S. 1158 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen 

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 
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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— 
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(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, informationsharing, 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 
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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. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.