,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #eebc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #ab1 
#bjbd,mr4 ,welch 7for himself1 ,ms4     
,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,sanders1  
,mrs4 ,murray1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 and    
,mr4 ,merkley7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations
  ,a ,,bill  ,to provide clarification  
of assistance related to safeguarding   
and the elimination of landmines1 other 
explosive remnants of war1 and          
conventional arms4  #a4 ,short title    
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,conventional ,weapons ,destruction and 
,legacy of ,senator ,patrick ,leahy     
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the
 following3 7#a7 ,landmines and other   
unexploded ordnance threaten the safety1
 health1 and lives of civilian          
populations and create humanitarian and 
development challenges that have serious
 and lasting social1 economic1 and      
security consequences for affected      

populations4  7#b7 ,during his #dh years
 serving in the ,senate1 ,senator       
,patrick ,leahy1 of ,vermont1 was a     
leading voice in ,united ,states foreign
 policy and championed numerous         
humanitarian causes1 including working  
to rid the world of the scourge of      
landmines and other explosive remnants  
of war4  7#c7 ,senator ,leahy's legacy  
on this issue includes numerous         
achievements1 including in #aihi what   
was later named the ,patrick ,j4 ,leahy 
,war ,victims ,fund which provides      
medical and other assistance to victims 
of landmines and other war-related      
disabilities1 section #acfe of the      
,national ,defense ,authorization ,act  
for ,fiscal ,year #aiic 7,public ,law   
#ajb-dhd2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bggh note7     
7commonly referred to as the ,landmine  
,export ,moratorium ,act71 which        
prohibits the export and transfer of    
antipersonnel landmines1 and working to 
make the ,united ,states the world      
leader in humanitarian demining         

funding--all of which have saved        
countless lives and made real           
improvements in the livelihoods of      
people recovering from conflict4  7#d7  
,the ,united ,states has provided more  
than #d1fjj1jjj1jjj in conventional     
weapons destruction assistance to more  
than #abj countries and areas since     
#aiic1 including humanitarian demining  
and weapons security programs by the    
,department of ,state1 the ,department  
of ,defense1 and the ,united ,states    
,agency for ,international ,development4
  7#e7 ,conventional weapons destruction
 assistance has saved countless lives   
around the world1 improves stability and
 prosperity by clearing landmines and   
other explosive remnants of war and     
returning land to productive use1 builds
 trust and deepens relationships with   
key partners to accelerate achievement  
of broader ,united ,states foreign      
policy objectives1 plays an important   
role in addressing other global issues  
and ,united ,states interests1 including

 food security and combatting           
displacement and migration1 and provides
 employment opportunities to women4     
7#f7 ,united ,states humanitarian       
demining programs1 notably those devoted
 to clearing unexploded bombs and other 
munitions from the ,vietnam ,war1 have  
played a crucial role in building new   
partnerships in regions of geopolitical 
importance4  7#g7 ,globally1 in fiscal  
year #bjbb1 it is estimated that        
approximately-- 7,a7 #bjj1ajj explosive 
remnants of war were destroyed1 allowing
 for #fj1bjj acres of land to be cleared
 and returned to public use2  7,b7      
#cg1ejj landmines and #i1jjj improvised 
explosive devices were destroyed2 and   
7,c7 #ec1gjj civilian survivors of      
explosive remnants of war injuries were 
provided assistance and #c1djj1jjj      
civilians were provided life-saving risk
 education to help avoid injury4  7#h7  
,many countries lack the equipment and  
technical capacity to properly manage   
government-held weapons and ammunition  

stockpiles1 and conventional weapons    
destruction assistance enhances ,united 
,states and international security by   
destroying and securing small arms and  
light weapons1 including man-portable   
air defense systems 7,,manpads71 at risk
 of accidental explosions as well as    
proliferation to terrorists1 insurgents1
 and other violent non-state actors4    
7#i7 ,in fiscal year #bjbb1             
approximately #ad1ajj small arms and    
light weapons1 #bbc ,,manpads and       
anti-tank guided missiles systems       
7,a,t,g,ms71 and #c1ijj metric tons of  
ammunition were destroyed4  #c4         
,clarification of assistance relating to
 safeguarding and elimination of        
conventional weapons ,the ,department of
 ,state ,authorities ,act of #bjjf      
7,public ,law #aji-dgb7 is amended by   
inserting after section #aa 7#bb        
,u4,s4,c4 #bcdi;bb-#f7 the following new
 section3  #aa;,a4 ,purposes of         
assistance for humanitarian demining and
 elimination or securing of conventional

 weapons  7a7 ,findings ,congress finds 
the following3 7#a7 ,landmines and other
 explosive remnants of war threaten     
populations after conflicts end1 and    
humanitarian demining is a fundamental  
part of recovery from conflict4  7#b7   
,clearing the land of explosive remnants
 of war provides quantifiable threat    
reduction and allows affected persons to
 return to their homes and utilize the  
land4  7#c7 ,agriculture is             
disproportionately impacted by          
unexploded ordnance1 endangering farmers
 and exacerbating food security4        
,subsistence farming1 larger-scale      
agriculture1 grazing1 and other related 
activities are improved through         
humanitarian demining4  7#d7            
,decontaminated land can be returned to 
use for critical infrastructure         
development1 and many other uses that   
enhance sustainable recovery and        
development4  7#e7 ,risk education      
bolsters the life-saving benefits of    
humanitarian demining activities1       

helping to minimize preventable injuries
 through community engagement1 which in 
turn creates local buy-in and awareness 
of this vital assistance being provided 
by the ,united ,states4  7#f7 ,many     
countries lack the equipment1 resources 
and facilities1 and technical capacity  
to properly manage weapons and          
ammunition stockpiles4 ,weapons and     
,ammunition ,management 7,,wam7 or      
,physical ,security and ,stockpile      
,management 7,,pssm7 programs are       
security sector partnerships based on   
the shared objectives of preventing the 
diversion of weapons1 ammunition1 and   
explosives1 as well as unplanned        
explosions4  7#g7 ,these projects       
include armory and munitions store      
construction and rehabilitation1 and    
other security improvements1 weapons and
 ammunition disposal1 stockpile         
management training and guidelines1     
needs assessments1 stockpile risk       
assessments1 mitigation and management  
plans1 and marking and record-keeping4  

7#h7 ,this assistance1 provided to a    
range of security forces including local
 police1 is focused on providing        
necessary equipment and technical       
expertise in a sustainable way1 allowing
 partners to establish1 implement1 and  
train in ,,wam_/,,pssm best practices   
and compliance1 as well as conduct their
 own safe disposal of obsolete weapons1 
ammunition1 and munitions4  7#i7 ,these 
programs not only reduce instability and
 civilian harm from armed violence      
caused by weapons diversion1 but also   
provide the ,united ,states with key    
security partnerships4 ,by reducing     
armed violence and instability1 these   
programs can play a crucial role in     
addressing the root causes of migration 
and forced displacement1 of particular  
interest to the ,united ,states as it   
pertains to its southern border4  7#aj7 
,risk education expands the scope of    
,,wam_/,,pssm programs beyond the       
principal partnerships1 providing       
training to local police and communities

 on safer and more secure weapons       
storage and salvage through community   
engagement that also saves lives and    
creates buy-in and awareness of this    
vital assistance that is being provided 
by the ,united ,states4  7b7 ,purposes  
of humanitarian demining and            
conventional weapons elimination or     
securing activities  7#a7 ,humanitarian 
demining activities ,the purposes of the
 activities authorized in section       
#aa7;b77#a7 are-- 7,a7 to ensure the    
return of affected populations to the   
safe access to their homes and land2    
7,b7 to enable affected populations to  
safely and productively utilize land for
 agriculture2  7,c7 to clear threats    
from land to permit and encourage       
critical infrastructure and other       
development2  7,d7 to educate affected  
populations about the dangers of        
landmines and other unexploded ordnance 
as well as ,united ,states efforts to   
provide the lifesaving benefits of      
humanitarian demining activities2 and   

7,e7 to integrate humanitarian demining 
and related activities with other       
assistance to ensure effective recovery 
from conflict4  7#b7 ,conventional      
weapons elimination or securing         
activities ,the purposes of the         
activities authorized in section        
#aa7;b77#c7 are-- 7,a7 to ensure the    
safe securing and diversion prevention  
of weapons1 ammunition1 and explosives  
in the stores of foreign partners2  7,b7
 to build the capacity of the security  
sectors of foreign partners to properly 
eliminate or manage weapons and         
ammunition stockpiles through ,,wam1    
,,pssm1 and related programs2  7,c7 to  
educate local police and other officials
 and the wider population at the local  
level on safer and more secure weapons  
storage and salvage as well as ,united  
,states efforts to provide the          
lifesaving benefits of conventional     
weapons elimination1 securing1 and      
management2  7,d7 to establish and      
strengthen security cooperation with    

foreign partners to reduce armed        
violence and instability in support of  
important ,united ,states national      
security and foreign policy objectives2 
and  7,e7 to integrate conventional     
weapons elimination and securing and    
related activities with other assistance
 to ensure effective recovery from      
conflict4  4