II 

Calendar No. 489 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D 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, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

CASEY, Mr. BENNET, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

Mr. MURPHY, Mr. NELSON, Mr. REED, Mr. KING, and Mr. BOOZMAN) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 27, 2018 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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. 


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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’’. 

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

8 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. 

9 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

10 Congress makes the following findings: 

11 (1) The nature of genocide and other atrocity 

12 crimes, including war crimes, crimes against human13 ity, and ethnic cleansing, includes shocking acts of 

14 violence perpetrated by governments and non-state 

15 actors, which have killed millions of civilians and 

16 other innocent individuals. 

17 (2) The commitment to prevent acts of genocide 

18 and other atrocity crimes has been a centerpiece of 

19 policy by consecutive administrations of the United 

20 States Government. 


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

2 the world to sign the Convention on the Prevention 

3 and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, signed at 

4 Paris December 9, 1948, and President Ronald 

5 Reagan signed implementing legislation allowing the 

6 United States to become a party to the Convention 

7 on November 25, 1988. 

8 (4) In the 2006 National Security Strategy, 

9 President George W. Bush highlighted the ‘‘moral 

10 imperative that states take action to prevent and 

11 punish genocide’’. 

12 (5) In 2008, the bipartisan Genocide Prevention 

13 Task Force, which was co-chaired by former Sec14 retary of Defense William Cohen and former Sec15 retary of State Madeleine Albright— 

16 (A) stated ‘‘genocide and mass atrocities 

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

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

19 standing interagency mechanism for analysis of 

20 threats [of genocide and other mass atrocities] 

21 and coordination of appropriate preventive ac22 tion’’. 

23 (6) In December 2010, the Senate unanimously 

24 passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 71, which rec25 ognized the United States ‘‘national interest in helpVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 27, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1158.RS S1158

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1 ing to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and 

2 other mass atrocities against civilians, and sup3 porting and encouraging efforts to develop a whole 

4 of government approach to prevent and mitigate 

5 such acts’’. 

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

7 Study Directive 10, which ordered the creation of 

8 the Atrocities Prevention Board, stated that he 

9 would ensure that the United States Government 

10 has the required structures, tools, and mechanisms 

11 to better prevent and respond to atrocity crimes. 

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

13 former Director of National Intelligence, stated in 

14 his annual national security threat assessment to 

15 Congress— 

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

17 worldwide will probably increase in 2014 and 

18 beyond.’’; 

19 (B) ‘‘Many countries at risk of mass atroc20 ities will likely be open to influence to prevent 

21 or mitigate them.’’; and 

22 (C) ‘‘Much of the world will almost cer23 tainly turn to the United States for leadership 

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


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1 (9) In February 2016, former Director of Na2 tional Intelligence Clapper stated, in his annual na3 tional security threat assessment to Congress, 

4 ‘‘Risks of atrocities, large-scale violence, and regime5 threatening instability will remain elevated in 

6 2016.’’. 

7 (10) The United States can strengthen its 

8 atrocity crimes prevention and peacebuilding efforts 

9 by— 

10 (A) supporting civil society which serves a 

11 central role in promoting nonviolent conflict 

12 resolution and supporting early warning; 

13 (B) enhancing cooperation and under14 standing among ethnic and religious groups, 

15 communities, and factions; 

16 (C) working with the international commu17 nity to ensure shared responsibility by enhanc18 ing multilateral and regional mechanisms that 

19 seek to prevent genocide and other atrocity 

20 crimes; 

21 (D) promoting effective accountability 

22 mechanisms to deter individuals and entities 

23 that may incite or commit genocide or other 

24 atrocity crimes; and 


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1 (E) implementing policies that hold ac2 countable individuals and entities that incite or 

3 commit genocide or other atrocity crimes. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

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

8 large scale and deliberate acts of violence against ci9 vilians and include genocide, war crimes, crimes 

10 against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. 

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

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

13 18, United States Code. 

14 (3) PEACEBUILDING.—The term 

15 ‘‘peacebuilding’’ means nonviolent activities designed 

16 to prevent conflict through— 

17 (A) addressing root causes of violence; 

18 (B) promoting sustainable peace; 

19 (C) delegitimizing violence as a dispute 

20 resolution strategy; 

21 (D) building capacity within society to 

22 peacefully manage disputes, including the ca23 pacity of governments to address citizen griev24 ances; and 


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1 (E) reducing vulnerability to triggers that 

2 may spark violence. 

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

4 the Secretary of State. 

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

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

7 title 18, United States Code. 

8 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING GENOCIDE 

9 AND OTHER ATROCITY CRIMES PREVENTION. 

10 It is the policy of the United States— 

11 (1) to regard the prevention of genocide and 

12 other atrocity crimes as a core national security in13 terest and a core moral responsibility; 

14 (2) to mitigate threats to United States security 

15 by addressing the root causes of insecurity and vio16 lent conflict to prevent— 

17 (A) the mass slaughter of civilians; 

18 (B) conditions that prompt internal dis19 placement and the flow of refugees across bor20 ders; and 

21 (C) other violence that wreaks havoc on re22 gional stability and livelihoods; 

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

24 prevent, address, and respond to the drivers of 


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1 atrocity crimes and violent conflict as part of our 

2 humanitarian, development, and strategic interests; 

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

4 prevent and respond to the risk of genocide and 

5 other atrocity crimes by— 

6 (A) strengthening the diplomatic, risk 

7 analysis and monitoring, strategic planning, 

8 early warning, and response capacities of the 

9 United States Government; 

10 (B) improving the use of foreign assistance 

11 to respond early, effectively, and urgently in 

12 order to address the root causes and drivers of 

13 violence, systemic patterns of human rights 

14 abuses, and atrocity crimes; 

15 (C) strengthening diplomatic response and 

16 the use of foreign assistance to support transi17 tional justice measures, including criminal ac18 countability, for past atrocity crimes; 

19 (D) supporting international atrocity 

20 crimes prevention, conflict prevention, peace21 keeping, and peacebuilding mechanisms; 

22 (E) supporting and strengthening local 

23 civil society, including human rights defenders 

24 and others working to help prevent and respond 

25 to atrocity crimes, and protecting their ability 


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1 to receive support from and partner with civil 

2 society at large; and 

3 (F) promoting financial transparency and 

4 enhancing anti-corruption initiatives as part of 

5 addressing a root cause of insecurity; and 

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

7 and multilateral means to prevent and respond to 

8 conflicts and atrocity crimes by— 

9 (A) placing a high priority on timely, pre10 ventive diplomatic efforts; and 

11 (B) exercising a leadership role in pro12 moting international efforts to end crises peace13 fully. 

14 SEC. 5. MASS ATROCITIES TASK FORCE. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall instruct 

16 the Secretary to establish a Mass Atrocities Task Force 

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

18 mandate— 

19 (1) to strengthen the Department of State’s ef20 forts at atrocity prevention and response; and 

21 (2) to assist other departments and agencies in 

22 their efforts to do the same. 

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

24 Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, or anVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Jun 27, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1158.RS S1158

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1 other position of equivalent rank, shall serve as the Chair 

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

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

4 Chair, the Task Force shall— 

5 (1) meet regularly to ensure that atrocity 

6 crimes and the risk of atrocity crimes throughout 

7 the world are adequately considered and addressed; 

8 (2) facilitate the development and execution of 

9 policies and tools to enhance the capacity of the 

10 United States to prevent and respond to atrocity 

11 crimes worldwide; 

12 (3) monitor developments throughout the world 

13 that heighten the risk of atrocity crimes; 

14 (4) analyze and closely review specific atrocity 

15 crimes threats or situations of heightened concern; 

16 (5) identify any gaps in United States foreign 

17 policy concerning regions or particular countries re18 lated to atrocity crimes prevention and response; 

19 (6) incorporate lessons learned from past 

20 United States Government efforts to prevent and re21 spond to atrocity crimes; 

22 (7) provide the Secretary with recommendations 

23 and potential improvements to policies, programs, 

24 resources, and tools related to atrocity crimes pre25 vention and response; 


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1 (8) coordinate the Department of State’s en2 gagement in interagency processes led by the Na3 tional Security Council that share the Task Force’s 

4 objectives; 

5 (9) conduct outreach, including consultations, 

6 not less frequently than biannually, with representa7 tives of nongovernmental organizations dedicated to 

8 atrocity crimes prevention and response and other 

9 appropriate parties— 

10 (A) to receive assistance for the Task 

11 Force’s efforts to address emerging atrocity 

12 crimes threats or situations and develop new or 

13 improved policies and tools; and 

14 (B) to provide an appropriate public un15 derstanding of the work of the Task Force; 

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

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

18 Government to develop, strengthen, and enhance its 

19 capabilities to— 

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

21 coordinate responses to potential atrocity 

22 crimes; 

23 (B) deter and isolate perpetrators of atroc24 ity crimes through all available authorities; 


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1 (C) promote criminal accountability and 

2 deny impunity for perpetrators of atrocity 

3 crimes within the United States and throughout 

4 the world; 

5 (D) engage allies and partners, including 

6 the United Nations Office on Genocide Preven7 tion and the Responsibility to Protect and other 

8 multilateral and regional institutions, to build 

9 capacities and mobilize action for preventing 

10 and responding to atrocity crimes; 

11 (E) encourage the deployment of civilian 

12 advisors to prevent and respond to atrocity 

13 crimes; 

14 (F) increase capacity and develop doctrine 

15 for the United States foreign service, civil serv16 ice, armed services, development professionals, 

17 and other actors to engage in the full spectrum 

18 of atrocity crimes prevention and response ac19 tivities; 

20 (G) develop and implement tailored foreign 

21 assistance programs that address and mitigate 

22 the risks of atrocity crimes; 

23 (H) ensure intelligence collection, analysis, 

24 and sharing of appropriate information; and 


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1 (I) address any other issues that the Task 

2 Force determines to be appropriate; and 

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

4 (9), receive support from— 

5 (A) the Bureau of Conflict and Stabiliza6 tion Operations; 

7 (B) the Office of Global Criminal Justice; 

8 (C) the Bureau of Democracy, Human 

9 Rights and Labor; 

10 (D) the Bureau of International Narcotics 

11 and Law Enforcement Affairs; 

12 (E) the Bureau of International Organiza13 tion Affairs; and 

14 (F) other bureaus and offices of the De15 partment of State, as appropriate. 

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

17 (1) seek to ensure that its efforts complement 

18 and support interagency processes led by the Na19 tional Security Council that share the Task Force’s 

20 objectives; and 

21 (2) operate with regular consultation and par22 ticipation of designated representatives, at the As23 sistant Secretary level or higher, of— 

24 (A) the Department of State; 


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1 (B) the United States Agency for Inter2 national Development; 

3 (C) the Department of Defense; 

4 (D) the Department of Justice; 

5 (E) the Department of the Treasury; 

6 (F) the Department of Homeland Security; 

7 (G) the Central Intelligence Agency; 

8 (H) the Office of the Director of National 

9 Intelligence; 

10 (I) the United States Mission to the 

11 United Nations; 

12 (J) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

13 (K) the National Security Council; and 

14 (L) such other executive departments, 

15 agencies, or offices as the Chair may designate. 

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

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

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

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

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

21 Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appro22 priations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

23 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

24 Appropriations of the House of Representatives that in25 cludes— 


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1 (1) a review, in consultation with the represent2 atives listed in subsection (d), consisting of— 

3 (A) an evaluation of the efficacy of current 

4 efforts based on United States and locally iden5 tified indicators, including capacities and con6 straints for Government-wide detection, early 

7 warning and response, information-sharing, 

8 contingency planning, and coordination of ef9 forts to prevent and respond to situations of 

10 atrocity crimes and other mass violence, such as 

11 gender-based violence; 

12 (B) an assessment of the funding expended 

13 by relevant Federal agencies on atrocity crimes 

14 prevention activities, including transitional jus15 tice measures and the legal, procedural, and re16 source constraints faced by the Department of 

17 State and the United States Agency for Inter18 national Development throughout respective 

19 budgeting, strategic planning, and management 

20 cycles to support conflict and atrocity crimes 

21 prevention activities in countries identified to be 

22 at risk of atrocity crimes; 

23 (C) current annual global assessments of 

24 sources of instability, conflict, and atrocity 

25 crimes; 


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1 (D) recommendations to further strength2 en United States capabilities described in sub3 paragraph (A); and 

4 (E) consideration of analysis, reporting, 

5 and policy recommendations to prevent and re6 spond to atrocity crimes produced by civil soci7 ety, academic, and other nongovernmental orga8 nizations and institutions; 

9 (2) recommendations to ensure shared responsi10 bility by— 

11 (A) enhancing multilateral mechanisms for 

12 preventing atrocity crimes, including strength13 ening the role of international organizations 

14 and international financial institutions in con15 flict prevention, mitigation, and response; and 

16 (B) strengthening regional organizations; 

17 and 

18 (3) the implementation status of the rec19 ommendations contained in the review described in 

20 paragraph (1). 

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

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

23 as appropriate)— 

24 (1) provide briefings to the Committee on For25 eign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and 

2 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

3 Representatives; and 

4 (2) provide briefings and materials, as appro5 priate, to the relevant congressional committees. 

6 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

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

9 out this section. 

10 SEC. 6. TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS IN CON11 FLICT AND ATROCITY CRIMES PREVENTION. 

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

13 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended— 

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

15 end; 

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

17 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(4) instruction on recognizing patterns of es20 calation and early warning signs of potential atrocity 

21 crimes or violence, including gender-based violence, 

22 and methods of conflict assessment, peacebuilding, 

23 mediation for prevention, early action and response, 

24 and transitional justice measures to address atrocity 

25 crimes.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTEL2 LIGENCE. 

3 The Director of National Intelligence is encouraged 

4 to include, in his or her annual (or more often as appro5 priate) unclassified testimony, accompanied by a classified 

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

7 States national security— 

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

9 atrocity crimes; and 

10 (2) whenever possible, specific mention of coun11 tries and regions at immediate risk of atrocity 

12 crimes, including most likely pathways to violence, 

13 specific risk factors, potential groups of perpetra14 tors, and at-risk target groups. 

15 SEC. 8. COMPLEX CRISES FUND. 

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

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

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

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

20 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

21 International Development to support programs and ac22 tivities to prevent or respond to emerging or unforeseen 

23 foreign challenges and complex crises overseas, including 

24 potential atrocity crimes. 

25 (b) PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding 

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


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

2 amounts in the Fund may be used to carry out the provi3 sions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

4 2151 et seq.) to support programs and activities that— 

5 (1) mitigate or respond to emerging or unfore6 seen complex crises, including urgent humanitarian, 

7 political, social, justice, or economic challenges that 

8 threaten stability in any country or region; 

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

10 violent conflict and instability, including atrocity 

11 crimes; or 

12 (3) advance the consolidation of peace and de13 mocracy. 

14 (c) LIMITATIONS.— 

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

16 not be expended for lethal assistance or to respond 

17 to natural disasters. 

18 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 

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

20 used for administrative expenses. 

21 (d) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 

22 5 days before amounts from the Fund are obligated, the 

23 Secretary of State or the Administrator of the United 

24 States Agency for International Development, as appro25 priate, shall submit notification of such obligation to— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

4 Senate; 

5 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

6 House of Representatives; and 

7 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 (e) WAIVER.—The notification requirement under 

10 subsection (d) may be waived if— 

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

12 risk to human health or welfare; and 

13 (2) the congressional committees set forth in 

14 subsection (d)— 

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

16 an obligation of funds; and 

17 (B) are provided with an explanation of 

18 the emergency circumstances that necessitated 

19 the waiver. 

20 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

22 and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018’’. 

23 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that the United States Gov25 ernment’s efforts at atrocity prevention and response 


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1 through interagency coordination, such as the Atrocities 

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

3 or successor entity are critically important, and that appro4 priate officials of the United States Government should— 

5 (1) meet regularly to monitor developments 

6 throughout the world that heighten the risk of atroc7 ities; 

8 (2) identify any gaps in United States foreign 

9 policy concerning regions or particular countries re10 lated to atrocity prevention and response; 

11 (3) facilitate the development and implementa12 tion of policies to enhance the capacity of the United 

13 States to prevent and respond to atrocities worldwide; 

14 (4) provide the President with recommendations 

15 to improve policies, programs, resources, and tools re16 lated to atrocity prevention and response; 

17 (5) conduct outreach, including consultations, 

18 not less frequently than biannually, with representa19 tives of nongovernmental organizations and civil soci20 ety dedicated to atrocity prevention and response; 

21 (6) operate with regular consultation and par22 ticipation of designated interagency representatives of 

23 relevant Federal agencies, executive departments, or 

24 offices; and 


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1 (7) ensure resources are made available for the 

2 policies, programs, and tools related to atrocity pre3 vention and response. 

4 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

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

6 (1) regard the prevention of genocide and other 

7 atrocities as in its national security interests; 

8 (2) work with partners and allies to address the 

9 root causes of insecurity and violent conflict to pre10 vent— 

11 (A) the mass slaughter of civilians; 

12 (B) conditions that prompt internal dis13 placement and the flow of refugees across borders; 

14 and 

15 (C) other violence that wreaks havoc on re16 gional stability and civilian populations; 

17 (3) enhance the capacity of the United States to 

18 identify, prevent, address, and respond to the drivers 

19 of atrocities and violent conflict as part of the United 

20 States’ humanitarian, development, and strategic in21 terests; and 

22 (4) pursue a Government-wide strategy to pre23 vent and respond to the risk of genocide and other 

24 atrocities by— 


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1 (A) strengthening the diplomatic, risk anal2 ysis and monitoring, strategic planning, early 

3 warning, and response capacities of the Govern4 ment; 

5 (B) improving the use of foreign assistance 

6 to respond early, effectively, and urgently in 

7 order to address the root causes and drivers of 

8 violence, and systemic patterns of human rights 

9 abuses and atrocities; 

10 (C) strengthening diplomatic response and 

11 the effective use of foreign assistance to support 

12 appropriate transitional justice measures, in13 cluding criminal accountability, for past atroc14 ities; 

15 (D) supporting and strengthening local civil 

16 society, including human rights defenders and 

17 others working to help prevent and respond to 

18 atrocities; 

19 (E) promoting financial transparency and 

20 enhancing anti-corruption initiatives as part of 

21 addressing a root cause of insecurity; and 

22 (F) employing a variety of unilateral, bilat23 eral, and multilateral means to prevent and re24 spond to conflicts and atrocities by— 


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1 (i) placing a high priority on timely, 

2 preventive diplomatic efforts; and 

3 (ii) exercising a leadership role in pro4 moting international efforts to end crises 

5 and prevent atrocities. 

6 SEC. 4. TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS IN CON7 FLICT AND ATROCITIES PREVENTION. 

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

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

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

11 the end; 

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

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

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 paragraph: 

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

17 be assigned to a country experiencing or at risk 

18 of mass atrocities, as determined by the Sec19 retary of State, in consultation with the Director 

20 of National Intelligence and relevant civil society 

21 organizations, instruction on recognizing pat22 terns of escalation and early warning signs of 

23 potential atrocities or violence, including gender24 based violence, and methods of preventing and 

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1 sessment methods, peacebuilding, mediation for 

2 prevention, early action and response, and ap3 propriate transitional justice measures to ad4 dress atrocities.’’. 

5 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 

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

7 date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter 

8 for the following six years, the President shall transmit to 

9 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Represent10 atives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen11 ate a report, with a classified annex if necessary, that in12 cludes— 

13 (1) a review, in consultation with appropriate 

14 interagency representatives, consisting of a detailed 

15 description of— 

16 (A) current efforts to prevent and respond 

17 to situations of genocide, atrocities, and other 

18 mass violence, such as gender-based violence and 

19 violence against religious and other minorities, 

20 based on United States and locally identified in21 dicators, including an analysis of capacities and 

22 constraints for interagency detection, early 

23 warning and response, information-sharing, con24 tingency planning, and coordination; 


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1 (B) recommendations to further strengthen 

2 United States capabilities described in subpara3 graph (A); 

4 (C) funding expended by relevant Federal 

5 departments and agencies on atrocities preven6 tion activities, including appropriate transi7 tional justice measures and the legal, procedural, 

8 and resource constraints faced by the Depart9 ment of State and the United States Agency for 

10 International Development throughout respective 

11 budgeting, strategic planning, and management 

12 cycles to support conflict and atrocities preven13 tion activities in countries identified to be at 

14 risk of atrocities; 

15 (D) a current global assessment of sources of 

16 instability, conflict, and atrocities, the outcomes 

17 and findings of such assessments and, where rel18 evant, a review of activities, and the efficacy of 

19 such activities, that the Board or successor entity 

20 undertook to respond to sources of instability, 

21 conflict, and atrocities; 

22 (E) countries and regions at risk of atroc23 ities, including a description of most likely path24 ways to violence, specific risk factors, and at-risk 

25 target groups; and 


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•S 1158 RS

1 (F) the atrocities prevention training for 

2 Foreign Service officers authorized under sub3 paragraph (D) of section 708(a)(1) of the For4 eign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 4; 

5 (2) recommendations to ensure shared responsi6 bility by— 

7 (A) enhancing multilateral mechanisms for 

8 preventing atrocities, including strengthening the 

9 role of international organizations and inter10 national financial institutions in conflict pre11 vention, mitigation, and response; and 

12 (B) strengthening regional organizations; 

13 (3) the implementation status of the rec14 ommendations contained in the previous review re15 quired by this section; and 

16 (4) identification of the Federal departments and 

17 agencies and civil society, academic, and nongovern18 mental organizations and institutions consulted for 

19 preparation of such report. 

20 (b) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

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

22 include a consideration of analysis, reporting, and policy 

23 recommendations to prevent and respond to atrocities pro24 duced by civil society, academic, and other nongovern25 mental organizations and institutions. 


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•S 1158 RS

1 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘genocide’’ means an offense under 

4 subsection (a) of section 1091 of title 18, United 

5 States Code; 

6 (2) the term ‘‘atrocities’’ means war crimes, 

7 crimes against humanity, or genocide; 

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

9 range of judicial, nonjudicial, formal, informal, re10 tributive, and restorative measures employed by coun11 tries transitioning out of armed conflict or repressive 

12 regimes to redress legacies of atrocities and to pro13 mote long-term, sustainable peace; and 

14 (4) the term ‘‘war crime’’ has the meaning given 

15 the term in section 2441(c) of title 18, United States 

16 Code. 

17 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

18 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing 

19 the use of military force. 


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amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 489 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1158 

A BILL 

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 

JUNE 27, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS