[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 912 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 912

To ensure the protection of beneficiaries of United States humanitarian 
                              assistance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 17, 2005

 Mr. Delahunt (for himself, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Lantos, Ms. Pryce of Ohio, 
 Mr. Blunt, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. Shays, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, 
  Mr. Porter, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Foley, Mr. Cardoza, and Mr. Pomeroy) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To ensure the protection of beneficiaries of United States humanitarian 
                              assistance.

    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 ``Humanitarian Assistance Code of 
Conduct Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE PROTECTION OF BENEFICIARIES OF 
              HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Prohibition.--None of the funds made available for foreign 
operations, export financing, and related programs under the headings 
``Migration and Refugee Assistance'', ``United States Emergency Refugee 
and Migration Assistance Fund'', ``International Disaster and Famine 
Assistance'', or ``Transition Initiatives'' may be obligated to an 
organization that fails to adopt a code of conduct that provides for 
the protection of beneficiaries of assistance under any such heading 
from sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian relief operations.
    (b) Six Core Principles.--The code of conduct referred to in 
subsection (a) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be consistent 
with the following six core principles of the United Nations Inter-
Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection From Sexual 
Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises:
            (1) ``Sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers 
        constitute acts of gross misconduct and are therefore grounds 
        for termination of employment.''.
            (2) ``Sexual activity with children (persons under the age 
        of 18) is prohibited regardless of the age of majority or age 
        of consent locally. Mistaken belief regarding the age of a 
        child is not a defense.''.
            (3) ``Exchange of money, employment, goods, or services for 
        sex, including sexual favors or other forms of humiliating, 
        degrading or exploitative behavior, is prohibited. This 
        includes exchange of assistance that is due to 
        beneficiaries.''.
            (4) ``Sexual relationships between humanitarian workers and 
        beneficiaries are strongly discouraged since they are based on 
        inherently unequal power dynamics. Such relationships undermine 
        the credibility and integrity of humanitarian aid work.''.
            (5) ``Where a humanitarian worker develops concerns or 
        suspicions regarding sexual abuse or exploitation by a fellow 
        worker, whether in the same agency or not, he or she must 
        report such concerns via established agency reporting 
        mechanisms.''.
            (6) ``Humanitarian agencies are obliged to create and 
        maintain an environment which prevents sexual exploitation and 
        abuse and promotes the implementation of their code of conduct. 
        Managers at all levels have particular responsibilities to 
        support and develop systems which maintain this environment.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and not later than one year after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the President shall transmit to the Committee on 
Appropriations and the Committee on International Relations of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a detailed report on the 
implementation of this Act.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.

    This Act--
            (1) takes effect 60 days after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act; and
            (2) applies to funds obligated after the effective date 
        referred to in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) for fiscal year 2005; and
                    (B) any subsequent fiscal year.
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