Special Central American Assistance Act of 1979

Special Central American Assistance Act of 1979

Long title	An Act to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize assistance in support of peaceful and democratic processes of development in Central America.
Nicknames	Special Central American and Caribbean Assistance Act of 1979
Enacted by	the 96th United States Congress
Effective	May 31, 1980
Citations
Public law	96-257
Statutes at Large	94 Stat. 422
Codification
Titles amended	22 U.S.C.: Foreign Relations and Intercourse
U.S.C. sections amended	22 U.S.C. ch. 32, subch. I §§ 2151, 2151n 22 U.S.C. ch. 32, subch. II §§ 2304, 2346e
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 6081 by Clement J. Zablocki (D-WI) on December 11, 1979 Committee consideration by House Foreign Affairs, Senate Foreign Relations Passed the Senate on January 29, 1980 (55-34 (Roll Call #17), in lieu of S. 2012) Passed the House on February 27, 1980 (202-197 (Roll Call #88)) Agreed to by the Senate on May 19, 1980 (44-35 (Roll Call #151))   Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on May 31, 1980

Special Central American Assistance Act of 1979 was a United States federal statute established by the 96th United States Congress amending the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for purposes of cultivating civility, democratization, and non-interventionism in Central America. The Act of Congress endorsed the Organization of American States embodied by Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama with an affirmation denouncing left-wing terrorism, subversive political ideology, and third world socialism.

The United States statute's articulation was a consistent Act affirming the Carter Administration's foreign policy with a prominent emphasis regarding international human rights during the Cold War or New Cold War era. The H.R. 6081 bill was enacted into law on May 31, 1980, by the 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter.

Declaration of the Act

The 96th congressional session penned the United States public law 96-257 as three sections citing the amendment and purpose of the Act with section five hundred and thirty-six conveyed as eleven subsections entitled Central American Economic Support.

Special Central American Assistance Act of 1979 - 94 Stat. 422 § I

Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 Amendment - 94 Stat. 422 § II

Central American Economic Support - 94 Stat. 422-424 § DXXXVI

(b) Appropriation authorization

(c) Human rights violations

◇ Human rights in Costa Rica

◇ Human rights in El Salvador

◇ Human rights in Guatemala

◇ Human rights in Honduras

◇ Human rights in Nicaragua

◇ Panama Truth Commission

(d) Presidential encouragement of human rights

(e) Nicaragua acknowledgment or adherence of internationally recognized Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(f) Report to congressional committees

(g) Certification of nonterrorism; Transmittal to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

(h) U.S. support of Organization of American States members against terrorism

(i) Funds available for National Agrarian University of Nicaragua and National Autonomous University of Nicaragua

(j) Loan funds for private sector use and local currency loan programs

(k) Assistance conditions and termination

◇ Free and open elections

◇ Loan funds and United States goods or services purchase

◇ United States President reports to Congress

Human Rights Practices and United States International Relations

Further information: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and Habeas corpus

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1974 described the terms of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights as defined;

• Torture or cruel and unusual punishment, inhuman or degrading treatment, or punishment
• Prolonged detention without charges
• Flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, and the security of person

The International Security Assistance and Arms Exports Control Act of 1976 acknowledge the international obligations of human rights as endorsed by Title III - General Limitations of the Act passed by the 94th United States Congress. The section amended the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 declaring United States human rights objectives as defined;

• Foreign policy of the United States is to foster increased observance of internationally recognized human rights by all countries

☆ Security assistance nullified for any country where the government engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights

• Coordinator for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs establish within United States Department of State

☆ Continuous observation and review of human rights and humanitarian affairs with an inclusion concerning coordination of United States foreign policy

• Prohibition against discrimination

☆ Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of language, race, religion, or sex

• Prohibition of assistance to countries granting sanctuary to international terrorists

☆ Assistance terminated to any government granting sanctuary from prosecution whereas an act has been committed regarding a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights or international terrorism

The International Development and Food Assistance Act of 1977 mandated annual reports better known as Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor published the human rights reports providing insight concerning global humanitarian affairs for countries receiving United States economic security and national security support as authorized by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

Associated United States Federal Statutes

United States public laws relative to the Special Central American Assistance Act of 1979 subsequently under the auspices of the International Security and Development Cooperation Act.

Date of Enactment	Public Law Number	U.S. Statute Citation	U.S. Legislative Bill	U.S. Presidential Administration
August 14, 1979	P.L. 96-53	93 Stat. 359	H.R. 3324	Jimmy Carter
December 16, 1980	P.L. 96-533	94 Stat. 3131	H.R. 6942	Jimmy Carter
December 29, 1981	P.L. 97-113	95 Stat. 1519	S. 1196	Ronald Reagan
August 10, 1982	P.L. 97-233	96 Stat. 260	H.J.Res. 494	Ronald Reagan
July 15, 1983	P.L. 98-53	97 Stat. 287	H.R. 1271	Ronald Reagan
August 8, 1985	P.L. 99-83	99 Stat. 190	S. 960	Ronald Reagan

See also

1979 Salvadoran coup d'état	Jesuit Missionaries in El Salvador
Belize–Mexico border	Junta of National Reconstruction
Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute	Latin America–United States relations
Central American crisis	Latin American and Caribbean Group
Central American migrant caravans	Latin American debt crisis
CIA activities in Honduras	Nicaragua v. United States
CIA activities in Nicaragua	Nicaraguan Revolution
Colombia–Panama border	Pink tide
Contras	Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador
Dirty War	Salvadoran Civil War
Federal Republic of Central America	Sandinista National Liberation Front
Guatemala–Mexico border	Torrijos–Carter Treaties
Guatemalan Civil War	United States involvement in regime change in Latin America
Illegal drug trade in Latin America	United States Missionaries in El Salvador

Depictions of the Latin American Revolution during Cold War

• Films depicting Latin American military dictatorships

Historical Video Archive

February 8, 1977 - Carter Administration and Challenges of International Human Rights on YouTube

March 17, 1977 - U.S. President Carter at General Assembly of United Nations in New York on YouTube

September 7, 1977 - Jimmy Carter Signing Panama Canal Treaty on YouTube

February 6, 1978 - Democratic Elections in Nicaragua on YouTube

June 17, 1978 - U.S. President Carter and General Torrijos Signing Panama Canal Treaties on YouTube

December 6, 1978 - U.S. President Carter on Human Rights on YouTube

July 19, 1979 - Nicaraguan Capital Seized by Sandinista National Liberation Front on YouTube

December 31, 1979 - Nicaragua and Sandinista National Liberation Front Victory on YouTube

December 31, 1979 - El Salvador in Conflict and Coup on YouTube

December 2, 1980 - United States Missionaries in El Salvador on YouTube

April 7, 1986 - Strengthening Democracy in Latin America on YouTube

November 16, 1995 - El Salvador: Anniversary of Jesuit Priests Carnage on YouTube

July 17, 2014 - Defending Human Rights During Argentina's 'Dirty War' on YouTube

May 15, 2017 - Universal Declaration of Human Rights on YouTube

Further reading

• Pearce, Jenny (1981). Under The Eagle: U.S. Intervention in Central America and The Caribbean. London, United Kingdom: Latin American Bureau (Research and Action). ISBN 978-0906156131. OCLC 1200086651.
• Pearce, Jenny (1982). Under The Eagle: U.S. Intervention in Central America and The Caribbean. Boston, Massachusetts: South End Press. ISBN 978-0896081536. OCLC 19841553.
• Dixon, Marlene; Jonas, Susanne (1983). Revolution and Intervention in Central America. San Francisco, California: Synthesis Publications. ISBN 978-0899350295. OCLC 892159501.
• Leiken, Robert S. (1984). Central America: Anatomy of Conflict. New York, New York: Pergamon Press. ISBN 978-0080309507. OCLC 10324983.
• Leonard, Thomas M. (1985). Central America and United States Policies, 1820s-1980s: A Guide to Issues and References. Claremont, California: Regina Books. ISBN 978-0941690140. OCLC 11623613.
• Coleman, Kenneth M.; Herring, George C. (1985). The Central American Crisis: Sources of Conflict and The Failure Of U.S. Policy. Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources. ISBN 978-0842022408. OCLC 11548365.
• Arnson, Cynthia (1993). Crossroads: Congress, The President, and Central America, 1976-1993. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN 978-0271010984. OCLC 28257490.

External links

• Carter, Jimmy E. (March 17, 1977). "Jimmy Carter - United Nations Address Before the General Assembly, March 17, 1977". Internet Archive. U.S. National Archives & Records Administration. pp. 444–451.
• Carter, Jimmy E. (March 6, 1979). "Presidential Proclamation 4644: Pan American Day and Pan American Week, 1979". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. p. 390.
• Carter, Jimmy E. (May 10, 1979). "Meeting with President Aristides Royo of Panama". Internet Archive. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 836–837.
• "Cause for Murder: Human Rights in Central America". Wide Angle (PBS). Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). September 5, 2002.
• Miller, Arthur Keith (May 2017). "Jimmy Carter's Policy Toward the El Salvador Civil War: The Demise of Human Rights as a Priority" (PDF). DASH: Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard. Harvard Business School - Harvard University.
• "Carter and Human Rights, 1977–1981". Office of the Historian - Foreign Service Institute. United States Department of State.
• "Central America, 1977–1980". Office of the Historian - Foreign Service Institute. United States Department of State.
• "Central America, 1981–1993". Office of the Historian - Foreign Service Institute. United States Department of State.
• "Foreign Relations of the United States 1977–1980; Volume XV; Central America" [Central America - Documents 1-496]. Office of the Historian - Foreign Service Institute. United States Department of State.
• "The Panama Canal and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties". Office of the Historian - Foreign Service Institute. United States Department of State.
• Media related to Central America at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Political events in Central America at Wikimedia Commons