[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 962 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 962
To protect individuals who face reprisals for defending human rights
and democracy by enhancing the capacity of the United States Government
to prevent, mitigate, and respond in such cases.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 23, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Coons, and Mr.
Murphy) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect individuals who face reprisals for defending human rights
and democracy by enhancing the capacity of the United States Government
to prevent, mitigate, and respond in such cases.
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 ``Global Voices of Freedom Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Seventy-five years ago, the United Nations General
Assembly, with leadership from the United States, adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, done at Paris December
10, 1948 (referred to in this section as the ``Declaration''),
and since the adoption of the Declaration, human rights
defenders have mobilized communities around the vision of a
world ``free and equal in dignity and rights'' described in the
Declaration.
(2) Twenty-five years ago, the United Nations unanimously
adopted the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders, which calls upon all States to respect the role of
individual citizens and civil society organizations in
defending human rights and democratic principles.
(3) Human rights defenders advocate for human rights and
democratic principles, fight corruption, support good
governance, seek to end impunity, support victims of human
rights violations, and speak truth to power, creating
safeguards against autocratic regimes and backsliding
democracies.
(4) Increasingly, human rights defenders around the world
face threats and violence in retaliation for exercising their
civil and political rights, and reprisals against such
defenders have grown in number, scale, and sophistication, with
online and digital threats evolving rapidly.
(5) According to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, every year hundreds of human rights defenders are
murdered and thousands more are subjected to torture, enforced
disappearance, sexual violence, hate crimes, unlawful or
arbitrary detention, judicial harassment, unlawful or arbitrary
digital surveillance, and forced exile.
(6) Today, autocratic regimes are engaging in increasingly
brutal crackdowns on human rights defenders by co-opting states
or collaborating with transnational criminal organizations,
paramilitary groups, and other actors to silence critical
voices.
(7) Such tactics are not limited to autocratic regimes and
are now used in every region of the world, accelerating a
global decline in respect for human rights and democratic
principles.
(8) Few attacks against human rights defenders are
investigated or prosecuted, and rampant impunity has only
spurred further violence, creating a chilling effect on the
work of others seeking to promote human rights and democratic
principles.
(9) Human rights defenders who speak up on behalf of
communities that have historically faced discrimination face
the highest levels of violence, such as those advocating for
Indigenous communities, environmental and climate change
justice, and respect for LGBTQ+, women's, and religious rights.
(10) Attacks on human rights defenders are not limited to
individuals residing in-country, and many foreign governments
engage in transnational repression, reaching across borders to
target human rights defenders outside of their country of
origin.
(11) Although the United States has long played a critical
role in supporting human rights defenders, the United States
must increase support at United States embassies, consulates,
and foreign missions in order to meet the needs of the growing
number of human rights defenders at risk.
(12) Diplomats of the United States often lack sufficient
training or guidance on how to best respond to reprisals
against human rights defenders, while human rights defenders
often lack clear guidance on how to safely contact United
States officials abroad and what support human rights defenders
can request when threatened, imprisoned, in exile, or in
hiding.
(13) Given the dramatic increase in attacks on human rights
defenders globally, the current approach by the United States
Government to address such attacks is insufficient to
adequately respond to the threats human rights defenders face,
weakening the ability of the United States to advance human
rights and democratic principles at a time when
authoritarianism is on the rise.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act--
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(2) Human rights defender.--
(A) In general.--The term ``human rights defender''
means an individual, working alone or in a group, who
uses nonviolent means to promote or protect human
rights and fundamental freedoms, in a manner consistent
with the principles described in the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``human rights defender''
may include members of civil society organizations,
journalists, activists, lawyers, community leaders,
whistleblowers, and others.
(3) Reprisal.--The term ``reprisal'' means an act or
omission that--
(A) violates, intends to violate, or encourages a
violation of the rights of a human rights defender; or
(B) otherwise prevents a human rights defender from
carrying out his or her work.
(4) Strategy.--The term ``Strategy'' means the Global
Voices of Freedom Strategy submitted in accordance with section
5.
(5) United nations declaration on human rights defenders.--
The term ``United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders'' means the Declaration on the Right and
Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to
Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 53/144 (1998)), adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly on December 9, 1998.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States--
(1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to the
United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and to
human rights defenders, who, often at great risk to themselves,
work to protect and advance human rights and democratic
principles;
(2) to integrate support for human rights defenders and
their protection from reprisals as part of bilateral and
multilateral diplomatic, economic, humanitarian, development,
law enforcement, security assistance, and anti-corruption
activities of the United States; and
(3) to view support for human rights defenders and their
protection from reprisals as critical foreign policy interests
of the United States.
SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF A GOVERNMENT-WIDE STRATEGY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
DEFENDERS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the President, in consultation with the heads of
relevant Federal agencies, shall develop and submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a comprehensive interagency strategy to
support and protect human rights defenders abroad to be known as the
Global Voices of Freedom Strategy.
(b) Elements of the Strategy.--The Strategy shall include detailed
information on the following elements:
(1) How the United States intends to implement the policy
objectives under section 4, including--
(A) specific and measurable goals;
(B) metrics to measure progress against such goals;
and
(C) a timeline for implementation.
(2) An assessment of tools and resources available at
United States embassies and missions to support human rights
defenders, including--
(A) measures to monitor and respond to reprisals
against human rights defenders; and
(B) information on implementation of the training
required by subparagraph (E) of section 708(a)(1) of
the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)),
as added by section 8.
(3) Bolstering the ability of United States embassies and
missions to prioritize the protection of human rights
defenders, including--
(A) ensuring the policy objectives under section 4
are addressed in each country-specific Integrated
Country Strategy of the Department of State;
(B) developing guidance for United States embassies
and missions on assessing when and how to respond to
reprisals against human rights defenders;
(C) identifying a designated point of contact at
each United States embassy or mission who--
(i) reports directly to the chief of
mission; and
(ii) shall be responsible for--
(I) conducting regular
consultations with human rights
defenders, including individuals based
outside of major urban areas; and
(II) tracking patterns of reprisals
and managing responses to reprisals,
including by assessing the impact of
such responses;
(D) integrating consideration of reprisals against
human rights defenders into engagements by United
States embassies and missions with the private sector;
(E) providing a secure means, where feasible, by
which human rights defenders can contact each United
States embassy or mission, respectively publicized on
the website of each United States embassy or mission;
(F) including requests for additional resources to
engage with and support human rights defenders in
annual Mission Resource Requests; and
(G) acknowledging and rewarding efforts by United
States diplomatic personnel to protect human rights
defenders as part of annual performance reviews.
(4) Seeking to reduce impunity for reprisals against human
rights defenders by strengthening accountability for
perpetrators, including--
(A) using diplomatic pressure to encourage foreign
governments to investigate and prosecute persons who
order, plan, and carry out reprisals;
(B) using diplomatic pressure to respond to
patterns of non-lethal reprisals that have an adverse
impact on civic space, including the criminalization of
nonviolent advocacy, smear campaigns, and illegal
surveillance; and
(C) increasing support for multilateral initiatives
that seek to curb the misuse of dual-use technologies
by foreign governments to monitor, harass, or threaten
human rights defenders and their families.
(c) Implementation.--In implementing the Strategy, the President
shall--
(1) establish within the National Security Council an
interagency working group that shall be responsible for
coordinating implementation of the Strategy;
(2) require each relevant Federal agency to provide a
specific implementation plan for the Strategy; and
(3) consult with human rights defenders and civil society
organizations on the design and implementation of the Strategy.
(d) Form and Availability.--
(1) Form.--The Strategy shall be submitted in unclassified
form, but may include a classified annex, if necessary.
(2) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days prior to publication
of the Strategy in accordance with paragraph (3), the Under
Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights
shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the
Strategy.
(3) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of the
Strategy shall be made available to the public, including
through publication in the Federal Register.
SEC. 6. PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT THE UNITED NATIONS AND
OTHER MULTILATERAL BODIES.
The Secretary of State and the United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations shall use the voice, vote, and
influence of the United States at the United Nations and other
multilateral bodies--
(1) to promote full participation and oppose efforts that
prevent the full participation of human rights defenders and
block the accreditation of bona fide human rights organizations
at the United Nations and other multilateral bodies;
(2) to ensure that the United Nations bolsters the
protection and safe participation of human rights defenders who
are subject to transnational repression, state harassment, and
reprisals;
(3) to increase monitoring and reporting to identify and
track reprisals against human rights defenders, including human
rights defenders who engage with the United Nations and other
multilateral bodies;
(4) to urge member states to engage with the mandate for
the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders (referred to in this section as the ``Special
Rapporteur''), to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur, and to
take steps to implement the recommendations of the Special
Rapporteur; and
(5) to support the use of targeted sanctions, censure of
member states, and all diplomatic tools available to hold
responsible persons that engage in reprisals against human
rights defenders.
SEC. 7. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.
Section 116(f)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151n(f)(1)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (E);
and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
``(C) A description of the treatment of human rights
defenders (as defined in section 3 of the Global Voices of
Freedom Act of 2023), in each foreign country including
patterns of reprisals (as defined in such section) against
human rights defenders residing in-country, including
information on the underlying types of activities targeted and
the types of tactics being used.
``(D) When feasible, details on the total number of
investigations opened into reprisals against human rights
defenders, including, for such reprisals, the number of
prosecutions, the details of the individuals sentenced, and the
percentage of individuals acquitted.''.
SEC. 8. TRAINING.
Section 708(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C.
4028(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(E) for Foreign Service Officers and Presidential
appointees, including chiefs of mission, in missions
abroad who work on political, economic, public
diplomacy, security, or development issues, a dedicated
module of instruction on support for human rights
defenders; and''.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out--
(1) the Strategy and reporting requirements described in
sections 5 and 7; and
(2) the training required by section 8.
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