II 

Calendar No. 375 

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 

MAY 7, 2024 

Reported by Mr. CARDIN, with an amendment 

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

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’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

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. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

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

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

7 worldwide decline for 17 consecutive years and has 

8 been weakened by factors, such as attacks on demo9 cratic institutions, impunity, corruption, 

10 disinformation, human rights violations, and conflict. 

11 (2) Since 2006, autocratic forces and illiberal 

12 forces have been on the rise, with emboldened auto13 crats from China, Russia, and Iran— 

14 (A) refining their tactics to undermine de15 mocracy globally; 

16 (B) suppressing dissent to sustain their 

17 own regimes; and 

18 (C) frequently collaborating with each an19 other in such efforts. 

20 (3) The rise of authoritarianism— 


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1 (A) undermines the national security of the 

2 United States and the security of our demo3 cratic allies and partners; 

4 (B) creates instability; 

5 (C) weakens the rule of law; and 

6 (D) increases the risk of war. 

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

8 against the growing complexity and emerging chal9 lenges posed by autocratic and illiberal forces. 

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

11 United States Government’s approach to countering 

12 authoritarianism by strengthening and revitalizing 

13 the relevant tools, strategies, and institutions. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT17 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees’’ means— 

19 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

20 the Senate; 

21 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

22 the Senate; 

23 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

24 the House of Representatives; and 


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1 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

2 the House of Representatives. 

3 (2) RELEVANT FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The term 

4 ‘‘relevant Federal agencies’’ means— 

5 (A) the Department of State; 

6 (B) the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development; and 

8 (C) other Federal agencies that are rel9 evant for purposes of this Act. 

10 (3) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The term 

11 ‘‘transnational repression’’— 

12 (A) means acts by governments (either di13 rectly or through others) to silence, intimidate, 

14 or exact reprisal against individuals outside 

15 their sovereign borders, including members of 

16 diaspora populations, political opponents, civil 

17 society activists, human rights defenders, jour18 nalists, and members of ethnic or religious mi19 nority groups; and 

20 (B) may include— 

21 (i) extrajudicial killings; 

22 (ii) physical assaults and intimidation; 

23 (iii) arbitrary detentions; 

24 (iv) renditions; 

25 (v) deportations; 


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1 (vi) unexplained or enforced dis2 appearances; 

3 (vii) physical or online surveillance or 

4 stalking; 

5 (viii) unwarranted passport cancella6 tion or control over other identification 

7 documents; 

8 (ix) abuse of international law en9 forcement systems; 

10 (x) unlawful asset freezes; 

11 (xi) digital threats, such as 

12 cyberattacks, targeted surveillance and 

13 spyware, online harassment, and intimida14 tion; and 

15 (xii) coercion by proxy, such as har16 assment of, or threats or harm to, family 

17 and associates of private individuals who 

18 remain in their country of origin. 

19 SEC. 4. COMBATING TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION 

20 ABROAD. 

21 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find22 ings: 

23 (1) Amidst a backdrop of global democratic de24 cline, authoritarian governments are increasingly col25 laborating and employing aggressive tactics across 


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1 borders to silence, coerce, harass, or harm individ2 uals for peacefully exercising their rights and funda3 mental freedoms. 

4 (2) Governments commit transnational repres5 sion through physical and digital means. The ad6 vancement of digital technology provides new tools 

7 for censoring, surveilling, harassing, and targeting 

8 individuals deemed to be threats across international 

9 borders. This is particularly significant for dis10 sidents and journalists forced abroad who rely on 

11 communications technology to amplify their mes12 sages and communicate with their professional and 

13 personal support networks. 

14 (3) Since 2014, Freedom House has docu15 mented 854 direct physical incidents of 

16 transnational repression committed by 38 govern17 ments in 91 countries. Nonphysical acts of 

18 transnational repression are occurring even more 

19 frequently. The combined effect of these direct 

20 threats produces a chilling effect that compels count21 less more people to modify their behavior due to fear 

22 of transnational repression. 

23 (4) In 2023, the countries whose governments 

24 are committing the highest number of direct physical 


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1 acts of transnational repression are China, Turkey, 

2 Tajikistan, Russia, and Egypt. 

3 (5) Transnational repression is used by govern4 ments to target perceived critics, who may include 

5 human rights defenders, democracy activists, polit6 ical opponents, members of diaspora groups, and the 

7 family members of such individuals. 

8 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY ON TRANSNATIONAL RE9 PRESSION.—It is the policy of the United States— 

10 (1) to regard transnational repression as a di11 rect threat to the United States national interests of 

12 upholding and promoting democratic values and 

13 human rights; 

14 (2) to address transnational repression, includ15 ing by protecting targeted individuals and groups; 

16 (3) to strengthen the actions of United States 

17 embassy and mission staff in countering 

18 transnational repression, including by— 

19 (A) monitoring and documenting instances 

20 of transnational repression; 

21 (B) conducting regular outreach with at22 risk or affected populations to provide informa23 tion regarding available resources without put24 ting such people at further risk; and 


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1 (C) working with local and national law 

2 enforcement, as appropriate, to support victims 

3 of transnational repression; 

4 (4) to develop policy and programmatic re5 sponses based on input from— 

6 (A) vulnerable populations who are at risk 

7 of, or are experiencing, transnational repres8 sion; 

9 (B) nongovernmental organizations work10 ing on issues of transnational repression; and 

11 (C) the private sector; 

12 (5) to provide training to relevant Federal per13 sonnel— 

14 (A) to enhance their understanding of 

15 transnational repression; and 

16 (B) to identify and combat threats of 

17 transnational repression; 

18 (6) to strengthen documentation and moni19 toring by the United States Government of 

20 transnational repression in foreign countries and 

21 within international organizations; and 

22 (7) to seek to hold perpetrators of transnational 

23 repression accountable, including through the use of 

24 targeted sanctions and visa restrictions. 

25 (c) REPORT ON TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.— 


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

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

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

4 consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal 

5 agencies, shall submit a report to the appropriate 

6 congressional committees that assesses the efforts of 

7 the United States Government to implement the pol8 icy objectives described in subsection (b). 

9 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

10 paragraph (1) shall include— 

11 (A) a detailed description and assessment 

12 of United States Government efforts to mon13 itor, prevent, and respond to transnational re14 pression abroad; 

15 (B) a detailed accounting, disaggregated 

16 by country, of the most common tactics of 

17 transnational repression; 

18 (C) instances of transnational repression 

19 occurring within international organizations; 

20 (D) a list of countries perpetrating acts of 

21 transnational repression; 

22 (E) a list of countries whose governments 

23 are known to frequently cooperate with other 

24 governments in committing transnational re25 pression; 


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1 (F) a description of— 

2 (i) efforts by personnel at United 

3 States embassies and missions to support 

4 victims of or those at risk of transnational 

5 repression; and 

6 (ii) resources provided to United 

7 States embassies and missions to support 

8 such efforts; and 

9 (G) a strategy to strengthen interagency 

10 efforts and coordination to combat 

11 transnational repression, which shall include— 

12 (i) a plan, developed in consultation 

13 with partner governments, civil society, the 

14 business community, and other entities, to 

15 promote respect for rule of law and human 

16 rights in surveillance technology use, which 

17 shall include— 

18 (I) improving export licensing 

19 policy, including by applying addi20 tional scrutiny to export licensing ap21 plications for products exported to 

22 perpetrators; 

23 (II) protecting personal digital 

24 data from being used for the purposes 

25 of transnational repression; 


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1 (III) establishing safeguards to 

2 prevent the misuse of surveillance 

3 technology, including elements such as 

4 appropriate legal protections, a prohi5 bition on discrimination, oversight and 

6 accountability mechanisms, trans7 parency on the applicable legal frame8 work, limiting biometric tools for sur9 veillance to what is lawful and appro10 priate, testing and evaluation, and 

11 training; 

12 (IV) working to ensure, as appli13 cable, that such technologies are de14 signed, developed, and deployed with 

15 safeguards to protect human rights 

16 (including privacy), consistent with 

17 the United Nations Guiding Principles 

18 on Business and Human Rights; 

19 (ii) public diplomacy efforts and plans 

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

21 and influence of the United States at inter22 national organizations, to promote aware23 ness of and oppose acts of transnational 

24 repression; 


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1 (iii) a plan to develop or enhance glob2 al coalitions to monitor cases of 

3 transnational repression at international 

4 organizations and to strengthen alert 

5 mechanisms for key stakeholders world6 wide; 

7 (iv) a description, as appropriate, of 

8 how the United States Government has 

9 previously provided, and will continue to 

10 provide, support to civil society organiza11 tions in foreign countries in which 

12 transnational repression occurs— 

13 (I) to improve the documenta14 tion, investigation, and research of 

15 cases, trends, and tactics of 

16 transnational repression; and 

17 (II) to promote accountability 

18 and transparency in government ac19 tions impacting victims of 

20 transnational repression; and 

21 (v) a description of new or existing 

22 emergency assistance mechanisms, to aid 

23 at-risk groups, communities, and individ24 uals in countries abroad in which 

25 transnational repression occurs. 


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

2 under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassi3 fied form, but may include a classified annex. 

4 (d) TRAINING OF UNITED STATES PERSONNEL.— 

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

6 other relevant Federal agencies, shall provide personnel of 

7 the Department of State and other relevant Federal agen8 cies, whether serving in the United States or overseas, 

9 with training regarding— 

10 (1) identifying physical and nonphysical threats 

11 of transnational repression; 

12 (2) foreign governments that are most fre13 quently involved in transnational repression; 

14 (3) foreign governments that are known to fre15 quently cooperate with other governments in com16 mitting transnational repression; 

17 (4) digital surveillance and cyber tools com18 monly used in transnational repression; 

19 (5) safe outreach methods for vulnerable popu20 lations at risk of transnational repression; and 

21 (6) tools to respond to transnational repression 

22 threats, including relevant authorities which may be 

23 invoked. 

24 (e) TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS AND

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


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

2 amended— 

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

4 the end; 

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

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

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

8 ‘‘(E) for Foreign Service Officers and 

9 Presidential appointees, including chiefs of mis10 sion, in missions abroad who work on political, 

11 economic, public diplomacy, security, or devel12 opment issues, a dedicated module of instruc13 tion on transnational repression (as such term 

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

15 Freedom Protection Act), including— 

16 ‘‘(i) how to recognize threats of 

17 transnational repression; 

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

19 can be invoked to combat such threats; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iii) how to support individuals expe22 riencing transnational repression.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. STRENGTHENING TOOLS TO COMBAT 

2 AUTHORITARIANISM. 

3 (a) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The President 

4 shall consider the use of transnational repression by a for5 eign person in determining whether to impose sanctions 

6 with respect to such foreign person under— 

7 (1) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac8 countability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.); 

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

10 Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appro11 priations Act, 2023 (division K of Public Law 117– 

12 328; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); or 

13 (3) any other relevant statutory provision 

14 granting human rights-related sanctions authority 

15 under which a foreign person has been sanctioned. 

16 (b) MODIFICATIONS TO THE GLOBAL MAGNITSKY

17 HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.—Section 1263 of 

18 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 

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

20 2656 note) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

23 the end; 

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

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

26 following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) is responsible for or complicit in, or has di2 rectly or indirectly engaged in, significant actions or 

3 policies that undermine democratic processes or in4 stitutions; or 

5 ‘‘(5) has materially assisted, sponsored, or pro6 vided financial, material, or technological support 

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

8 described in this subsection.’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by striking subpara10 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS RELATING TO CORRUP12 TION.—A request described in paragraph (1) 

13 with respect to whether a foreign person has 

14 engaged in an activity described in paragraph 

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

16 to the President in writing jointly by the chair17 person and the ranking member of— 

18 ‘‘(i) any of the appropriate congres19 sional committees of the Senate; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) any of the appropriate congres21 sional committees of the House of Rep22 resentatives. 

23 ‘‘(C) REQUESTS RELATING TO UNDER24 MINING DEMOCRACY.—A request described in 

25 paragraph (1) with respect to whether a foreign 


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1 person has engaged in an activity described in 

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

3 to the President jointly by the chairperson and 

4 ranking member of any of the appropriate con5 gressional committees.’’. 

6 (c) ANTI-KLEPTOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS INELI7 GIBILITY.— 

8 (1) INELIGIBILITY.— 

9 (A) SIGNIFICANT CORRUPTION OR HUMAN

10 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.—Except as provided in 

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

12 official shall be ineligible for entry into the 

13 United States if the Secretary of State deter14 mines that such official was knowingly directly 

15 or indirectly involved in— 

16 (i) significant corruption, including 

17 corruption related to the extraction of nat18 ural resources; or 

19 (ii) a gross violation of human rights, 

20 including the wrongful detention of— 

21 (I) locally employed staff of a 

22 United States diplomatic mission; or 

23 (II) a United States citizen or 

24 national. 


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1 (B) UNDERMINING DEMOCRATIC GOVERN2 ANCE.—Except as provided in paragraphs (2) 

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

4 ineligible for entry into the United States if the 

5 Secretary of State determines that such official 

6 was knowingly directly or indirectly involved in 

7 significant actions that undermine democratic 

8 governance. 

9 (C) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS.—The 

10 immediate family members of an official de11 scribed in subparagraph (A) or (B) may be sub12 ject to the same restriction on entry into the 

13 United States as such official. 

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

15 in implementing this subsection, shall, as ap16 propriate, provide information regarding the ac17 tions of officials described in subparagraphs (A) 

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

19 of the Department of the Treasury, which shall 

20 determine whether to impose sanctions author21 ized under Federal law to block the transfer of 

22 property and interests in property, and all fi23 nancial transactions, in the United States in24 volving any such official. 


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1 (E) DESIGNATION OR DETERMINATION.— 

2 The Secretary of State shall publicly or pri3 vately designate or make the determination that 

4 the foreign government officials or party mem5 bers about whom the Secretary has made such 

6 designation or determination regarding signifi7 cant corruption or gross violations of human 

8 rights, and their immediate family members, 

9 without regard to whether any such individual 

10 has applied for a visa. 

11 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals are not in13 eligible for entry into the United States pursu14 ant to paragraph (1) if such entry— 

15 (i) would further important United 

16 States law enforcement objectives; or 

17 (ii) is necessary to permit the United 

18 States to fulfill its obligations under the 

19 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of 

20 the United Nations, signed at Lake Suc21 cess June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

22 November 21, 1947, between the United 

23 Nations and the United States or under 

24 other international obligations of the 

25 United States. 


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1 (B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

2 paragraph (1) may be construed to derogate 

3 from United States Government obligations 

4 under applicable international agreements or 

5 obligations. 

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

7 waive the application of paragraph (1) with respect 

8 to any individual if the Secretary determines that— 

9 (A) such waiver would serve a compelling 

10 national interest of the United States; or 

11 (B) the circumstances that caused such in12 dividual to be ineligible for entry into the 

13 United States have sufficiently changed. 

14 (4) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

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

17 every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of 

18 State shall submit a report, including a classi19 fied annex if necessary, to the Committee on 

20 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Com21 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep22 resentatives. Each such report shall include— 

23 (i) all relevant information relating to 

24 corruption, human rights violations, or un25 dermining democratic governance that was 


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1 a factor in identifying, during the most re2 cent 12-month period— 

3 (I) individuals who are ineligible 

4 for entry into the United States under 

5 paragraph (1)(A); 

6 (II) individuals about whom the 

7 Secretary has made a designation or 

8 determination pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1)(E); and 

10 (III) individuals who would be in11 eligible for entry into the United 

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

13 were excluded from such restriction 

14 pursuant to paragraph (2); 

15 (ii) a list of any waivers granted by 

16 the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3); 

17 and 

18 (iii) a description of the justification 

19 for each such waiver. 

20 (B) POSTING OF REPORT.—The unclassi21 fied portion of each report required under sub22 paragraph (A) shall be posted on a publicly ac23 cessible website of the Department of State. 

24 (5) CLARIFICATION.—For purposes of para25 graphs (1) and (4), the records of the Department 


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1 of State and of diplomatic and consular offices of 

2 the United States pertaining to the issuance or re3 fusal of visas or permits to enter the United States 

4 shall not be considered confidential. 

5 (d) RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE IN THE WAKE OF

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

7 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is amend8 ed by adding at the end the following: 

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

10 A COUP D’E ́ TAT. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub12 sections (b) and (d), no assistance may be furnished under 

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

14 2751) to the central government of any country in which 

15 the duly elected head of government was deposed by a 

16 military coup d’ ́etat or decree or a coup d’ ́etat or decree 

17 in which the military played a decisive role. 

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

19 Secretary of State, after consultation with the heads of 

20 relevant Federal agencies, may waive the restriction on as21 sistance described in subsection (a) if the Secretary cer22 tifies and reports to the appropriate congressional commit23 tees, not later than 30 days before the provision of such 

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

25 national security interest of the United States. 


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

2 foreign government that is subject to the restriction de3 scribed in subsection (a) may be resumed if the Secretary 

4 of State certifies and reports to the appropriate congres5 sional committees, not fewer than 30 days before the re6 sumption of such assistance, that a democratically elected 

7 government has taken office subsequent to the termination 

8 of assistance pursuant to subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMANI10 TARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The restriction under subsection 

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

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

13 participation in the democratic processes; 

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

15 ‘‘(3) for humanitarian purposes. 

16 ‘‘(e) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘ap17 propriate congressional committees’ means— 

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

19 Senate; 

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

21 Senate; 

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

23 House of Representatives; and 

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

25 House of Representatives.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. COMBATING CORRUPTION AND KLEPTOCRACY. 

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

3 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter4 national Development shall combat authoritarianism by 

5 prioritizing governance and anti-corruption activities and 

6 programs that— 

7 (1) enhance the transparency, accountability, 

8 and responsiveness of governments across relevant 

9 sectors; 

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

11 corruption crimes, including crimes that cross bor12 ders; 

13 (B) improve citizen oversight and advocacy; 

14 (C) protect free expression and civic activism; 

15 and 

16 (D) support investigative journalism and media 

17 independence; 

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

19 of corrupt acts; 

20 (B) hold corrupt actors accountable; 

21 (C) promote the adoption and implementation 

22 of anticorruption preventive measures; and 

23 (D) promote good governance, public adminis24 tration, and impartial judiciaries; 

25 (4) address corruption in key sectors, whether 

26 at the level of— 


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1 (A) delivery of services to citizens; 

2 (B) important governmental processes, 

3 such as procurement; or 

4 (C) priority economic sectors; 

5 (5) strengthen democratic norms and standards 

6 at the local, national, regional, and international lev7 els; 

8 (6) augment cooperation with the private sector 

9 and key industries to root out corruption that— 

10 (A) harms competitiveness, economic 

11 growth, and development; and 

12 (B) taints critical supply chains; 

13 (7) address corrosive capital and the strategic 

14 use of corruption by authoritarian states to under15 mine democracy and good governance; and 

16 (8) provide essential skills and resources to civil 

17 society and media— 

18 (A) to counter corruption; and 

19 (B) to address the weak governance and 

20 poor human rights conditions that cultivate cor21 ruption. 

22 (b) KLEPTOCRACY ASSET RECOVERY REWARDS PRO23 GRAM.—Section 36(b) of the State Department Basic Au24 thorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(b)) is amended— 


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

2 end; 

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

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

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

6 ‘‘(15) the restraining, seizing, forfeiting, or re7 patriating of stolen assets linked to foreign govern8 ment corruption and the proceeds of such corrup9 tion.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. INVESTING IN DEMOCRACY RESEARCH AND DEVEL11 OPMENT. 

12 (a) PROGRAM FOR DEMOCRACY RESEARCH AND DE13 VELOPMENT.—The Secretary of State, in consultation 

14 with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

15 International Development, shall establish a program for 

16 democracy research and development that— 

17 (1) supports research and development by the 

18 Department of State, the United States Agency for 

19 International Development, and the National En20 dowment for Democracy on policies and programs 

21 relating to democracy efforts; 

22 (2) drives innovation within such agencies re23 garding the response to complex, multidimensional 

24 challenges to democracy, including— 

25 (A) combating transnational kleptocracy; 


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1 (B) mitigating hyperpolarization; 

2 (C) countering malign authoritarian influ3 ence; and 

4 (D) leveraging emerging technology for de5 mocracy; 

6 (3) incentivizes collaboration among govern7 ments, nongovernmental organizations, and the pri8 vate sector to identify and mitigate threats to global 

9 democracy; 

10 (4) identifies lessons learned and best practices 

11 for democracy programs and diplomatic approaches 

12 to create feedback loops and shape future evidence13 based programming and diplomacy; 

14 (5) encourages private sector actors to establish 

15 and implement business practices that will— 

16 (A) strengthen democratic institutions; 

17 (B) bolster democratic processes; and 

18 (C) support democracy activists and 

19 human rights defenders; and 

20 (6) strengthens the resilience of democratic ac21 tors and institutions. 

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

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

24 consultation with the Administrator of the United States 

25 Agency for International Development, shall submit a reVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3854.RS S3854

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1 port to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

2 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

3 Representatives that describes the efforts and results of 

4 the program established pursuant to subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 8. ADDRESSING AUTHORITARIANS IN THE MULTILAT6 ERAL SYSTEM. 

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

8 and the United States Permanent Representative to the 

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

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

11 multilateral bodies— 

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

13 society actors within the United National Human 

14 Rights Council and other multilateral bodies; 

15 (B) to closely monitor instances of reprisals 

16 against such actors; and 

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

18 censure of member states, and other diplomatic 

19 measures to hold responsible any person who en20 gages in reprisals against human rights defenders 

21 and civil society within such multilateral bodies; 

22 (2) to reform the process for suspending the 

23 rights of membership in the United Nations Human 

24 Rights Council for member states that commit gross 

25 and systemic violations of human rights, including— 


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1 (A) ensuring information detailing the 

2 member state’s human rights record is publicly 

3 available before a vote for membership or a vote 

4 on suspending the rights of membership of such 

5 member state; and 

6 (B) making publicly available the vote of 

7 each member state on the suspension of rights 

8 of membership from the United Nations 

9 Human Rights Council; 

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

11 the United Nations Human Rights Council to seek 

12 to ensure that member states that have committed 

13 gross and systemic violations of human rights are 

14 not elected to the Human Rights Council; and 

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

16 Human Rights Council of any member state— 

17 (A) that engages in a consistent pattern of 

18 gross violations of internationally recognized 

19 human rights, as determined pursuant to sec20 tion 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act 

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

22 (B) the government of which has repeat23 edly provided support for acts of international 

24 terrorism, as determined pursuant to section 


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1 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

2 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 

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

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

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

6 7107(b)(1)(C)); 

7 (D) that is included on the list published 

8 by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 

9 404(b)(1) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act 

10 of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c–1(b)(1)) as a govern11 ment that recruits and uses child soldiers; or 

12 (E) the government of which the United 

13 States determines to have committed genocide, 

14 crimes against humanity, war crimes, or ethnic 

15 cleansing. 

16 SEC. 9. CONFRONTING DIGITAL AUTHORITARIANISM. 

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

18 United States— 

19 (1) to combat digital authoritarianism, includ20 ing the use of digital technologies, that— 

21 (A) restricts the exercise of civil and polit22 ical rights; 

23 (B) weakens democratic processes and in24 stitutions, including elections; or 


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1 (C) surveils, censors, or represses human 

2 rights defenders, democracy activists, civil soci3 ety actors, independent media, or political oppo4 nents; 

5 (2) to counter misinformation and 

6 disinformation, especially in the digital domain; 

7 (3) to promote internet freedom and elevate the 

8 protection of human rights and democratic principles 

9 in the design and deployment of current and emerg10 ing technologies; and 

11 (4) to support efforts to counter government 

12 censorship and surveillance, including efforts— 

13 (A) to bypass internet shutdowns and 

14 other forms of censorship, including blocks on 

15 services through circumvention technologies; 

16 and 

17 (B) to provide digital security and digital 

18 activism support and training for democracy ac19 tivists, human rights defenders, journalists, and 

20 other at-risk groups. 

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

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

23 coordination with the Administrator of the United States 

24 Agency for International Development, shall submit a re25 port to the appropriate congressional committees that deVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S3854.RS S3854

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1 scribes the Department of State’s efforts to implement the 

2 policy objectives described in subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 10. PROTECTING POLITICAL PRISONERS. 

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

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

6 submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

7 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

8 the House of Representatives that includes, with respect 

9 to unjustly detained political prisoners worldwide— 

10 (1) a description of existing Department of 

11 State processes and efforts to carry out the political 

12 prisoner-related activities described in subsection 

13 (b); 

14 (2) an assessment of any resource gaps or insti15 tutional deficiencies that adversely impact the De16 partment of State’s ability to engage in the activities 

17 described in subsection (b) in order to respond to in18 creasing numbers of unjustly detained political pris19 oners; and 

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

21 Department of State and other Federal agencies to 

22 carry out the political prisoner-related activities de23 scribed in subsection (b). 


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1 (b) POLITICAL PRISONER-RELATED ACTIVITIES.— 

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

3 description of the Department of State’s efforts— 

4 (1) to monitor regional and global trends con5 cerning unjustly detained political prisoners and 

6 maintain information regarding individual cases; 

7 (2) to consistently raise concerns regarding un8 justly detained political prisoners, including specific 

9 individuals, through public and private engagement 

10 with foreign governments, public reporting, and mul11 tilateral engagement; 

12 (3) to routinely— 

13 (A) attend the trials of political prisoners; 

14 (B) conduct wellness visits of political pris15 oners, to the extent practicable and pending ap16 proval from political prisoners or their legal 

17 counsel; 

18 (C) visit political prisoners incarcerated 

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

20 confined in detention; and 

21 (D) report on the well-being of such polit22 ical prisoners; 

23 (4) to regularly request information and specific 

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1 ditions, treatment, access to legal counsel, location, 

2 and family visits; 

3 (5) to identify cases in which an imminent ar4 rest, a potential re-arrest, or physical violence poses 

5 a risk to an at-risk individual; 

6 (6) to utilize foreign assistance resources to 

7 provide support to civil society and others advocating 

8 for the release of unjustly detained political pris9 oners; 

10 (7) to utilize embassy resources to provide shel11 ter or facilitate the safe evacuation of willing individ12 uals and their families, whenever feasible; and 

13 (8) to use sanctions and other accountability 

14 mechanisms to encourage the release of unjustly de15 tained political prisoners. 

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

18 ‘‘International Freedom Protection Act’’. 

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

20 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Combating transnational repression abroad. 

Sec. 5. Strengthening tools to combat authoritarianism. 

Sec. 6. Amendment to Rewards for Justice Program. 

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. 


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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 have been on 

10 the rise, with emboldened autocrats from China, Rus11 sia, and Iran— 

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

14 (B) suppressing dissent to sustain their own 

15 regimes; and 

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

18 (3) Authoritarian governments are increasingly 

19 employing both physical and nonphysical 

20 transnational repression tactics that reach across bor21 ders to silence, coerce, harass, or harm individuals for 

22 peacefully exercising their internationally-recognized 

23 human rights and fundamental freedoms, which pro24 duces a chilling effect that compels people to modify 

25 their behavior due to fear. 

26 (4) The rise of authoritarianism— 


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1 (A) undermines the national security of the 

2 United States and the security of our democratic 

3 allies and partners; 

4 (B) creates instability; 

5 (C) weakens the rule of law; and 

6 (D) increases the risk of war. 

7 (5) Democracies are ill-prepared to fight back 

8 against the growing complexity and emerging chal9 lenges posed by autocratic forces. 

10 (6) There is an urgent need to modernize the 

11 United States Government’s approach to countering 

12 authoritarianism, including by revitalizing and 

13 strengthening the relevant tools, strategies, and insti14 tutions. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit19 tees’’ means— 

20 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

21 the Senate; 

22 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

23 Senate; 

24 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

25 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (2) RELEVANT FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The term 

4 ‘‘relevant Federal agencies’’ means— 

5 (A) the Department of State; 

6 (B) the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development; and 

8 (C) other Federal agencies that are relevant 

9 for purposes of this Act. 

10 (3) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The term 

11 ‘‘transnational repression’’— 

12 (A) means actions of a foreign government, 

13 or agents of a foreign government, involving the 

14 transgression of national borders through phys15 ical, digital, or analog means to intimidate, si16 lence, coerce, harass, or harm members of dias17 pora populations, political opponents, civil soci18 ety activists, journalists, or members of ethnic or 

19 religious minority groups to prevent their exer20 cise of internationally recognized human rights; 

21 and 

22 (B) may include— 

23 (i) extrajudicial killings; 

24 (ii) physical assaults and intimida25 tion; 


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1 (iii) arbitrary detentions; 

2 (iv) renditions; 

3 (v) deportations; 

4 (vi) unexplained or enforced dis5 appearances; 

6 (vii) physical or online surveillance or 

7 stalking; 

8 (viii) unwarranted passport cancella9 tion or control over other identification doc10 uments; 

11 (ix) abuse of international law enforce12 ment systems; 

13 (x) unlawful asset freezes; 

14 (xi) digital threats, such as 

15 cyberattacks, targeted surveillance and 

16 spyware, online harassment, and intimida17 tion; and 

18 (xii) coercion by proxy, such as harass19 ment of, or threats or harm to, family and 

20 associates of private individuals who re21 main in their country of origin. 

22 SEC. 4. COMBATING TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION 

23 ABROAD. 

24 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY ON TRANSNATIONAL RE25 PRESSION.—It is the policy of the United States— 


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1 (1) to identify and address transnational repres2 sion as a direct threat to the United States national 

3 interests of upholding and promoting democratic val4 ues and internationally recognized human rights; 

5 (2) to address transnational repression, includ6 ing by protecting targeted individuals and groups; 

7 (3) to strengthen the capacity of United States 

8 embassy and mission staff to counter transnational 

9 repression, including by— 

10 (A) monitoring and documenting instances 

11 of transnational repression; 

12 (B) conducting regular outreach with at13 risk or affected populations to provide informa14 tion regarding available resources without put15 ting such people at further risk; and 

16 (C) working with local and national law 

17 enforcement, as appropriate, to support victims 

18 of transnational repression; 

19 (4) to develop policy and programmatic re20 sponses based on input from— 

21 (A) vulnerable populations who are at risk 

22 of, or are experiencing, transnational repression; 

23 (B) nongovernmental organizations working 

24 to address transnational repression; and 

25 (C) the private sector; 


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1 (5) to provide training to relevant Federal per2 sonnel— 

3 (A) to enhance their understanding of 

4 transnational repression; and 

5 (B) to identify and combat threats of 

6 transnational repression; 

7 (6) to strengthen documentation and monitoring 

8 by the United States Government of transnational re9 pression by foreign governments in the United States, 

10 in foreign countries, and within international organi11 zations; and 

12 (7) to seek to hold perpetrators of transnational 

13 repression accountable, including through the use of 

14 targeted sanctions and visa restrictions. 

15 (b) REPORT ON TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.— 

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

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 2 

18 years thereafter for the following 10 years, the Sec19 retary of State, in consultation with the heads of 

20 other relevant Federal agencies, shall submit a classi21 fied report to the appropriate congressional commit22 tees that assesses the efforts of the United States Gov23 ernment to implement the policy objectives described 

24 in subsection (a). 


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1 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include— 

3 (A) a detailed description and assessment of 

4 United States Government efforts to monitor, 

5 prevent, and respond to transnational repression 

6 abroad; 

7 (B) a detailed accounting of the most com8 mon tactics of transnational repression; 

9 (C) instances of transnational repression oc10 curring within international organizations; 

11 (D) a description of— 

12 (i) efforts by personnel at United 

13 States embassies and missions to support 

14 victims of or those at risk of transnational 

15 repression; and 

16 (ii) resources provided to United States 

17 embassies and missions to support such ef18 forts; and 

19 (E) a strategy to strengthen interagency ef20 forts and coordination to combat transnational 

21 repression, which shall include— 

22 (i) a plan, developed in consultation 

23 with partner governments, civil society, the 

24 business community, and other entities, to 

25 promote respect for rule of law and human 


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1 rights in surveillance technology use, which 

2 shall include— 

3 (I) protecting personal digital 

4 data from being used for the purposes 

5 of transnational repression; 

6 (II) establishing safeguards to 

7 prevent the misuse of surveillance tech8 nology, including elements such as ap9 propriate legal protections, a prohibi10 tion on discrimination, oversight and 

11 accountability mechanisms, trans12 parency on the applicable legal frame13 work, limiting biometric tools for sur14 veillance to what is lawful and appro15 priate, testing and evaluation, and 

16 training; and 

17 (III) working to ensure, as appli18 cable, that such technologies are de19 signed, developed, and deployed with 

20 safeguards to protect human rights (in21 cluding privacy), consistent with the 

22 United Nations Guiding Principles on 

23 Business and Human Rights; 

24 (ii) public diplomacy efforts and plans 

25 for, including the use of the voice, vote, and 


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1 influence of the United States at inter2 national organizations, to promote aware3 ness of and oppose acts of transnational re4 pression; 

5 (iii) a plan to develop or enhance glob6 al coalitions to monitor cases of 

7 transnational repression at international 

8 organizations and to strengthen alert mech9 anisms for key stakeholders worldwide; 

10 (iv) a description, as appropriate, of 

11 how the United States Government has pre12 viously provided, and will continue to pro13 vide, support to civil society organizations 

14 in foreign countries in which transnational 

15 repression occurs— 

16 (I) to improve the documentation, 

17 investigation, and research of cases, 

18 trends, and tactics of transnational re19 pression; and 

20 (II) to promote accountability 

21 and transparency in government ac22 tions impacting victims of 

23 transnational repression; and 

24 (v) a description of new or existing 

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1 risk groups, communities, and individuals 

2 in countries abroad in which transnational 

3 repression occurs. 

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

5 under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in classified 

6 form, but may include an unclassified annex. 

7 (c) TRAINING OF UNITED STATES PERSONNEL.—The 

8 Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other 

9 relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall develop 

10 and provide training to relevant personnel of the Depart11 ment of State and other relevant Federal agencies, whether 

12 serving in the United States or overseas, to advance the pur13 poses of this Act, including training on the identification 

14 of— 

15 (1) physical and nonphysical threats of 

16 transnational repression; 

17 (2) foreign governments that are most frequently 

18 involved in transnational repression; 

19 (3) foreign governments that are known to fre20 quently cooperate with other governments in commit21 ting transnational repression; 

22 (4) digital surveillance and cyber tools com23 monly used in transnational repression; 

24 (5) safe outreach methods for vulnerable popu25 lations at risk of transnational repression; and 


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1 (6) tools to respond to transnational repression 

2 threats, including relevant authorities which may be 

3 invoked. 

4 (d) TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS AND

5 PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES.—Section 708(a)(1) of the For6 eign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)) is amend7 ed— 

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

9 the end; 

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

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

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

13 ‘‘(E) for Foreign Service Officers and Presi14 dential appointees, including chiefs of mission, 

15 in missions abroad who work on political, eco16 nomic, public diplomacy, security, or develop17 ment issues, a dedicated module of instruction on 

18 transnational repression (as such term is defined 

19 in section 3(3) of the International Freedom 

20 Protection Act), including— 

21 ‘‘(i) how to recognize threats of 

22 transnational repression; 

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

24 can be invoked to combat such threats; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) how to support individuals expe2 riencing transnational repression.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. STRENGTHENING TOOLS TO COMBAT 

4 AUTHORITARIANISM. 

5 (a) TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION.—The President 

6 should consider the use of transnational repression by a for7 eign person in determining whether to impose sanctions 

8 with respect to such foreign person under— 

9 (1) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac10 countability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.); 

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

12 Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appro13 priations Act, 2023 (division K of Public Law 117– 

14 328; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note); or 

15 (3) any other relevant statutory provision grant16 ing human rights-related sanctions authority under 

17 which a foreign person has been sanctioned. 

18 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

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

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less fre21 quently than annually thereafter, the Secretary of 

22 State shall submit a report to the appropriate con23 gressional committees that, except as provided in 

24 paragraph (2), identifies each foreign person about 

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1 pose sanctions pursuant to paragraphs (1) through 

2 (3) of subsection (a) based on the consideration of the 

3 use of transnational repression. 

4 (2) EXCEPTION.—The report required under 

5 paragraph (1) may not identify individuals if such 

6 identification would interfere with law enforcement 

7 efforts. 

8 (3) FORM.—The report required under para9 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but 

10 may include a classified annex. 

11 (c) ANTI-KLEPTOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS INELIGI12 BILITY.— 

13 (1) INELIGIBILITY.— 

14 (A) SIGNIFICANT CORRUPTION OR HUMAN

15 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.—Except as provided in 

16 paragraphs (2) and (3), a foreign government of17 ficial shall be ineligible for entry into the United 

18 States if the Secretary of State determines that 

19 such official was knowingly directly or indirectly 

20 involved in— 

21 (i) significant corruption, including 

22 corruption related to the extraction of nat23 ural resources; or 

24 (ii) a gross violation of internationally 

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1 tion 502B(d)(1) of the Foreign Assistance 

2 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(d)(1))), includ3 ing the wrongful detention of— 

4 (I) locally employed staff of a 

5 United States diplomatic mission; or 

6 (II) a United States citizen or na7 tional. 

8 (B) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS.—The 

9 immediate family members of an official de10 scribed in subparagraph (A) may be subject to 

11 the same restriction on entry into the United 

12 States as such official. 

13 (C) REFERRAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

14 implementing this subsection, shall, as appro15 priate, provide information regarding the ac16 tions of officials described in subparagraph (A) 

17 to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the De18 partment of the Treasury, which shall determine 

19 whether to impose sanctions authorized under 

20 Federal law to block the transfer of property and 

21 interests in property, and all financial trans22 actions, in the United States involving any such 

23 official. 

24 (D) DESIGNATION OR DETERMINATION.— 

25 The Secretary of State shall publicly or privately 


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1 designate or make the determination that the for2 eign government officials or party members 

3 about whom the Secretary has made such des4 ignation or determination regarding significant 

5 corruption or gross violations of internationally 

6 recognized human rights, and their immediate 

7 family members, without regard to whether any 

8 such individual has applied for a visa. 

9 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Individuals are not in11 eligible for entry into the United States pursuant 

12 to paragraph (1) if such entry— 

13 (i) would further important United 

14 States law enforcement objectives; or 

15 (ii) is necessary to permit the United 

16 States to fulfill its obligations under the 

17 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of 

18 the United Nations, signed at Lake Success 

19 June 26, 1947, and entered into force No20 vember 21, 1947, between the United Na21 tions and the United States or under other 

22 international obligations of the United 

23 States. 

24 (B) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in para25 graph (1) may be construed to derogate from 


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1 United States Government obligations under ap2 plicable international agreements or obligations. 

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

4 the application of paragraph (1) with respect to any 

5 individual if the Secretary determines that— 

6 (A) such waiver would serve a compelling 

7 national interest of the United States; or 

8 (B) the circumstances that caused such in9 dividual to be ineligible for entry into the United 

10 States have sufficiently changed. 

11 (4) SEMIANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

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

14 every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State 

15 shall submit a report, including a classified 

16 annex if necessary, to the Committee on Foreign 

17 Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 

18 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. 

19 Each such report shall include— 

20 (i) all relevant information relating to 

21 corruption or gross violations of inter22 nationally recognized human rights that 

23 was a factor in identifying, during the most 

24 recent 12-month period— 


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1 (I) individuals who are ineligible 

2 for entry into the United States under 

3 paragraph (1)(A); and 

4 (II) individuals about whom the 

5 Secretary has made a designation or 

6 determination pursuant to paragraph 

7 (1)(D); and 

8 (III) individuals who would be 

9 ineligible for entry into the United 

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

11 were excluded from such restriction 

12 pursuant to paragraph (2); 

13 (ii) a list of any waivers granted by 

14 the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (3); 

15 and 

16 (iii) a description of the justification 

17 for each such waiver. 

18 (B) POSTING OF REPORT.—The unclassified 

19 portion of each report required under subpara20 graph (A) shall be posted on a publicly accessible 

21 website of the Department of State. 

22 (5) CLARIFICATION.—For purposes of para23 graphs (1) and (4), the records of the Department of 

24 State and of diplomatic and consular offices of the 

25 United States pertaining to the issuance or refusal of 


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1 visas or permits to enter the United States shall not 

2 be considered confidential. 

3 (d) RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE IN THE WAKE OF

4 A COUP D’E ́TAT.—Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign As5 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following: 

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

8 A COUP D’E ́ TAT. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub10 sections (b) and (d), no assistance may be provided under 

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

12 2751) to the central government of any country in which 

13 the head of government, as recognized by the United States, 

14 was deposed by a military coup d’e ́tat or decree or a coup 

15 d’e ́tat or decree in which the military played a decisive role. 

16 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, after 

18 consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agen19 cies, may exempt assistance from the restriction de20 scribed in subsection (a), on a program by program 

21 basis for a 90-day renewable period, if the Secretary 

22 determines that the continuation of such assistance is 

23 in the national security interest of the United States. 

24 ‘‘(2) JUSTIFICATION.—The Secretary of State 

25 shall provide a justification to the appropriate conVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3854.RS S3854

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1 gressional committees for each exemption granted 

2 pursuant to paragraph (1) not later than 5 days after 

3 making such determination. 

4 ‘‘(3) UPDATES.—The Secretary of State shall 

5 provide periodic updates, not less frequently than 

6 every 90 days, regarding the status of any assistance 

7 subject to the exemption granted pursuant to para8 graph (1). 

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

10 foreign government that is subject to the restriction de11 scribed in subsection (a) may be resumed if the Secretary 

12 of State certifies and reports to the appropriate congres13 sional committees, not fewer than 30 days before the re14 sumption of such assistance, that a democratically-elected 

15 government has taken office subsequent to the termination 

16 of assistance pursuant to subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMANI18 TARIAN ASSISTANCE.—The restriction under subsection (a) 

19 shall not apply to any assistance used— 

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

21 participation in the democratic processes; 

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

23 ‘‘(3) for humanitarian purposes. 

24 ‘‘(e) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term ‘ap25 propriate congressional committees’ means— 


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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 SEC. 6. AMENDMENT TO REWARDS FOR JUSTICE PROGRAM. 

10 Section 36(b) of the State Department Basic Authori11 ties Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(b)) is amended— 

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

13 end; 

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

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

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

17 ‘‘(15) the restraining, seizing, forfeiting, or repa18 triating of stolen assets linked to foreign government 

19 corruption and the proceeds of such corruption.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. INVESTING IN DEMOCRACY RESEARCH AND DEVEL21 OPMENT. 

22 The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Ad23 ministrator of the United States Agency for International 

24 Development, should establish, within the Bureau of DemocVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3854.RS S3854

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1 racy, Human Rights, and Labor, a program for democracy 

2 research and development that— 

3 (1) supports research and development by the 

4 Department of State, the United States Agency for 

5 International Development, and the National Endow6 ment for Democracy on policies and programs relat7 ing to democracy efforts; 

8 (2) drives innovation within such agencies re9 garding the response to complex, multidimensional 

10 challenges to democracy; 

11 (3) identifies lessons learned and best practices 

12 for democracy programs and diplomatic approaches 

13 to create feedback loops and shape future evidence14 based programming and diplomacy; 

15 (4) encourages private sector actors to establish 

16 and implement business practices that will— 

17 (A) strengthen democratic institutions; and 

18 (B) bolster democratic processes; and 

19 (5) strengthens the resilience of democratic actors 

20 and institutions. 

21 SEC. 8. ADDRESSING AUTHORITARIANS IN THE MULTILAT22 ERAL SYSTEM. 

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

24 and the United States Permanent Representative to the 

25 United Nations should use the voice, vote, and influence of 


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1 the United States at the United Nations and with other 

2 multilateral bodies— 

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

4 society actors within the United Nations Human 

5 Rights Council and other multilateral bodies; 

6 (B) to closely monitor instances of reprisals 

7 against such actors; and 

8 (C) to support the use of targeted sanctions, cen9 sure of member states, and other diplomatic measures 

10 to hold responsible any person who engages in repris11 als against human rights defenders and civil society 

12 within such multilateral bodies; 

13 (2) to reform the process for suspending the 

14 rights of membership in the United Nations Human 

15 Rights Council for member states that commit gross 

16 and systemic violations of internationally recognized 

17 human rights, including— 

18 (A) ensuring information detailing the 

19 member state’s human rights record is publicly 

20 available before a vote for membership or a vote 

21 on suspending the rights of membership of such 

22 member state; and 

23 (B) making publicly available the vote of 

24 each member state on the suspension of rights of 


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1 membership from the United Nations Human 

2 Rights Council; 

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

4 the United Nations Human Rights Council to seek to 

5 ensure that member states that have committed gross 

6 and systemic violations of internationally recognized 

7 human rights are not elected to the Human Rights 

8 Council; and 

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

10 Human Rights Council of any member state— 

11 (A) that engages in a consistent pattern of 

12 gross violations of internationally recognized 

13 human rights, as determined pursuant to section 

14 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

15 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n and 2304); 

16 (B) the government of which has repeatedly 

17 provided support for acts of international ter18 rorism, as determined pursuant to section 620A 

19 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

20 2371); 

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

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

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

24 7107(b)(1)(C)); 


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1 (D) that is included on the list published by 

2 the Secretary of State pursuant to section 

3 404(b)(1) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 

4 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2370c–1(b)(1)) as a government 

5 that recruits and uses child soldiers; or 

6 (E) the government of which the United 

7 States determines to have committed genocide, 

8 crimes against humanity, war crimes, or ethnic 

9 cleansing. 

10 SEC. 9. CONFRONTING DIGITAL AUTHORITARIANISM. 

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

12 United States— 

13 (1) to combat digital authoritarianism, includ14 ing the use of digital technologies, that— 

15 (A) restricts the exercise of civil and polit16 ical rights (as defined in the International Cov17 enant on Civil and Political Rights, done at New 

18 York December 16, 1966); 

19 (B) weakens democratic processes and insti20 tutions, including elections; or 

21 (C) surveils, censors, or represses human 

22 rights defenders, democracy activists, civil soci23 ety actors, independent media, or political oppo24 nents; 

25 (2) to promote internet freedom; and 


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1 (3) to support efforts to counter government cen2 sorship and surveillance, including efforts— 

3 (A) to bypass internet shutdowns and other 

4 forms of censorship, including blocks on services 

5 through circumvention technologies; and 

6 (B) to provide digital security support and 

7 training for democracy activists, journalists, and 

8 other at-risk groups. 

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

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in co11 ordination with the Administrator of the United States 

12 Agency for International Development, shall submit a re13 port to the appropriate congressional committees that de14 scribes the Department of State’s efforts to implement the 

15 policy objectives described in subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 10. PROTECTING POLITICAL PRISONERS. 

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

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

19 submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

20 the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

21 House of Representatives that includes, with respect to un22 justly detained political prisoners worldwide— 

23 (1) a description of existing Department of State 

24 processes and efforts to carry out the political pris25 oner-related activities described in subsection (b); 


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1 (2) an assessment of any resource gaps or insti2 tutional deficiencies that adversely impact the De3 partment of State’s ability to engage in the activities 

4 described in subsection (b) in order to respond to in5 creasing numbers of unjustly detained political pris6 oners; and 

7 (3) a strategy for enhancing the efforts of the De8 partment of State and other Federal agencies to carry 

9 out the political prisoner-related activities described 

10 in subsection (b). 

11 (b) POLITICAL PRISONER-RELATED ACTIVITIES.—The 

12 report required under subsection (a) shall include a descrip13 tion of the Department of State’s efforts— 

14 (1) to monitor regional and global trends con15 cerning unjustly detained political prisoners and 

16 maintain information regarding individual cases; 

17 (2) to consistently raise concerns regarding un18 justly detained political prisoners, including specific 

19 individuals, through public and private engagement 

20 with foreign governments, public reporting, and mul21 tilateral engagement; 

22 (3) to routinely— 

23 (A) attend the trials of political prisoners; 

24 (B) conduct wellness visits of political pris25 oners, to the extent practicable and pending apVerDate Sep 11 2014 07:13 May 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3854.RS S3854

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1 proval from political prisoners or their legal 

2 counsel; 

3 (C) visit political prisoners incarcerated 

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

5 confined in detention; and 

6 (D) report on the well-being of such polit7 ical prisoners; 

8 (4) to regularly request information and specific 

9 actions related to individual prisoners’ medical condi10 tions, treatment, access to legal counsel, location, and 

11 family visits; 

12 (5) to identify cases in which an imminent ar13 rest, a potential re-arrest, or physical violence poses 

14 a risk to an at-risk individual; 

15 (6) to utilize embassy resources to provide shelter 

16 or facilitate the safe evacuation of willing individuals 

17 and their families, whenever feasible; and 

18 (7) to use sanctions and other accountability 

19 mechanisms to encourage the release of unjustly de20 tained political prisoners. 


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Calendar No. 375 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3854 

A BILL 

To combat transnational repression abroad, to 

poses. research and development, and for other purruption, and kleptocracy, to invest in democracy strengthen tools to combat authoritarianism, corMAY 7, 2024 

Reported with an amendment 


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