II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3705 

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, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, and Mr. WELCH) 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, 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 ‘‘Human Rights Defend5 ers Protection Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 3705 IS

1 (1) Around the world, human rights defenders 

2 form the backbone of democratic societies and move3 ments, advocating for human rights and political 

4 freedoms, protecting the environment, fighting cor5 ruption, and supporting good governance, inde6 pendent media, and labor rights. 

7 (2) Reprisals against human rights defenders 

8 are on the rise as autocratic and illiberal regimes in9 creasingly target human rights defenders with fab10 ricated legal charges, threats and violence for exer11 cising civil, political, economic, social, and cultural 

12 rights, often collaborating with transnational crimi13 nal organizations, paramilitary groups, private sector 

14 actors, and others to carry out such reprisals. 

15 (3) According to the United Nations High Com16 missioner for Human Rights, every year hundreds of 

17 human rights defenders are murdered and thousands 

18 more are subjected to torture, enforced disappear19 ance, sexual violence, hate crimes, unlawful or arbi20 trary detention, judicial harassment, unlawful or ar21 bitrary digital surveillance, and forced exile. 

22 (4) The lack of accountability for attacks on 

23 human rights defenders engenders further violence 

24 and leaves human rights defenders hesitant or un25 able to continue their work out of fear of retaliation. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 3705 IS

1 (5) Foreign governments are no longer oppress2 ing only individuals within the borders of their coun3 tries and are increasingly resorting to transnational 

4 repression tactics, both digital and physical, to tar5 get human rights defenders outside of their coun6 tries of origin, often where such human rights de7 fenders are seeking asylum or temporary refuge. 

8 (6) Human rights defenders facing the highest 

9 levels of violence include individuals advocating for 

10 land rights and environmental issues, Indigenous 

11 communities, the freedoms of expression, assembly, 

12 and association, minority communities, and 

13 LGBTQI+, women’s, youth, and religious rights. 

14 (7) Environmental human rights defenders are 

15 vulnerable to reprisals because such human rights 

16 defenders pose challenges to financial interests and 

17 often live in remote areas where government over18 sight is weak and powerful actors can use corrupt 

19 practices and brute force to seize resources with im20 punity. 

21 (8) Women human rights defenders often face 

22 additional grave risks, including gender-based vio23 lence, reprisals against their children, use of digital 

24 disinformation campaigns against them, and stigVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Feb 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3705.IS S3705

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 3705 IS

1 matization from their families, workplaces, and com2 munities. 

3 (9) Many human rights defenders who have 

4 been forced into exile desire to continue their advo5 cacy from abroad, yet such human rights defenders 

6 lack the legal protections and support they need to 

7 continue such advocacy. 

8 (10) The United States has a strong legacy of 

9 supporting human rights defenders. Given the rising 

10 number of human rights defenders at risk, the 

11 United States should elevate and enhance such sup12 port, especially at embassies, consulates, and foreign 

13 missions of the United States. 

14 (11) The training and guidance for individuals 

15 and organizations working with the United States 

16 Government, including members of the Foreign 

17 Service, on recognizing and responding to reprisals 

18 against human rights defenders is insufficient, lead19 ing to ad hoc and inconsistent responses, while 

20 human rights defenders who are at risk are fre21 quently unaware of how to safely work with United 

22 States officials abroad and the resources that are 

23 available to human rights defenders. 

24 (12) The United States has neither a coherent 

25 strategy to strengthen protections for human rights 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 3705 IS

1 defenders, nor adequate measures to prevent and re2 spond to cases in which members of foreign security 

3 forces, law enforcement, judicial institutions, crimi4 nal groups, or private companies contribute to at5 tacks on human rights defenders. The United States 

6 also lacks adequate consular resources and authori7 ties to facilitate temporary evacuation of human 

8 rights defenders facing immediate lethal danger. 

9 (13) While the United States possesses multiple 

10 tools to hold perpetrators of reprisals accountable, 

11 including sanctions, export controls, visa restrictions, 

12 and diplomatic pressure, the United States deploys 

13 such tools unevenly and without clear connections to 

14 a broader strategic framework to strengthen protec15 tions for human rights defenders. 

16 (14) Given the dramatic increase in attacks on 

17 human rights defenders globally, the current ap18 proach by the United States Government to address 

19 such attacks is insufficient to adequately respond to 

20 the threats human rights defenders face, weakening 

21 the ability of the United States to advance human 

22 rights and democratic principles, respond to the cli23 mate crisis, counter corruption, and combat 

24 transnational crime. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 3705 IS

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

6 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

7 of the House of Representatives. 

8 (2) DEMOCRACY ADVOCATE AT RISK.—The 

9 term ‘‘democracy advocate at risk’’ means a human 

10 rights defender or other individual engaging in 

11 peaceful democratic advocacy or political protest who 

12 participates in the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fel13 lows Program. 

14 (3) 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 

24 society organizations, journalists, activists, law25 yers, community leaders, land and environ26 mental defenders, labor leaders and activists, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 3705 IS

1 anti-corruption activists, whistleblowers, polit2 ical prisoners, members of opposition political 

3 parties, and any other individual engaging in 

4 peaceful advocacy, actions, or political protest. 

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

6 act or omission that— 

7 (A) violates, intends to violate, or encour8 ages a violation of the rights of a human rights 

9 defender; or 

10 (B) otherwise prevents a human rights de11 fender from carrying out his or her work. 

12 (5) UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON HUMAN

13 RIGHTS DEFENDERS.—The term ‘‘United Nations 

14 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders’’ means 

15 the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of 

16 Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Pro17 mote and Protect Universally Recognized Human 

18 Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (United Nations 

19 General Assembly Resolution 53/144 (1998)), adopt20 ed by the United Nations General Assembly on De21 cember 9, 1998. 

22 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

23 It shall be the policy of the United States— 

24 (1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United 

25 States to— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 3705 IS

1 (A) the Universal Declaration of Human 

2 Rights, adopted by the United Nations on De3 cember 10, 1948; 

4 (B) the United Nations Declaration on 

5 Human Rights Defenders; and 

6 (C) human rights defenders, who, often at 

7 great risk to themselves, work nonviolently to 

8 protect and advance human rights and demo9 cratic principles; 

10 (2) to integrate support for human rights de11 fenders and democracy advocates and their protec12 tion from reprisals as part of bilateral and multilat13 eral diplomatic, development, defense, economic, law 

14 enforcement, security assistance, export control, cli15 mate, and anti-corruption activities of the United 

16 States; 

17 (3) to engage with the private sector to respect, 

18 support, and, when possible, protect human rights 

19 defenders and prevent human rights violations 

20 throughout business operations, investments, and 

21 supply chains in accordance with the Guiding Prin22 ciples on Business and Human Rights published by 

23 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

24 Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational 

25 Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 3705 IS

1 (4) to work in solidarity with front-line human 

2 rights defenders and democracy advocates to inte3 grate prevention, mitigation, and response measures 

4 into development and foreign assistance activities to 

5 strengthen physical and digital safety, well-being, 

6 protection measures, and the resiliency of local orga7 nizations in the country of concern; 

8 (5) to assist human rights defenders and their 

9 immediate family members living in exile so they can 

10 safely continue their work, free from threats or acts 

11 of transnational repression; 

12 (6) to end impunity for reprisals against human 

13 rights defenders by strengthening accountability for 

14 perpetrators, including through appropriate inves15 tigations and prosecutions, exercise of sanctions au16 thorities such as the Global Magnitsky Human 

17 Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.), 

18 and support for other mechanisms and measures; 

19 (7) to strengthen access to justice and provide 

20 legal representation for human rights defenders; 

21 (8) to affirm that support for human rights de22 fenders and their protection from reprisals is central 

23 to the policy interests of the United States; and 

24 (9) to coordinate assistance strategies and di25 rect assistance for human rights defenders with biVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Feb 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3705.IS S3705

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 3705 IS

1 lateral partners, non-governmental foundations and 

2 charities, and other advocates and service providers. 

3 SEC. 5. GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFEND4 ERS. 

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

6 date of the enactment of this Act, and once every 3 years 

7 thereafter, the President, in consultation with the heads 

8 of relevant Federal agencies, shall develop and submit to 

9 the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive 

10 interagency strategy to support and protect human rights 

11 defenders abroad to be known as the Global Human 

12 Rights Defenders Strategy (referred to in this section as 

13 the ‘‘Strategy’’). 

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

15 shall include detailed information on the following ele16 ments: 

17 (1) An assessment of tools and resources avail18 able at United States embassies and missions to 

19 support human rights defenders, including— 

20 (A) measures to monitor and respond to 

21 reprisals against human rights defenders, in22 cluding human rights defenders located outside 

23 of their country, and their immediate family 

24 members; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 3705 IS

1 (B) information on implementation of the 

2 training required by subparagraph (E) of sec3 tion 708(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 

4 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)), as added by sec5 tion 8. 

6 (2) Bolstering the ability of United States em7 bassies and missions to prioritize the protection of 

8 human rights defenders, including— 

9 (A) ensuring the policy objectives described 

10 in section 4 are addressed in each country-spe11 cific Integrated Country Strategy of the De12 partment of State; 

13 (B) developing guidance for United States 

14 embassies and missions on assessing when and 

15 how to prevent and respond to reprisals against 

16 human rights defenders, including in countries 

17 that host human rights defenders in exile; 

18 (C) identifying a designated point of con19 tact at each United States embassy or mission 

20 who— 

21 (i) reports directly to the chief of mis22 sion; and 

23 (ii) shall be responsible for— 

24 (I) conducting regular consulta25 tions with human rights defenders, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Feb 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3705.IS S3705

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 3705 IS

1 cluding individuals based outside of 

2 major urban areas, individuals who 

3 are not members of registered civil so4 ciety organizations, and individuals in 

5 exile, consistent with measures to en6 sure the protection of such individ7 uals; 

8 (II) tracking patterns of reprisals 

9 and managing responses to reprisals, 

10 including by assessing the impact of 

11 such responses; and 

12 (III) immediately notifying the 

13 chief of mission, the head of the rel14 evant regional bureau of the Depart15 ment of State and the United States 

16 Agency for International Develop17 ment, the Director of the Bureau of 

18 Democracy, Human Rights, and 

19 Labor, and the Assistant to the Ad20 ministrator for the Bureau of Democ21 racy, Human Rights, and Governance 

22 in the event of any imminent threat to 

23 the life or grave threat to the personal 

24 safety of a human rights defender; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 3705 IS

1 (D) publishing guidelines in local lan2 guages on the website of each United States 

3 embassy and mission on how to reach relevant 

4 embassy points of contact; 

5 (E) integrating consideration of reprisals 

6 against human rights defenders into engage7 ments by United States embassies and missions 

8 with the private sector, and foreign govern9 ments; 

10 (F) including requests for any additional 

11 resources needed to engage with and support 

12 human rights defenders in annual Mission Re13 source Requests; 

14 (G) acknowledging and rewarding efforts 

15 by United States diplomatic personnel, includ16 ing Foreign Service officers from the United 

17 States Agency for International Development 

18 and the Department of State, to protect human 

19 rights defenders as part of annual performance 

20 reviews; 

21 (H) strengthening the efforts of host coun22 tries to bolster human rights, protect human 

23 rights defenders, and prevent human rights 

24 abuses and violations; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 3705 IS

1 (I) identifying additional authorities or ca2 pabilities that need to be developed to address 

3 the growing threats facing human rights de4 fenders. 

5 (3) Seeking to reduce impunity for reprisals 

6 against human rights defenders by strengthening ac7 countability for perpetrators, including— 

8 (A) using diplomatic engagement to en9 courage foreign governments to investigate and 

10 prosecute persons who order, plan, and carry 

11 out reprisals; 

12 (B) using diplomatic engagement to re13 spond to patterns of non-lethal reprisals that 

14 have an adverse impact on civic space, including 

15 the criminalization of nonviolent advocacy, 

16 smear campaigns, and illegal surveillance; and 

17 (C) increasing support for multilateral ini18 tiatives that seek to curb the misuse of tech19 nologies by foreign governments to monitor, 

20 harass, or threaten human rights defenders and 

21 their families. 

22 (4) How the United States intends to imple23 ment the policy objectives under section 4, includ24 ing— 

25 (A) specific and measurable goals; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 3705 IS

1 (B) metrics to measure progress against 

2 such goals; and 

3 (C) a timeline for implementation. 

4 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the Strat5 egy, the President shall— 

6 (1) designate an employee of the National Secu7 rity Council to be responsible for the coordination of 

8 the interagency process for implementing the Strat9 egy; 

10 (2) require each relevant Federal agency to pro11 vide a specific implementation plan for the Strategy; 

12 and 

13 (3) regularly consult with relevant human 

14 rights defenders and civil society organizations both 

15 in the United States and abroad on the design and 

16 implementation of the Strategy. 

17 (d) FORM AND AVAILABILITY.— 

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

19 unclassified form, but may include a classified 

20 annex, if necessary. 

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

22 publication of the Strategy in accordance with para23 graph (3), the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, 

24 Democracy, and Human Rights, in consultation with 

25 the Assistant to the Administrator for Democracy, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 3705 IS

1 Human Rights, and Governance, 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. NONIMMIGRANT VISAS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DE8 FENDERS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(a) of the Immigra10 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (15)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (U)(iii), by striking ‘‘; 

13 or’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (V)(ii)(II), by striking 

15 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(W)(i) subject to section 214(t), an alien 

18 who— 

19 ‘‘(I) demonstrates a credible fear of 

20 an urgent threat to his or her physical 

21 safety by a state or nonstate actor in the 

22 alien’s country of nationality or last habit23 ual residence based on the nature of the 

24 alien’s work as a human rights defender, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•S 3705 IS

1 including formal and informal employment 

2 and volunteer activities; and 

3 ‘‘(II) has not advocated violence or 

4 terrorism; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the children and spouse or part6 ner of the alien described in clause (i) if 

7 accompanying, or following to join, such 

8 alien.’’; and 

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

10 ‘‘(53) The term ‘urgent threat’, with respect to 

11 an individual described in paragraph (15)(W)(i)(I), 

12 means any action, communication, or threat made 

13 against the individual that causes or has the intent 

14 to cause physical, legal, financial, psychological, or 

15 reputational harm.’’. 

16 (b) APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION.—Section 214 of 

17 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(t)(1) In the case of a nonimmigrant described in 

20 section 101(a)(15)(W)— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of State shall issue a visa 

22 that is valid for 1 or more admissions to the United 

23 States during a 3-year period; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 

25 authorize the alien to engage in employment in the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•S 3705 IS

1 United States during the period of authorized ad2 mission and shall provide the alien with an ‘employ3 ment authorized’ endorsement or other appropriate 

4 document signifying authorizing employment. 

5 ‘‘(2) In determining whether an alien is eligible 

6 to be admitted to the United States as a non7 immigrant under section 101(a)(15)(W)(i)— 

8 ‘‘(A) a foreign service officer, outside of 

9 consular services, including political and eco10 nomic officers and officers of the United States 

11 Agency for International Development, located 

12 at the United States Embassy in the country 

13 concerned, an official in the Bureau for Democ14 racy, Human Rights and Labor, or an official 

15 of Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and 

16 Governance, may submit a visa referral for the 

17 alien to the United States consulate in the 

18 country concerned; 

19 ‘‘(B) a consular officer, located at the 

20 United States Embassy or consulate in the 

21 country concerned— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall conduct an interview of the 

23 alien not later than 72 hours after the 

24 alien submits an application for admission 

25 as a nonimmigrant under that section; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•S 3705 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) shall make a determination with 

2 respect to whether the alien’s fear of an 

3 urgent threat is credible within the context 

4 of such country; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) shall consult with and seek ref6 erences from relevant national or inter7 national human rights organizations or the 

8 United Nations with respect to the alien, 

9 including references suggested by the alien 

10 and the referring human rights officer; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the Bureau of Consular Affairs shall 

12 carry out all security screening through the ap13 propriate databases. 

14 ‘‘(3) An unmarried alien who seeks to accom15 pany or follow to join a parent granted status under 

16 section 101(a)(15)(W)(i), and who was under 21 

17 years of age on the date on which such parent ap18 plied for such status, shall continue to be classified 

19 as a child for purposes of section 101(a)(15)(W)(ii), 

20 if the alien attains 21 years of age after such par21 ent’s application was filed, but while it was pending. 

22 ‘‘(4)(A) The number of aliens who may be 

23 issued visas or otherwise provided status as non24 immigrants under section 101(a) (15)(W) in any fis25 cal year shall not exceed 500. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•S 3705 IS

1 ‘‘(B) The numerical limitation in subparagraph 

2 (A) shall only apply to principal aliens described in 

3 section 101(a)(15)(W)(i) and not to the children or 

4 spouses or partners of such aliens.’’. 

5 SEC. 7. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICERS. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that the Secretary of State should— 

8 (1) increase the number of Foreign Service offi9 cer positions dedicated to democracy and human 

10 rights graded at mid-level rank levels and posted to 

11 missions in countries facing complex democracy and 

12 human rights crises, including countries facing high 

13 levels of violence against human rights defenders; 

14 and 

15 (2) increase the number of democracy, human 

16 rights, and labor positions graded at mid-level rank 

17 levels at overseas posts, incorporating recommenda18 tions from the Director of the Bureau of Democracy, 

19 Human Rights, and Labor regarding scope of work 

20 and the location of posts. 

21 (b) RECLASSIFICATION TO MID-LEVEL.— 

22 (1) RECOMMENDATION.—Not later than 90 

23 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

24 Secretary of State shall submit a recommendation to 

25 the appropriate congressional committees to reclasVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Feb 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3705.IS S3705

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•S 3705 IS

1 sify not less than 10 human rights officers to the 

2 FS–3, –2, or –1 level. 

3 (2) RECLASSIFICATION.—Not later than 270 

4 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, not 

5 less than 10 human rights officers shall be reclassi6 fied in accordance with this section. 

7 (c) INCREASED HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICERS AT

8 POSTS.— 

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

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary shall increase the number of personnel who 

12 are responsible for democracy and human rights 

13 issues, with the goal of having at least one officer 

14 dedicated to democracy and human rights at every 

15 mission. 

16 (2) RESPONSIBILITY.—The Bureau of Democ17 racy, Human Rights, and Labor shall lead selection 

18 and placement of such officers at diplomatic mis19 sions, consulting with regional bureaus. 

20 (d) DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE TRAINING.—De21 mocracy, human rights, and governance should be a core 

22 competency course for foreign service officers at each level 

23 of required training, including those at the entry (A–100), 

24 mid, and Senior Foreign Service levels. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•S 3705 IS

1 SEC. 8. PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT MUL2 TILATERAL AND REGIONAL BODIES. 

3 The Secretary of State and the United States Perma4 nent Representative to the United Nations shall use the 

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

6 United Nations, international financial institutions, re7 gional bodies, and other multilateral bodies— 

8 (1) to promote full participation and oppose ef9 forts that prevent the full participation of human 

10 rights defenders or block the accreditation of bona 

11 fide human rights organizations seeking consultative 

12 status at such institutions and bodies; 

13 (2) to ensure that such institutions and bodies 

14 bolster the protection and safe participation of 

15 human rights defenders who are subject to 

16 transnational repression, state harassment, and re17 prisals; 

18 (3) to increase monitoring and reporting to 

19 identify and track reprisals against human rights de20 fenders, including human rights defenders who en21 gage with such institutions and bodies; 

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

23 United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation 

24 of human rights defenders (referred to in this sec25 tion as the ‘‘Special Rapporteur’’), to cooperate with 

26 the Special Rapporteur, and to take steps to impleVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Feb 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3705.IS S3705

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•S 3705 IS

1 ment the recommendations of the Special 

2 Rapporteur; and 

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

4 censure of member states, and all diplomatic tools 

5 available to hold responsible persons that engage in 

6 reprisals against human rights defenders. 

7 SEC. 9. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRACY ADVOCATES AT-RISK. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Congress— 

9 (1) recognizes the importance of democracy ad10 vocates at risk who support democracy, human 

11 rights, transparency and the rule of law; and 

12 (2) remains gravely concerned about concerted 

13 efforts by state and non-state actors to constrain the 

14 activities of democracy advocates at risk through re15 prisals that are intended to frustrate or halt legiti16 mate activities. 

17 (b) FELLOWSHIPS FOR DEMOCRACY ADVOCATES AT

18 RISK.—The National Endowment for Democracy is au19 thorized to expand the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows 

20 Program to provide additional fellowships, including in 

21 partnership with other institutions and organizations, to 

22 support democracy advocates at risk. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•S 3705 IS

1 SEC. 10. ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 

2 PRACTICES. 

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

4 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(f)(1)) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub6 paragraph (E); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(C) A description of the treatment of 

10 human rights defenders (as defined in section 3 

11 of the Human Rights Defenders Protection Act 

12 of 2024) in each foreign country, including pat13 terns of reprisals (as defined in such section) 

14 against human rights defenders residing in15 country, including information on the under16 lying types of activities targeted and the types 

17 of tactics being used and descriptions of specific 

18 cases in which the relevant human rights de19 fender or family member of such human rights 

20 defender has provided prior consent. 

21 ‘‘(D) When feasible, details on the total 

22 number of investigations opened into reprisals 

23 against human rights defenders, including, for 

24 such reprisals, the number of prosecutions, the 

25 details of the individuals sentenced, and the 

26 percentage of individuals acquitted.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•S 3705 IS

1 SEC. 11. TRAINING. 

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

3 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)) is amended— 

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

5 the end; 

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

7 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(E) for Foreign Service Officers and 

11 Presidential appointees, including chiefs of mis12 sion, in missions abroad who work on political, 

13 economic, public diplomacy, security, or devel14 opment issues, a dedicated module of instruc15 tion on support for human rights defenders, in16 cluding human rights defenders who are infor17 mally organized outside of registered civil soci18 ety organizations; and’’. 

19 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 (a) STRATEGY AND TRAINING.—There is authorized 

21 to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

22 2024 through 2028 to carry out— 

23 (1) the Strategy described in section 5; 

24 (2) reporting requirements described in sub25 sections (C) and (D) of section 116(f)(1) of the ForVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:23 Feb 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3705.IS S3705

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•S 3705 IS

1 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

2 2151n(f)(1)), as added by section 14; and 

3 (3) the training required by section 

4 708(a)(1)(E) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 

5 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)), as added by section 14. 

6 (b) HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICERS.—There is authorized 

7 to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

8 2024 to 2028 to carry out section 7. 

9 (c) SUPPORT OF DEMOCRACY ADVOCATES AT10 RISK.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Na11 tional Endowment for Democracy $5,000,000 for each of 

12 fiscal years 2024 through 2028 for the Reagan-Fascell 

13 Democracy Fellows Program for additional fellowships for 

14 democracy advocates at risk. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB