II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3880 

To establish the Office of International Disability Rights, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2020 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. COONS, and Mr. DURBIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the Office of International Disability Rights, 

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 ‘‘Office of International 

5 Disability Rights Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The United States has shown leadership do9 mestically on disability rights with the Americans 

10 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 


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1 seq.), as well as section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

2 Act (29 U.S.C. 794), and this leadership should be 

3 leveraged to support international disability rights. 

4 (2) The United Nations (UN) Sustainable De5 velopment Goals 4 (No Poverty), 8 (Decent Work 

6 and Economic Growth), 10 (Reduced Inequality), 11 

7 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 16 (Peaceful 

8 and Inclusive Societies), and 17 (Partnerships) ex9 plicitly mention persons with disabilities, while 13 

10 other Goals are particularly related to persons with 

11 disabilities, and countries are required to report dis12 ability disaggregated data for each. 

13 (3) There are more than 1,000,000,000 people 

14 with disabilities around the world, and 80 percent 

15 live in developing countries. 

16 (4) Sixty percent of people with disabilities are 

17 women, according to the United Nations. 

18 (5) Women with disabilities are more likely to 

19 experience violence and sexual violence than women 

20 without disabilities. 

21 (6) There are more than 90,000,000 children 

22 with disabilities worldwide according to the United 

23 Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 

24 (7) Children with disabilities are more likely to 

25 be malnourished, subject to violence, isolation, and 


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1 abuse, and less likely to attend school than children 

2 without disabilities. 

3 (8) People with disabilities are subject to eco4 nomic and social marginalization. The International 

5 Labor Organization has estimated that the cost of 

6 excluding people with disabilities from the world of 

7 work could be up to 7 percent of Gross Domestic 

8 Product (GDP) in some low- and middle-income 

9 countries. 

10 (9) The inclusion of people with disabilities is 

11 a fundamental part of democracy and essential to 

12 the full realization of human rights. 

13 (10) The political participation and leadership 

14 of people with disabilities, including those who ac15 quired a disability through conflict, is crucial to sus16 taining democratic institutions. 

17 (11) People with disabilities can face disadvan18 tages in all areas of life, including educational at19 tainment, labor market outcomes, financial stability, 

20 housing, standard of living conditions, political par21 ticipation, access to health care, arts and culture, 

22 sports, transportation, and access to justice and citi23 zenship. 

24 (12) Issues related to disability rights cut 

25 across all sectors of foreign assistance, including deVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:44 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3880.IS S3880

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1 mocracy, voting and elections, human rights, civil 

2 rights, labor, global health, education, economic 

3 growth and trade, gender equality and women’s em4 powerment, agriculture and food security, water and 

5 sanitation, conflict transformation, disaster risk re6 duction, and humanitarian recovery and relief. 

7 (13) People with disabilities are members of all 

8 marginalized groups, including women, young peo9 ple, older adults, the LGBTI community, ethnic and 

10 religious minorities, indigenous people, internally 

11 displaced people, and refugees. 

12 (14) The public presence of the Special Advisor 

13 for International Disability Rights at the Depart14 ment of State, first appointed in 2010, helped raise 

15 the visibility of people with disabilities in Depart16 ment policies and programs, and improved the inclu17 sion of disability in the Department’s annual Coun18 try Reports on Human Rights Practices and Traf19 ficking in Persons reports. 

20 (15) There is currently no mandate that De21 partment of State programming be disability inclu22 sive where relevant, and the Department does not 

23 have a formal, publicly available disability policy. 


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1 SEC. 3. DISABILITY INCLUSION IN FOREIGN POLICY. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that, since international disability rights is 

4 foundational to development, national security, and eco5 nomic outcomes, disability inclusion should be 

6 mainstreamed through all foreign assistance and program7 ming. 

8 (b) FORMAL POLICY FOR DISABILITY INCLUSION IN

9 FOREIGN POLICY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary of State shall develop and adopt a formal pol13 icy for disability inclusion in United States foreign 

14 assistance programming and ensure that such policy 

15 is implemented in the Foreign Affairs Manual. 

16 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The policy 

17 required under subsection (a) should include infor18 mation and guidance on the Department’s approach 

19 to disability inclusion in United States foreign as20 sistance and disaster response programming. 

21 (3) CONSULTATION.—In developing and adopt22 ing the policy, the Secretary shall consult with— 

23 (A) individuals with disabilities, organiza24 tions of people with disabilities and inter25 national nongovernmental organizations work26 ing on disability rights; and 


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1 (B) the Administrator of the United States 

2 Agency for International Development (USAID) 

3 to promote coherence of such policy with 

4 USAID’s formal disability policy. 

5 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

6 shall publish such policy on a publicly available 

7 website of the Department. 

8 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY RIGHTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es10 tablish an Office of International Disability Rights (re11 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’), which should 

12 be placed at the Under Secretary level and which shall 

13 be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large. 

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The Office shall coordinate efforts of 

15 the United States Government, as directed by the Sec16 retary, regarding human rights for people with disabilities 

17 and advancing the status of people with disabilities in 

18 United States foreign policy. 

19 (c) DUTIES.—The Office shall carry out the following 

20 duties: 

21 (1) Serve as the principal advisor to the Sec22 retary on all matters related to disability inclusive 

23 foreign policy, including ensuring that when the De24 partment awards grants or contracts, the award of 

25 grants or contracts is consistent with United States 


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1 law and practice on disability rights, including non2 discrimination and the ability to use such funds for 

3 the provision or reasonable accommodations to peo4 ple with disabilities. 

5 (2) Represent the United States in diplomatic 

6 and multilateral fora on matters relevant to the 

7 rights of people with disabilities and work to raise 

8 the profile of disability across a broader range of or9 ganizations contributing to international develop10 ment efforts, including donor engagement and mobi11 lization of resources, capacity building, account12 ability mechanisms, advocacy, and implementation of 

13 international guidelines and standards. 

14 (3) Work to ensure that disability inclusive 

15 practices and empowerment of people with disabil16 ities are fully integrated into all United States for17 eign operations. 

18 (4) Conduct regular consultation with civil soci19 ety organizations working to advance international 

20 disability rights and empower people with disabilities 

21 internationally. 

22 (5) Consult with other relevant offices at the 

23 Department of State that are responsible for draft24 ing annual reports to include information on people 

25 with disabilities wherever applicable, which may inVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:44 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3880.IS S3880

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1 clude instances of discrimination, prejudice, abuses 

2 of people with disabilities, disabilities caused as a re3 sult of conflict involving the United States, or explo4 sive remnants of war sourced in the United States. 

5 (d) SUPERVISION.—The Office shall be headed by an 

6 Ambassador-at-Large for International Disability Rights. 

7 The Ambassador-at-Large should be a person of recog8 nized distinction in the field of disability rights. The Am9 bassador-at-Large shall be provided with appropriate 

10 funding and staff consistent with the duties of the Office 

11 and with Department of State guidance on the status of 

12 an Office. 

13 (e) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall direct of14 fices and employees of the Department, Ambassadors at 

15 Large, Representatives, Special Envoys, Special Advisors, 

16 and coordinators to consult with the Office to promote the 

17 human rights and full participation of people with disabil18 ities in United States foreign policy. 

19 SEC. 5. DEPARTMENTAL HIRING AND FACILITIES ACCESSI20 BILITY. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary of State for 

22 Management shall, in consultation with the Ambassador23 at-Large, the appointed pursuant to section 4(a), 

24 prioritize in the hiring and recruitment and overseas as25 signments, the accessibility practices of civil service emVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:44 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3880.IS S3880

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1 ployees and foreign service officers with disabilities and 

2 their family members with chronic medical conditions or 

3 disabilities. 

4 (b) DUTIES.—The Under Secretary shall— 

5 (1) ensure that facilities used to carry out the 

6 mission of the United States at embassies, con7 sulates, leased facilities, or any other facilities are in 

8 compliance with United States Access Board stand9 ards, including accessibility to people with disabil10 ities, including by— 

11 (A) making websites and other forms of 

12 communication accessible to people with disabil13 ities and providing reasonable accommodations 

14 to program participants; 

15 (B) ensuring accessibility of United States 

16 Government facilities by contracting with local 

17 contractors and subcontractors that meet the 

18 requirements of section 503 of the Rehabilita19 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793) to affirma20 tively hire workers with disabilities; and 

21 (C) consulting with the Department of La22 bor’s Office of Federal Contracts Compliance to 

23 ensure all Department of State contractors are 

24 compliant with the Americans with Disabilities 

25 Act of 1990; 


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1 (2) ensure that the policies and practices for 

2 the recruitment and placement of foreign service of3 ficers and their families encourage the hiring and 

4 placement of people with disabilities in compliance 

5 with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 

6 et seq.); 

7 (3) consult with the Disability Rights Section of 

8 the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Jus9 tice to ensure that Department of State hiring is 

10 compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act 

11 of 1990; and 

12 (4) ensure that policies are in place for hiring 

13 locally employed staff in embassies and consulates 

14 outside the United States to ensure that accom15 modations are offered, provided, and funded from 

16 the Department’s centralized reasonable accommoda17 tion fund. 

18 (c) FACILITY ACCESSIBILITY.—The Under Secretary 

19 for Management shall, in consultation with the Ambas20 sador-at-Large appointed pursuant to section 4(a), ensure 

21 that embassies and consulates and their services are acces22 sible to people with disabilities, including with respect to— 

23 (1) the physical accessibility of facilities housing 

24 embassies and consulates; 


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1 (2) websites of United States embassies and 

2 consulates; 

3 (3) public internet and telecommunications; and 

4 (4) other means of communication with United 

5 States residents and the general public. 

6 SEC. 6. TRAINING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall re8 quire online or in-person mandatory disability inclusion 

9 training for all civil service and foreign service personnel 

10 of the Department of State and chiefs of mission, includ11 ing on— 

12 (1) how to develop solicitations, programming, 

13 budgets, and policies that are inclusive; 

14 (2) how to ensure a disability-inclusive work en15 vironment; 

16 (3) how to conduct disability-inclusive analyses 

17 of laws and programming; 

18 (4) how to empower and support local organiza19 tions of people with disabilities; 

20 (5) how to ensure implementing partners that 

21 receive funding from the Department hire and in22 clude people with disabilities throughout all Depart23 ment programs, as applicable by using international 

24 monitoring frameworks that address inclusive pro25 gramming and integrating inclusion indicators; and 


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1 (6) inclusive humanitarian action for people 

2 with disabilities, in line with established inter3 national frameworks including the Inter-Agency 

4 Standing Committee (IASC) guidelines and the 

5 Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in 

6 Humanitarian Action. 

7 (b) COUNTRY-SPECIFIC AND CULTURAL CONSIDER8 ATIONS.—The Secretary shall ensure that training for for9 eign service officers under subsection (a) should include 

10 country-specific and cultural considerations. 

11 (c) FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.—Section 

12 708(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 

13 4028(a)(1)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

15 and inserting a semicolon; 

16 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub17 paragraph (E); and 

18 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol19 lowing new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(D) instruction on recognizing risks and 

21 vulnerabilities of individuals with disabilities in 

22 specific country contexts, disability inclusion in 

23 policymaking and outreach at United States 

24 embassies and analysis of disability-inclusive 


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1 laws and programming in local country con2 texts; and’’. 

3 SEC. 7. REPORT AND BRIEFING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

5 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

6 the Secretary of State shall provide to the Committee on 

7 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 

8 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

9 and briefing on the steps taken to implement this Act. 

10 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report and 

11 briefing required under subsection (a) shall include— 

12 (1) an explanation of policies and programs to 

13 fulfill— 

14 (A) the duties of the Office of Inter15 national Disability Rights established under 

16 section 4; and 

17 (B) the training requirements under sec18 tion 6; 

19 (2) a description of the status of efforts to 

20 mainstream disability rights throughout Department 

21 of State programming without regard to whether 

22 such programming is specifically directed toward 

23 people with disabilities; 

24 (3) an explanation of disability-specific pro25 gramming across the Department; 


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1 (4) a description of the status of accessible fa2 cilities in all foreign missions, as required under sec3 tion 5(c); 

4 (5) a description of any policy, programming, or 

5 human resources gaps to mainstreaming disability 

6 rights policy throughout the Department, and plans 

7 to address gaps through appropriate mechanisms; 

8 (6) a description of progress made on the real9 ization of the rights of people with disabilities as a 

10 result of Department policies and programming; 

11 (7) an explanation of the current status of the 

12 Department’s evidence gathering and improved sys13 tematic disability data collection, including the use 

14 of disaggregated data, in order to ensure that pro15 gramming, monitoring, and reporting reflect and ad16 dress the risks and needs of people with disabilities; 

17 and 

18 (8) recommendations for legislative actions to 

19 fully implement the matters described in paragraphs 

20 (1) through (7). 

Æ 


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