14612 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 28, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

Within the Dolores River SRMA as 

identified in the TRFO RMP and the 

Dolores River CMP: 

23. You must not use motorized 

watercraft from Bradfield Bridge to 

Bedrock. 

24. You must register at a developed 

BLM river launch point prior to 

watercraft use from Bradfield Bridge to 

Bedrock. 

25. You must not exceed posted 

group-size limits. 

26. During overnight river trips, you 

must dispose human waste into a 

portable toilet. 

27. You must not gather dead or down 

wood. 

28. You must not have a campfire or 

charcoal fire without the use of a fire 

pan. 

29. You must pack out all ashes 

associated with a campfire or charcoal 

fire. 

Within the Cortez SRMA, Durango 

SRMA and Perins Peak Wildlife 

Management Area as identified in the 

TRFO RMP: 

30. You must not enter the Chutes-nLadders, Summit, and Aqueduct areas 

of the Montezuma Triangle Recreation 

Management Zone within the Cortez 

SRMA from December 1 through April 

30 each year for the protection of critical 

winter wildlife habitat. Travel on 

county roads through the areas is 

allowed. 

31. You must not enter identified 

closure areas in the Animas City 

Mountain and Grandview Ridge 

Recreation Management Zones of the 

Durango SRMA from December 1 

through April 30 each year for the 

protection of critical winter wildlife 

habitat. This closure may be opened 

April 15 if conditions and wildlife 

needs warrant. 

32. You must not enter identified 

closure areas in the Perins Peak Wildlife 

Management Area from December 1 

through April 30 each year for the 

protection of critical winter wildlife 

habitat. This closure may be opened 

April 15 if conditions and wildlife 

needs warrant. 

33. You must not enter identified 

closure areas in the Perins Peak Wildlife 

Management Area from March 15 

through July 31 each year for the 

protection of critical raptor habitat. 

Exemptions 

The following persons are exempt 

from this supplementary rule: Any 

Federal, State, local, and/or military 

employees acting within the scope of 

their official duties; members of any 

organized rescue or fire fighting force 

performing an official duty; and persons 

who are expressly authorized or 

approved by the BLM. 

Enforcement 

Any person who violates any part of 

this supplementary rule may be tried 

before a United States Magistrate and 

fined in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 

3571, imprisoned no more than 12 

months under 43 U.S.C. 1733(a) and 43 

CFR 8360.0–7, or both. In accordance 

with 43 CFR 8365.1–7, State or local 

officials may also impose penalties for 

violations of Colorado or local law. 

(Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1733(a), 1740; 43 CFR 

8365.1–6) 

Douglas J. Vilsack, 

BLM Colorado State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03732 Filed 2–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–16–P 

AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 

DEVELOPMENT 

48 CFR Parts 722 and 752 

RIN 0412–AA95 

USAID Acquisition Regulation: 

Safeguarding Against Exploitation, 

Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child 

Neglect 

AGENCY: U.S. Agency for International 

Development. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Agency for 

International Development (USAID) 

seeks public comment on a proposed 

rule revising the Agency for 

International Development Acquisition 

Regulation (AIDAR) to incorporate new 

requirements for Protection from Sexual 

Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and 

update existing child safeguarding 

requirements. This proposed rule 

strengthens protections for USAID’s 

program participants, community 

members, project staff, and other 

individuals in a position of 

vulnerability, and aligns and 

consolidates new PSEA and updated 

child safeguarding compliance and 

reporting requirements with existing 

requirements for Counter Trafficking in 

Persons. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than April 29, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by your name, company name 

(if any), and the Regulatory Information 

Number (RIN) 0412–AA95 for this 

rulemaking, via the following method: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for sending comments. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and RIN 

for this rulemaking. All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to https://www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. We recommend that you do 

not submit information that you 

consider Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or any information 

that is otherwise protected from 

disclosure by statute. If your comment 

cannot be submitted using https://

www.regulations.gov, please email the 

point of contact in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

document for alternate instructions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nicole Thompson, 202–286–4696, 

policymailbox@usaid.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Providing Accountability Through 

Transparency Act of 2023 

The Providing Accountability 

Through Transparency Act of 2023 (5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(4)) requires that a notice 

of proposed rulemaking include ‘‘the 

internet address of a summary of not 

more than 100 words in length of the 

proposed rule, in plain language, that 

shall be posted on the internet website 

under section 206(d) of the EGovernment Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

note) (commonly known as 

regulations.gov).’’ 

In summary, ‘‘USAID proposes 

revisions to agency regulation to 

incorporate new contract requirements 

strengthening protections for program 

participants, community members, 

project staff, and other individuals 

connected to USAID-funded 

programming. The revisions consolidate 

Protection from Sexual Exploitation and 

Abuse and Child Safeguarding 

requirements, aligning with existing 

Trafficking in Persons requirements. 

Specifically, for applicable awards, 

contractors will be required to: establish 

minimum standards for preventing and 

responding to covered violations; 

develop and implement a compliance 

plan; and report alleged violations and 

contractor actions taken in response. 

These requirements will apply to all 

contracts, excluding personal services 

contracts with individuals and most 

commercial contracts.’’ 

The proposal, including the summary 

provided herein, can be found at https:// 

www.regulations.gov under the docket 

number for this proposed rule. 

B. Request for Comments 

USAID requests public comment on 

all aspects of this proposal, including 

specific questions highlighted below or 


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outlined elsewhere in this document. 

USAID will only address substantive 

comments on the rulemaking. USAID 

may not consider comments that are 

insubstantial or outside the scope of the 

proposed rule. Specific feedback is 

requested on the following: 

• When the Safeguarding Compliance 

Plan applies, how contractors plan to 

address compliance with and associated 

costs of new PSEA and child 

safeguarding requirements. 

• Concerns related to potential 

overlap/conflict between new PSEA and 

child safeguarding requirements and 

contractors’ existing policies and 

practices. 

• Considerations related to 

applicability and the burden related to 

U.S. small businesses and small foreign 

entities, particularly in regards to the 

Compliance Plan threshold. 

• Anticipated contractor reporting 

challenges related to safeguarding 

violations and suggested mitigation 

strategies. 

C. Background 

Exploitation, sexual abuse, child 

abuse, and child neglect cause 

intolerable harm and threaten USAID’s 

mission around the world. 

Implementing appropriate safeguarding 

measures to prevent and address 

violations—regardless of the method, 

manner, or medium in which the 

behavior occurs or is facilitated-protects 

USAID program participants (also 

referred to as beneficiaries in the 

proposed regulatory language), 

community members, project staff, and 

other individuals in a position of 

vulnerability, while improving 

development outcomes and allowing for 

children and youth, in particular, to 

achieve their full development 

potential. This includes measures to 

prevent and address violations that 

occur in or are facilitated by digital 

technology (and/or other as yet 

unknown methods or mediums) as well 

as the physical world. Given rapid and 

continual advances in technology, 

USAID is using intentionally broad and 

inclusive language in its proposed 

regulatory text to ensure coverage of any 

and all alleged behaviors identified in 

this rulemaking, whether physical in the 

real world, or a digital harm depicted, 

produced, generated, or otherwise 

communicated. 

Current Federal and Agency-Specific 

Protections. This proposed rule builds 

on and strengthens the protections 

established in the Trafficking Victims 

Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013 

(implemented at 48 CFR 22.17 and the 

associated clause at 48 CFR 52.222–50), 

the Assistance for Orphans and Other 

Vulnerable Children in Developing 

Countries Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–95), 

and the Emergency Supplemental 

Appropriations Act for Defense, the 

Global War on Terror, and Tsunami 

Relief of 2005 (Pub. L. 109–13, codified 

at 22 U.S.C. 2370b). Further, it is 

aligned with the whole of government 

Advancing Protection and Care for 

Children in Adversity strategy, the 

National Strategy on Gender Equity and 

Equality, the work of the White House 

Task Force to Address Online 

Harassment and Abuse, and the Strategy 

on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), 

along with USAID’s Protection from 

Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Policy, 

the updated USAID Youth in 

Development Policy, and the USAID 

Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy. 

The proposed rule also aligns with the 

existing Trafficking in Persons 

requirements (48 CFR (FAR) 52.222–50) 

and strengthens and consolidates the 

USAID-specific award requirements that 

establish child safeguarding standards at 

48 CFR 752.7037 and standards of 

conduct related to preventing sexual 

exploitation and abuse at 48 CFR 

752.7013. 

Rationale for Change. While the 

prohibitions currently outlined in 48 

CFR (FAR) 52.222–50 cover some 

exploitative behavior, such as sex and 

labor trafficking, the current 

requirements do not prohibit other 

exploitative actions, sexual abuse, child 

abuse, and child neglect that can occur 

during the period of performance of 

federally-funded contracts performed 

outside the United States. This includes 

prohibiting exploitation, sexual abuse, 

child abuse, and child neglect of any 

individual or group, whether that is 

beneficiaries, local community 

members, or contractor staff. The 

proposed rule will expand current 

prohibitions to include these additional 

categories and expand safeguarding 

requirements to cover all awards, other 

than those for personal services with 

individuals and certain commercial 

items, unless those contracts involve 

direct interaction with beneficiaries or 

routine physical access to USAID space 

or logical access to USAID’s information 

systems. The proposed rule covers 

prohibited behaviors regardless of the 

method, manner, or medium in which 

the behaviors occur or are facilitated 

(e.g., whether through digital 

technology, and/or other as yet 

unknown methods or mediums, or 

through physical-world violence, 

exploitation, and abuse). This aligns 

with similar existing provisions 

regarding prohibited behavior and 

alleged violations such as trafficking in 

persons which do not specify the 

methods, manner, or medium by which 

they may occur or be facilitated by. As 

discussed above, the proposed rule 

covers all harms, whether actual, 

attempted, or threatened, and is written 

with broad language to intentionally 

account for methods, manners, and 

mediums of harm that include real, 

depicted, produced, generated, or 

otherwise communicated content. 

The requirements in 48 CFR 752.7037 

and 752.7013, cover additional forms of 

child abuse and sexual violence. 

However, a consolidated AIDAR clause 

is needed to establish comprehensive 

safeguards across all applicable USAID 

contracts, to provide clarity to 

contractors on safeguarding 

expectations and requirements, and to 

mandate the reporting of credible 

information related to violations to 

USAID and its Office of Inspector 

General. These requirements will work 

to prevent exploitation and abuse, 

particularly of the most vulnerable 

populations, and will hold individuals 

and organizations accountable when 

violations do occur. It mirrors the 

existing requirements in 48 CFR 52.222– 

50 for Trafficking in Persons for further 

consistency. 

Alignment with international 

protocols. The proposed safeguarding 

rule not only strengthens existing 

protections but also aligns with existing 

international standards and definitions. 

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee 

(IASC), established pursuant to UN 

General Assembly Resolution 46/182, 

sets forth six core principles relating to 

sexual exploitation and abuse, which 

are reflected in standards of conduct 

applicable across the UN. The IASC 

principles prohibit SEA, including 

sexual activity with children under the 

age of 18, the exchange of money or 

employment for sexual favors, and 

sexual relationships between staff and 

beneficiaries, and require reporting of 

SEA concerns, along with maintaining 

an environment that does not tolerate 

SEA. In addition, Keeping Children 

Safe, a coalition of organizations 

operating in the aid sector, establishes 

international standards around child 

safeguarding to ensure children receive 

additional necessary protections— 

through appropriate policies, 

procedures, personnel, and 

accountability—when receiving 

development and humanitarian 

assistance or interacting with members 

of the aid sector or its projects as 

community members. 

D. Proposed Changes to 48 CFR (AIDAR) 

New and streamlined requirements. 

This proposed rule amends AIDAR parts 

722 and 752 to include new 


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14614 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 28, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

safeguarding requirements applicable to 

all solicitations and contracts, excluding 

personal services contracts with 

individuals and commercial contracts, 

unless those contracts involve direct 

interaction with beneficiaries or routine 

physical access to USAID space or 

logical access to USAID’s information 

systems. This proposed rule also 

amends AIDAR part 752 to delete the 

Child safeguarding standards clause. 

The new requirements also consolidate 

PSEA and child safeguarding 

compliance and reporting with existing 

Trafficking in Persons requirements. For 

consistency, the proposed rule aligns 

with the requirements established in the 

Trafficking in Persons rule and uses the 

same or substantially similar definitions 

(e.g., agent, employee, exploitation, 

etc.), where available. These mandatory 

requirements include measures to 

safeguard program participants, local 

communities, contractor staff, and other 

individuals in vulnerable conditions 

from harm regardless of the method, 

manner, or medium in which the 

harmful behaviors occur or are 

facilitated (e.g., whether through digital 

technology, and/or other as yet 

unknown methods or mediums, or 

through physical-world violence, 

exploitation, and abuse), and regardless 

of the place of performance of the 

contract by: 

(1) Establishing minimum standards 

for contractors to prevent, detect, 

address, and respond to exploitation, 

sexual abuse, child abuse, and child 

neglect; 

(2) Prohibiting exploitation, sexual 

abuse, child abuse, and child neglect; 

and 

(3) Requiring a survivor-centered and/ 

or best interest of the child approach in 

situations where a potential violation 

has occurred. 

USAID is adding a new AIDAR 

section 722.70 titled Safeguarding 

Against Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, 

Child Abuse, and Child Neglect to 

implement these requirements. In 

furtherance of these requirements, the 

new AIDAR clause 752.222–7x entitled 

Safeguarding Against Exploitation, 

Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child 

Neglect requires that contractors: 

(1) Have and implement publicly 

available standards, policies, or 

procedures that prohibit employees, 

agents, interns, or any other person 

provided access or contact with 

beneficiaries of foreign assistance, from 

engaging in any exploitation, sexual 

abuse, child abuse, and child neglect of 

any person during the period of 

performance, supporting or advancing 

these actions, or intentionally ignoring 

or failing to act upon allegations of these 

actions; 

(2) For awards exceeding $550,000, 

develop, implement, and maintain a 

compliance plan (either in conjunction 

with or separate from the Trafficking in 

Persons Compliance Plan required 

under (48 CFR) FAR clause 52.222–50, 

Combating Trafficking in Persons) that 

details risk analysis and mitigation 

measures that will be implemented 

during the period of performance of the 

contract to prevent and address 

exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, 

and child neglect through a compliance 

plan; and 

(3) Report credible information that 

alleges employees, agents, interns, or 

any other person provided access or 

contact with beneficiaries, engaged in 

any exploitation, sexual abuse, child 

abuse, and child neglect of any person 

during the period of performance, 

supported or advanced these actions, or 

intentionally ignored or failed to act 

upon allegations of these actions; and 

additional information on any actions 

planned or taken in response to the 

allegation; and any actions planned or 

taken to assess, address, or mitigate 

factors that contributed to the incident. 

Applicability. In order to maximize 

the effectiveness of enhanced 

safeguarding protections and minimize 

harm, USAID proposes broad 

applicability to all solicitations and 

contracts with exceptions only for 

personal services contracts with 

individuals and commercial contracts, 

except when such contracts involve 

direct interaction with beneficiaries or 

routine physical access to USAID space 

or logical access to USAID’s information 

systems. The decision to exclude 

personal services contracts with 

individuals and certain commercial 

contracts was made to eliminate any 

additional administrative burden under 

awards where limited to no opportunity 

for violations exists. 

E. Regulatory Planning and Review 

This proposed rule was drafted in 

accordance with Executive Order (E.O.) 

12866, as amended by E.O. 14094, and 

E.O. 13563. OMB has determined that 

this rulemaking is not a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action,’’ as defined in section 

3(f) of E.O. 12866, as amended, and is 

therefore not subject to review by OMB. 

This rulemaking is not a major rule 

under 5 U.S.C. 804. 

F. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

USAID does not expect this proposed 

rule to have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities within the meaning of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, 

et seq. USAID has therefore not 

performed an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA). 

G. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35) applies. The 

proposed rule contains information 

collection requirements. Accordingly, 

USAID has submitted a request for 

approval of a new information 

collection requirement concerning this 

rulemaking to the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

The outlined information collection is 

an element of the proposed rule that 

implements USAID’s new requirements 

for reporting and recordkeeping 

associated with violations and 

mitigation measures. The proposed rule 

will incorporate a new subpart 722.70 

Safeguarding Against Exploitation, 

Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, and Child 

Neglect, and the corresponding clause of 

the same name into the AIDAR. This 

rulemaking is intended to streamline 

reporting requirements for contractors, 

subcontractors, and Agency staff across 

the Agency’s projects and operations. 

1. Needs and Uses 

The purpose of this collection is to 

enable USAID to respond to allegations 

of exploitation, sexual abuse, child 

abuse, and child neglect. Contractors 

will be required to report credible 

information that alleges employees, 

agents, interns, or any other person 

provided access or contact with 

beneficiaries, engaged any exploitation, 

sexual abuse, child abuse, and child 

neglect of any person, supported or 

advanced these actions, or intentionally 

ignored or failed to act upon allegations 

of these actions; and additional 

information on any actions planned or 

taken in response to the allegation; and 

any actions planned or taken to assess, 

address, or mitigate factors that 

contributed to the incident. Information 

submitted by contractors as part of this 

collection will be presumed to be 

confidential. USAID takes the protection 

of personally identifiable information 

(PII) seriously and takes precautions to 

ensure the confidentiality and security 

of PII consistent with USAID’s 

Automated Directives System (ADS) 

chapter 508 and does not request PII in 

this information collection. Agency staff 

must only share information on 

individual notifications on a need-toknow basis and take steps to protect any 

sensitive information, including 

redacting sensitive information and 

limiting access. 

Information in the notification may 

include: award title and number, 

organization name and subcontractor 


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name, if applicable, location of the 

project and the incident, the type of 

allegation, the date of the incident and/ 

or allegation, whether the survivor is a 

program participant, member of the 

community, or staff, and whether the 

perpetrator is a senior leader. It may 

also identify: any actions taken or next 

steps to respond to the incident, 

resources available or provided to the 

survivor, steps taken to ensure the safety 

of the survivor(s) or whistleblower(s), 

the status of the investigation, any 

established organizational procedures or 

framework, interim measures or final 

measures taken or planned to address 

the alleged perpetrator, and any 

protective measures or organizational 

reforms, such as changes to applicable 

policies and procedures. The 

notification should not include PII. 

For awards exceeding $550,000, the 

contractor must develop, implement, 

and maintain a compliance plan, either 

in conjunction with or separate from the 

Trafficking in Persons Compliance Plan, 

that details risk analysis and mitigation 

measures that will be implemented 

during the period of performance of the 

contract to prevent and address 

exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, 

and child neglect of any person. The 

contractor’s compliance plan must be 

appropriate to the size and complexity 

of the award and to the nature and 

scope of the activities, including the 

particular risks presented by the 

operating context. The contractor must 

provide a copy of the compliance plan 

to the Contracting Officer upon request. 

2. Request for Comments Regarding 

Paperwork Burden 

Submit comments, including 

suggestions for reducing this burden, 

not later than April 29, 2024 using the 

method specified in the ADDRESSES

section above. 

Public comments are particularly 

invited on: Whether this collection of 

information is necessary to accomplish 

the purpose of this rulemaking; whether 

our estimate of the public burden of this 

collection of information is accurate and 

based on valid assumptions and 

methodology; ways to enhance the 

quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and ways in 

which we can minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on those 

who are to respond. 

Requesters may obtain a copy of the 

supporting statement by contacting 

policymailbox@usaid.gov. Please cite 

RIN 0412–AA95 in all correspondence. 

3. Annual Reporting Burden 

Notifications 

Respondents: 45. 

Total Annual Responses: 90. 

Total Burden Hours: 360. 

Compliance Plan 

Respondents: 20. 

Recordkeepers: 166. 

Total Annual Responses/Records: 

186. 

Total Burden Hours: 4,004 hours. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 722 and 

752 

Government procurement. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, USAID proposes to amend 48 

CFR chapter 7 as set forth below: 

■ 1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

parts 722 and 752 continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: Sec. 621, Pub. L. 87–195, 75 

Stat. 445, (22 U.S.C. 2381) as amended; E.O. 

12163, Sept. 29, 1979, 44 FR 56673; and 3 

CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 435. 

PART 722—APPLICATION OF LABOR 

LAWS TO GOVERNMENT 

ACQUISITION 

■ 2. Add subpart 722.70 to read as 

follows: 

Subpart 722.70—Safeguarding Against 

Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, Child 

Abuse, and Child Neglect 

Sec. 

722.7001 Scope. 

722.7002 Applicability. 

722.7003 Definitions. 

722.7004 Policy. 

722.7005 Contract clause. 

Subchapter D Socioeconomic Programs 

722.70 Safeguarding Against Exploitation, 

Sexual Abuse, Child Abuse, And Child 

Neglect 

722.7001 Scope. 

This subpart prescribes policies and 

procedures that prohibit exploitation, 

sexual abuse, child abuse, and child 

neglect, occurring during the period of 

performance of USAID contracts. 

722.7002 Applicability. 

This subpart applies to contracts, 

except as specified in section 722.7005. 

722.7003 Definitions. 

As used in this subpart— 

Definitions for the purposes of this 

clause. 

Agent means any individual, 

including a director, an officer, an 

employee, or an independent contractor, 

authorized to act on behalf of an 

organization. 

Child means a person younger than 18 

years of age. 

Child abuse means emotional, 

physical, sexual, or any other illtreatment carried out against a child by 

an adult. 

Child neglect means a failure to 

provide for a child’s basic needs in the 

absence of the child’s parent or guardian 

when the care of the child is associated 

with a contract requirement. 

Emotional child abuse or ill-treatment 

means injury to the psychological 

capacity or emotional stability of the 

child caused by acts, threats of acts, or 

coercive tactics. 

Employee means an individual who is 

engaged in the performance of this 

contract as a direct employee, 

consultant, or volunteer of the 

contractor or any subcontractor. 

Exploitation constitutes any actual or 

attempted abuse of a position of 

vulnerability, differential power, or 

trust, including for the purposes of 

profiting monetarily, socially, or 

politically. When carried out for a 

sexual purpose this constitutes sexual 

exploitation. 

Physical child abuse means acts or 

failures to act resulting in injury (not 

necessarily visible), unnecessary or 

unjustified pain or suffering without 

causing injury, harm, or risk of harm to 

a child’s health or welfare, or death. 

Sexual abuse constitutes any actual or 

threatened physical intrusion of a 

sexual nature towards another person 

whether by force or under unequal or 

coercive conditions. When carried out 

against a child by an adult, such 

conduct is considered sexual abuse even 

in the absence of force or unequal or 

coercive conditions. 

722.7004 Policy. 

(a) USAID has adopted a policy 

prohibiting exploitation, sexual abuse, 

child abuse, and child neglect, and takes 

a survivor-centered approach and, when 

a child is involved, conducts a best 

interest of the child determination to 

address such misconduct. 

(b) Contractor must establish and 

implement a set of publicly available 

standards, policies, or procedures to 

prevent, detect, address, and respond to 

allegations of exploitation, sexual abuse, 

child abuse, and child neglect of any 

person during the contract performance 

by its employees, agents, visitors, 

interns, volunteers, or any other person 

provided access or contact with 

beneficiaries of foreign assistance by the 

contractor. 

722.7005 Contract clause. 

(a) The contracting officer must insert 

the clause at 752.222–7x, Safeguarding 

Against Exploitation, Sexual Abuse, 


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Child Abuse, and Child Neglect, in 

solicitations and contracts except for: 

(1) Contracts for personal services 

with individuals; or 

(2) Contracts for the acquisition of 

commercial products or commercial 

services as defined in FAR 2.101, unless 

those contracts are anticipated to: 

(i) Provide supplies or services 

directly to the beneficiaries of foreign 

assistance (e.g., technical assistance and 

training) in foreign countries, or 

(ii) Require routine physical access to 

USAID space or logical access to 

USAID’s information systems. 

(b) [Reserved] 

Subchapter H—Clauses and Forms 

PART 752—SOLICITATION 

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT 

CLAUSES 

■ 3. Add section 752.222–7x to read as 

follows: 

752.222–7x Safeguarding against 

exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, and 

child neglect 

As prescribed in (48 CFR) AIDAR 

722.7005, insert the following clause: 

SAFEGUARDING AGAINST 

EXPLOITATION, SEXUAL ABUSE, 

CHILD ABUSE, AND CHILD NEGLECT. 

[DATE] 

(a) Definitions. For the purposes of 

this clause. 

Agent means any individual, 

including a director, an officer, an 

employee, or an independent contractor, 

authorized to act on behalf of an 

organization. 

Child means a person younger than 18 

years of age. 

Child abuse means emotional, 

physical, sexual, or any other illtreatment carried out against a child by 

an adult. 

Child neglect means a failure to 

provide for a child’s basic needs in the 

absence of the child’s parent or guardian 

when the care of the child is associated 

with a contract requirement. 

Emotional child abuse or ill-treatment 

means injury to the psychological 

capacity or emotional stability of the 

child caused by acts, threats of acts, or 

coercive tactics. 

Employee means an individual who is 

engaged in the performance of this 

contract as a direct employee, 

consultant, or volunteer of the 

contractor or any subcontractor. 

Exploitation constitutes any actual or 

attempted abuse of a position of 

vulnerability, differential power, or 

trust, including for the purposes of 

profiting monetarily, socially, or 

politically. When carried out for a 

sexual purpose this constitutes sexual 

exploitation. 

Physical child abuse means acts or 

failures to act resulting in injury (not 

necessarily visible), unnecessary or 

unjustified pain or suffering without 

causing injury, harm, or risk of harm to 

a child’s health or welfare, or death. 

Sexual abuse constitutes any actual or 

threatened physical intrusion of a 

sexual nature towards another person 

whether by force or under unequal or 

coercive conditions. When carried out 

against a child by an adult, such 

conduct is considered sexual abuse even 

in the absence of force or unequal or 

coercive conditions. 

(b) Requirements. During contract 

performance, the Contractor must have 

and implement a set of publicly 

available standards, policies, or 

procedures to prevent, detect, address, 

and respond to allegations of 

exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, 

and child neglect regardless of the 

method, manner, or medium in which 

the behavior occurs or is facilitated, 

including through digital technology 

(and/or other as yet unknown methods 

or mediums). The Contractor’s 

standards, policies, or procedures must: 

(1) Prohibit employees, agents, 

interns, or any other person provided 

access or contact with beneficiaries of 

foreign assistance, from engaging in any 

exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, 

and child neglect of any person during 

the period of performance, supporting 

or advancing these actions, or 

intentionally ignoring or failing to act 

upon allegations of these actions; 

(2) Be consistent with the InterAgency Standing Committee’s Six Core 

Principles Relating to Sexual 

Exploitation and Abuse, as amended, 

available at https://

psea.interagencystandingcommittee.org/ 

update/iasc-six-core-principles and the 

Keeping Children Safe Standards, 

available at https://

www.keepingchildrensafe.global/ 

accountability/; 

(3) Require reporting of suspicions or 

concerns related to violations of the 

prohibitions in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

clause to the Contractor; 

(4) Require a ‘‘survivor-centered 

approach’’ for responding to alleged 

violations of the prohibitions. Such an 

approach must ensure the survivor’s 

dignity, experiences, considerations, 

needs, and resiliencies are placed at the 

center of the process; 

(5) When a child is involved, require 

a ‘‘best interest of the child 

determination’’ for responding to 

alleged violations of the prohibitions. 

This determination considers the best 

possible outcome for a vulnerable child 

who has been exposed to violence, 

abuse, exploitation or neglect; 

(6) Include remedies for violations; 

(7) Describe how the Contractor will 

monitor subcontractors, employees, 

agents, interns, or any other person 

provided access or contact with 

beneficiaries of foreign assistance; 

(8) Detail the actions that may be 

taken against subcontractors, 

employees, agents, interns, or any other 

person provided access or contact under 

the award who commit exploitation, 

sexual abuse, child abuse, and child 

neglect of any person or who fail to take 

reasonable steps to prevent it; and; 

(9) Provide transparency on hiring, 

screening, and employment practices, 

including on rehiring or transfer and 

referencing for subsequent employers. 

(c) Compliance plan. For awards 

exceeding $550,000 that are for supplies 

acquired or services performed outside 

the United States, the Contractor must 

develop, implement, and maintain a 

compliance plan, either in conjunction 

with or separate from the Trafficking in 

Persons Compliance Plan required 

under (48 CFR) FAR clause 52.222–50, 

Combating Trafficking in Persons, that 

details risk analysis and mitigation 

measures that will be implemented 

during the period of performance of the 

contract to prevent and address 

exploitation, sexual abuse, child abuse, 

and child neglect of any person, 

consistent with the requirements in 

paragraph (b) of this clause. 

(1) The Contractor’s compliance plan 

must be appropriate to the size and 

complexity of the contract and to the 

nature and scope of the activities, 

including the particular risks presented 

by the operating context. The plan must 

include, at a minimum, the following: 

(i) Reasonable measures to reduce the 

risk of exploitation, sexual abuse, child 

abuse, and child neglect. Where 

implementation of projects under this 

contract may involve children, this 

includes limiting unsupervised 

interactions with children and 

complying with applicable laws, 

regulations, or customs regarding 

harmful image-generating activities of 

children; 

(ii) An awareness program to inform 

employees, agents, interns, or any other 

person provided access or contact with 

beneficiaries of foreign assistance about 

the requirements of this clause, 

including the activities prohibited, the 

action that will be taken in response to 

violations, and the mechanism(s) for 

reporting allegations; 

(iii) A description of how 

beneficiaries of foreign assistance and 

local community members: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 28, 2024 / Proposed Rules 14617 

(A) Are made aware of the prohibited 

activities, 

(B) May report allegations, and 

(C) How paragraphs (c)(1)(iii)(A) and 

(B) of this clause are carried out in an 

manner which is inclusive, culturally 

appropriate, and sensitive to the 

context; 

(iv) Safe, accessible, and publicly 

available reporting mechanism(s) that 

may be integrated with any existing or 

similar such mechanisms, for anyone to 

confidentially report exploitation, 

sexual abuse, child abuse, and child 

neglect, with appropriate safeguards to 

protect whistle-blowers and survivors, 

including express protection against 

retaliation for reporting, and 

documented procedures for protecting 

personally identifiable information (PII) 

from unauthorized access and 

disclosure; and 

(v) Appropriate measures to protect 

survivors of or witnesses to activities 

prohibited in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

clause and not prevent or hinder 

cooperating fully with Government 

authorities. 

(2) The Contractor must provide a 

copy of the compliance plan to the 

Contracting Officer upon request. 

(d) Notification. (1) The Contractor 

must immediately inform, in writing, 

the Bureau for Management, Office of 

Management Policy, Budget, and 

Performance, Responsibility, 

Safeguarding and Compliance Division 

(M/MPBP/RSC) at disclosures@

usaid.gov, with a copy to the 

Contracting Officer, and USAID Office 

of Inspector General (OIG) whenever the 

Contractor receives credible information 

from any source that alleges the 

contractor, subcontractor, employee, 

agent, intern, or any other person 

provided access or contact with 

beneficiaries of foreign assistance has 

engaged in activities prohibited in 

paragraph (b)(1) of this clause; and 

(2) As soon as practicable, the 

Contractor must provide in writing, as 

specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this 

clause: 

(i) Additional information on any 

actions planned or taken in response to 

the allegation; and 

(ii) Any actions planned or taken to 

assess, address, or mitigate factors that 

contributed to the incident. 

(3) The Contracting Officer authorizes 

M/MPBP/RSC to correspond with the 

Contractor for further information 

relating to the notification. 

(4) In providing any notifications 

under this subsection, the Contractor 

should not share PII, unless specifically 

requested by the Agency or USAID OIG. 

(e) Remedies. In addition to other 

remedies available to the Government, 

the Contractor’s failure to comply with 

the requirements of paragraph (b), (c) or 

(d) of this clause may also result in the 

Agency initiating suspension or 

debarment proceedings. 

(f) Subcontracts. (1) The Contractor 

must insert the terms of this clause, 

including paragraph (f) of this clause, in 

all subcontracts, except subcontracts for 

commercial products or commercial 

services as defined at FAR 2.101, 

Definitions, unless the subcontracts are 

to provide supplies or services directly 

to the beneficiaries of foreign assistance 

(e.g., technical assistance and training) 

in foreign countries; 

(2) The clause must be inserted 

without alteration except to require 

subcontractors to notify the prime 

contractor or next higher tier 

subcontractor. The Contractor must 

forward such notifications as required 

in paragraph (d) of this clause. 

(End of clause) 

§ 752.7037 [REMOVED AND RESERVED] 

■ 4. Remove and reserve section 

752.7037 

Jami J. Rodgers, 

Chief Acquisition Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03848 Filed 2–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6116–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 240222–0056] 

RIN 0648–BM84 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; 2024 and Projected 2025 

Specifications for the Atlantic Mackerel 

Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2024 

specifications and projected 2025 

specifications for Atlantic mackerel. The 

implementing regulations for the 

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) require us to 

publish specifications for the upcoming 

fishing year for each of these species 

and to provide an opportunity for public 

comment. The proposed specifications 

are intended to establish allowable 

harvest levels that will prevent 

overfishing, consistent with the most 

recent scientific information. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before March 14, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2024–0010, by the following 

method: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2024–0010 in the Search 

box (note: copying and pasting the 

FDMS Docket Number directly from this 

document may not yield search results). 

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous). 

A Supplemental Information Report 

(SIR) was prepared for these 

specifications. Copies of the SIR are 

available on request from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 

North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

The SIR is also accessible via the 

internet at https://www.mafmc.org/ 

supporting-documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carly Bari, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 

281–9150, or carly.bari@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) manages 

the Atlantic mackerel fishery under the 

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP. 

The regulations implementing the FMP 

require the Council’s Mackerel, Squid, 

and Butterfish Monitoring Committee to 

develop specification recommendations 

based upon the acceptable biological 

catch (ABC) advice of the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC). Specifications are the combined 

suite of commercial and recreational 

catch levels and management measures 

necessary to prevent such catch levels 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1