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Calendar No. 246 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 657 

To eliminate conditions in foreign prisons and other detention facilities that 

do not meet primary indicators of health, sanitation, and safety, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2013 

Mr. LEAHY (for himself and Mr. INHOFE) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

NOVEMBER 14, 2013 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, without amendment 

A BILL 

To eliminate conditions in foreign prisons and other detention facilities that do not meet primary indicators of 

health, sanitation, and safety, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Prison Condi5 tions Improvement Act of 2013’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Millions of incarcerated people in the world 

4 suffer inhumane conditions in prisons and other de5 tention facilities that are overcrowded, unsanitary, 

6 and unsafe to the point of endangering their lives. 

7 Many governments do not respect the basic right of 

8 all individuals in detention or incarceration to be 

9 treated with humanity and with respect for the in10 herent dignity of the human person. 

11 (2) Rates of malnutrition and death among 

12 prisoners and other detainees far exceed those of the 

13 general population, and medical treatment for seri14 ous illness or injury is, in many instances, non-exist15 ent or grossly inadequate. 

16 (3) Prisons are extremely high-risk environ17 ments for transmitting diseases, particularly HIV 

18 and tuberculosis, and create grave risks to commu19 nities in which released prisoners live; studies esti20 mate that HIV infection rates in prisons in devel21 oping countries can be as much as 50 times higher 

22 than in the general population, and tuberculosis in23 fection rates in prisons are more than 20 times high24 er than in the general population. 

25 (4) These conditions are compounded by severe 

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1 ties. Excessive pre-trial detention and dysfunctional 

2 justice systems frequently result in prisoners and 

3 other detainees spending years in such conditions be4 fore their cases are adjudicated. In some countries, 

5 such facilities are filled to capacity many times over 

6 resulting in conditions so cramped that individual 

7 prisoners cannot move without all doing so en 

8 masse. 

9 (5) Experts have documented widespread inhu10 mane prison conditions, including overcrowding, in11 adequate food and water, no access to hygiene prod12 ucts or medical care, juveniles detained with adults, 

13 and denial of visits from family. 

14 (6) Some governments fail to provide even the 

15 most rudimentary sanitation in prisons and other 

16 detention facilities, putting prisoners and other de17 tainees at even greater risk of easily preventable and 

18 often life-threatening diseases. Toilets are few or 

19 non-existent and human waste repositories often are 

20 located among the general prison population, forcing 

21 prisoners to eat, sleep, and live in grossly unsanitary 

22 conditions. 

23 (7) Some governments fail to permit prisoners 

24 and other detainees reasonable contact with family 

25 members or other visitors. Many governments deny 

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1 access to certain prisoners and detainees, or do not 

2 provide information about their location, health, and 

3 well-being, leaving them unaccounted for. 

4 (8) Inhumane conditions in prisons and other 

5 detention facilities often exist in countries where re6 sources for law enforcement are limited and only a 

7 small fraction of such resources are made available 

8 for the operation and maintenance of prisons and 

9 other detention facilities. Inadequate, misplaced, or 

10 lost records often result in prisoners and other de11 tainees being incarcerated indefinitely because their 

12 cases have never been tried or otherwise adjudicated. 

13 In other cases, poor recordkeeping results in pris14 oners and other detainees being held long after their 

15 sentences have expired. Allocating the relatively 

16 modest resources necessary to provide for the basic 

17 human needs of prisoners and other detainees and to 

18 remediate the inhumane conditions under which 

19 such prisoners are held is often a low priority. 

20 (9) The United States Government currently 

21 provides significant amounts of assistance to coun22 tries whose governments operate prisons and other 

23 detention facilities that, because of their inhumane 

24 conditions, seriously jeopardize the lives of prisoners 

25 and other detainees held under their authority. 

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1 (10) The Department of State’s 2011 Country 

2 Reports on Human Rights Practices reported prison 

3 conditions as poor, inhumane, or life threatening in 

4 scores of countries, all of which receive United 

5 States assistance. 

6 (11) On February 14, 2012, a fire at the 

7 Comayagua Prison in Honduras killed 360 pris8 oners. United States officials who investigated the 

9 fire attributed the deaths to severe overcrowding and 

10 poor safety practices. In one overcrowded cell block, 

11 only 4 of 105 prisoners survived. More than half of 

12 the prisoners were pretrial detainees who had never 

13 been convicted of any crime. 

14 (12) In many countries, United States citizens 

15 suffer serious harm and are at risk of death and 

16 mistreatment from being held in prisons and other 

17 detention facilities under inhumane conditions. 

18 (13) The United States Government should use 

19 its influence and resources to ensure that govern20 ments that receive United States assistance do not 

21 operate prisons and other detention facilities under 

22 inhumane conditions. The United States Govern23 ment also should assist countries to eliminate inhu24 mane conditions in prisons and other detention fa25 cilities. 

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1 (14) Eliminating inhumane conditions in for2 eign prisons and other detention facilities will 

3 strengthen the rule of law, save lives, and enhance 

4 the health and well-being of vulnerable people in 

5 poor countries, and it will advance United States in6 terests. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

13 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen14 ate; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

16 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

17 of Representatives. 

18 (2) PRIMARY INDICATORS FOR THE ELIMI19 NATION OF INHUMANE CONDITIONS IN FOREIGN

20 PRISONS AND OTHER DETENTION FACILITIES.—The 

21 term ‘‘primary indicators for the elimination of inhu22 mane conditions in prisons and other detention fa23 cilities’’ means, with respect to the operation or 

24 maintenance of prisons and other detention facilities 

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1 in a foreign country that is a recipient of United 

2 States assistance, the following: 

3 (A) The number of inmates or detainees 

4 held in a facility does not so exceed prison ca5 pacity such that per capita floor space is insuf6 ficient to allow for humane sleeping conditions 

7 and reasonable physical movement. 

8 (B) Human waste facilities are sanitary 

9 and accessible, and human waste is disposed of 

10 regularly and in a sanitary manner. 

11 (C) The lighting, ventilation, temperature, 

12 and physical construction of prisons and other 

13 detention facilities do not seriously endanger 

14 the health and safety of prisoners. 

15 (D) Prisoners and other detainees have ac16 cess to adequate food and potable drinking 

17 water. 

18 (E) Prisoners and other detainees have ac19 cess to essential and emergency medical care. 

20 (F) To the maximum extent practicable, 

21 prisoners and other detainees are allowed reli22 gious observance and materials, and contact 

23 with clergy, family, and friends, by both cor24 respondence and personal visits. 

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1 (3) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.—The term 

2 ‘‘United States assistance’’ means any non-humani3 tarian assistance furnished to carry out the provi4 sions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

5 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), the Arms Export Control Act 

6 (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), or the Millennium Chal7 lenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). 

8 SEC. 4. EFFORTS TO HELP ELIMINATE INHUMANE CONDI9 TIONS IN FOREIGN PRISONS AND OTHER DE10 TENTION FACILITIES. 

11 (a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

12 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act, and October 1 every other year thereafter 

16 for a six-year period, the Secretary of State 

17 shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

18 committees a report describing the conditions in 

19 prisons and other detention facilities in at least 

20 30 countries receiving United States assistance 

21 or under sanction by the United States selected 

22 as a result of the Secretary’s determination 

23 that such conditions raise the most serious 

24 human rights or humanitarian concerns. In se25 lecting such countries, the Secretary shall conmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 sider only the conditions within each country’s 

2 prisons and detention facilities. 

3 (B) CONTENT.—The report required under 

4 subparagraph (A) shall, for each country, de5 scribe the conditions that raise human rights 

6 and humanitarian concerns, including— 

7 (i) a detailed and up to date review, 

8 whenever possible, of each of the primary 

9 indicators set forth in section 3(2) and 

10 noting any efforts made to eliminate inhu11 mane conditions as described in paragraph 

12 (2); 

13 (ii) an identification of those coun14 tries, if any, receiving United States assist15 ance, whose governments— 

16 (I) do not meet one or more of 

17 the primary indicators for the elimi18 nation of inhumane conditions in pris19 ons and other detention facilities but 

20 are making significant efforts to com21 ply; and 

22 (II) do not meet one or more of 

23 the primary indicators and are not 

24 making significant efforts to comply; 

25 and 

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1 (iii) the steps being taken by the 

2 United States Government to improve con3 ditions in foreign prisons and other deten4 tion facilities. 

5 (C) BEST PRACTICES.—The report shall 

6 also include a section on best practices for 

7 achieving the primary indicators. 

8 (2) SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS.—In making deter9 minations under paragraph (1)(A) as to whether the 

10 government of a country is making significant ef11 forts to comply with the primary indicators for the 

12 elimination of inhumane conditions in prisons and 

13 other detention facilities, the Secretary of State shall 

14 consider the extent to which the government of the 

15 country is— 

16 (A) regularly monitoring the conditions of 

17 prisons and other detention facilities under its 

18 authority, including allowing access for inde19 pendent monitors, permitting prisoners and 

20 other detainees to submit complaints without 

21 censorship, cooperating with humanitarian or22 ganizations in eliminating and monitoring inhu23 mane conditions in prisons and other detention 

24 facilities, promptly investigating credible allega25 tions of inhumane conditions, and making informstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 mation concerning conditions and investigations 

2 available to the public and the Secretary of 

3 State; 

4 (B) taking effective steps to eliminate in5 humane conditions in prisons and other deten6 tion facilities, which may include, among other 

7 steps, appointing ombudsmen to serve on behalf 

8 of prisoners and other detainees, providing al9 ternatives to incarceration for nonviolent of10 fenders in order to alleviate inhumane over11 crowding, addressing the status and cir12 cumstances of confinement of juveniles, improv13 ing pretrial detention practices, and imple14 menting bail and recordkeeping procedures to 

15 reduce pretrial detention periods and to ensure 

16 that prisoners do not serve beyond the max17 imum sentence for the charged offense; and 

18 (C) increasing the amount of government 

19 resources to eliminate inhumane conditions in 

20 prisons and other detention facilities. 

21 (3) USE OF COUNTRY REPORTS.—The report 

22 required under paragraph (1) may draw from the 

23 discussion of prison conditions contained in the 

24 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices re25 quired under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the 

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

2 2151n(d) and 2304(b)). 

3 (4) PUBLICATION.—The report required under 

4 paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public, 

5 including on a publicly available website of the De6 partment of State. 

7 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR GOVERNMENTS TO ELIMINATE

8 INHUMANE CONDITIONS IN PRISONS AND OTHER DETEN9 TION FACILITIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and 

11 the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

12 International Development should furnish assistance 

13 for the purpose of eliminating inhumane conditions 

14 in prisons and other detention facilities where such 

15 assistance would be appropriate and beneficial. 

16 (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF PROHIBITION.—The 

17 prohibitions under section 660 of the Foreign Assist18 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2420) shall not be ap19 plicable to assistance furnished to carry out the pro20 visions of paragraph (1). 

21 (3) ASSISTANCE.—Assistance made available 

22 under this subsection shall be designated and used 

23 exclusively to eliminate inhumane conditions in pris24 ons and other detention facilities in the country re25 ceiving the grant, but may not include the construcmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tion of new prisons. Funds made available under 

2 this section shall be subject to the regular notifica3 tion procedures of the Committees on Appropriations 

4 of the Senate and the House of Representatives. 

5 (c) CONSULTATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS NOT

6 MAKING SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE INHU7 MANE CONDITIONS IN PRISONS AND OTHER DETENTION

8 FACILITIES.— 

9 (1) CONSULTATIONS.—In the case of a govern10 ment of a country that is listed in the report sub11 mitted under subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)(II) as not 

12 making significant efforts to eliminate inhumane 

13 conditions in prisons and other detention facilities, 

14 the Secretary of State shall, not later than 90 days 

15 after the date such report is submitted, enter into 

16 consultations with such government to achieve the 

17 purposes of this Act. 

18 (2) ACTIONS REGARDING UNITED STATES AS19 SISTANCE.— 

20 (A) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.—The 

21 Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 

22 United States Agency for International Devel23 opment may restructure, reprogram, or reduce 

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1 scribed in paragraph (1) to achieve the pur2 poses of this Act. 

3 (B) REPORTING.—If assistance is provided 

4 to a country whose government is described in 

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall sub6 mit to the appropriate congressional committees 

7 within 30 days of the decision to provide such 

8 assistance a report— 

9 (i) explaining that any government 

10 agency or facility to receive assistance has 

11 the independence and commitment nec12 essary to achieve the purposes of this Act; 

13 (ii) detailing the purposes for which 

14 such assistance will be provided; 

15 (iii) describing the United States in16 terest in providing such assistance notwith17 standing the failure of the government to 

18 make significant efforts to eliminate inhu19 mane conditions; and 

20 (iv) describing the conditions in pris21 ons and other detention facilities in such 

22 country unless this information has already 

23 been included in the report required under 

24 section 4(a)(1). 

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1 (3) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 

2 the beginning of consultations required under para3 graph (1), the Secretary shall brief the appropriate 

4 congressional committees on the actions taken or 

5 agreed to be taken, if any, by the government of 

6 that country that constitute significant efforts to 

7 eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other 

8 detention facilities and the actions taken, or that will 

9 be taken, by the United States pursuant to para10 graph (2). Such information shall also be included in 

11 the next report required under subsection (a). If the 

12 Secretary determines that United States assistance 

13 to such government should not be restructured, re14 programmed, or reduced, the briefing and report 

15 shall contain an explanation for that decision. 

16 SEC. 5. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 

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

18 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(d) The Secretary of State, with the assistance of 

21 other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the stand22 ard training provided for chiefs of mission, deputy chiefs 

23 of mission, and other officers of the Service who are or 

24 will be involved in the assessment of conditions in foreign 

25 prisons and other detention facilities or the drafting of the 

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1 annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, in2 struction on matters related to conditions in such prisons 

3 and other detention facilities and the substance of the 

4 Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act of 2013.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. OFFICIAL TO MONITOR FOREIGN PRISON CONDI6 TIONS. 

7 The Secretary of State shall designate, within the 

8 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, an offi9 cial at a minimum level of a Deputy Assistant Secretary 

10 who shall have responsibility for implementing the provi11 sions of this Act, which shall be a substantial part of such 

12 official’s responsibilities. The Secretary shall instruct rel13 evant United States officials abroad to assist such official 

14 in gathering information regarding conditions in foreign 

15 prisons and other detention facilities and in implementing 

16 the provisions of this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

18 For purposes of this Act and any amendment made 

19 by this Act— 

20 (1) the prohibitions of section 104(f) of the 

21 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

22 2151b(f)) shall apply to all provisions of this Act 

23 and any amendment made by this Act and shall not 

24 be construed to be altered by this Act; and 

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1 (2) the primary indicators for the elimination of 

2 inhumane conditions in foreign prisons and other de3 tention facilities, as well as significant efforts and 

4 best practices to achieve such indicators, shall not be 

5 determined based on the provision of services for 

6 which funding is prohibited by section 104(f) of the 

7 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

8 2151b(f)). 

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Calendar No. 246 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 657 

A BILL 

To eliminate conditions in foreign prisons and other 

other purposes. cators of health, sanitation, and safety, and for detention facilities that do not meet primary indiNOVEMBER 14, 2013 

Reported without amendment 

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