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. 

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Elie Wiesel Genocide 

3 and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

6 Government’s efforts at atrocity prevention and response 

7 through interagency coordination, such as the Atrocities 

8 Prevention Board (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Board’’) 

9 or successor entity are critically important, and that ap10 propriate officials of the United States Government 

11 should— 

12 (1) meet regularly to monitor developments 

13 throughout the world that heighten the risk of atroc14 ities; 

15 (2) identify any gaps in United States foreign 

16 policy concerning regions or particular countries re17 lated to atrocity prevention and response; 

18 (3) facilitate the development and implementa19 tion of policies to enhance the capacity of the United 

20 States to prevent and respond to atrocities world21 wide; 

22 (4) provide the President and Congress with 

23 recommendations to improve policies, programs, re24 sources, and tools related to atrocity prevention and 

25 response; 
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1 (5) conduct outreach, including consultations, 

2 not less frequently than biannually, with representa3 tives of nongovernmental organizations and civil so4 ciety dedicated to atrocity prevention and response; 

5 (6) operate with regular consultation and par6 ticipation of designated interagency representatives 

7 of relevant Federal agencies, executive departments, 

8 or offices; and 

9 (7) ensure resources are made available for the 

10 policies, programs, and tools related to atrocity pre11 vention and response. 

12 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

13 It shall be the policy of the United States to— 

14 (1) regard the prevention of atrocities as in its 

15 national interest; 

16 (2) work with partners and allies, including to 

17 build their capacity, and enhance the capacity of the 

18 United States, to identify, prevent, and respond to 

19 the causes of atrocities, including insecurity, mass 

20 displacement, violent conflict, and other conditions 

21 that may lead to such atrocities; and 

22 (3) pursue a United States Government-wide 

23 strategy to identify, prevent, and respond to the risk 

24 of atrocities by— 
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1 (A) strengthening the diplomatic, risk 

2 analysis and monitoring, strategic planning, 

3 early warning, and response capacities of the 

4 Government; 

5 (B) improving the use of foreign assistance 

6 to respond early, effectively, and urgently in 

7 order to address the causes of atrocities; 

8 (C) strengthening diplomatic response and 

9 the effective use of foreign assistance to support 

10 appropriate transitional justice measures, in11 cluding criminal accountability, for past atroc12 ities; 

13 (D) supporting and strengthening local 

14 civil society, including human rights defenders 

15 and others working to help prevent and respond 

16 to atrocities; 

17 (E) promoting financial transparency and 

18 enhancing anti-corruption initiatives as part of 

19 addressing causes of conditions that may lead 

20 to atrocities; and 

21 (F) employing a variety of unilateral, bilat22 eral, and multilateral means to prevent and re23 spond to atrocities by— 

24 (i) placing a high priority on timely, 

25 preventive diplomatic efforts; and 
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1 (ii) exercising leadership in promoting 

2 international efforts to prevent atrocities. 

3 SEC. 4. TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS IN CON4 FLICT AND ATROCITIES PREVENTION. 

5 Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 

6 U.S.C. 4028) is amended in subsection (a)(1)— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

8 the end; 

9 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

10 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(D) for Foreign Service Officers who will 

14 be assigned to a country experiencing or at risk 

15 of mass atrocities, as determined by the Sec16 retary of State, in consultation with the Direc17 tor of National Intelligence and relevant civil 

18 society organizations, instruction on recognizing 

19 patterns of escalation and early warning signs 

20 of potential atrocities, and methods of pre21 venting and responding to atrocities, including 

22 conflict assessment methods, peacebuilding, me23 diation for prevention, early action and re24 sponse, and appropriate transitional justice 

25 measures to address atrocities.’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 

4 for the following six years, the President shall transmit 

5 to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee 

6 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 

7 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 

8 Appropriations of the Senate a report, with a classified 

9 annex if necessary, that includes— 

10 (1) a review, in consultation with appropriate 

11 interagency representatives, including the Board, 

12 consisting of a detailed description of— 

13 (A) current efforts to prevent and respond 

14 to atrocities, based on United States and locally 

15 identified indicators, including an analysis of 

16 capacities and constraints for interagency detec17 tion, early warning and response, information18 sharing, contingency planning, and coordina19 tion; 

20 (B) recommendations to further strengthen 

21 United States capabilities described in subpara22 graph (A); 

23 (C) funding expended by relevant Federal 

24 departments and agencies on atrocities preven25 tion activities, including appropriate transitional 

26 justice measures and the legal, procedural, and 
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1 resource constraints faced by the Department 

2 of State and the United States Agency for 

3 International Development throughout respec4 tive budgeting, strategic planning, and manage5 ment cycles regarding support for atrocity pre6 vention activities; 

7 (D) a global assessment of ongoing atroc8 ities, including the findings of such assessment 

9 and, where relevant, the efficacy of any steps 

10 taken by the Board or relevant Federal agency 

11 to respond to such atrocities; 

12 (E) countries and regions at risk of atroc13 ities, including a description of specific risk fac14 tors, at-risk groups, and likely scenarios in 

15 which atrocities would occur; and 

16 (F) the atrocities prevention training for 

17 Foreign Service officers authorized under sub18 paragraph (D) of section 708(a)(1) of the For19 eign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 

20 4; 

21 (2) recommendations to ensure shared responsi22 bility by— 

23 (A) enhancing multilateral mechanisms for 

24 preventing atrocities, including strengthening 

25 the role of international organizations and 
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1 international financial institutions in conflict 

2 prevention, mitigation, and response; and 

3 (B) strengthening relevant regional organi4 zations; 

5 (3) the implementation status of the rec6 ommendations contained in the previous review re7 quired by this section; and 

8 (4) identification of the Federal agencies and 

9 civil society, academic, and nongovernmental organi10 zations and institutions consulted for preparation of 

11 such report. 

12 (b) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

13 preparation of the report required by subsection (a) shall 

14 include a consideration of analysis, reporting, and policy 

15 recommendations to prevent and respond to atrocities pro16 duced by civil society, academic, and other nongovern17 mental organizations and institutions. 

18 (c) AVAILABILITY TO CONGRESS.—The report re19 quired by subsection (a) shall be made available to all 

20 members of Congress. 

21 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act— 

23 (1) the term ‘‘genocide’’ means an offense 

24 under subsection (a) of section 1091 of title 18, 

25 United States Code; 
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1 (2) the term ‘‘atrocities’’ means war crimes, 

2 crimes against humanity, and genocide; 

3 (3) the term ‘‘transitional justice’’ means the 

4 range of judicial, nonjudicial, formal, informal, re5 tributive, and restorative measures employed by 

6 countries transitioning out of armed conflict or re7 pressive regimes to redress legacies of atrocities and 

8 to promote long-term, sustainable peace; and 

9 (4) the term ‘‘war crime’’ has the meaning 

10 given the term in section 2441(c) of title 18, United 

11 States Code. 

12 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

13 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing 

14 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 

such crises. capacities to prevent, mitigate, and respond to security, by enhancing United States Government crimes, which threaten national and international