[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1931 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1931

To direct the United States Government to support extending the mandate 
  of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela 
        until a resolution of the Venezuelan crisis is achieved.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 13, 2023

    Mr. Kaine (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Hagerty) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the United States Government to support extending the mandate 
  of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela 
        until a resolution of the Venezuelan crisis is achieved.

    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 ``Assuring that the Fact-Finding 
Examination Continues to Track Human Rights in Venezuela Act'' or the 
``AFFECT Human Rights in Venezuela Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 
        adopted Resolution 42/25 on September 27, 2019, establishing an 
        independent fact-finding mission (referred to in this Act as 
        the ``Fact-Finding Mission'') on the Bolivarian Republic of 
        Venezuela ``to investigate extrajudicial executions, enforced 
        disappearances, arbitrary detentions and torture and other 
        cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment since 2014 with a view to 
        ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for 
        victims''.
            (2) The mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission was extended by 
        the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2020 for two years, 
        and on October 7, 2022, for an additional two years, with a 
        view to combating impunity and ensuring full accountability for 
        perpetrators and justice for victims.
            (3) The Fact-Finding Mission has faced several constraints, 
        including lack of access to work in-country, travel limitations 
        due to the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted interviews due to 
        electricity and internet failures, and limited ability to 
        secure witness statements and key documents. Despite these 
        challenges, the Fact-Finding Mission has been able to carry out 
        its investigative and analytical work, and generate reports 
        that serve as an invaluable resource for victims, civil society 
        organizations, and international accountability mechanisms.
            (4) The Fact-Finding Mission has identified specific 
        incidents and patterns establishing reasonable grounds to 
        conclude that violations of international human rights and 
        criminal law have been committed in Venezuela, according to its 
        October 2022 report.
            (5) The Fact-Finding Mission's October 2022 report 
        concludes ``that crimes and violations, amounting to crimes 
        against humanity, including extremely grave acts of torture, 
        were committed by individuals holding various positions within 
        the hierarchies of [the Venezuelan General Directorate of 
        Military Counterintelligence] and [the Bolivarian National 
        Intelligence Service] as part of a plan designed by high-level 
        authorities to repress opponents of the Government''.
            (6) Marta Valinas, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, 
        stated in January 2023 that the Maduro regime's proposed law 
        restricting the activities of nongovernmental organizations 
        ``could represent a point of no return in the closure of the 
        civic and democratic space'' and noted that organizations 
        working in the areas of human rights in Venezuela are facing 
        increased legal and operational hurdles, including surveillance 
        by Venezuelan intelligence services and diminished access to 
        funding.
            (7) Women and girls fleeing Venezuela face grave threats of 
        sexual violence, exploitation, and trafficking by armed groups 
        operating in border regions, such as the Ejercito de Liberacion 
        Nacional (ELN).
            (8) The Fact-Finding Mission continues to urge members of 
        the United Nations Human Rights Council to ``continue to pay 
        close attention to developments in the Bolivarian Republic of 
        Venezuela and to monitor whether credible progress is being 
        made in advancing justice, accountability and respect for human 
        rights''.
            (9) The United States has historically used its voice, 
        vote, and influence at the United Nations to address human 
        rights abuses around the world and to seek to hold perpetrators 
        accountable.

SEC. 3. ACTIONS RELATING TO THE FACT-FINDING MISSION ON VENEZUELA.

    (a) Support To Extend Mandate.--The Secretary of State shall take 
such actions as may be necessary to use the voice, vote, and influence 
of the United States in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) 
and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to seek to--
            (1) extend the mandate of the Independent International 
        Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to 
        continue until a resolution of the crisis in Venezuelan that 
        includes--
                    (A) holding a new presidential election that 
                complies with international standards for a free, fair, 
                and transparent electoral process;
                    (B) ending Nicolas Maduro's usurpation of 
                presidential authorities;
                    (C) restoring democracy and the rule of law;
                    (D) freeing political prisoners; and
                    (E) facilitating the consistent delivery of 
                humanitarian aid;
            (2) encourage international support to empower the Fact-
        Finding Mission to thoroughly conduct its stated purpose of 
        investigating gross violations of human rights perpetrated in 
        Venezuela since 2014;
            (3) urge the Fact-Finding Mission to raise early warnings 
        of further deterioration of the human rights situation in 
        Venezuela, particularly ahead of the country's elections 
        expected in the country for 2024 and 2025; and
            (4) provide investigative and technical assistance to the 
        Fact-Finding Mission as requested and as permitted within the 
        United Nations Rules and Regulations and within United States 
        law.
    (b) Support for Further Action.--The President is authorized to 
direct the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations 
to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to urge the 
United Nations to provide greater action with respect to human rights 
violations in Venezuela by--
            (1) urging the UNGA to consider a resolution condemning the 
        Venezuelan regime's use of political prisoners and wrongfully 
        detained foreign nationals as leverage to extract concessions 
        from its adversaries consistent with prior United Nations 
        resolutions;
            (2) assisting efforts by the relevant United Nations 
        Special Envoys and Special Rapporteurs to secure the release of 
        all political prisoners and wrongfully detained foreign 
        nationals in Venezuela, including Americans, promote respect 
        for human rights, and encourage dialogue towards a peaceful and 
        democratic transfer of power;
            (3) urging the United Nations and specialized agencies to 
        address the humanitarian needs of the people of Venezuela, 
        including--
                    (A) enhancing the reach of existing United Nations 
                programs that fund nongovernmental organizations which 
                provide critical services to residents of Venezuela and 
                who may be subject to restrictive policies by the 
                regime of Nicolas Maduro; and
                    (B) providing direct assistance to vulnerable 
                Venezuelan refugees and migrants in third countries;
            (4) urging United Nations member states and other donors to 
        support present and future United Nations funding appeals with 
        the purpose of improving humanitarian conditions in Venezuela; 
        and
            (5) supporting access for humanitarian actors, independent 
        media, and credible international legal and judicial entities, 
        including future United Nations fact-finding missions and 
        similar investigatory mechanisms, to people residing in 
        Venezuela and to the growing Venezuelan diaspora.
    (c) Due Consideration of Fact-Finding Mission Reports.--The 
President and the Secretary of State shall--
            (1) appropriately review all past and future reports 
        presented by the Fact-Finding Mission to United Nations bodies; 
        and
            (2) give due consideration to the Fact-Finding Mission's 
        reported conclusions in developing and executing the foreign 
        policy of the United States with respect to Venezuela.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter until the expiration of the 
official mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
the implementation of the actions described in subsections (a), (b), 
and (c).
    (e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
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