[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2611 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2611
To safeguard the integrity of the Department of State's annual Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 31, 2025
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Booker, Mr.
Merkley, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Schatz, and Mr. Welch) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To safeguard the integrity of the Department of State's annual Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, and for other purposes.
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 ``Safeguarding the Integrity of the
Human Rights Reports Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Around the world, a rise in democratic backsliding,
authoritarian practices, and armed conflict threaten the
observance of internationally recognized human rights,
disproportionately impacting girls, women, youth, ethnic
minorities, indigenous communities, LGBTQI+ persons,
individuals with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
(2) Progress in advancing human rights must be grounded in
facts. The Department of State's annual Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices (``Human Rights Reports'') provides a
record of the state of human rights in the world. These reports
are an essential tool for activists who courageously struggle
to protect rights in communities around the world, for
journalists and scholars who document rights violations, and
for governments, including our own, as they work to craft
strategies to better protect victims of human rights
violations, encourage greater observance of human rights, and
protect United States taxpayer funding from flowing to
violators.
(3) Any effort to reduce the scope or tailor the content of
the Human Rights Report based on political considerations
undermines its legitimacy and the credibility of the United
States as an honest promoter of human rights. Such actions also
embolden authoritarians and perpetrators of human rights
violations, threatening grave risks to the brave women and men
working tirelessly to advance these rights.
(4) Maintaining the veracity and integrity of the Human
Rights Report through mandatory and comprehensive reporting on
the full scope of internationally recognized human rights is
critical to sustain the value and international legitimacy of
the reports and to hold human rights violators accountable.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States--
(1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to
promote the observance of internationally recognized human
rights by all countries as a principal goal of our foreign
policy;
(2) to regularly engage with human rights defenders,
journalists, democracy advocates, victims of human rights
violations, and other stakeholders to gather information and
accounts for inclusion in the Human Rights Reports; and
(3) to publish credible, fact-based Human Rights Reports on
an annual basis that cover the full scope of internationally
recognized human rights, as required by law, and to ensure that
Human Rights Reports are devoid of political favoritism or
targeting.
SEC. 4. COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.
Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151n(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and involuntary
sterilization'' and inserting ``, involuntary or coercive
medical or psychological practices, and discrimination against
people in accessing maternal, sexual, and reproductive health
care, including obstetric violence, involuntary or coerced
abortion, involuntary or coerced pregnancy, and coerced
sterilization'';
(2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``whether such country
has facilitated the return of persons to a country where they
would face torture or persecution (refoulement) and'' after
``including'';
(3) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ``Secretary; and''
and inserting ``Secretary;'';
(4) in paragraph (12)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting ``and freedom of
expression'' after ``status of freedom of the
press''; and
(ii) inserting ``or freedom of expression''
after ``in favor of freedom of the press'';
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by inserting ``or freedom of
expression'' after ``violations of freedom of
the press''; and
(ii) by striking ``and censorship'' and
inserting ``censorship and restrictions on
internet freedom or access to information'';
and
(C) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) by inserting ``or freedom of
expression'' after ``violations of freedom of
the press'';
(ii) in clause (i), by striking ``of the
freedom of the press''; and
(iii) in clause (ii), by striking
``journalists.'' and inserting
``journalists;'';
(5) in paragraph (13)--
(A) by striking ``Wherever'' and inserting
``wherever'';
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (E)
as subparagraphs (C) through (F), respectively;
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following new subparagraph:
``(B) harassment or punishment of family members
residing in the country for alleged offenses by a
relative, including relatives forced into exile or
residing outside of the country for fear of political
persecution;''; and
(D) in subparagraph (F), as redesignated by
subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, by striking
``occur.'' and inserting ``occur;''; and
(6) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(14) wherever applicable, a description of restrictions
on freedom of movement and residence within and travel to and
from the country;
``(15) wherever applicable, whether a country facilitates
or maintains laws, policies, or practices that create or
perpetuate stateless persons or discriminate against internally
displaced persons in that country;
``(16) wherever applicable, arbitrary or unlawful
interference with privacy;
``(17) wherever applicable, a description of serious and
unreasonable restrictions on political participation or the
ability of citizens to elect public representatives through
free and fair elections and universal and equal suffrage,
including--
``(A) substantial interference with the freedom of
peaceful assembly or association; and
``(B) government efforts to restrict civic space
and the ability of civil society, including
nongovernmental organizations, academia, media, labor
unions, and social movements, to engage in public life;
``(18) wherever applicable, a description of serious
government corruption and its impact on human rights in the
country;
``(19) wherever applicable, a description of laws,
discrimination, violence, or threats of violence targeting
members of groups, including women and girls, persons with
disabilities, national, racial, ethnic groups, indigenous
peoples, LGBTQI+ individuals, or vulnerable migrant
populations; and
``(20) wherever applicable, a description of any factors
undermining due process or an independent and impartial
judiciary free of corruption and political influence and
whether trials are fair and public and afford criminal
defendants the minimum fair trial guarantees recognized
internationally as necessary for a criminal defense,
including--
``(A) whether persons have been convicted,
imprisoned, or detained essentially for political
beliefs or nonviolent acts of dissent or expression,
particularly based on overly broad and sweeping charges
intended to stifle the exercise of human rights and
fundamental freedoms; and
``(B) whether prison and detention center
conditions or mistreatment in such facilities has
resulted in deaths or forms of cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment and unusual punishment.''.
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