[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 6 (Wednesday, February 4, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S383-S386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WELLSTONE (for himself, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Harkin):
  S. 1606. A bill to fully implement the Convention Against Torture and 
Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and to 
provide a comprehensive program of support for victims of torture; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.


                     THE TORTURE VICTIMS RELIEF ACT

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Torture 
Victims Relief Act of 1998. I am joined today by Senator Kennedy and 
Senator Harkin as original cosponsors of this measure. This legislation 
outlines a comprehensive strategy for providing critical assistance to 
refugees, asylees, and parolees who are torture survivors in the U.S. 
and abroad. It also protects asylum seekers from being involuntary 
returned to a country where they have reasonable grounds to fear 
subjection to torture. This legislation provides a focus and a 
framework for a newly re-energized debate about where torture 
survivors, and our response to the practice of torture by other 
countries, fit within our foreign policy priorities.
  Late in the 103rd Congress, I introduced with Senator Durenburger the 
Torture Victim's Relief Act, which laid down a bipartisan marker on the 
issue. I reintroduced it in the 104th, along with Republicans and 
Democrats alike, pressing forward on several fronts.
  I hope that enactment of this legislation will be a watershed in the 
movement to garner broader public and private support, both here and 
abroad, for much-needed torture rehabilitation programs. Specifically, 
the Torture Victims Relief Act would authorize funds for domestic 
refugee assistance centers as well as bilateral assistance to torture 
treatment centers worldwide. It would also change our immigration laws 
to give a priority to torture survivors and provide for specialized 
training for U.S. consular personnel who deal with torture survivors.
  Finally, the bill would allow an increase in the U.S. contribution to 
the U.N. Voluntary Fund for Torture Victims, which funds and supports 
rehabilitation programs worldwide. In 1997 this fund contributed about 
$3.4 million to nearly 100 projects in more than 50 countries. I 
believe that continuing to expand the U.S. contribution to the fund is 
necessary as a show of genuine U.S. commitment to human rights, and I 
will continue to push until these programs receive the funding they 
need and deserve.
  Mr. President, the practice of torture is one of the most serious 
human rights issues of our time. Governmental torture, and torture 
being condoned by officials of governments, occurs in at least 70 
countries today. We need look no farther than today's headlines about 
Algeria, Turkey, Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, China and Tibet to know that we 
will be dealing with the problems that torture victims face for many 
years.
  In many countries torture is routinely employed in police stations to 
coerce confessions or obtain information. Detainees are subjected to 
both physical and mental abuse. Methods include beatings with sticks 
and whips; kicking with boots; electric shocks; and suspension from one 
or both arms. Victims are also threatened, insulted and humiliated. In 
some cases, particular those involving women, victims are stripped, 
exposed to verbal and sexual abuse. Medical treatment is often 
withheld, sometimes resulting in death.
  In China, torture of detainees and prisoners is not uncommon, as 
exemplified by Chen Longde's case. In 1996, one month after his 
conviction without trial, Chen leapt from a two-story prison walkway in 
an attempt to avoid repeated beatings and electric shocks from a senior 
prison official as punishment for his refusal to write a statement of 
guilt and self-criticism.
  Richard Oketch was tortured by the Ugandan military. He was 
imprisoned for a total of a year in various military compounds near his 
home. His hands were shackled to his feet, he was denied food and 
sleep, and he was beaten regularly. Oketch managed to flee Uganda and 
eventually, with the help of the United Nations, he made it to the 
United States. However, the emotional scars of watching his family 
members and dozens of friends slaughtered left him for a time, unable 
to function in society.
  Today Oketch holds a master's degree and works as a program 
specialist for the St. Paul Public School. He credits his 
transformation to the treatment he received at the Minnesota Center for 
Victims of Torture. There Oketch received the services he needed to 
deal with his grief and become an active member of his community. 
Unfortunately, Oketch's story is the exception, not the rule. Most 
torture survivors, even those who are granted asylum in the United 
States, never receive the treatment they need.

  We can and must do more to stop horrific acts of torture, and to 
treat its victims. Treating torture victims must be a much more central 
focus of our efforts as we work to promote human rights worldwide.
  Providing treatment for torture survivors is one of the best ways we 
can show our concern for human rights around the world. The United 
States and the international community have been increasingly aware of 
the need to prevent human rights abuses and to punish the perpetrators 
when abuses take place. But too often we have failed to address the 
needs of the victims. We pay little if any attention to

[[Page S384]]

the treatment of victims after their rights have been violated.
  This commitment to protect human rights is one shared by many around 
the world. In 1984 the U.N. approved the United Nations' Convention 
Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading 
Treatment or Punishment. The U.S. Senate ratified it in April of 1994. 
Although Congress has taken some steps to implement parts of the 
Convention, we have not yet taken action to provide sufficient 
rehabilitation services in the spirit of the language of Article 14 of 
the Convention which provides that the victim of an act of torture has: 
``the means for as full a rehabilitation as possible.''
  We have also failed to adopt implementing legislation for Article 3 
which states that ``No State Party shall expel, return or extradite a 
person to another State where there are substantial grounds for 
believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.'' 
Without legislation implementing this article, it is possible for the 
United States to return someone to a country even where there are 
substantial grounds for believing the person would be subjected to 
torture. This legislation would help ensure that the U.S. is fulfilling 
its obligation under the Convention Against Torture.
  There also exists a great need for the rehabilitation programs 
supported by this legislation. Without active programs of healing and 
recovery, torture survivors often suffer continued physical pain, 
depression and anxiety, intense and incessant nightmares, guilt and 
self-loathing. They often report an inability to concentrate or 
remember. The severity of the trauma makes it difficult to hold down a 
job, study for a new profession, or acquire other skills needed for 
successful adjustment into society.
  In Minnesota, we began to think about the problem of torture, and act 
on it, over ten years ago. The Center for Victims of Torture in 
Minneapolis is the only fully-staffed torture treatment facility in the 
country and one of just a few worldwide. The Center offers outpatient 
services which can include medical treatment, psychotherapy and help 
gaining economic and legal stability. Its advocacy work also helps to 
inform people about the problem of torture and the lingering effects it 
has on victims, and ways to combat torture worldwide. The Center has 
treated or provided services to hundreds of people since its founding 
in 1985.
  Some of the often shrill public rhetoric these days seems to argue 
that we as a nation can no longer afford to remain engaged with the 
world, or to assist the poor, the elderly, the feeble, refugees, those 
seeking asylum--those most in need of aid who are right here in our 
midst. The Center for Victims of Torture stands as a repudiation of 
that idea. Its mission is to rescue and rehabilitate people who have 
been crushed by torture, and it has been accomplishing that mission 
admirably over the last ten years. It is a light of hope in the lives 
of those who have for so long seen only darkness, a darkness brought on 
by the brutal hand of the torturer.
  I would like to thank the distinguished human rights leaders who 
helped craft this bill, including those at the Center for Victims of 
Torture in Minneapolis and others in the human rights community here in 
Washington and in Minnesota. Without their energy and skills as 
advocates for tough U.S. laws which promote respect for 
internationally-recognized human rights worldwide, the cause of human 
rights here in the U.S. would be seriously diminished. I salute them 
today. We must commit ourselves to aiding torture survivors and to 
building a world in which torture is relegated to the dark past. My 
hope is that we can help bring about a world in which the need for 
torture treatment programs becomes obsolete. I urge my colleagues to 
cosponsor this bill, and I urge its timely passage.
  I ask unanimous consent that a partial list of organizations 
supporting the Torture Victims Relief Act be printed in the Record with 
a copy of the bill.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1606

       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 ``Torture Victims Relief 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The American people abhor torture by any government or 
     person. The existence of torture creates a climate of fear 
     and international insecurity that affects all people.
       (2) Torture is the deliberate mental and physical damage 
     caused by governments to individuals to destroy individual 
     personality and terrorize society. The effects of torture are 
     long term. Those effects can last a lifetime for the 
     survivors and affect future generations.
       (3) By eliminating leadership of their opposition and 
     frightening the general public, repressive governments often 
     use torture as a weapon against democracy.
       (4) Torture survivors remain under physical and 
     psychological threats, especially in communities where the 
     perpetrators are not brought to justice. In many nations, 
     even those who treat torture survivors are threatened with 
     reprisals, including torture, for carrying out their ethical 
     duties to provide care. Both the survivors of torture and 
     their treatment providers should be accorded protection from 
     further repression.
       (5) A significant number of refugees and asylees entering 
     the United States have been victims of torture. Those 
     claiming asylum deserve prompt consideration of their 
     applications for political asylum to minimize their 
     insecurity and sense of danger. Many torture survivors now 
     live in the United States. They should be provided with the 
     rehabilitation services which would enable them to become 
     productive members of our communities.
       (6) The development of a treatment movement for torture 
     survivors has created new opportunities for action by the 
     United States and other nations to oppose state-sponsored and 
     other acts of torture.
       (7) There is a need for a comprehensive strategy to protect 
     and support torture victims and their treatment providers, 
     together with overall efforts to eliminate torture.
       (8) By acting to heal the survivors of torture and protect 
     their families, the United States can help to heal the 
     effects of torture and prevent its use around the world.
       (9) The United States became a party to the Convention 
     Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading 
     Treatment or Punishment on November 20, 1994, but has not 
     implemented Article 3 of the Convention.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       As used in this Act:
       (1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided, the terms 
     used in this Act have the meanings given those terms in 
     section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1101(a)).
       (2) Torture.--The term ``torture'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 2340(1) of title 18, United States Code, 
     and includes the use of rape and other forms of sexual 
     violence by a person acting under the color of law upon 
     another person under his custody or physical control.

     SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON INVOLUNTARY RETURN OF PERSONS FEARING 
                   SUBJECTION TO TORTURE.

       (a) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the United States shall not expel, remove, extradite, or 
     otherwise return involuntarily an individual to a country if 
     there is substantial evidence that a reasonable person in the 
     circumstances of that individual would fear subjection to 
     torture in that country.
       (b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
     ``to return involuntarily'', in the case of an individual, 
     means--
       (1) to return the individual without the individual's 
     consent, whether or not the return is induced by physical 
     force and whether or not the person is physically present in 
     the United States; or
       (2) to take an action by which it is reasonably foreseeable 
     that the individual will be returned, whether or not the 
     return is induced by physical force and whether or not the 
     person is physically present in the United States.

     SEC. 5. IMMIGRATION PROCEDURES FOR TORTURE VICTIMS.

       (a) Covered Aliens.--An alien described in this section is 
     any alien who presents a claim of having been subjected to 
     torture, or whom there is reason to believe has been 
     subjected to torture.
       (b) Consideration of the Effects of Torture.--In 
     considering an application by an alien described in 
     subsection (a) for refugee status under section 207 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act, asylum under section 208 of 
     that Act, or withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) 
     of that Act, the appropriate officials shall take into 
     account--
       (1) the manner in which the effects of torture might affect 
     the applicant's responses in the application and in the 
     interview process or other immigration proceedings, as the 
     case may be;
       (2) the difficulties torture victims often have in 
     recounting their suffering under torture; and
       (3) the fear victims have of returning to their country of 
     nationality where, even if torture is no longer practiced or 
     the incidence of torture is reduced, their torturers may have 
     gone unpunished and may remain in positions of authority.
       (c) Expedited Processing of Refugee Admissions.--For 
     purposes of section 207(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 
     Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(c)), refugees who have been subjected to 
     torture shall be considered to be refugees of special 
     humanitarian concern to

[[Page S385]]

     the United States and shall be accorded priority for 
     resettlement at least as high as that accorded any other 
     group of refugees.
       (d) Processing for Asylum and Withholding of Removal.--
     Section 235(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new clause:
       ``(iv) Special procedures for aliens who are the victims of 
     torture.--

       ``(I) Expedited procedures.--With the consent of the alien, 
     an asylum officer or immigration judge shall expedite the 
     scheduling of an asylum interview or a removal proceeding for 
     any alien who presents a claim of having been subjected to 
     torture, unless the evidence indicates that a delay in making 
     a determination regarding the granting of asylum under 
     section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act or the 
     withholding of removal under section 241(b)(3) of that Act 
     with respect to the alien would not aggravate the physical or 
     psychological effects of torture upon the alien.
       ``(II) Delay of proceedings.--With the consent of the 
     alien, an asylum officer or immigration judge shall postpone 
     an asylum interview or a removal proceeding for any alien who 
     presents a claim of having been subjected to torture, if the 
     evidence indicates that, as a result of the alien's mental or 
     physical symptoms resulting from torture, including the 
     alien's inability to recall or relate the events of the 
     torture, the alien will require more time to recover or be 
     treated before being required to testify.''

       (e) Parole in Lieu of Detention.--The finding that an alien 
     is a person described in subsection (a) shall be a strong 
     presumptive basis for a grant of parole, under section 
     212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1182(d)(5)), in lieu of detention.
       (f) Exemption From Expedited Removal.--Section 235(b)(1)(F) 
     of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1225(b)(1)(F)) is amended by inserting before the period at 
     the end the following: ``, or to an alien described in 
     section 5(a) of the Torture Victims Relief Act''.
       (g) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the Attorney General should allocate resources sufficient to 
     maintain in the Resource Information Center of the 
     Immigration and Naturalization Service current information 
     relating to the use of torture in foreign countries.

     SEC. 6. SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR CONSULAR, IMMIGRATION, AND 
                   ASYLUM PERSONNEL.

       (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall provide 
     training for immigration inspectors and examiners, 
     immigration officers, asylum officers, immigration judges, 
     and all other relevant officials of the Department of 
     Justice, and the Secretary of State shall provide training 
     for consular officers, with respect to--
       (1) the identification of torture;
       (2) the identification of the surrounding circumstances in 
     which torture is most often practiced;
       (3) the long-term effects of torture upon a victim;
       (4) the identification of the physical, cognitive, and 
     emotional effects of torture, and the manner in which these 
     effects can affect the interview or hearing process; and
       (5) the manner of interviewing victims of torture so as not 
     to retraumatize them, eliciting the necessary information to 
     document the torture experience, and understanding the 
     difficulties victims often have in recounting their torture 
     experience.
       (b) Gender-Related Considerations.--In conducting training 
     under subsection (a) (4) or (5), gender-specific training 
     shall be provided on the subject of interacting with women 
     and men who are victims of torture by rape or any other form 
     of sexual violence.

     SEC. 7. DOMESTIC TREATMENT CENTERS.

       (a) Amendment of the Immigration and Nationality Act.--
     Section 412 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
     1522) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(b) Assistance for Treatment of Torture Victims.--The 
     Secretary may provide grants to programs in the United States 
     to cover the cost of the following services:
       ``(1) Services for the rehabilitation of victims of 
     torture, including treatment of the physical and 
     psychological effects of torture.
       ``(2) Social and legal services for victims of torture.
       ``(3) Research and training for health care providers 
     outside of treatment centers, or programs for the purpose of 
     enabling such providers to provide the services described in 
     paragraph (1).''.
       (b) Funding.--
       (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts 
     authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Health 
     and Human Services for fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001, but 
     not from funds made available to the Office of Refugee 
     Resettlement, there are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out section 412(g) of that Act (relating to assistance 
     for domestic centers and programs for the treatment of 
     victims of torture), as added by subsection (a), the 
     following amounts for the following fiscal years:
       (A) For fiscal year 1999, $5,000,000.
       (B) For fiscal year 2000, $7,500,000.
       (C) For fiscal year 2001, $9,000,000.
       (2) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to this subsection shall remain available until expended.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on October 1, 1998.

     SEC. 8. FOREIGN TREATMENT CENTERS.

       (a) Amendments of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.--Part 
     I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et 
     seq.) is amended by adding at the end of chapter 1 the 
     following new section:

     ``SEC. 129. ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.

       ``(a) In General.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance for the rehabilitation of victims of torture.
       ``(b) Eligibility for Grants.--Such assistance shall be 
     provided in the form of grants to treatment centers and 
     programs in foreign countries that are carrying out projects 
     or activities specifically designed to treat victims of 
     torture for the physical and psychological effects of the 
     torture.
       ``(c) Use of Funds.--Such assistance shall be available--
       ``(1) for direct services to victims of torture; and
       ``(2) to provide research and training to health care 
     providers outside of treatment centers or programs described 
     in subsection (b), for the purpose of enabling such providers 
     to provide the services described in paragraph (1).''.
       (b) Funding.--
       (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts 
     authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1999, 2000, 
     and 2001 pursuant to chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated to the President $5,000,000 for fiscal year 
     1999, $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $9,000,000 for 
     fiscal year 2001 to carry out section 129 of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act, as added by subsection (a).
       (2) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to this subsection shall remain available until expended.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on October 1, 1998.

     SEC. 9. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.

       (a) Funding.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated 
     for fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001 pursuant to chapter 1 
     of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, there are 
     authorized to be appropriated to the United Nations Voluntary 
     Fund for Victims of Torture (in this section referred to as 
     the ``Fund'') the following amounts for the following fiscal 
     years:
       (1) Fiscal year 1999.--For fiscal year 1999, $3,000,000.
       (2) Fiscal year 2000.--For fiscal year 2000, $3,000,000.
       (3) Fiscal year 2001.--For fiscal year 2001, $3,000,000.
       (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
     to subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
       (c) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
     the President, acting through the United States Permanent 
     Representative to the United Nations, should--
       (1) request the Fund--
       (A) to find new ways to support and protect treatment 
     centers and programs that are carrying out rehabilitative 
     services for victims of torture; and
       (B) to encourage the development of new such centers and 
     programs;
       (2) use the voice and vote of the United States to support 
     the work of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the 
     Committee Against Torture established under the Convention 
     Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading 
     Treatment or Punishment; and
       (3) use the voice and vote of the United States to 
     establish a country rapporteur or similar procedural 
     mechanism to investigate human rights violations in a country 
     if either the Special Rapporteur or the Committee Against 
     Torture indicates that a systematic practice of torture is 
     prevalent in that country.
                                                                    ____


Partial List of Organizations Supporting the Torture Victims Relief Act

       Advocates for Survivors of Trauma and Torture, Baltimore, 
     MD.
       American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
       American Civil Liberties Union.
       American Immigration Lawyers Association.
       American Kurdish Information Network (AKIN).
       American Psychiatric Association.
       American Psychological Association.
       Amnesty International U.S.A.
       Asia Pacific Center for Justice and Peace.
       Center for Reproductive Law and Policy.
       Center for Victims of Torture.
       Church in America.
       Church World Services Immigration and Refugee Program.
       Coalition Missing.
       Episcopal Church People for a Free Southern Africa.
       Guatemala Human Rights Commission/U.S.A.
       Human Rights Access.
       Human Rights Advocates.
       Human Rights Watch.
       Institute for Study of Genocide.
       Institute for the Study of Psycho-Social Trauma.
       International Campaign for Tibet.
       International Human Rights Law Group.
       Khmer Health Advocates, West Hartford, CT.
       Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
       Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical 
     Lutheran.
       Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of 
     Torture.

[[Page S386]]

       Maryknoll Justice and Peace.
       Mental Disability Rights International.
       Midwest Coalition on Human Rights.
       National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the U.S.
       People's Decade of Human Rights Education.
       Physicians for Human Rights.
       Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights.
       Rocky Mountain Survivors Center, Denver, CO.
       Travelers Aid of New York.
       Ursuline Sisters of Mt. St. Joseph.
       United Church Board for World Ministries.
       United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.
       Washington Kurdish Institute.
       Washington Office on Latin America.
       World Organization Against Torture U.S.A.
       World Sindhi Institute.
                                 ______