II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4506 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the consideration 

of the human rights records of recipients of support of special operations 

to combat terrorism, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 12, 2022 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the 

consideration of the human rights records of recipients 

of support of special operations to combat terrorism, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Upholding Human 

5 Rights Abroad Act’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4506 IS

1 SEC. 2. CONSIDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS OF 

2 RECIPIENTS OF SUPPORT OF SPECIAL OPER3 ATIONS TO COMBAT TERRORISM. 

4 Section 127e of title 10, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (c)(2) by adding at the end of 

7 the following new subparagraph— 

8 ‘‘(D) The processes through which the Sec9 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of 

10 State, shall ensure that, prior to a decision to 

11 provide any support to foreign forces, irregular 

12 forces, groups, or individuals, full consideration 

13 is given to any credible information available to 

14 the Department of State relating to violations 

15 of human rights by such entities.’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (d)(2)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (H), by inserting ‘‘, 

18 including the promotion of good governance and 

19 rule of law and the protection of civilians and 

20 human rights’’ before the period at the end; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (I)— 

22 (i) by striking the period at the end 

23 and inserting ‘‘or violations of the laws of 

24 armed conflict, including the Geneva Con25 ventions of 1949, including—’’; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4506 IS

1 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

2 new clauses: 

3 ‘‘(i) vetting units receiving such sup4 port for violations of human rights; 

5 ‘‘(ii) providing human rights training 

6 to units receiving such support; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) providing for the investigation of 

8 allegations of gross violations of human 

9 rights and termination of such support in 

10 cases of credible information of such viola11 tions.’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

13 subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(J) A description of the human rights 

15 record of the recipient, including for purposes 

16 of section 362 of this title, and any relevant at17 tempts by such recipient to remedy such 

18 record.’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (i)(3) by adding at the end the 

20 following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(I) An assessment of how support pro22 vided under this section advances United States 

23 national security priorities and aligns with 

24 other United States Government efforts to ad25 dress underlying risk factors of terrorism and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4506 IS

1 violent extremism, including repression, human 

2 rights abuses, and corruption.’’; and 

3 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub4 sections: 

5 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—(1) Except 

6 as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), no funds may be 

7 used to provide support to any individual member or unit 

8 of a foreign force, irregular force, or group in a foreign 

9 country if the Secretary of Defense has credible informa10 tion that such individual or unit has committed a gross 

11 violation of human rights. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense, after consultation 

13 with the Secretary of State, may waive the prohibition 

14 under paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines that the 

15 waiver is required by extraordinary circumstances. 

16 ‘‘(3) The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall not 

17 apply with respect to the foreign forces, irregular forces, 

18 groups, or individuals of a country if the Secretary of De19 fense determines that— 

20 ‘‘(A) the government of such country has taken 

21 all necessary corrective steps; or 

22 ‘‘(B) the support is necessary to assist in dis23 aster relief operations or other humanitarian or na24 tional security emergencies. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4506 IS

1 ‘‘(k) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

2 be construed to constitute a specific statutory authoriza3 tion for any of the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) The conduct of a covert action, as such 

5 term is defined in section 503(e) of the National Se6 curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3093). 

7 ‘‘(2) The introduction of United States armed 

8 forces, within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

9 War Powers Resolution, into hostilities or into situa10 tions wherein hostilities are clearly indicated by the 

11 circumstances. 

12 ‘‘(3) The provision of support to regular forces, 

13 irregular forces, groups, or individuals for the con14 duct of operations that United States Special Oper15 ations Forces are not otherwise legally authorized to 

16 conduct themselves. 

17 ‘‘(4) The conduct or support of activities, di18 rectly or indirectly, that are inconsistent with the 

19 laws of armed conflict.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS OF 

21 RECIPIENTS OF SUPPORT OF SPECIAL OPER22 ATIONS FOR IRREGULAR WARFARE. 

23 Section 1202 of the National Defense Authorization 

24 Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115–91; 131 Stat. 

25 1639) is amended— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4506 IS

1 (1) in subsection (c)(2), by adding at the end 

2 of the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(D) The processes through which the Sec4 retary shall, in consultation with the Secretary 

5 of State, ensure that prior to a decision to pro6 vide support to individual members or units of 

7 foreign forces, irregular forces, or groups in a 

8 foreign country full consideration is given to 

9 any credible information available to the De10 partment of State relating to gross violations of 

11 human rights by such individuals or units.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (d)(2) of such section— 

13 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 

14 subparagraph (H); and 

15 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (F) 

16 the following new subparagraph (G): 

17 ‘‘(G) A description of the human rights 

18 record of the recipient, including for purposes 

19 of section 362 of title 10, United States Code, 

20 and any relevant attempts by such recipient to 

21 remedy such record.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (h)(3), by adding at the end 

23 the following new subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(I) An assessment of how support pro25 vided under this section advances United States 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4506 IS

1 national security priorities and aligns with 

2 other United States Government interests in 

3 countries in which activities under the authority 

4 in this section are ongoing.’’; 

5 (4) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 

6 (j); and 

7 (5) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol8 lowing new subsection (i): 

9 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graphs (2) and (3), no funds may be used to provide 

12 support to any individual member or unit of a for13 eign force, irregular force, or group in a foreign 

14 country if the Secretary of Defense has credible in15 formation that such individual or unit has com16 mitted a gross violation of human rights. 

17 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 

18 Defense, after consultation with the Secretary of 

19 State, may waive the prohibition under paragraph 

20 (1) if the Secretary determines that the waiver is re21 quired by extraordinary circumstances. 

22 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition under para23 graph (1) shall not apply with respect to individual 

24 members or units of such foreign forces, irregular 

25 forces, or groups if the Secretary of Defense, after 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4506 IS

1 consultation with the Secretary of State, determines 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the government of such country has 

4 taken all necessary corrective steps; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the support is necessary to assist in 

6 disaster relief operations or other humanitarian 

7 or national security emergencies.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS