22 USC 2151 - Human rights and development assistance

View all text of Part I [§ 2151 - § 2152k]

§ 2151n. Human rights and development assistance

(a) Violations barring assistance; assistance for needy people

No assistance may be provided under subchapter I of this chapter, and no support may be provided under subchapter II of chapter 103 of this title, to the government of any country which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, including torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges, causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction and clandestine detention of those persons, or other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, and the security of person, unless such assistance will directly benefit the needy people in such country.

(b)1

1 So in original. Two subsecs. (b) have been enacted.

Information to Congressional committees for realization of assistance for needy people; concurrent resolution terminating assistance

No assistance may be provided under subchapter I of this chapter, and no support may be provided under subchapter II of chapter 103 of this title, to any government failing to take appropriate and adequate measures, within their means, to protect children from exploitation, abuse or forced conscription into military or paramilitary services.

(b)1 Protection of children from exploitation

(c) Factors consideredIn determining whether or not a government falls within the provisions of subsection (a) and in formulating development assistance programs under subchapter I of this chapter, or support provided under subchapter II of chapter 103 of this title, the Administrator, or the Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation, as applicable, shall consider, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and in consultation with the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom—

(1) the extent of cooperation of such government in permitting an unimpeded investigation of alleged violations of internationally recognized human rights by appropriate international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, or groups or persons acting under the authority of the United Nations or of the Organization of American States;

(2) specific actions which have been taken by the President or the Congress relating to multilateral or security assistance to a less developed country because of the human rights practices or policies of such country; and

(3) whether the government—

(A) has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom, as defined in section 6402 of this title; or

(B) has failed to undertake serious and sustained efforts to combat particularly severe violations of religious freedom (as defined in section 6402 of this title), when such efforts could have been reasonably undertaken.

(d) Report to Speaker of House and Committee on Foreign Relations of the SenateThe Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 of each year, a full and complete report regarding—

(1) the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (a)—

(A) in countries that receive assistance under subchapter I of this chapter, and

(B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this chapter;

(2) wherever applicable, practices regarding coercion in population control, including coerced abortion and involuntary sterilization;

(3) the status of child labor practices in each country, including—

(A) whether such country has adopted policies to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, including a prohibition of forced and bonded labor and policies regarding acceptable working conditions; and

(B) the extent to which each country enforces such policies, including the adequacy of the resources and oversight dedicated to such policies;

(4) the votes of each member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on all country-specific and thematic resolutions voted on at the Commission’s annual session during the period covered during the preceding year;

(5) the extent to which each country has extended protection to refugees, including the provision of first asylum and resettlement;

(6) the steps the Administrator has taken to alter United States programs under subchapter I of this chapter in any country because of human rights considerations;

(7) wherever applicable, violations of religious freedom, including particularly severe violations of religious freedom (as defined in section 6402 of this title);

(8) wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement that occur during the preceding year, including descriptions of—

(A) acts of physical violence against, or harassment of 2

2 So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.

Jewish people, and acts of violence against, or vandalism of 2 Jewish community institutions, including schools, synagogues, and cemeteries;

(B) instances of propaganda in government and nongovernment media that attempt to justify or promote racial hatred or incite acts of violence against Jewish people;

(C) the actions, if any, taken by the government of the country to respond to such violence and attacks or to eliminate such propaganda or incitement;

(D) the actions taken by such government to enact and enforce laws relating to the protection of the right to religious freedom of Jewish people; and

(E) the efforts of such government to promote anti-bias and tolerance education;

(9) wherever applicable, consolidated information regarding the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and evidence of acts that may constitute genocide (as defined in article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and modified by the United States instrument of ratification to that convention and section 2(a) of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987);

(10) for each country with respect to which the report indicates that extrajudicial killings, torture, or other serious violations of human rights have occurred in the country, the extent to which the United States has taken or will take action to encourage an end to such practices in the country;

(11)

(A)

(i) of the compulsory recruitment and conscription of individuals under the age of 18 by armed forces of the government of the country, government-supported paramilitaries, or other armed groups, and the participation of such individuals in such groups; and

(ii) that such individuals take a direct part in hostilities;

(B) what steps, if any, taken by the government of the country to eliminate such practices;

(C) such other information related to the use by such government of individuals under the age of 18 as soldiers, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary; and

(12) wherever applicable—

(A) a description of the status of freedom of the press, including initiatives in favor of freedom of the press and efforts to improve or preserve, as appropriate, the independence of the media, together with an assessment of progress made as a result of those efforts;

(B) an identification of countries in which there were violations of freedom of the press, including direct physical attacks, imprisonment, indirect sources of pressure, and censorship by governments, military, intelligence, or police forces, criminal groups, or armed extremist or rebel groups; and

(i) whether government authorities of each such country participate in, facilitate, or condone such violations of the freedom of the press; and

(ii) what steps the government of each such country has taken to preserve the safety and independence of the media, and to ensure the prosecution of those individuals who attack or murder journalists.

(13) Wherever applicable, a description of the nature and extent of acts of transnational repression that occurred during the preceding year, including identification of—

(A) incidents in which a government harassed, intimidated, or killed individuals outside of their internationally recognized borders and the patterns of such repression among repeat offenders;

(B) countries in which such transnational repression occurs and the role of the governments of such countries in enabling, preventing, mitigating, and responding to such acts;

(C) the tactics used by the governments of countries identified pursuant to subparagraph (A), including the actions identified and any new techniques observed;

(D) in the case of digital surveillance and harassment, the type of technology or platform, including social media, smart city technology, health tracking systems, general surveillance technology, and data access, transfer, and storage procedures, used by the governments of countries identified pursuant to subparagraph (A) for such actions; and

(E) groups and types of individuals targeted by acts of transnational repression in each country in which such acts occur.

(e) Promotion of civil and political rights

The President is authorized and encouraged to use not less than $3,000,000 of the funds made available under this part, part X of this subchapter, and part IV of subchapter II of this chapter for each fiscal year for studies to identify, and for openly carrying out programs and activities which will encourage or promote increased adherence to civil and political rights, including the right to free religious belief and practice, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in countries eligible for assistance under this part or under part X of this subchapter, except that funds made available under part X of this subchapter may only be used under this subsection with respect to countries in sub-Saharan Africa. None of these funds may be used, directly or indirectly, to influence the outcome of any election in any country.

(f) Annual country reports on human rights practices

(1) The report required by subsection (d) shall include the following:

(A) A description of the nature and extent of severe forms of trafficking in persons, as defined in section 7102 of this title, in each foreign country.

(B) With respect to each country that is a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons, an assessment of the efforts by the government of that country to combat such trafficking. The assessment shall address the following:

(i) Whether government authorities in that country participate in, facilitate, or condone such trafficking.

(ii) Which government authorities in that country are involved in activities to combat such trafficking.

(iii) What steps the government of that country has taken to prohibit government officials from participating in, facilitating, or condoning such trafficking, including the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of such officials.

(iv) What steps the government of that country has taken to prohibit other individuals from participating in such trafficking, including the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of individuals involved in severe forms of trafficking in persons, the criminal and civil penalties for such trafficking, and the efficacy of those penalties in eliminating or reducing such trafficking.

(v) What steps the government of that country has taken to assist victims of such trafficking, including efforts to prevent victims from being further victimized by traffickers, government officials, or others, grants of relief from deportation, and provision of humanitarian relief, including provision of mental and physical health care and shelter.

(vi) Whether the government of that country is cooperating with governments of other countries to extradite traffickers when requested, or, to the extent that such cooperation would be inconsistent with the laws of such country or with extradition treaties to which such country is a party, whether the government of that country is taking all appropriate measures to modify or replace such laws and treaties so as to permit such cooperation.

(vii) Whether the government of that country is assisting in international investigations of transnational trafficking networks and in other cooperative efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons.

(viii) Whether the government of that country refrains from prosecuting victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons due to such victims having been trafficked, and refrains from other discriminatory treatment of such victims.

(ix) Whether the government of that country recognizes the rights of victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons and ensures their access to justice.

(2) In compiling data and making assessments for the purposes of paragraph (1), United States diplomatic mission personnel shall consult with human rights organizations and other appropriate nongovernmental organizations.

(g) Child marriage status

(1) In general

The report required under subsection (d) shall include, for each country in which child marriage is prevalent, a description of the status of the practice of child marriage in such country.

(2) Defined termIn this subsection, the term “child marriage” means the marriage of a girl or boy who is—

(A) younger than the minimum age for marriage under the laws of the country in which such girl or boy is a resident; or

(B) younger than 18 years of age, if no such law exists.

(Pub. L. 87–195, pt. I, § 116, as added Pub. L. 94–161, title III, § 310, Dec. 20, 1975, 89 Stat. 860; amended Pub. L. 95–88, title I, § 111, Aug. 3, 1977, 91 Stat. 537; Pub. L. 95–105, title I, § 109(a)(2), Aug. 17, 1977, 91 Stat. 846; Pub. L. 95–424, title I, § 109, Oct. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 947; Pub. L. 96–53, title I, § 106, title V, § 504(a), Aug. 14, 1979, 93 Stat. 362, 378; Pub. L. 96–533, title III, § 305, title VII, § 701(a), Dec. 16, 1980, 94 Stat. 3147, 3156; Pub. L. 97–113, title III, § 306, Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1533; Pub. L. 98–164, title X, § 1002(a), Nov. 22, 1983, 97 Stat. 1052; Pub. L. 99–440, title II, § 202, Oct. 2, 1986, 100 Stat. 1095; Pub. L. 99–631, § 1(b)(2), Nov. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 3519; Pub. L. 100–204, title I, § 127(1), Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1342; Pub. L. 101–513, title V, §§ 562(d)(3), 599D, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 2031, 2066; Pub. L. 103–149, § 4(a)(3)(B), Nov. 23, 1993, 107 Stat. 1505; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 162(e)(1), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 405; Pub. L. 103–437, § 9(a)(6), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4588; Pub. L. 104–319, title II, § 201(a), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3866; Pub. L. 105–277, div. G, subdiv. B, title XXII, § 2216, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–815; Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 102(d)(1), title IV, § 421(a), title V, § 501(b), Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2794, 2809, 2811; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, §§ 1000(a)(2) [title V, § 597], 1000(a)(7) [div. A, title VIII, § 806(a)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1536, 1501A–126, 1501A–471; Pub. L. 106–386, div. A, § 104(a), Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1471; Pub. L. 107–228, div. A, title VI, §§ 665(a), 683(a), Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1406, 1410; Pub. L. 108–332, § 6(a)(1), Oct. 16, 2004, 118 Stat. 1285; Pub. L. 111–166, § 2(1), May 17, 2010, 124 Stat. 1186; Pub. L. 113–4, title XII, § 1207(b)(1), Mar. 7, 2013, 127 Stat. 141; Pub. L. 115–254, div. F, title VI, § 1470(j)(1), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3516; Pub. L. 118–31, div. F, title LXVII, § 6707(a)(2), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1018.)