[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1158 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1158
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
Passed the Senate December 12, 2018.
Attest:
Secretary.
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1158
_______________________________________________________________________
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.