II

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2362

To provide a comprehensive program of support for the victims of torture.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 4 (legislative day, JULY 20), 1994

Mr. DURENBERGER (for himself, Mr. HARKIN, and Mr. WELLSTONE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide a comprehensive program of support for the

victims of torture.

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 ‘‘Comprehensive Tor5 ture Victims Relief Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) The American people abhor torture and the

9 use of atrocities by repressive governments. The ex-
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1 istence of torture creates a climate of fear and inter2 national insecurity that affects all people.

3 (2) Torture is the strategic use of pain to de4 stroy both individuals and society. The effects of tor5 ture are long term. Those effects can last a lifetime

6 for the survivors and affect future generations.

7 (3) By eliminating leadership of their opposi8 tion and frightening the general public, repressive

9 governments use torture as a weapon against democ10 racy.

11 (4) Torture victims remain under physical and

12 psychological threats, especially in communities

13 where the perpetrators are not brought to justice. In

14 many nations, even those who treat torture victims

15 are threatened with reprisals, including torture, for

16 carrying out their ethical duties to provide care.

17 Both the survivors of torture and their treatment

18 providers deserve, and often require, protection from

19 further repression.

20 (5) A significant number of refugees and

21 asylees entering the United States have been victims

22 of governmental torture. Those claiming asylum de23 serve prompt consideration of the applications for

24 political asylum to minimize their insecurity and

25 sense of danger. Many torture survivors now live in
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1 the United States. They should be provided with the

2 rehabilitation services which would enable them to

3 become productive members of our communities.

4 (6) Building democratic cultures requires not

5 only legal and political institution-building, but also

6 addressing the physical, psychological, and spiritual

7 damage of repression, in order to foster a climate

8 and opportunity of healing for the victims and for

9 society.

10 (7) The development of a treatment movement

11 for torture survivors has created new opportunities

12 for action by the United States and other nations to

13 oppose state-sponsored acts of torture.

14 (8) There is a need for a comprehensive strat15 egy to protect and support torture victims and their

16 treatment providers as part of the overall objective

17 of eliminating torture.

18 (9) By acting to heal the survivors of torture

19 and protect their families, the United States can

20 move to defeat the actions of torturers.

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

22 As used in this Act:

23 (1) ASYLEE.—The term ‘‘asylee’’ is used within

24 the meaning of section 208 of the Immigration and

25 Nationality Act.
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1 (2) REFUGEE.—The term ‘‘refugee’’ has the

2 same meaning given to the term in section

3 101(a)(42) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

4 (3) SPECIAL INQUIRY OFFICER.—The term

5 ‘‘special inquiry officer’’ is used within the meaning

6 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

7 (4) TORTURE.—The term ‘‘torture’’ has the

8 same meaning given to the term in section 2340(1)

9 of title 18, United States Code, and includes the use

10 of rape by a person acting under the color of law

11 upon another person under his custody or physical

12 control.

13 SEC. 4. IMMIGRATION PROCEDURES FOR TORTURE VIC14 TIMS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any alien—

16 (1) who presents a credible claim of having

17 been subjected to torture in his or her country of na18 tionality, or, in the case of an alien having no na19 tionality, the country in which the alien last habit20 ually resided, and

21 (2) who applies for—

22 (A) refugee status under section 207 of the

23 Immigration and Nationality Act,

24 (B) asylum under section 208 of that Act,

25 or
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1 (C) withholding of deportation under sec2 tion 243(h) of that Act,

3 shall be processed in accordance with this section.

4 (b) CONSIDERATION OF THE EFFECTS OF TOR5 TURE.—In considering applications for refugee status,

6 asylum, or withholding of deportation made by aliens de7 scribed in subsection (a), the appropriate officials shall

8 take into account—

9 (1) the manner in which the effects of torture

10 can affect the applicant’s responses in the applica11 tion and in the interview process or other immigra12 tion proceedings, as the case may be;

13 (2) the difficulties torture victims often have in

14 recounting their suffering under torture; and

15 (3) the fear victims have of returning to their

16 country of nationality where, even if torture is no

17 longer practiced or the incidence of torture is re18 duced, their torturers may have gone unpunished

19 and may remain in positions of authority.

20 (c) EXPEDITED PROCESSING OF REFUGEE ADMIS21 SIONS.—For purposes of section 207(c) of the Immigra22 tion and Nationality Act, a refugee who presents a credible

23 claim of having been subjected to torture shall be consid24 ered to be a refugee of special humanitarian concern to

25 the United States and shall be accorded priority in selec-
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1 tion from the waiting list of such refugees based on com2 pelling humanitarian concerns.

3 (d) EXPEDITED PROCESSING FOR ASYLUM AND

4 WITHHOLDING OF DEPORTATION.—Upon the request of

5 the alien, the alien’s counsel, or a health care professional

6 treating the alien, an asylum officer or special inquiry offi7 cer may expedite the scheduling of an asylum interview

8 or an exclusion or deportation proceeding for an alien de9 scribed in subsection (a), if such officer determines that

10 an undue delay in making a determination regarding asy11 lum or withholding of deportation with respect to the alien

12 would aggravate the physical or psychological effects of

13 torture upon the alien.

14 (e) PAROLE IN LIEU OF DETENTION.—Any alien de15 scribed in subsection (a) who, upon inspection at a port

16 of entry of the United States, is found to suffer from the

17 effects of torture, such as depressive and anxiety dis18 orders, shall, in lieu of detention, be granted parole under

19 section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

20 (f) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that the Attorney General shall allocate resources

22 sufficient to maintain in the Resource Information Center

23 of the Immigration and Naturalization Service informa24 tion relating to the use of torture in foreign countries.
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1 SEC. 5. SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR CONSULAR, IMMIGRA2 TION, AND ASYLUM PERSONNEL.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall pro4 vide training for immigration inspectors and examiners,

5 immigration officers, asylum officers, special inquiry offi6 cers, and all other relevant officials of the Department of

7 Justice, and the Secretary of State shall provide training

8 for consular officers, with respect to—

9 (1) the identification of the evidence of torture;

10 (2) the identification of the surrounding cir11 cumstances in which torture is practiced;

12 (3) the long-term effects of torture upon the in13 dividual;

14 (4) the identification of the physical, cognitive,

15 and emotional effects of torture, including depressive

16 and anxiety disorders, and the manner in which

17 these effects can affect the interview or hearing

18 process; and

19 (5) the manner of interviewing victims of tor20 ture so as not to retraumatize them, eliciting the

21 necessary information to document the torture expe22 rience, and understanding the difficulties victims

23 often have in recounting their torture experience.

24 (b) GENDER-RELATED CONSIDERATIONS.—In con25 ducting training under subsection (a)(4) or subsection

26 (a)(5), gender specific training shall be provided on the
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1 subject of interacting with women and men who are vic2 tims of torture by rape or any other form of sexual vio3 lence.

4 SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON TORTURE VICTIMS IN THE

5 UNITED STATES.

6 (a) STUDY.—The Center for Disease Control shall

7 conduct a study with respect to refugees and asylees ad8 mitted to the United States since October 1, 1987, who

9 were tortured abroad, for the purpose of identifying—

10 (1) the estimated number and geographic dis11 tribution of such persons;

12 (2) the needs of such persons for recovery serv13 ices; and

14 (3) the availability of such services.

15 (b) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 1997,

16 the Center for Disease Control shall submit a report to

17 the Judiciary Committees of the House of Representatives

18 and the Senate setting forth the findings of the study con19 ducted under subsection (a), together with any rec20 ommendation for increasing the services available to per21 sons described in subsection (a), including any rec22 ommendation for legislation, if necessary.

23 SEC. 7. DOMESTIC TREATMENT CENTERS.

24 (a) AMENDMENT OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NA25 TIONALITY ACT.—Section 412 of the Immigration and
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1 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1522) is amended by adding

2 at the end the following new subsection:

3 ‘‘(g) ASSISTANCE FOR TREATMENT OF TORTURE

4 VICTIMS.—(1) The Director is authorized to provide

5 grants to eligible programs to cover the cost of services

6 described in paragraph (3) for aliens who entered the

7 United States since October 1, 1987.

8 ‘‘(2) Programs eligible for assistance under this sub9 section are programs in the United States which are carry10 ing out services described in paragraph (3).

11 ‘‘(3) The services described in paragraph (1) are—

12 ‘‘(A) services for the rehabilitation of victims of

13 torture, including treatment of the physical and psy14 chological effects of torture;

15 ‘‘(B) social services for victims of torture; and

16 ‘‘(C) research and training for health care pro17 viders outside of treatment centers for the purpose

18 of enabling such providers to provide the services de19 scribed in subparagraph (A).

20 ‘‘(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘tor21 ture’ has the same meaning given to the term in section

22 3(4) of the Comprehensive Torture Victims Relief Act.’’.

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) Of

24 amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out sec25 tion 414 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
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1 1524) for fiscal year 1995, there are authorized to be ap2 propriated $20,000,000 for that fiscal year to carry out

3 section 412(g) of that Act (relating to assistance for do4 mestic centers for the treatment of victims of torture).

5 (2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to this sub6 section are authorized to remain available until expended.

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

8 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1994.

9 SEC. 8. FOREIGN TREATMENT CENTERS.

10 (a) AMENDMENTS OF THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

11 ACT OF 1961.—Part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of

12 1961 is amended by adding at the end of chapter 1 the

13 following new section:

14 ‘‘SEC. 129. ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TOR15 TURE.—(a) The President is authorized to provide assist16 ance for the rehabilitation of victims of torture.

17 ‘‘(b) Such assistance shall be provided in the form

18 of grants to treatment centers in foreign countries which

19 are carrying out programs specifically designed to treat

20 victims of torture for the physical and psychological effect

21 of the torture.

22 ‘‘(c) Such assistance shall be available—

23 ‘‘(1) for direct services to victims of torture;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(2) to provide research and training to health

2 care providers outside of treatment centers for the

3 purpose of enabling such providers to provide the

4 services described in paragraph (1).

5 ‘‘(d) For purposes of this section, the term ‘torture’

6 has the same meaning given to such term in section 3(4)

7 of the Comprehensive Torture Victims Relief Act.’’.

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—(1) Of

9 the total amount authorized to be appropriated to carry

10 out chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of

11 1961 for fiscal year 1995, there are authorized to be ap12 propriated to the President $20,000,000 to carry out sec13 tion 129 of that Act for that fiscal year.

14 (2) Amounts appropriated pursuant to this sub15 section are authorized to remain available until expended.

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

17 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 1994.

18 SEC. 9. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the

20 amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out sec21 tion 301 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating

22 to international organizations and programs), there are

23 authorized to be appropriated to the United Nations Vol24 untary Fund for Victims of Torture (in this section re-
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1 ferred to as the ‘‘Fund’’) the following amounts for the

2 following fiscal years:

3 (1) For fiscal year 1995, $5,000,000.

4 (2) For fiscal year 1996, $6,000,000.

5 (3) For fiscal year 1997, $7,000,000.

6 (4) For fiscal year 1998, $8,000,000.

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro8 priated pursuant to subsection (a) are authorized to re9 main available until expended.

10 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con11 gress that the President, acting through the United States

12 Permanent Representative to the United Nations,

13 should—

14 (1) request the Fund—

15 (A) to find new ways to support and pro16 tect treatment centers that are carrying out re17 habilitative services for victims of torture; and

18 (B) to encourage the development of new

19 such centers;

20 (2) use the voice and vote of the United States

21 to support the work of the Special Rapporteur on

22 Torture and the Committee Against Torture estab23 lished under the Convention Against Torture and

24 Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or

25 Punishment; and
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1 (3) use the voice and vote of the United States

2 to establish a country rapporteur or similar proce3 dural mechanism to investigate human rights viola4 tions in a country if either the Special Rapporteur

5 or the Committee Against Torture indicates that a

6 systematic practice of torture is prevalent in that

7 country.

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