II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3854 

To combat transnational repression abroad, to strengthen tools to combat 

authoritarianism, corruption, and kleptocracy, to invest in democracy 

research and development, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To combat transnational repression abroad, to strengthen 

tools to combat authoritarianism, corruption, and 

kleptocracy, to invest in democracy research and development, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘International Freedom Protection Act’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


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Sec. 4. Combating transnational repression abroad. 

Sec. 5. Strengthening tools to combat authoritarianism. 

Sec. 6. Combating corruption and kleptocracy. 

Sec. 7. Investing in democracy research and development. 

Sec. 8. Addressing authoritarians in the multilateral system. 

Sec. 9. Confronting digital authoritarianism. 

Sec. 10. Protecting political prisoners. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) According to Freedom House’s 2023 report, 

4 ‘‘Freedom in the World’’, democracy experienced a 

5 worldwide decline for 17 consecutive years and has 

6 been weakened by factors, such as attacks on demo7 cratic institutions, impunity, corruption, 

8 disinformation, human rights violations, and conflict. 

9 (2) Since 2006, autocratic forces and illiberal 

10 forces have been on the rise, with emboldened auto11 crats from China, Russia, and Iran— 

12 (A) refining their tactics to undermine de13 mocracy globally; 

14 (B) suppressing dissent to sustain their 

15 own regimes; and 

16 (C) frequently collaborating with each an17 other in such efforts. 

18 (3) The rise of authoritarianism— 

19 (A) undermines the national security of the 

20 United States and the security of our demo21 cratic allies and partners; 

22 (B) creates instability; 


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1 (C) weakens the rule of law; and 

2 (D) increases the risk of war. 

3 (4) Democracies are ill-prepared to fight back 

4 against the growing complexity and emerging chal5 lenges posed by autocratic and illiberal forces. 

6 (5) There is an urgent need to update the 

7 United States Government’s approach to countering 

8 authoritarianism by strengthening and revitalizing 

9 the relevant tools, strategies, and institutions. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

18 the Senate; 

19 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

20 the House of Representatives; and 

21 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

22 the House of Representatives. 

23 (2) RELEVANT FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The term 

24 ‘‘relevant Federal agencies’’ means— 

25 (A) the Department of State; 


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

3 (C) other Federal agencies that are rel4 evant for purposes of this Act. 

5 (3) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The term 

6 ‘‘transnational repression’’— 

7 (A) means acts by governments (either di8 rectly or through others) to silence, intimidate, 

9 or exact reprisal against individuals outside 

10 their sovereign borders, including members of 

11 diaspora populations, political opponents, civil 

12 society activists, human rights defenders, jour13 nalists, and members of ethnic or religious mi14 nority groups; and 

15 (B) may include— 

16 (i) extrajudicial killings; 

17 (ii) physical assaults and intimidation; 

18 (iii) arbitrary detentions; 

19 (iv) renditions; 

20 (v) deportations; 

21 (vi) unexplained or enforced dis22 appearances; 

23 (vii) physical or online surveillance or 

24 stalking; 


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1 (viii) unwarranted passport cancella2 tion or control over other identification 

3 documents; 

4 (ix) abuse of international law en5 forcement systems; 

6 (x) unlawful asset freezes; 

7 (xi) digital threats, such as 

8 cyberattacks, targeted surveillance and 

9 spyware, online harassment, and intimida10 tion; and 

11 (xii) coercion by proxy, such as har12 assment of, or threats or harm to, family 

13 and associates of private individuals who 

14 remain in their country of origin. 

15 SEC. 4. COMBATING TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION 

16 ABROAD. 

17 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find18 ings: 

19 (1) Amidst a backdrop of global democratic de20 cline, authoritarian governments are increasingly col21 laborating and employing aggressive tactics across 

22 borders to silence, coerce, harass, or harm individ23 uals for peacefully exercising their rights and funda24 mental freedoms. 


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1 (2) Governments commit transnational repres2 sion through physical and digital means. The ad3 vancement of digital technology provides new tools 

4 for censoring, surveilling, harassing, and targeting 

5 individuals deemed to be threats across international 

6 borders. This is particularly significant for dis7 sidents and journalists forced abroad who rely on 

8 communications technology to amplify their mes9 sages and communicate with their professional and 

10 personal support networks. 

11 (3) Since 2014, Freedom House has docu12 mented 854 direct physical incidents of 

13 transnational repression committed by 38 govern14 ments in 91 countries. Nonphysical acts of 

15 transnational repression are occurring even more 

16 frequently. The combined effect of these direct 

17 threats produces a chilling effect that compels count18 less more people to modify their behavior due to fear 

19 of transnational repression. 

20 (4) In 2023, the countries whose governments 

21 are committing the highest number of direct physical 

22 acts of transnational repression are China, Turkey, 

23 Tajikistan, Russia, and Egypt. 

24 (5) Transnational repression is used by govern25 ments to target perceived critics, who may include 


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1 human rights defenders, democracy activists, polit2 ical opponents, members of diaspora groups, and the 

3 family members of such individuals. 

4 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY ON TRANSNATIONAL RE5 PRESSION.—It is the policy of the United States— 

6 (1) to regard transnational repression as a di7 rect threat to the United States national interests of 

8 upholding and promoting democratic values and 

9 human rights; 

10 (2) to address transnational repression, includ11 ing by protecting targeted individuals and groups; 

12 (3) to strengthen the actions of United States 

13 embassy and mission staff in countering 

14 transnational repression, including by— 

15 (A) monitoring and documenting instances 

16 of transnational repression; 

17 (B) conducting regular outreach with at18 risk or affected populations to provide informa19 tion regarding available resources without put20 ting such people at further risk; and 

21 (C) working with local and national law 

22 enforcement, as appropriate, to support victims 

23 of transnational repression; 

24 (4) to develop policy and programmatic re25 sponses based on input from— 


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1 (A) vulnerable populations who are at risk 

2 of, or are experiencing, transnational repres3 sion; 

4 (B) nongovernmental organizations work5 ing on issues of transnational repression; and 

6 (C) the private sector; 

7 (5) to provide training to relevant Federal per8 sonnel— 

9 (A) to enhance their understanding of 

10 transnational repression; and 

11 (B) to identify and combat threats of 

12 transnational repression; 

13 (6) to strengthen documentation and moni14 toring by the United States Government of 

15 transnational repression in foreign countries and 

16 within international organizations; and 

17 (7) to seek to hold perpetrators of transnational 

18 repression accountable, including through the use of 

19 targeted sanctions and visa restrictions. 

20 (c) REPORT ON TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

23 every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of State, in 

24 consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal 

25 agencies, shall submit a report to the appropriate 


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1 congressional committees that assesses the efforts of 

2 the United States Government to implement the pol3 icy objectives described in subsection (b). 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

5 paragraph (1) shall include— 

6 (A) a detailed description and assessment 

7 of United States Government efforts to mon8 itor, prevent, and respond to transnational re9 pression abroad; 

10 (B) a detailed accounting, disaggregated 

11 by country, of the most common tactics of 

12 transnational repression; 

13 (C) instances of transnational repression 

14 occurring within international organizations; 

15 (D) a list of countries perpetrating acts of 

16 transnational repression; 

17 (E) a list of countries whose governments 

18 are known to frequently cooperate with other 

19 governments in committing transnational re20 pression; 

21 (F) a description of— 

22 (i) efforts by personnel at United 

23 States embassies and missions to support 

24 victims of or those at risk of transnational 

25 repression; and 


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1 (ii) resources provided to United 

2 States embassies and missions to support 

3 such efforts; and 

4 (G) a strategy to strengthen interagency 

5 efforts and coordination to combat 

6 transnational repression, which shall include— 

7 (i) a plan, developed in consultation 

8 with partner governments, civil society, the 

9 business community, and other entities, to 

10 promote respect for rule of law and human 

11 rights in surveillance technology use, which 

12 shall include— 

13 (I) improving export licensing 

14 policy, including by applying addi15 tional scrutiny to export licensing ap16 plications for products exported to 

17 perpetrators; 

18 (II) protecting personal digital 

19 data from being used for the purposes 

20 of transnational repression; 

21 (III) establishing safeguards to 

22 prevent the misuse of surveillance 

23 technology, including elements such as 

24 appropriate legal protections, a prohi25 bition on discrimination, oversight and 


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1 accountability mechanisms, trans2 parency on the applicable legal frame3 work, limiting biometric tools for sur4 veillance to what is lawful and appro5 priate, testing and evaluation, and 

6 training; 

7 (IV) working to ensure, as appli8 cable, that such technologies are de9 signed, developed, and deployed with 

10 safeguards to protect human rights 

11 (including privacy), consistent with 

12 the United Nations Guiding Principles 

13 on Business and Human Rights; 

14 (ii) public diplomacy efforts and plans 

15 for, including the use of the voice, vote, 

16 and influence of the United States at inter17 national organizations, to promote aware18 ness of and oppose acts of transnational 

19 repression; 

20 (iii) a plan to develop or enhance glob21 al coalitions to monitor cases of 

22 transnational repression at international 

23 organizations and to strengthen alert 

24 mechanisms for key stakeholders world25 wide; 


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1 (iv) a description, as appropriate, of 

2 how the United States Government has 

3 previously provided, and will continue to 

4 provide, support to civil society organiza5 tions in foreign countries in which 

6 transnational repression occurs— 

7 (I) to improve the documenta8 tion, investigation, and research of 

9 cases, trends, and tactics of 

10 transnational repression; and 

11 (II) to promote accountability 

12 and transparency in government ac13 tions impacting victims of 

14 transnational repression; and 

15 (v) a description of new or existing 

16 emergency assistance mechanisms, to aid 

17 at-risk groups, communities, and individ18 uals in countries abroad in which 

19 transnational repression occurs. 

20 (3) FORM OF REPORT.—The report required 

21 under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassi22 fied form, but may include a classified annex. 

23 (d) TRAINING OF UNITED STATES PERSONNEL.— 

24 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of 

25 other relevant Federal agencies, shall provide personnel of 


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1 the Department of State and other relevant Federal agen2 cies, whether serving in the United States or overseas, 

3 with training regarding— 

4 (1) identifying physical and nonphysical threats 

5 of transnational repression; 

6 (2) foreign governments that are most fre7 quently involved in transnational repression; 

8 (3) foreign governments that are known to fre9 quently cooperate with other governments in com10 mitting transnational repression; 

11 (4) digital surveillance and cyber tools com12 monly used in transnational repression; 

13 (5) safe outreach methods for vulnerable popu14 lations at risk of transnational repression; and 

15 (6) tools to respond to transnational repression 

16 threats, including relevant authorities which may be 

17 invoked. 

18 (e) TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS AND

19 PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Section 708(a)(1) of the 

20 Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)) is 

21 amended— 

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

23 the end; 

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

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


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

2 ‘‘(E) for Foreign Service Officers and 

3 Presidential appointees, including chiefs of mis4 sion, in missions abroad who work on political, 

5 economic, public diplomacy, security, or devel6 opment issues, a dedicated module of instruc7 tion on transnational repression (as such term 

8 is defined in section 3(3) of the International 

9 Freedom Protection Act), including— 

10 ‘‘(i) how to recognize threats of 

11 transnational repression; 

12 ‘‘(ii) an overview of relevant laws that 

13 can be invoked to combat such threats; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(iii) how to support individuals expe16 riencing transnational repression.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. STRENGTHENING TOOLS TO COMBAT 

18 AUTHORITARIANISM. 

19 (a) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The President 

20 shall consider the use of transnational repression by a for21 eign person in determining whether to impose sanctions 

22 with respect to such foreign person under— 

23 (1) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac24 countability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.); 


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1 (2) section 7031(c) of the Department of State, 

2 Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appro3 priations Act, 2023 (division K of Public Law 117– 

4 328; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); or 

5 (3) any other relevant statutory provision 

6 granting human rights-related sanctions authority 

7 under which a foreign person has been sanctioned. 

8 (b) MODIFICATIONS TO THE GLOBAL MAGNITSKY

9 HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.—Section 1263 of 

10 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 

11 (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 

12 2656 note) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

15 the end; 

16 (B) by striking paragraph (4); and 

17 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(4) is responsible for or complicit in, or has di20 rectly or indirectly engaged in, significant actions or 

21 policies that undermine democratic processes or in22 stitutions; or 

23 ‘‘(5) has materially assisted, sponsored, or pro24 vided financial, material, or technological support 


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1 for, or goods or services in support of, an activity 

2 described in this subsection.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by striking subpara4 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS RELATING TO CORRUP6 TION.—A request described in paragraph (1) 

7 with respect to whether a foreign person has 

8 engaged in an activity described in paragraph 

9 (3) or (5) of subsection (a) shall be submitted 

10 to the President in writing jointly by the chair11 person and the ranking member of— 

12 ‘‘(i) any of the appropriate congres13 sional committees of the Senate; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) any of the appropriate congres15 sional committees of the House of Rep16 resentatives. 

17 ‘‘(C) REQUESTS RELATING TO UNDER18 MINING DEMOCRACY.—A request described in 

19 paragraph (1) with respect to whether a foreign 

20 person has engaged in an activity described in 

21 subsection (a)(4) shall be submitted in writing 

22 to the President jointly by the chairperson and 

23 ranking member of any of the appropriate con24 gressional committees.’’. 


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1 (c) ANTI-KLEPTOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS INELI2 GIBILITY.— 

3 (1) INELIGIBILITY.— 

4 (A) SIGNIFICANT CORRUPTION OR HUMAN

5 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.—Except as provided in 

6 paragraphs (2) and (3), a foreign government 

7 official shall be ineligible for entry into the 

8 United States if the Secretary of State deter9 mines that such official was knowingly directly 

10 or indirectly involved in— 

11 (i) significant corruption, including 

12 corruption related to the extraction of nat13 ural resources; or 

14 (ii) a gross violation of human rights, 

15 including the wrongful detention of— 

16 (I) locally employed staff of a 

17 United States diplomatic mission; or 

18 (II) a United States citizen or 

19 national. 

20 (B) UNDERMINING DEMOCRATIC GOVERN21 ANCE.—Except as provided in paragraphs (2) 

22 and (3), a foreign government official may be 

23 ineligible for entry into the United States if the 

24 Secretary of State determines that such official 

25 was knowingly directly or indirectly involved in 


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1 significant actions that undermine democratic 

2 governance. 

3 (C) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS.—The 

4 immediate family members of an official de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) may be sub6 ject to the same restriction on entry into the 

7 United States as such official. 

8 (D) REFERRAL.—The Secretary of State, 

9 in implementing this subsection, shall, as ap10 propriate, provide information regarding the ac11 tions of officials described in subparagraphs (A) 

12 and (B) to the Office of Foreign Assets Control 

13 of the Department of the Treasury, which shall 

14 determine whether to impose sanctions author15 ized under Federal law to block the transfer of 

16 property and interests in property, and all fi17 nancial transactions, in the United States in18 volving any such official. 

19 (E) DESIGNATION OR DETERMINATION.— 

20 The Secretary of State shall publicly or pri21 vately designate or make the determination that 

22 the foreign government officials or party mem23 bers about whom the Secretary has made such 

24 designation or determination regarding signifi25 cant corruption or gross violations of human 


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1 rights, and their immediate family members, 

2 without regard to whether any such individual 

3 has applied for a visa. 

4 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals are not in6 eligible for entry into the United States pursu7 ant to paragraph (1) if such entry— 

8 (i) would further important United 

9 States law enforcement objectives; or 

10 (ii) is necessary to permit the United 

11 States to fulfill its obligations under the 

12 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of 

13 the United Nations, signed at Lake Suc14 cess June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

15 November 21, 1947, between the United 

16 Nations and the United States or under 

17 other international obligations of the 

18 United States. 

19 (B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

20 paragraph (1) may be construed to derogate 

21 from United States Government obligations 

22 under applicable international agreements or 

23 obligations. 


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1 (3) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State may 

2 waive the application of paragraph (1) with respect 

3 to any individual if the Secretary determines that— 

4 (A) such waiver would serve a compelling 

5 national interest of the United States; or 

6 (B) the circumstances that caused such in7 dividual to be ineligible for entry into the 

8 United States have sufficiently changed. 

9 (4) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

12 every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of 

13 State shall submit a report, including a classi14 fied annex if necessary, to the Committee on 

15 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Com16 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep17 resentatives. Each such report shall include— 

18 (i) all relevant information relating to 

19 corruption, human rights violations, or un20 dermining democratic governance that was 

21 a factor in identifying, during the most re22 cent 12-month period— 

23 (I) individuals who are ineligible 

24 for entry into the United States under 

25 paragraph (1)(A); 


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1 (II) individuals about whom the 

2 Secretary has made a designation or 

3 determination pursuant to paragraph 

4 (1)(E); and 

5 (III) individuals who would be in6 eligible for entry into the United 

7 States under paragraph (1)(A), but 

8 were excluded from such restriction 

9 pursuant to paragraph (2); 

10 (ii) a list of any waivers granted by 

11 the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3); 

12 and 

13 (iii) a description of the justification 

14 for each such waiver. 

15 (B) POSTING OF REPORT.—The unclassi16 fied portion of each report required under sub17 paragraph (A) shall be posted on a publicly ac18 cessible website of the Department of State. 

19 (5) CLARIFICATION.—For purposes of para20 graphs (1) and (4), the records of the Department 

21 of State and of diplomatic and consular offices of 

22 the United States pertaining to the issuance or re23 fusal of visas or permits to enter the United States 

24 shall not be considered confidential. 


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1 (d) RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE IN THE WAKE OF

2 A COUP D’E ́TAT.—Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign 

3 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 620N. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE IN THE WAKE OF 

6 A COUP D’E ́ TAT. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub8 sections (b) and (d), no assistance may be furnished under 

9 this Act or under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

10 2751) to the central government of any country in which 

11 the duly elected head of government was deposed by a 

12 military coup d’e ́tat or decree or a coup d’e ́tat or decree 

13 in which the military played a decisive role. 

14 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.—The 

15 Secretary of State, after consultation with the heads of 

16 relevant Federal agencies, may waive the restriction on as17 sistance described in subsection (a) if the Secretary cer18 tifies and reports to the appropriate congressional commit19 tees, not later than 30 days before the provision of such 

20 assistance to such government, that such waiver is in the 

21 national security interest of the United States. 

22 ‘‘(c) RESUMPTION OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance to a 

23 foreign government that is subject to the restriction de24 scribed in subsection (a) may be resumed if the Secretary 

25 of State certifies and reports to the appropriate congresVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:18 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3854.IS S3854

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1 sional committees, not fewer than 30 days before the re2 sumption of such assistance, that a democratically elected 

3 government has taken office subsequent to the termination 

4 of assistance pursuant to subsection (a). 

5 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMANI6 TARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The restriction under subsection 

7 (a) shall not apply to any assistance used— 

8 ‘‘(1) to promote democratic elections or public 

9 participation in the democratic processes; 

10 ‘‘(2) to support a democratic transition; or 

11 ‘‘(3) for humanitarian purposes. 

12 ‘‘(e) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘ap13 propriate congressional committees’ means— 

14 ‘‘(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

15 Senate; 

16 ‘‘(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

17 Senate; 

18 ‘‘(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

19 House of Representatives; and 

20 ‘‘(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

21 House of Representatives.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. COMBATING CORRUPTION AND KLEPTOCRACY. 

23 (a) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary of State and 

24 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter25 national Development shall combat authoritarianism by 


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1 prioritizing governance and anti-corruption activities and 

2 programs that— 

3 (1) enhance the transparency, accountability, 

4 and responsiveness of governments across relevant 

5 sectors; 

6 (2)(A) improve the detection and exposure of 

7 corruption crimes, including crimes that cross bor8 ders; 

9 (B) improve citizen oversight and advocacy; 

10 (C) protect free expression and civic activism; 

11 and 

12 (D) support investigative journalism and media 

13 independence; 

14 (3)(A) expand the investigation and prosecution 

15 of corrupt acts; 

16 (B) hold corrupt actors accountable; 

17 (C) promote the adoption and implementation 

18 of anticorruption preventive measures; and 

19 (D) promote good governance, public adminis20 tration, and impartial judiciaries; 

21 (4) address corruption in key sectors, whether 

22 at the level of— 

23 (A) delivery of services to citizens; 

24 (B) important governmental processes, 

25 such as procurement; or 


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1 (C) priority economic sectors; 

2 (5) strengthen democratic norms and standards 

3 at the local, national, regional, and international lev4 els; 

5 (6) augment cooperation with the private sector 

6 and key industries to root out corruption that— 

7 (A) harms competitiveness, economic 

8 growth, and development; and 

9 (B) taints critical supply chains; 

10 (7) address corrosive capital and the strategic 

11 use of corruption by authoritarian states to under12 mine democracy and good governance; and 

13 (8) provide essential skills and resources to civil 

14 society and media— 

15 (A) to counter corruption; and 

16 (B) to address the weak governance and 

17 poor human rights conditions that cultivate cor18 ruption. 

19 (b) KLEPTOCRACY ASSET RECOVERY REWARDS PRO20 GRAM.—Section 36(b) of the State Department Basic Au21 thorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(b)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

23 end; 

24 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period at 

25 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(15) the restraining, seizing, forfeiting, or re3 patriating of stolen assets linked to foreign govern4 ment corruption and the proceeds of such corrup5 tion.’’. 

6 SEC. 7. INVESTING IN DEMOCRACY RESEARCH AND DEVEL7 OPMENT. 

8 (a) PROGRAM FOR DEMOCRACY RESEARCH AND DE9 VELOPMENT.—The Secretary of State, in consultation 

10 with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

11 International Development, shall establish a program for 

12 democracy research and development that— 

13 (1) supports research and development by the 

14 Department of State, the United States Agency for 

15 International Development, and the National En16 dowment for Democracy on policies and programs 

17 relating to democracy efforts; 

18 (2) drives innovation within such agencies re19 garding the response to complex, multidimensional 

20 challenges to democracy, including— 

21 (A) combating transnational kleptocracy; 

22 (B) mitigating hyperpolarization; 

23 (C) countering malign authoritarian influ24 ence; and 


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1 (D) leveraging emerging technology for de2 mocracy; 

3 (3) incentivizes collaboration among govern4 ments, nongovernmental organizations, and the pri5 vate sector to identify and mitigate threats to global 

6 democracy; 

7 (4) identifies lessons learned and best practices 

8 for democracy programs and diplomatic approaches 

9 to create feedback loops and shape future evidence10 based programming and diplomacy; 

11 (5) encourages private sector actors to establish 

12 and implement business practices that will— 

13 (A) strengthen democratic institutions; 

14 (B) bolster democratic processes; and 

15 (C) support democracy activists and 

16 human rights defenders; and 

17 (6) strengthens the resilience of democratic ac18 tors and institutions. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

21 consultation with the Administrator of the United States 

22 Agency for International Development, shall submit a re23 port to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

24 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 


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1 Representatives that describes the efforts and results of 

2 the program established pursuant to subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 8. ADDRESSING AUTHORITARIANS IN THE MULTILAT4 ERAL SYSTEM. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State 

6 and the United States Permanent Representative to the 

7 United Nations should use the voice, vote, and influence 

8 of the United States at the United Nations and with other 

9 multilateral bodies— 

10 (1)(A) to promote the full participation of civil 

11 society actors within the United National Human 

12 Rights Council and other multilateral bodies; 

13 (B) to closely monitor instances of reprisals 

14 against such actors; and 

15 (C) to support the use of targeted sanctions, 

16 censure of member states, and other diplomatic 

17 measures to hold responsible any person who en18 gages in reprisals against human rights defenders 

19 and civil society within such multilateral bodies; 

20 (2) to reform the process for suspending the 

21 rights of membership in the United Nations Human 

22 Rights Council for member states that commit gross 

23 and systemic violations of human rights, including— 

24 (A) ensuring information detailing the 

25 member state’s human rights record is publicly 


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1 available before a vote for membership or a vote 

2 on suspending the rights of membership of such 

3 member state; and 

4 (B) making publicly available the vote of 

5 each member state on the suspension of rights 

6 of membership from the United Nations 

7 Human Rights Council; 

8 (3) to reform the rules for electing members to 

9 the United Nations Human Rights Council to seek 

10 to ensure that member states that have committed 

11 gross and systemic violations of human rights are 

12 not elected to the Human Rights Council; and 

13 (4) to oppose the election to the United Nations 

14 Human Rights Council of any member state— 

15 (A) that engages in a consistent pattern of 

16 gross violations of internationally recognized 

17 human rights, as determined pursuant to sec18 tion 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act 

19 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n and 2304); 

20 (B) the government of which has repeat21 edly provided support for acts of international 

22 terrorism, as determined pursuant to section 

23 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

24 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 


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1 (C) that is designated as a Tier 3 country 

2 under section 110(b)(1)(C) of the Trafficking 

3 Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

4 7107(b)(1)(C)); 

5 (D) that is included on the list published 

6 by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 

7 404(b)(1) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act 

8 of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c–1(b)(1)) as a govern9 ment that recruits and uses child soldiers; or 

10 (E) the government of which the United 

11 States determines to have committed genocide, 

12 crimes against humanity, war crimes, or ethnic 

13 cleansing. 

14 SEC. 9. CONFRONTING DIGITAL AUTHORITARIANISM. 

15 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

16 United States— 

17 (1) to combat digital authoritarianism, includ18 ing the use of digital technologies, that— 

19 (A) restricts the exercise of civil and polit20 ical rights; 

21 (B) weakens democratic processes and in22 stitutions, including elections; or 

23 (C) surveils, censors, or represses human 

24 rights defenders, democracy activists, civil sociVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:18 Mar 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3854.IS S3854

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1 ety actors, independent media, or political oppo2 nents; 

3 (2) to counter misinformation and 

4 disinformation, especially in the digital domain; 

5 (3) to promote internet freedom and elevate the 

6 protection of human rights and democratic principles 

7 in the design and deployment of current and emerg8 ing technologies; and 

9 (4) to support efforts to counter government 

10 censorship and surveillance, including efforts— 

11 (A) to bypass internet shutdowns and 

12 other forms of censorship, including blocks on 

13 services through circumvention technologies; 

14 and 

15 (B) to provide digital security and digital 

16 activism support and training for democracy ac17 tivists, human rights defenders, journalists, and 

18 other at-risk groups. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 

21 coordination with the Administrator of the United States 

22 Agency for International Development, shall submit a re23 port to the appropriate congressional committees that de24 scribes the Department of State’s efforts to implement the 

25 policy objectives described in subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 10. PROTECTING POLITICAL PRISONERS. 

2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

4 submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

6 the House of Representatives that includes, with respect 

7 to unjustly detained political prisoners worldwide— 

8 (1) a description of existing Department of 

9 State processes and efforts to carry out the political 

10 prisoner-related activities described in subsection 

11 (b); 

12 (2) an assessment of any resource gaps or insti13 tutional deficiencies that adversely impact the De14 partment of State’s ability to engage in the activities 

15 described in subsection (b) in order to respond to in16 creasing numbers of unjustly detained political pris17 oners; and 

18 (3) a strategy for enhancing the efforts of the 

19 Department of State and other Federal agencies to 

20 carry out the political prisoner-related activities de21 scribed in subsection (b). 

22 (b) POLITICAL PRISONER-RELATED ACTIVITIES.— 

23 The report required under subsection (a) shall include a 

24 description of the Department of State’s efforts— 


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1 (1) to monitor regional and global trends con2 cerning unjustly detained political prisoners and 

3 maintain information regarding individual cases; 

4 (2) to consistently raise concerns regarding un5 justly detained political prisoners, including specific 

6 individuals, through public and private engagement 

7 with foreign governments, public reporting, and mul8 tilateral engagement; 

9 (3) to routinely— 

10 (A) attend the trials of political prisoners; 

11 (B) conduct wellness visits of political pris12 oners, to the extent practicable and pending ap13 proval from political prisoners or their legal 

14 counsel; 

15 (C) visit political prisoners incarcerated 

16 under home arrest, subject to a travel ban, or 

17 confined in detention; and 

18 (D) report on the well-being of such polit19 ical prisoners; 

20 (4) to regularly request information and specific 

21 actions related to individual prisoners’ medical con22 ditions, treatment, access to legal counsel, location, 

23 and family visits; 


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1 (5) to identify cases in which an imminent ar2 rest, a potential re-arrest, or physical violence poses 

3 a risk to an at-risk individual; 

4 (6) to utilize foreign assistance resources to 

5 provide support to civil society and others advocating 

6 for the release of unjustly detained political pris7 oners; 

8 (7) to utilize embassy resources to provide shel9 ter or facilitate the safe evacuation of willing individ10 uals and their families, whenever feasible; and 

11 (8) to use sanctions and other accountability 

12 mechanisms to encourage the release of unjustly de13 tained political prisoners. 

Æ 


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