II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1158 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 17, 2017 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. RUBIO, 

Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. WARREN, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

FRANKEN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. COONS, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. 

MARKEY, Mr. BROWN, Ms. BALDWIN, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the 

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

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 

6 2017’’. 

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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Statement of policy regarding genocide and other atrocity crimes prevention. 

Sec. 5. Mass Atrocities Task Force. 

Sec. 6. Training of Foreign Service officers in conflict and atrocity crimes prevention. 

Sec. 7. Report of the Director of National Intelligence. 

Sec. 8. Complex Crises Fund. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) The nature of genocide and other atrocity 

6 crimes, including war crimes, crimes against human7 ity, and ethnic cleansing, includes shocking acts of 

8 violence perpetrated by governments and non-state 

9 actors, which have killed millions of civilians and 

10 other innocent individuals. 

11 (2) The commitment to prevent acts of genocide 

12 and other atrocity crimes has been a centerpiece of 

13 policy by consecutive administrations of the United 

14 States Government. 

15 (3) The United States was the first country in 

16 the world to sign the Convention on the Prevention 

17 and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, signed at 

18 Paris December 9, 1948, and President Ronald 

19 Reagan signed implementing legislation allowing the 

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1 United States to become a party to the Convention 

2 on November 25, 1988. 

3 (4) In the 2006 National Security Strategy, 

4 President George W. Bush highlighted the ‘‘moral 

5 imperative that states take action to prevent and 

6 punish genocide’’. 

7 (5) In 2008, the bipartisan Genocide Prevention 

8 Task Force, which was co-chaired by former Sec9 retary of Defense William Cohen and former Sec10 retary of State Madeleine Albright— 

11 (A) stated ‘‘genocide and mass atrocities 

12 also threaten core U.S. national interests’’; and 

13 (B) recommended the creation of ‘‘a new 

14 standing interagency mechanism for analysis of 

15 threats [of genocide and other mass atrocities] 

16 and coordination of appropriate preventive ac17 tion’’. 

18 (6) In December 2010, the Senate unanimously 

19 passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 71, which rec20 ognized the United States ‘‘national interest in help21 ing to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and 

22 other mass atrocities against civilians, and sup23 porting and encouraging efforts to develop a whole 

24 of government approach to prevent and mitigate 

25 such acts’’. 

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1 (7) In 2012, President Obama, in Presidential 

2 Study Directive 10, which ordered the creation of 

3 the Atrocities Prevention Board, stated that he 

4 would ensure that the United States Government 

5 has the required structures, tools, and mechanisms 

6 to better prevent and respond to atrocity crimes. 

7 (8) In February 2014, James Clapper, the 

8 former Director of National Intelligence, stated in 

9 his annual national security threat assessment to 

10 Congress— 

11 (A) ‘‘The overall risk of mass atrocities 

12 worldwide will probably increase in 2014 and 

13 beyond.’’; 

14 (B) ‘‘Many countries at risk of mass atroc15 ities will likely be open to influence to prevent 

16 or mitigate them.’’; and 

17 (C) ‘‘Much of the world will almost cer18 tainly turn to the United States for leadership 

19 to prevent and respond to mass atrocities.’’. 

20 (9) In February 2016, former Director of Na21 tional Intelligence Clapper stated, in his annual na22 tional security threat assessment to Congress, 

23 ‘‘Risks of atrocities, large-scale violence, and regime24 threatening instability will remain elevated in 

25 2016.’’. 

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1 (10) The United States can strengthen its 

2 atrocity crimes prevention and peacebuilding efforts 

3 by— 

4 (A) supporting civil society which serves a 

5 central role in promoting nonviolent conflict 

6 resolution and supporting early warning; 

7 (B) enhancing cooperation and under8 standing among ethnic and religious groups, 

9 communities, and factions; 

10 (C) working with the international commu11 nity to ensure shared responsibility by enhanc12 ing multilateral and regional mechanisms that 

13 seek to prevent genocide and other atrocity 

14 crimes; 

15 (D) promoting effective accountability 

16 mechanisms to deter individuals and entities 

17 that may incite or commit genocide or other 

18 atrocity crimes; and 

19 (E) implementing policies that hold ac20 countable individuals and entities that incite or 

21 commit genocide or other atrocity crimes. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) ATROCITY CRIMES; MASS ATROCITIES.—The 

25 terms ‘‘atrocity crimes’’ and ‘‘mass atrocities’’ mean 

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1 large scale and deliberate acts of violence against ci2 vilians and include genocide, war crimes, crimes 

3 against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. 

4 (2) GENOCIDE.—The term ‘‘genocide’’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 1091(a) of title 

6 18, United States Code. 

7 (3) PEACEBUILDING.—The term 

8 ‘‘peacebuilding’’ means nonviolent activities designed 

9 to prevent conflict through— 

10 (A) addressing root causes of violence; 

11 (B) promoting sustainable peace; 

12 (C) delegitimizing violence as a dispute 

13 resolution strategy; 

14 (D) building capacity within society to 

15 peacefully manage disputes, including the ca16 pacity of governments to address citizen griev17 ances; and 

18 (E) reducing vulnerability to triggers that 

19 may spark violence. 

20 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of State. 

22 (5) WAR CRIME.—The term ‘‘war crime’’ has 

23 the meaning given the term in section 2441(c) of 

24 title 18, United States Code. 

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1 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING GENOCIDE 

2 AND OTHER ATROCITY CRIMES PREVENTION. 

3 It is the policy of the United States— 

4 (1) to regard the prevention of genocide and 

5 other atrocity crimes as a core national security in6 terest and a core moral responsibility; 

7 (2) to mitigate threats to United States security 

8 by addressing the root causes of insecurity and vio9 lent conflict to prevent— 

10 (A) the mass slaughter of civilians; 

11 (B) conditions that prompt internal dis12 placement and the flow of refugees across bor13 ders; and 

14 (C) other violence that wreaks havoc on re15 gional stability and livelihoods; 

16 (3) to enhance our Nation’s capacity to identify, 

17 prevent, address, and respond to the drivers of 

18 atrocity crimes and violent conflict as part of our 

19 humanitarian, development, and strategic interests; 

20 (4) to pursue a Government-wide strategy to 

21 prevent and respond to the risk of genocide and 

22 other atrocity crimes by— 

23 (A) strengthening the diplomatic, risk 

24 analysis and monitoring, strategic planning, 

25 early warning, and response capacities of the 

26 United States Government; 

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1 (B) improving the use of foreign assistance 

2 to respond early, effectively, and urgently in 

3 order to address the root causes and drivers of 

4 violence, systemic patterns of human rights 

5 abuses, and atrocity crimes; 

6 (C) strengthening diplomatic response and 

7 the use of foreign assistance to support transi8 tional justice measures, including criminal ac9 countability, for past atrocity crimes; 

10 (D) supporting international atrocity 

11 crimes prevention, conflict prevention, peace12 keeping, and peacebuilding mechanisms; 

13 (E) supporting and strengthening local 

14 civil society, including human rights defenders 

15 and others working to help prevent and respond 

16 to atrocity crimes, and protecting their ability 

17 to receive support from and partner with civil 

18 society at large; and 

19 (F) promoting financial transparency and 

20 enhancing anti-corruption initiatives as part of 

21 addressing a root cause of insecurity; and 

22 (5) to employ a variety of unilateral, bilateral, 

23 and multilateral means to prevent and respond to 

24 conflicts and atrocity crimes by— 

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1 (A) placing a high priority on timely, pre2 ventive diplomatic efforts; and 

3 (B) exercising a leadership role in pro4 moting international efforts to end crises peace5 fully. 

6 SEC. 5. MASS ATROCITIES TASK FORCE. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall instruct 

8 the Secretary to establish a Mass Atrocities Task Force 

9 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’) with the 

10 mandate— 

11 (1) to strengthen the Department of State’s ef12 forts at atrocity prevention and response; and 

13 (2) to assist other departments and agencies in 

14 their efforts to do the same. 

15 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Under Secretary of State for 

16 Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, or an17 other position of equivalent rank, shall serve as the Chair 

18 of the Task Force and shall report to the Secretary. 

19 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Under the direction of the 

20 Chair, the Task Force shall— 

21 (1) meet regularly to ensure that atrocity 

22 crimes and the risk of atrocity crimes throughout 

23 the world are adequately considered and addressed; 

24 (2) facilitate the development and execution of 

25 policies and tools to enhance the capacity of the 

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1 United States to prevent and respond to atrocity 

2 crimes worldwide; 

3 (3) monitor developments throughout the world 

4 that heighten the risk of atrocity crimes; 

5 (4) analyze and closely review specific atrocity 

6 crimes threats or situations of heightened concern; 

7 (5) identify any gaps in United States foreign 

8 policy concerning regions or particular countries re9 lated to atrocity crimes prevention and response; 

10 (6) incorporate lessons learned from past 

11 United States Government efforts to prevent and re12 spond to atrocity crimes; 

13 (7) provide the Secretary with recommendations 

14 and potential improvements to policies, programs, 

15 resources, and tools related to atrocity crimes pre16 vention and response; 

17 (8) coordinate the Department of State’s en18 gagement in interagency processes led by the Na19 tional Security Council that share the Task Force’s 

20 objectives; 

21 (9) conduct outreach, including consultations, 

22 not less frequently than biannually, with representa23 tives of nongovernmental organizations dedicated to 

24 atrocity crimes prevention and response and other 

25 appropriate parties— 

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1 (A) to receive assistance for the Task 

2 Force’s efforts to address emerging atrocity 

3 crimes threats or situations and develop new or 

4 improved policies and tools; and 

5 (B) to provide an appropriate public un6 derstanding of the work of the Task Force; 

7 (10) in carrying out paragraphs (1) through 

8 (9), focus on particular ways for the United States 

9 Government to develop, strengthen, and enhance its 

10 capabilities to— 

11 (A) monitor, receive early warning of, and 

12 coordinate responses to potential atrocity 

13 crimes; 

14 (B) deter and isolate perpetrators of atroc15 ity crimes through all available authorities; 

16 (C) promote criminal accountability and 

17 deny impunity for perpetrators of atrocity 

18 crimes within the United States and throughout 

19 the world; 

20 (D) engage allies and partners, including 

21 the United Nations Office on Genocide Preven22 tion and the Responsibility to Protect and other 

23 multilateral and regional institutions, to build 

24 capacities and mobilize action for preventing 

25 and responding to atrocity crimes; 

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1 (E) encourage the deployment of civilian 

2 advisors to prevent and respond to atrocity 

3 crimes; 

4 (F) increase capacity and develop doctrine 

5 for the United States foreign service, civil serv6 ice, armed services, development professionals, 

7 and other actors to engage in the full spectrum 

8 of atrocity crimes prevention and response ac9 tivities; 

10 (G) develop and implement tailored foreign 

11 assistance programs that address and mitigate 

12 the risks of atrocity crimes; 

13 (H) ensure intelligence collection, analysis, 

14 and sharing of appropriate information; and 

15 (I) address any other issues that the Task 

16 Force determines to be appropriate; and 

17 (11) in carrying out paragraphs (1) through 

18 (9), receive support from— 

19 (A) the Bureau of Conflict and Stabiliza20 tion Operations; 

21 (B) the Office of Global Criminal Justice; 

22 (C) the Bureau of Democracy, Human 

23 Rights and Labor; 

24 (D) the Bureau of International Narcotics 

25 and Law Enforcement Affairs; 

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1 (E) the Bureau of International Organiza2 tion Affairs; and 

3 (F) other bureaus and offices of the De4 partment of State, as appropriate. 

5 (d) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall— 

6 (1) seek to ensure that its efforts complement 

7 and support interagency processes led by the Na8 tional Security Council that share the Task Force’s 

9 objectives; and 

10 (2) operate with regular consultation and par11 ticipation of designated representatives, at the As12 sistant Secretary level or higher, of— 

13 (A) the Department of State; 

14 (B) the United States Agency for Inter15 national Development; 

16 (C) the Department of Defense; 

17 (D) the Department of Justice; 

18 (E) the Department of the Treasury; 

19 (F) the Department of Homeland Security; 

20 (G) the Central Intelligence Agency; 

21 (H) the Office of the Director of National 

22 Intelligence; 

23 (I) the United States Mission to the 

24 United Nations; 

25 (J) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

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1 (K) the National Security Council; and 

2 (L) such other executive departments, 

3 agencies, or offices as the Chair may designate. 

4 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter 

6 for the following 6 years, the Secretary, in consultation 

7 with the Task Force, shall submit an unclassified report, 

8 with a classified annex if necessary, to the Committee on 

9 Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appro10 priations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

11 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

12 Appropriations of the House of Representatives that in13 cludes— 

14 (1) a review, in consultation with the represent15 atives listed in subsection (d), consisting of— 

16 (A) an evaluation of the efficacy of current 

17 efforts based on United States and locally iden18 tified indicators, including capacities and con19 straints for Government-wide detection, early 

20 warning and response, information-sharing, 

21 contingency planning, and coordination of ef22 forts to prevent and respond to situations of 

23 atrocity crimes and other mass violence, such as 

24 gender-based violence; 

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1 (B) an assessment of the funding expended 

2 by relevant Federal agencies on atrocity crimes 

3 prevention activities, including transitional jus4 tice measures and the legal, procedural, and re5 source constraints faced by the Department of 

6 State and the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development throughout respective 

8 budgeting, strategic planning, and management 

9 cycles to support conflict and atrocity crimes 

10 prevention activities in countries identified to be 

11 at risk of atrocity crimes; 

12 (C) current annual global assessments of 

13 sources of instability, conflict, and atrocity 

14 crimes; 

15 (D) recommendations to further strength16 en United States capabilities described in sub17 paragraph (A); and 

18 (E) consideration of analysis, reporting, 

19 and policy recommendations to prevent and re20 spond to atrocity crimes produced by civil soci21 ety, academic, and other nongovernmental orga22 nizations and institutions; 

23 (2) recommendations to ensure shared responsi24 bility by— 

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1 (A) enhancing multilateral mechanisms for 

2 preventing atrocity crimes, including strength3 ening the role of international organizations 

4 and international financial institutions in con5 flict prevention, mitigation, and response; and 

6 (B) strengthening regional organizations; 

7 and 

8 (3) the implementation status of the rec9 ommendations contained in the review described in 

10 paragraph (1). 

11 (f) MATERIALS AND BRIEFINGS.—The Chair and 

12 members of the Task Force shall, annually (or more often 

13 as appropriate)— 

14 (1) provide briefings to the Committee on For15 eign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 

16 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 

17 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

18 Representatives; and 

19 (2) provide briefings and materials, as appro20 priate, to the relevant congressional committees. 

21 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

23 necessary for fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020 to carry 

24 out this section. 

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1 SEC. 6. TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS IN CON2 FLICT AND ATROCITY CRIMES PREVENTION. 

3 Section 708(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 

4 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) instruction on recognizing patterns of es11 calation and early warning signs of potential atrocity 

12 crimes or violence, including gender-based violence, 

13 and methods of conflict assessment, peacebuilding, 

14 mediation for prevention, early action and response, 

15 and transitional justice measures to address atrocity 

16 crimes.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTEL18 LIGENCE. 

19 The Director of National Intelligence is encouraged 

20 to include, in his or her annual (or more often as appro21 priate) unclassified testimony, accompanied by a classified 

22 annex, if necessary, to Congress on threats to United 

23 States national security— 

24 (1) a review of countries and regions at risk of 

25 atrocity crimes; and 

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1 (2) whenever possible, specific mention of coun2 tries and regions at immediate risk of atrocity 

3 crimes, including most likely pathways to violence, 

4 specific risk factors, potential groups of perpetra5 tors, and at-risk target groups. 

6 SEC. 8. COMPLEX CRISES FUND. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

8 Treasury of the United States a fund, which shall be 

9 known as the ‘‘Complex Crises Fund’’ (referred to in this 

10 section as the ‘‘Fund’’), to enable the Secretary of State 

11 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

12 International Development to support programs and ac13 tivities to prevent or respond to emerging or unforeseen 

14 foreign challenges and complex crises overseas, including 

15 potential atrocity crimes. 

16 (b) PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding 

17 any other provision of law, except section 620M of the 

18 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d), 

19 amounts in the Fund may be used to carry out the provi20 sions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

21 2151 et seq.) to support programs and activities that— 

22 (1) mitigate or respond to emerging or unfore23 seen complex crises, including urgent humanitarian, 

24 political, social, justice, or economic challenges that 

25 threaten stability in any country or region; 

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1 (2) prevent, counter, and respond to the rise of 

2 violent conflict and instability, including atrocity 

3 crimes; or 

4 (3) advance the consolidation of peace and de5 mocracy. 

6 (c) LIMITATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund may 

8 not be expended for lethal assistance or to respond 

9 to natural disasters. 

10 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 

11 than 5 percent of the amounts in the Fund may be 

12 used for administrative expenses. 

13 (d) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

14 5 days before amounts from the Fund are obligated, the 

15 Secretary of State or the Administrator of the United 

16 States Agency for International Development, as appro17 priate, shall submit notification of such obligation to— 

18 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

19 Senate; 

20 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

21 Senate; 

22 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives; and 

24 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

25 House of Representatives. 

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1 (e) WAIVER.—The notification requirement under 

2 subsection (d) may be waived if— 

3 (1) failure to do so would pose a substantial 

4 risk to human health or welfare; and 

5 (2) the congressional committees set forth in 

6 subsection (d)— 

7 (A) are notified not later than 3 days after 

8 an obligation of funds; and 

9 (B) are provided with an explanation of 

10 the emergency circumstances that necessitated 

11 the waiver. 

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