[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.