II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 962 

To protect individuals who face reprisals for defending human rights and 

democracy by enhancing the capacity of the United States Government 

to prevent, mitigate, and respond in such cases. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. COONS, and 

Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To protect individuals who face reprisals for defending 

human rights and democracy by enhancing the capacity 

of the United States Government to prevent, mitigate, 

and respond in such cases. 

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 ‘‘Global Voices of Free5 dom Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Seventy-five years ago, the United Nations 

2 General Assembly, with leadership from the United 

3 States, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human 

4 Rights, done at Paris December 10, 1948 (referred 

5 to in this section as the ‘‘Declaration’’), and since 

6 the adoption of the Declaration, human rights de7 fenders have mobilized communities around the vi8 sion of a world ‘‘free and equal in dignity and 

9 rights’’ described in the Declaration. 

10 (2) Twenty-five years ago, the United Nations 

11 unanimously adopted the United Nations Declara12 tion on Human Rights Defenders, which calls upon 

13 all States to respect the role of individual citizens 

14 and civil society organizations in defending human 

15 rights and democratic principles. 

16 (3) Human rights defenders advocate for 

17 human rights and democratic principles, fight cor18 ruption, support good governance, seek to end impu19 nity, support victims of human rights violations, and 

20 speak truth to power, creating safeguards against 

21 autocratic regimes and backsliding democracies. 

22 (4) Increasingly, human rights defenders 

23 around the world face threats and violence in retalia24 tion for exercising their civil and political rights, and 

25 reprisals against such defenders have grown in numVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S962.IS S962

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1 ber, scale, and sophistication, with online and digital 

2 threats evolving rapidly. 

3 (5) According to the United Nations High Com4 missioner for Human Rights, every year hundreds of 

5 human rights defenders are murdered and thousands 

6 more are subjected to torture, enforced disappear7 ance, sexual violence, hate crimes, unlawful or arbi8 trary detention, judicial harassment, unlawful or ar9 bitrary digital surveillance, and forced exile. 

10 (6) Today, autocratic regimes are engaging in 

11 increasingly brutal crackdowns on human rights de12 fenders by co-opting states or collaborating with 

13 transnational criminal organizations, paramilitary 

14 groups, and other actors to silence critical voices. 

15 (7) Such tactics are not limited to autocratic 

16 regimes and are now used in every region of the 

17 world, accelerating a global decline in respect for 

18 human rights and democratic principles. 

19 (8) Few attacks against human rights defend20 ers are investigated or prosecuted, and rampant im21 punity has only spurred further violence, creating a 

22 chilling effect on the work of others seeking to pro23 mote human rights and democratic principles. 

24 (9) Human rights defenders who speak up on 

25 behalf of communities that have historically faced 


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1 discrimination face the highest levels of violence, 

2 such as those advocating for Indigenous commu3 nities, environmental and climate change justice, and 

4 respect for LGBTQ+, women’s, and religious rights. 

5 (10) Attacks on human rights defenders are not 

6 limited to individuals residing in-country, and many 

7 foreign governments engage in transnational repres8 sion, reaching across borders to target human rights 

9 defenders outside of their country of origin. 

10 (11) Although the United States has long 

11 played a critical role in supporting human rights de12 fenders, the United States must increase support at 

13 United States embassies, consulates, and foreign 

14 missions in order to meet the needs of the growing 

15 number of human rights defenders at risk. 

16 (12) Diplomats of the United States often lack 

17 sufficient training or guidance on how to best re18 spond to reprisals against human rights defenders, 

19 while human rights defenders often lack clear guid20 ance on how to safely contact United States officials 

21 abroad and what support human rights defenders 

22 can request when threatened, imprisoned, in exile, or 

23 in hiding. 

24 (13) Given the dramatic increase in attacks on 

25 human rights defenders globally, the current apVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Apr 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S962.IS S962

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1 proach by the United States Government to address 

2 such attacks is insufficient to adequately respond to 

3 the threats human rights defenders face, weakening 

4 the ability of the United States to advance human 

5 rights and democratic principles at a time when 

6 authoritarianism is on the rise. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act— 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

12 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

13 of the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘human 

16 rights defender’’ means an individual, working 

17 alone or in a group, who uses nonviolent means 

18 to promote or protect human rights and funda19 mental freedoms, in a manner consistent with 

20 the principles described in the United Nations 

21 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. 

22 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘human 

23 rights defender’’ may include members of civil 

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1 yers, community leaders, whistleblowers, and 

2 others. 

3 (3) REPRISAL.—The term ‘‘reprisal’’ means an 

4 act or omission that— 

5 (A) violates, intends to violate, or encour6 ages a violation of the rights of a human rights 

7 defender; or 

8 (B) otherwise prevents a human rights de9 fender from carrying out his or her work. 

10 (4) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘Strategy’’ means 

11 the Global Voices of Freedom Strategy submitted in 

12 accordance with section 5. 

13 (5) UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON HUMAN

14 RIGHTS DEFENDERS.—The term ‘‘United Nations 

15 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders’’ means 

16 the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of 

17 Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Pro18 mote and Protect Universally Recognized Human 

19 Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (United Nations 

20 General Assembly Resolution 53/144 (1998)), adopt21 ed by the United Nations General Assembly on De22 cember 9, 1998. 

23 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

24 It shall be the policy of the United States— 


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1 (1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United 

2 States to the United Nations Declaration on Human 

3 Rights Defenders and to human rights defenders, 

4 who, often at great risk to themselves, work to pro5 tect and advance human rights and democratic prin6 ciples; 

7 (2) to integrate support for human rights de8 fenders and their protection from reprisals as part 

9 of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic, economic, 

10 humanitarian, development, law enforcement, secu11 rity assistance, and anti-corruption activities of the 

12 United States; and 

13 (3) to view support for human rights defenders 

14 and their protection from reprisals as critical foreign 

15 policy interests of the United States. 

16 SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF A GOVERNMENT-WIDE STRAT17 EGY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS. 

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

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the President, in con20 sultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall 

21 develop and submit to the appropriate congressional com22 mittees a comprehensive interagency strategy to support 

23 and protect human rights defenders abroad to be known 

24 as the Global Voices of Freedom Strategy. 


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1 (b) ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGY.—The Strategy 

2 shall include detailed information on the following ele3 ments: 

4 (1) How the United States intends to imple5 ment the policy objectives under section 4, includ6 ing— 

7 (A) specific and measurable goals; 

8 (B) metrics to measure progress against 

9 such goals; and 

10 (C) a timeline for implementation. 

11 (2) An assessment of tools and resources avail12 able at United States embassies and missions to 

13 support human rights defenders, including— 

14 (A) measures to monitor and respond to 

15 reprisals against human rights defenders; and 

16 (B) information on implementation of the 

17 training required by subparagraph (E) of sec18 tion 708(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 

19 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)), as added by sec20 tion 8. 

21 (3) Bolstering the ability of United States em22 bassies and missions to prioritize the protection of 

23 human rights defenders, including— 

24 (A) ensuring the policy objectives under 

25 section 4 are addressed in each country-specific 


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1 Integrated Country Strategy of the Department 

2 of State; 

3 (B) developing guidance for United States 

4 embassies and missions on assessing when and 

5 how to respond to reprisals against human 

6 rights defenders; 

7 (C) identifying a designated point of con8 tact at each United States embassy or mission 

9 who— 

10 (i) reports directly to the chief of mis11 sion; and 

12 (ii) shall be responsible for— 

13 (I) conducting regular consulta14 tions with human rights defenders, in15 cluding individuals based outside of 

16 major urban areas; and 

17 (II) tracking patterns of reprisals 

18 and managing responses to reprisals, 

19 including by assessing the impact of 

20 such responses; 

21 (D) integrating consideration of reprisals 

22 against human rights defenders into engage23 ments by United States embassies and missions 

24 with the private sector; 


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1 (E) providing a secure means, where fea2 sible, by which human rights defenders can con3 tact each United States embassy or mission, re4 spectively publicized on the website of each 

5 United States embassy or mission; 

6 (F) including requests for additional re7 sources to engage with and support human 

8 rights defenders in annual Mission Resource 

9 Requests; and 

10 (G) acknowledging and rewarding efforts 

11 by United States diplomatic personnel to pro12 tect human rights defenders as part of annual 

13 performance reviews. 

14 (4) Seeking to reduce impunity for reprisals 

15 against human rights defenders by strengthening ac16 countability for perpetrators, including— 

17 (A) using diplomatic pressure to encourage 

18 foreign governments to investigate and pros19 ecute persons who order, plan, and carry out re20 prisals; 

21 (B) using diplomatic pressure to respond 

22 to patterns of non-lethal reprisals that have an 

23 adverse impact on civic space, including the 

24 criminalization of nonviolent advocacy, smear 

25 campaigns, and illegal surveillance; and 


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1 (C) increasing support for multilateral ini2 tiatives that seek to curb the misuse of dual-use 

3 technologies by foreign governments to monitor, 

4 harass, or threaten human rights defenders and 

5 their families. 

6 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the Strat7 egy, the President shall— 

8 (1) establish within the National Security 

9 Council an interagency working group that shall be 

10 responsible for coordinating implementation of the 

11 Strategy; 

12 (2) require each relevant Federal agency to pro13 vide a specific implementation plan for the Strategy; 

14 and 

15 (3) consult with human rights defenders and 

16 civil society organizations on the design and imple17 mentation of the Strategy. 

18 (d) FORM AND AVAILABILITY.— 

19 (1) FORM.—The Strategy shall be submitted in 

20 unclassified form, but may include a classified 

21 annex, if necessary. 

22 (2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days prior to 

23 publication of the Strategy in accordance with para24 graph (3), the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, 


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1 Democracy, and Human Rights shall brief the ap2 propriate congressional committees on the Strategy. 

3 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclassified 

4 portion of the Strategy shall be made available to 

5 the public, including through publication in the Fed6 eral Register. 

7 SEC. 6. PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT THE 

8 UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER MULTILAT9 ERAL BODIES. 

10 The Secretary of State and the United States Perma11 nent Representative to the United Nations shall use the 

12 voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the 

13 United Nations and other multilateral bodies— 

14 (1) to promote full participation and oppose ef15 forts that prevent the full participation of human 

16 rights defenders and block the accreditation of bona 

17 fide human rights organizations at the United Na18 tions and other multilateral bodies; 

19 (2) to ensure that the United Nations bolsters 

20 the protection and safe participation of human 

21 rights defenders who are subject to transnational re22 pression, state harassment, and reprisals; 

23 (3) to increase monitoring and reporting to 

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1 gage with the United Nations and other multilateral 

2 bodies; 

3 (4) to urge member states to engage with the 

4 mandate for the Special Rapporteur on the situation 

5 of human rights defenders (referred to in this sec6 tion as the ‘‘Special Rapporteur’’), to cooperate with 

7 the Special Rapporteur, and to take steps to imple8 ment the recommendations of the Special 

9 Rapporteur; and 

10 (5) to support the use of targeted sanctions, 

11 censure of member states, and all diplomatic tools 

12 available to hold responsible persons that engage in 

13 reprisals against human rights defenders. 

14 SEC. 7. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 

15 PRACTICES. 

16 Section 116(f)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

17 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(f)(1)) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub19 paragraph (E); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(C) A description of the treatment of human 

23 rights defenders (as defined in section 3 of the Glob24 al Voices of Freedom Act of 2023), in each foreign 

25 country including patterns of reprisals (as defined in 


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1 such section) against human rights defenders resid2 ing in-country, including information on the under3 lying types of activities targeted and the types of 

4 tactics being used. 

5 ‘‘(D) When feasible, details on the total number 

6 of investigations opened into reprisals against 

7 human rights defenders, including, for such repris8 als, the number of prosecutions, the details of the in9 dividuals sentenced, and the percentage of individ10 uals acquitted.’’. 

11 SEC. 8. TRAINING. 

12 Section 708(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 

13 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)) is amended— 

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

15 the end; 

16 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

17 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(E) for Foreign Service Officers and 

21 Presidential appointees, including chiefs of mis22 sion, in missions abroad who work on political, 

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1 tion on support for human rights defenders; 

2 and’’. 

3 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 

5 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to carry out— 

6 (1) the Strategy and reporting requirements de7 scribed in sections 5 and 7; and 

8 (2) the training required by section 8. 

Æ 


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