[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1158 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1158

                     One Hundred Fifteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
           the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen


                                 An Act


 
   To help prevent acts of genocide and other atrocity crimes, which 
threaten national and international security, by enhancing United States 
 Government capacities to prevent, mitigate, and respond to such crises.

    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 ``Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities 
Prevention Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government's 
efforts at atrocity prevention and response through interagency 
coordination, such as the Atrocities Prevention Board (referred to in 
this Act as the ``Board'') or successor entity are critically 
important, and that appropriate officials of the United States 
Government should--
        (1) meet regularly to monitor developments throughout the world 
    that heighten the risk of atrocities;
        (2) identify any gaps in United States foreign policy 
    concerning regions or particular countries related to atrocity 
    prevention and response;
        (3) facilitate the development and implementation of policies 
    to enhance the capacity of the United States to prevent and respond 
    to atrocities worldwide;
        (4) provide the President and Congress with recommendations to 
    improve policies, programs, resources, and tools related to 
    atrocity prevention and response;
        (5) conduct outreach, including consultations, not less 
    frequently than biannually, with representatives of nongovernmental 
    organizations and civil society dedicated to atrocity prevention 
    and response;
        (6) operate with regular consultation and participation of 
    designated interagency representatives of relevant Federal 
    agencies, executive departments, or offices; and
        (7) ensure resources are made available for the policies, 
    programs, and tools related to atrocity prevention and response.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
    It shall be the policy of the United States to--
        (1) regard the prevention of atrocities as in its national 
    interest;
        (2) work with partners and allies, including to build their 
    capacity, and enhance the capacity of the United States, to 
    identify, prevent, and respond to the causes of atrocities, 
    including insecurity, mass displacement, violent conflict, and 
    other conditions that may lead to such atrocities; and
        (3) pursue a United States Government-wide strategy to 
    identify, prevent, and respond to the risk of atrocities by--
            (A) strengthening the diplomatic, risk analysis and 
        monitoring, strategic planning, early warning, and response 
        capacities of the Government;
            (B) improving the use of foreign assistance to respond 
        early, effectively, and urgently in order to address the causes 
        of atrocities;
            (C) strengthening diplomatic response and the effective use 
        of foreign assistance to support appropriate transitional 
        justice measures, including criminal accountability, for past 
        atrocities;
            (D) supporting and strengthening local civil society, 
        including human rights defenders and others working to help 
        prevent and respond to atrocities;
            (E) promoting financial transparency and enhancing anti-
        corruption initiatives as part of addressing causes of 
        conditions that may lead to atrocities; and
            (F) employing a variety of unilateral, bilateral, and 
        multilateral means to prevent and respond to atrocities by--
                (i) placing a high priority on timely, preventive 
            diplomatic efforts; and
                (ii) exercising leadership in promoting international 
            efforts to prevent atrocities.
SEC. 4. TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS IN CONFLICT AND ATROCITIES 
PREVENTION.
    Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is 
amended in subsection (a)(1)--
        (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
        (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and 
    inserting ``; and''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(D) for Foreign Service Officers who will be assigned to 
        a country experiencing or at risk of mass atrocities, as 
        determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
        Director of National Intelligence and relevant civil society 
        organizations, instruction on recognizing patterns of 
        escalation and early warning signs of potential atrocities, and 
        methods of preventing and responding to atrocities, including 
        conflict assessment methods, peacebuilding, mediation for 
        prevention, early action and response, and appropriate 
        transitional justice measures to address atrocities.''.
SEC. 5. REPORTS.
    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for the following six 
years, the President shall transmit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations 
of the Senate a report, with a classified annex if necessary, that 
includes--
        (1) a review, in consultation with appropriate interagency 
    representatives, including the Board, consisting of a detailed 
    description of--
            (A) current efforts to prevent and respond to atrocities, 
        based on United States and locally identified indicators, 
        including an analysis of capacities and constraints for 
        interagency detection, early warning and response, information-
        sharing, contingency planning, and coordination;
            (B) recommendations to further strengthen United States 
        capabilities described in subparagraph (A);
            (C) funding expended by relevant Federal departments and 
        agencies on atrocities prevention activities, including 
        appropriate transitional justice measures and the legal, 
        procedural, and resource constraints faced by the Department of 
        State and the United States Agency for International 
        Development throughout respective budgeting, strategic 
        planning, and management cycles regarding support for atrocity 
        prevention activities;
            (D) a global assessment of ongoing atrocities, including 
        the findings of such assessment and, where relevant, the 
        efficacy of any steps taken by the Board or relevant Federal 
        agency to respond to such atrocities;
            (E) countries and regions at risk of atrocities, including 
        a description of specific risk factors, at-risk groups, and 
        likely scenarios in which atrocities would occur; and
            (F) the atrocities prevention training for Foreign Service 
        officers authorized under subparagraph (D) of section 708(a)(1) 
        of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 4;
        (2) recommendations to ensure shared responsibility by--
            (A) enhancing multilateral mechanisms for preventing 
        atrocities, including strengthening the role of international 
        organizations and international financial institutions in 
        conflict prevention, mitigation, and response; and
            (B) strengthening relevant regional organizations;
        (3) the implementation status of the recommendations contained 
    in the previous review required by this section; and
        (4) identification of the Federal agencies and civil society, 
    academic, and nongovernmental organizations and institutions 
    consulted for preparation of such report.
    (b) Consideration of Recommendations.--The preparation of the 
report required by subsection (a) shall include a consideration of 
analysis, reporting, and policy recommendations to prevent and respond 
to atrocities produced by civil society, academic, and other 
nongovernmental organizations and institutions.
    (c) Availability to Congress.--The report required by subsection 
(a) shall be made available to all members of Congress.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act--
        (1) the term ``genocide'' means an offense under subsection (a) 
    of section 1091 of title 18, United States Code;
        (2) the term ``atrocities'' means war crimes, crimes against 
    humanity, and genocide;
        (3) the term ``transitional justice'' means the range of 
    judicial, nonjudicial, formal, informal, retributive, and 
    restorative measures employed by countries transitioning out of 
    armed conflict or repressive regimes to redress legacies of 
    atrocities and to promote long-term, sustainable peace; and
        (4) the term ``war crime'' has the meaning given the term in 
    section 2441(c) of title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of 
military force.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.