and other illegally armed groups;
“(8) to make all efforts to ensure that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo—“(A) is committed to responsible and transparent management of natural resources across the country; and
“(B) takes active measures—“(i) to promote economic development;
“(ii) to hold accountable individuals who illegally exploit the country’s natural resources; and
“(iii) to implement the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative by enacting laws requiring disclosure and independent auditing of company payments and government receipts for natural resource extraction;
“(9) to promote a viable civil society and to enhance nongovernmental organizations and institutions, including religious organizations, the media, political parties, trade unions, and trade and business associations, that can act as a stabilizing force and effective check on the government;
“(10) to help rebuild and enhance infrastructure, communications, and other mechanisms that will increase the ability of the central government to manage internal affairs, encourage economic development, and facilitate relief efforts of humanitarian organizations;
“(11) to help halt the high prevalence of sexual abuse and violence perpetrated against women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and mitigate the detrimental effects from acts of this type of violence by undertaking a number of health, education, and psycho-social support programs;
“(12) to work aggressively on a bilateral basis to urge governments of countries contributing troops to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to enact and enforce laws on trafficking in persons and sexual abuse that meet international standards, promote codes of conduct for troops serving as part of United Nations peacekeeping missions, and immediately investigate and punish citizens who are responsible for abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
“(13) to assist the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as undertakes steps to—“(A) protect internally displaced persons and refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and border regions from all forms of violence, including gender-based violence and other human rights abuses;
“(B) address other basic needs of vulnerable populations with the goal of allowing these conflict-affected individuals to ultimately return to their homes; and
“(C) assess the magnitude of the problem of orphans from conflict and HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and work to establish a program of national support;
“(14) to engage with governments working to promote peace and security throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo and hold accountable individuals, entities, and countries working to destabilize the country; and
“(15) to promote appropriate use of the forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a manner that benefits the rural population in that country that depends on the forests for their livelihoods and protects national and environmental interests.