[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1625 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1625

 To provide a process for declassifying on an expedited basis certain 
 documents relating to human rights abuses in Guatemala, Honduras, and 
                             other regions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 1999

 Mr. Lantos (for himself, Mrs. Morella, Mr. Porter, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. 
   Smith of New Jersey, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Barrett of Wisconsin, Mr. 
  Berman, Mr. Blagojevich, Mr. Boucher, Mr. Brown of California, Mr. 
 Brown of Ohio, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Costello, Mr. Coyne, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. 
 Delahunt, Mr. Engel, Mr. Evans, Mr. Farr of California, Mr. Frank of 
Massachusetts, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Hinchey, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. Kleczka, 
    Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Lofgren, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Luther, Mr. 
  McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr. McNulty, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. 
 George Miller of California, Mr. Minge, Mr. Moakley, Ms. Norton, Mr. 
Oberstar, Mr. Olver, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Ms. Rivers, 
  Mr. Sabo, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Stark, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Shays, Mr. 
   Smith of Washington, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Waxman, Mr. 
   Weiner, and Mr. Wexler) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide a process for declassifying on an expedited basis certain 
 documents relating to human rights abuses in Guatemala, Honduras, and 
                             other regions.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Human Rights Information Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The people of the United States consider the national 
        and international protection and promotion of human rights and 
        the rule of law the most important values of any democracy. The 
        founding fathers defined human rights prominently in the Bill 
        of Rights, giving those rights a special priority and 
        protection in the Constitution.
            (2) Federal agencies are in possession of documents 
        pertaining to gross human rights violations abroad which are 
        needed by foreign authorities to document, investigate, and 
        subsequently prosecute instances of continued and systematic 
        gross human rights violations, including those directed against 
        citizens of the United States.
            (3) The United States will continue to receive requests 
        from foreign authorities for legal assistance regarding human 
        rights violations, including the declassification of documents. 
        In addition to requests by Guatemala and Honduras, a Spanish 
        court magistrate, Baltasar Garzon, recently requested from the 
        United States information on General Augusto Pinochet. 
        Currently, the United States responds to declassification 
        requests by following procedures outlined in Presidential 
        directives and executive orders. The overwhelming interest of 
        the United States in the protection and promotion of human 
        rights nationally and internationally requires a significant 
        strengthening of existing declassification procedures, 
        including section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly 
        known as the ``Freedom of Information Act'').
            (4) The expedient declassification of human rights 
        documents in full compliance with United States security 
        interests according to the procedures outlined in this Act will 
        protect global human rights by strengthening the rule of law 
        internationally, creating a crucial level of accountability of 
        Federal agencies, and will result in significant saving of 
        Government resources.
            (5) The commitment to the promotion and protection of human 
        rights and democracy around the world has led the United States 
        to undertake tremendous diplomatic, economic, and military 
        efforts to end systematic gross human rights violations abroad, 
        consistent with the national interests and international 
        leadership role of the United States. In addition, countless 
        humanitarian United States nongovernmental organizations and 
        citizens of the United States promote human rights and 
        democracy in foreign countries. These efforts are thwarted if 
        the cycle of impunity for human rights violations is not broken 
        in those countries, and the likelihood of the need for renewed 
        United States engagements in those areas remains.
            (6) The United States therefore has a significant interest 
        that newly established or reestablished democratic societies 
        take credible steps to fully investigate and prosecute human 
        rights violations. These steps can include the creation of a 
        national or international truth commission or tribunal, the 
        appointment of a human rights officer, or official national 
        investigations led by credible sections of the civil society, 
        including churches and nongovernmental organizations.
            (7) The United States has long provided international 
        leadership to end impunity for gross human rights violations 
        and to promote the rule of law around the world by establishing 
        and supporting the Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal; in 
        addition, the United States has actively participated in, among 
        others, the International War Crimes Tribunals on the former 
        Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
            (8) The United States has ratified the Convention against 
        Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment, which in article 9 obligates parties to ``afford one 
another the greatest measure of assistance in connection with criminal 
proceedings brought in respect of any [acts of, attempts of, or 
complicity in acts of torture], including the supply of all evidence at 
their disposal necessary for the proceedings.'' In addition, as a 
member State of the Organization of American States, the United States 
should seek to follow the December 8, 1998, recommendation of the 
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ``that member States of the 
Organization of American States adopt legislative and such other 
measures as may be necessary to effectuate the right of free access to 
information in files and documents in the power of the State, 
particularly in cases of investigations to establish criminal 
responsibility for international crimes and serious violations of human 
rights.''
            (9) The Guatemalan peace accords, which the Government of 
        the United States firmly supports, included as an important and 
        vital component an investigation and a report by the Commission 
        for the Historical Clarification of Human Rights Violations and 
        Acts of Violence which have Caused Suffering to the Guatemalan 
        People (referred to in this Act as the ``Clarification 
        Commission''). Despite the conclusion of this investigation, 
        many questions, including the identity of perpetrators of human 
        rights violations as well as the location of bodies of the 
        ``disappeared'', remain unanswered. The Clarification 
        Commission explicitly recommended that ``all available legal 
        and material resources should be utilized [by the Guatemalan 
        Government] to clarify the whereabouts of the disappeared and, 
        in the case of death, to deliver the remains to the 
        relatives.''
            (10) Two days after presenting a parallel investigation, 
        ``Guatemala: Never Again'', by the Historical Memory Recovery 
        Project by the Archbishop of Guatemala, the director of the 
        project, Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi, was assassinated.
            (11) President Clinton stated in Guatemala on March 10, 
        1999, that ``[f]or the United States, it is important that I 
        state clearly that support for military forces or intelligence 
        units which engaged in violent and widespread repression of the 
        kind described in the report [by the Clarification Commission] 
        was wrong, and the United States must not repeat that mistake. 
        We must, and we will, instead, continue to support the peace 
        and reconciliation process in Guatemala.''
            (12) The National Commissioner for the Protection of Human 
        Rights in the Republic of Honduras has been requesting 
        documentation of the United States on human rights violations 
        in Honduras since November 15, 1993. The Commissioner's request 
        has been partly fulfilled, but aspects of it are still pending.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Human rights record.--The term ``human rights record'' 
        means a record in the possession, custody, or control of the 
        United States Government containing information about gross 
        violations of internationally recognized human rights committed 
        after 1944.
            (2) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means any agency of the 
        United States Government charged with the conduct of foreign 
        policy or foreign intelligence, including, but not limited to, 
        the Department of State, the Agency for International 
        Development, the Department of Defense (and all of its 
        components), the Central Intelligence Agency, the National 
        Reconnaissance Office, the Department of Justice (and all of 
        its components), the National Security Council, and the 
        Executive Office of the President.
            (3) Gross violations of internationally recognized human 
        rights.--The term ``gross violations of internationally 
        recognized human rights'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2304(d)(1)).

SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION, REVIEW, AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS 
              RECORDS REGARDING GUATEMALA AND HONDURAS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
provisions of this Act shall govern the declassification and public 
disclosure of human rights records by agencies.
    (b) Identification of Records.--Not later than 120 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, each agency shall identify, review, and 
organize all human rights records regarding activities occurring in 
Guatemala and Honduras after 1944 for the purpose of declassifying and 
disclosing the records to the public. Except as provided in section 5, 
all records described in the preceding sentence shall be made available 
to the public not later than 30 days after a review under this section 
is completed.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 150 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the President shall report to Congress regarding 
each agency's compliance with the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 5. GROUNDS FOR POSTPONEMENT OF PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS.

    (a) In General.--An agency may postpone public disclosure of a 
human rights record or particular information in a human rights record 
only if the agency determines that there is clear and convincing 
evidence that--
            (1) the threat to the military defense, intelligence 
        operations, or conduct of foreign relations of the United 
        States raised by public disclosure of the human rights record 
        is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest, and 
        such public disclosure would reveal--
                    (A) an intelligence agent whose identity currently 
                requires protection;
                    (B) an intelligence source or method--
                            (i) which is being utilized, or reasonably 
                        expected to be utilized, by the United States 
                        Government;
                            (ii) which has not been officially 
                        disclosed; and
                            (iii) the disclosure of which would 
                        interfere with the conduct of intelligence 
                        activities; or
                    (C) any other matter currently relating to the 
                military defense, intelligence operations, or conduct 
                of foreign relations of the United States, the 
                disclosure of which would demonstrably impair the 
                national security of the 
                United States;
            (2) the public disclosure of the human rights record would 
        reveal the name or identity of a living individual who provided 
        confidential information to the United States and would pose a 
        substantial risk of harm to that individual;
            (3) the public disclosure of the human rights record could 
        reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of 
        personal privacy, and that invasion of privacy is so 
        substantial that it outweighs the public interest; or
            (4) the public disclosure of the human rights record would 
        compromise the existence of an understanding of confidentiality 
        currently requiring protection between a Government agent and a 
        cooperating individual or a foreign government, and public 
        disclosure would be so harmful that it outweighs the public 
        interest.
    (b) Special Treatment of Certain Information.--It shall not be 
grounds for postponement of disclosure of a human rights record that an 
individual named in the human rights record was an intelligence asset 
of the United States Government, although the existence of such 
relationship may be withheld if the criteria set forth in subsection 
(a) are met. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term an 
``intelligence asset'' means a covert agent as defined in section 
606(4) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 426(4)).

SEC. 6. REQUEST FOR HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS FROM OFFICIAL ENTITIES IN 
              OTHER COUNTRIES.

    In the event that an agency of the United States receives a request 
for human rights records from an entity created by the United Nations, 
the Organization of American States or a similar entity, a national 
truth commission or entity of similar nature, or from the principal 
justice or human rights official of a country that is investigating a 
pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, 
the agency shall conduct a review of records as described in section 4 
and shall declassify and publicly disclose such records in accordance 
with the standards and procedures set forth in this Act.

SEC. 7. REVIEW OF DECISIONS TO WITHHOLD RECORDS.

    (a) Duties of the Appeals Panel.--The Interagency Security 
Classification Appeals Panel or any other entity subsequently 
established by law or Executive order and charged with carrying out the 
functions currently carried out by such Panel (referred to in this Act 
as the ``Appeals Panel'') shall review all determinations by an agency 
to postpone public disclosure of any human rights record.
    (b) Determinations of the Appeals Panel.--
            (1) In general.--The Appeals Panel shall direct that all 
        human rights records be disclosed to the public, unless the 
        Appeals Panel determines that there is clear and convincing 
        evidence that--
                    (A) the record is not a human rights record; or
                    (B) the human rights record or particular 
                information in the human rights record qualifies for 
                postponement of disclosure pursuant to section 5.
            (2) Treatment in cases of nondisclosure.--If the Appeals 
        Panel concurs with an agency decision to postpone disclosure of 
        a human rights record, the Appeals Panel shall determine, in 
        consultation with the originating agency and consistent with 
the standards set forth in this Act, which, if any, of the alternative 
forms of disclosure described in paragraph (3) shall be made by the 
agency.
            (3) Alternative forms of disclosure.--The forms of 
        disclosure described in this paragraph are as follows:
                    (A) Disclosure of any reasonably segregable portion 
                of the human rights record after deletion of the 
                portions described in paragraph (1).
                    (B) Disclosure of a record that is a substitute for 
                information which is not disclosed.
                    (C) Disclosure of a summary of the information 
                contained in the human rights record.
            (4) Notification of determination.--
                    (A) In general.--Upon completion of its review, the 
                Appeals Panel shall notify the head of the agency in 
                control or possession of the human rights record that 
                was the subject of the review of its determination and 
                shall, not later than 14 days after the determination, 
                publish the determination in the Federal Register.
                    (B) Notice to president.--The Appeals Panel shall 
                notify the President of its determination. The notice 
                shall contain a written unclassified justification for 
                its determination, including an explanation of the 
                application of the standards contained in section 5.
            (5) General procedures.--The Appeals Panel shall publish in 
        the Federal Register guidelines regarding its policy and 
        procedures for adjudicating appeals.
    (c) Presidential Authority Over Appeals Panel Determination.--
            (1) Public disclosure or postponement of disclosure.--The 
        President shall have the sole and nondelegable authority to 
        review any determination of the Appeals Panel under this Act, 
        and such review shall be based on the standards set forth in 
        section 5. Not later than 30 days after the Appeals Panel's 
        determination and notification to the agency pursuant to 
        subsection (b)(4), the President shall provide the Appeals 
        Panel with an unclassified written certification specifying the 
        President's decision and stating the reasons for the decision, 
        including in the case of a determination to postpone 
        disclosure, the standards set forth in section 5 which are the 
        basis for the President's determination.
            (2) Record of presidential postponement.--The Appeals Panel 
        shall, upon receipt of the President's determination, publish 
        in the Federal Register a copy of any unclassified written 
        certification, statement, and other materials transmitted by or 
        on behalf of the President with regard to the postponement of 
        disclosure of a human rights record.

SEC. 8. REPORT REGARDING OTHER HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS.

    Upon completion of the review and disclosure of the human rights 
records relating to Guatemala and Honduras, the Information Security 
Policy Advisory Council, established pursuant to Executive Order No. 
12958, shall report to Congress on the desirability and feasibility of 
declassification of human rights records relating to other countries. 
The report shall be available to the public.

SEC. 9. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    (a) Freedom of Information Act.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to limit any right to file a request with any executive 
agency or seek judicial review of a decision pursuant to section 552 of 
title 5, United States Code.
    (b) Judicial Review.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
preclude judicial review, under chapter 7 of title 5, United States 
Code, of final actions taken or required to be taken under this Act.

SEC. 10. CREATION OF POSITIONS.

    For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Act, there 
shall be 2 additional positions in the Appeals Panel. The President 
shall appoint individuals who are not employees of the United States 
who have demonstrated substantial human rights expertise and who are 
able to meet the security requirements for the positions. The President 
shall seek recommendations with respect to such positions from 
nongovernmental human rights organizations.
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