I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5837 

To provide for the establishment of a global affairs strategy and assistance 

for people of African descent, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 10, 2014 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide for the establishment of a global affairs strategy 

and assistance for people of African descent, 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 ‘‘African Descent Act 

5 of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The struggle to end discrimination against 

9 people of African descent is a global challenge, and 


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1 one that is central to the United States commitment 

2 to human rights. 

3 (2) Targeted exclusion, violence, and discrimi4 nation against people of African descent continues 

5 around the world. 

6 (3) Issues range from the fight for ancestral 

7 lands in Latin America, hate crimes resulting in in8 jury and death in Europe, profiling and excessive 

9 use of force by law enforcement in the United 

10 States, and continuing global disparities in health, 

11 education, employment, housing, and other sectors. 

12 (4) It is imperative that the world actively ad13 dress the vestiges of slavery and colonialism that 

14 have long hindered racial equality and justice and 

15 prevented the recognition of the important contribu16 tions of people of African descent to the world. 

17 (5) The International Decade for People of Af18 rican Descent, from January 1, 2015, to December 

19 31, 2025, offers an opportunity to address these 

20 issues domestically and globally through coordinated 

21 government and civil society strategies, including the 

22 private sector. 

23 SEC. 3. ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

24 (a) OFFICE OF GLOBAL AFRICAN DESCENT AF25 FAIRS.—Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities 


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1 Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by add2 ing at the end the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 63. OFFICE OF GLOBAL AFRICAN DESCENT AFFAIRS. 

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Not later than 

5 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 

6 Secretary of State shall establish within the Department 

7 of State an Office of Global African Descent Affairs (in 

8 this section referred to as the ‘Office’) in the Front Office 

9 of the Office of the Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy 

10 and Public Affairs. 

11 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Office 

13 shall be the Director and Special Advisor to the Sec14 retary on Global African Descent Affairs (in this 

15 section referred to as the ‘Special Advisor’). 

16 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Director shall be ap17 pointed by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(c) OTHER PERSONNEL.—The Office shall be sup19 ported by two senior Foreign Service officers. 

20 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office shall 

21 include the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) Advise the Secretary and direct activities, 

23 policies, programs, and funding relating to the 

24 human rights and the advancement of people of Af25 rican descent internationally, for all bureaus and ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 Jan 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5837.IH H5837

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1 fices of the Department of State and shall lead the 

2 coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of relevant 

3 international programs for all other Federal agen4 cies. 

5 ‘‘(2) Represent the United States in diplomatic 

6 matters relevant to the human rights of people of 

7 African descent in contacts with foreign govern8 ments, intergovernmental organizations, and special9 ized agencies of the United Nations, the Organiza10 tion of Security and Cooperation in Europe, other 

11 international organizations of which the United 

12 States is a member, relevant multilateral conferences 

13 and meetings. 

14 ‘‘(3) Lead efforts to promote an international 

15 focus on racial equality more broadly, including 

16 through diplomatic initiatives with other countries 

17 and partnerships and regular and enhanced coordi18 nation with international and nongovernmental orga19 nizations and the private sector. 

20 ‘‘(4) Manage a $3,000,000 fund for people of 

21 African descent to invest in efficient and innovative 

22 solutions to combat racial discrimination and create 

23 economic and political opportunities for people of Af24 rican descent internationally. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Develop a uniform set of indicators and 

2 standards for monitoring and evaluating foreign pol3 icy assistance for people of African descent in Fed4 eral agencies. 

5 ‘‘(6) Direct, as appropriate, United States Gov6 ernment resources to respond to needs for protec7 tion, integration, resettlement, and empowerment of 

8 people of African descent in United States Govern9 ment policies and international programs, including 

10 to prevent and respond to discrimination and vio11 lence against people of African descent internation12 ally. 

13 ‘‘(7) Work in collaboration with the Race, Eth14 nicity, and Social Inclusion Unit in the Western 

15 Hemisphere Bureau Office. 

16 ‘‘(8) Compile an annual report on activities of 

17 the United States Government relating to people of 

18 African descent to fulfill the requirements of this 

19 section and the African Descent Act of 2014. 

20 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

2 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

3 Senate; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

5 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 ‘‘(2) PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.—The 

8 term ‘people of African descent’ has the meaning 

9 given the term in section 5 of the African Descent 

10 Act of 2014.’’. 

11 (b) ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Assistance Act 

13 of 1961 is amended— 

14 (A) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by 

15 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(h) STATUS OF PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required under 

18 subsection (d) shall include, for countries in the 

19 Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, a de20 scription of the status of people of African descent 

21 in each such country. 

22 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

23 ‘people of African descent’ has the meaning given 

24 the term in section 5 of the African Descent Act of 

25 2014.’’; and 


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1 (B) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 

2 (i) by redesignating the second sub3 section (i) (as added by section 1207(b)(2) 

4 of Public Law 113–4) as subsection (j); 

5 and 

6 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

7 new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(k) STATUS OF PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required under 

10 subsection (b) shall include, for countries in the 

11 Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, a de12 scription of people of African descent in each such 

13 country. 

14 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

15 ‘people of African descent’ has the meaning given 

16 the term in section 5 of the African Descent Act of 

17 2014.’’. 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

19 this subsection take effect on the date of the enact20 ment of this Act and apply with respect to reports 

21 required to be submitted under sections 116 and 

22 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 

23 amended by this subsection, on or after such date of 

24 enactment. 

25 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated to the Secretary of State $5,000,000 

3 for each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2026 to 

4 carry out this section and the amendments made by 

5 this section. 

6 (2) PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwith7 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

8 State is authorized to accept private contributions to 

9 carry out this section and the amendments made by 

10 this section. 

11 (3) DESIGNATION.—Amounts appropriated pur12 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 

13 paragraph (1) and private contributions accepted 

14 under paragraph (2) may be referred to as the 

15 ‘‘President Obama Fund for African Descent Af16 fairs’’. 

17 SEC. 4. ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR 

18 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. 

19 (a) SENIOR ADVISOR.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

21 United States Agency for International Development 

22 shall appoint within the immediate office of the Ad23 ministrator a Senior Advisor to the Administrator on 

24 Global African Descent Affairs (in this section re25 ferred to as the ‘‘Special Advisor’’). 


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1 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Senior Advisor shall 

2 be appointed by the Administrator. 

3 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Special Advi4 sor shall include the following: 

5 (1) Advise the Administrator and direct activi6 ties, policies, programs, and funding relating to the 

7 human rights and advancement of people of African 

8 descent internationally for all bureaus and offices of 

9 the Agency. 

10 (2) Develop a racial and ethnic equality and 

11 empowerment policy, strategy, and action plan for 

12 the Agency, in consultation with civil society, that 

13 includes a focus on people of African descent. 

14 (3) Serve as the Agency liaison to the Depart15 ment of State’s Office on Global African Descent Af16 fairs. 

17 (4) Develop a uniform set of indicators and 

18 standards for monitoring and evaluating foreign as19 sistance for people of African descent in Federal 

20 agencies. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 

23 $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2015 through 2026 

24 to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 

3 this Act, of the amounts made available for ‘‘Diplomatic 

4 and Consular Programs’’ for each of the fiscal years 2015 

5 through 2026, $8,000,000 is authorized to be appro6 priated for each such fiscal year to carry out this Act. 

7 (b) FUNDING OFFSET.—To offset the costs to be in8 curred by the Department of State to carry out the provi9 sions of this Act for fiscal years 2015 through 2026, the 

10 Secretary of State shall eliminate such positions within the 

11 Department of State, unless otherwise authorized or re12 quired by law, as the Secretary determines to be necessary 

13 to fully offset such costs. 

14 (c) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized 

15 to be appropriated for ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Pro16 grams’’ to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

17 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this Act: 

19 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT20 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means— 

22 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

23 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

24 Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

2 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

3 of Representatives. 

4 (2) PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.—The term 

5 ‘‘people of African descent’’ means persons of Afri6 can origin who are residents of countries of the 

7 Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. 

8 SEC. 7. BRIEFINGS AND ASSESSMENTS. 

9 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director 

11 and Special Advisor to the Secretary on Global African 

12 Descent Affairs (appointed under section 63 of the State 

13 Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by 

14 section 3 of this Act))— 

15 (1) shall brief the appropriate congressional 

16 committees on the status of the human rights, social 

17 inclusion, equality, and empowerment of people of 

18 African descent internationally, as well as the status 

19 of programs and response strategies to address dis20 crimination and violence against people of African 

21 descent internationally; and 

22 (2) shall submit to the appropriate congres23 sional committees an assessment of human and fi24 nancial resources necessary to fulfill the purposes 


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1 and duties of this Act and the amendments made by 

2 this Act. 

3 SEC. 8. UNITED STATES POLICY TO PREVENT AND RE4 SPOND TO DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE 

5 AGAINST PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT. 

6 (a) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

7 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 and annually thereafter for 5 years, the Director and Spe9 cial Advisor to the Secretary on Global African Descent 

10 Affairs shall develop or update a United States global 

11 strategy to empower, prevent, and respond to discrimina12 tion and violence against people of African descent. The 

13 strategy shall be transmitted to the appropriate congres14 sional committees and, if practicable, made available to 

15 the public. 

16 (b) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In devel17 oping the strategy under subsection (a), the Director and 

18 Special Advisor to the Secretary on Global African De19 scent Affairs shall consult with— 

20 (1) the heads of relevant Federal agencies; and 

21 (2) representatives of civil society, multilateral, 

22 and private sector organizations. 


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1 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

3 terminate on October 1, 2026. 

Æ 


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