[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4806 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4806
To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, or
otherwise persecute individuals for political and other unlawful
motives overseas.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2021
Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Ms. Jackson Lee,
Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Malinowski, Mr. Meijer, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin,
Mr. Hudson, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Gallego, and Mr. Veasey) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To counter efforts by foreign governments to pursue, harass, or
otherwise persecute individuals for political and other unlawful
motives overseas.
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 ``Transnational Repression
Accountability and Prevention Act of 2021'' or as the ``TRAP Act of
2021''.
SEC. 2. TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION ACCOUNTABILITY AND PREVENTION.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The International Criminal Police Organization
(INTERPOL) works to prevent and fight crime through enhanced
cooperation and innovation on police and security matters,
including kleptocracy, counterterrorism, cybercrime,
counternarcotics, and transnational organized crime.
(2) United States membership and participation in INTERPOL
advances the national security and law enforcement interests of
the United States related to combating kleptocracy, terrorism,
cybercrime, narcotics, and transnational organized crime.
(3) Article 2 of INTERPOL's Constitution states that the
organization aims ``[to] ensure and promote the widest possible
mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities . . .
in the spirit of the `Universal Declaration of Human Rights'''.
(4) Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution states that ``[i]t
is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any
intervention or activities of a political, military, religious
or racial character''.
(5) These principles provide INTERPOL with a foundation
based on respect for human rights and avoidance of politically
motivated actions by the organization and its members.
(6) According to the Justice Manual of the United States
Department of Justice, ``[i]n the United States, national law
prohibits the arrest of the subject of a Red Notice issued by
another INTERPOL member country, based upon the notice alone''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that some
INTERPOL member countries have repeatedly misused INTERPOL's databases
and processes, including Notice and Diffusion mechanisms, for
activities of an overtly political or other unlawful character and in
violation of international human rights standards, including making
requests to harass or persecute political opponents, human rights
defenders, or journalists.
(c) Support for INTERPOL Institutional Reforms.--The Attorney
General and the Secretary of State shall--
(1) use the voice, vote, and influence of the United
States, as appropriate, within INTERPOL's General Assembly and
Executive Committee to promote reforms aimed at improving the
transparency of INTERPOL and ensuring its operation consistent
with its Constitution, particularly articles 2 and 3, and Rules
on the Processing of Data, including--
(A) supporting INTERPOL's reforms enhancing the
screening process for Notices, Diffusions, and other
INTERPOL communications to ensure they comply with
INTERPOL's Constitution and Rules on the Processing of
Data (RPD);
(B) supporting and strengthening INTERPOL's
coordination with the Commission for Control of
INTERPOL's Files (CCF) in cases in which INTERPOL or
the CCF has determined that a member country issued a
Notice, Diffusion, or other INTERPOL communication
against an individual in violation of articles 2 or 3
of the INTERPOL Constitution, or the RPD, to prohibit
such member country from seeking the publication or
issuance of any subsequent Notices, Diffusions, or
other INTERPOL communication against the same
individual based on the same set of claims or facts;
(C) increasing, to the extent practicable,
dedicated funding to the CCF and the Notices and
Diffusions Task Force in order to further expand
operations related to the review of requests for red
notices and red diffusions;
(D) supporting candidates for positions within
INTERPOL's structures, including the Presidency,
Executive Committee, General Secretariat, and CCF who
have demonstrated experience relating to and respect
for the rule of law;
(E) seeking to require INTERPOL in its annual
report to provide a detailed account, disaggregated by
member country or entity of--
(i) the number of Notice requests,
disaggregated by color, that it received;
(ii) the number of Notice requests,
disaggregated by color, that it rejected;
(iii) the category of violation identified
in each instance of a rejected Notice;
(iv) the number of Diffusions that it
cancelled without reference to decisions by the
CCF; and
(v) the sources of all INTERPOL income
during the reporting period; and
(F) supporting greater transparency by the CCF in
its annual report by providing a detailed account,
disaggregated by country, of--
(i) the number of admissible requests for
correction or deletion of data received by the
CCF regarding issued Notices, Diffusions, and
other INTERPOL communications; and
(ii) the category of violation alleged in
each such complaint;
(2) inform the INTERPOL General Secretariat about incidents
in which member countries abuse INTERPOL communications for
politically motivated or other unlawful purposes so that, as
appropriate, action can be taken by INTERPOL; and
(3) request to censure member countries that repeatedly
abuse and misuse INTERPOL's red notice and red diffusion
mechanisms, including restricting the access of those countries
to INTERPOL's data and information systems.
(d) Report on INTERPOL.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and biannually thereafter for a period
of 4 years, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the heads of other relevant United States
Government departments or agencies, shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress a report containing an
assessment of how INTERPOL member countries abuse INTERPOL Red
Notices, Diffusions, and other INTERPOL communications for
political motives and other unlawful purposes within the past
three years.
(2) Elements.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall include the following elements:
(A) A list of countries that the Attorney General
and the Secretary determine have repeatedly abused and
misused the red notice and red diffusion mechanisms for
political purposes.
(B) A description of the most common tactics
employed by member countries in conducting such abuse,
including the crimes most commonly alleged and the
INTERPOL communications most commonly exploited.
(C) An assessment of the adequacy of INTERPOL
mechanisms for challenging abusive requests, including
the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files
(CCF), an assessment of the CCF's March 2017 Operating
Rules, and any shortcoming the United States believes
should be addressed.
(D) A description of how INTERPOL's General
Secretariat identifies requests for red notice or red
diffusions that are politically motivated or are
otherwise in violation of INTERPOL's rules and how
INTERPOL reviews and addresses cases in which a member
country has abused or misused the red notice and red
diffusion mechanisms for overtly political purposes.
(E) A description of any incidents in which the
Department of Justice assesses that United States
courts and executive departments or agencies have
relied on INTERPOL communications in contravention of
existing law or policy to seek the detention of
individuals or render judgments concerning their
immigration status or requests for asylum, with holding
of removal, or convention against torture claims and
any measures the Department of Justice or other
executive departments or agencies took in response to
these incidents.
(F) A description of how the United States monitors
and responds to likely instances of abuse of INTERPOL
communications by member countries that could affect
the interests of the United States, including citizens
and nationals of the United States, employees of the
United States Government, aliens lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in the United States, aliens who
are lawfully present in the United States, or aliens
with pending asylum, withholding of removal, or
convention against torture claims, though they may be
unlawfully present in the United States.
(G) A description of what actions the United States
takes in response to credible information it receives
concerning likely abuse of INTERPOL communications
targeting employees of the United States Government for
activities they undertook in an official capacity.
(H) A description of United States advocacy for
reform and good governance within INTERPOL.
(I) A strategy for improving interagency
coordination to identify and address instances of
INTERPOL abuse that affect the interests of the United
States, including international respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms, citizens and nationals
of the United States, employees of the United States
Government, aliens lawfully admitted for permanent
residence in the United States, aliens who are lawfully
present in the United States, or aliens with pending
asylum, withholding of removal, or convention against
torture claims, though they may be unlawfully present
in the United States.
(3) Form of report.--Each report required under this
subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may
include a classified annex, as appropriate. The unclassified
portion of the report shall be posted on a publicly available
website of the Department of State and of the Department of
Justice.
(4) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission
of each report under paragraph (1), the Department of Justice
and the Department of State, in coordination with other
relevant United States Government departments and agencies,
shall brief the appropriate committees of Congress on the
content of the reports and recent instances of INTERPOL abuse
by member countries and United States efforts to identify and
challenge such abuse, including efforts to promote reform and
good governance within INTERPOL.
(e) Prohibition Regarding Basis for Extradition.--No United States
Government department or agency may extradite an individual based
solely on an INTERPOL Red Notice or Diffusion issued by another
INTERPOL member country for such individual.
(f) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives.
(2) INTERPOL communications.--The term ``INTERPOL
communications'' means any INTERPOL Notice or Diffusion or any
entry into any INTERPOL database or other communications system
maintained by INTERPOL.
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