I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6153 

To authorize appropriations of United States assistance to help eliminate 

conditions in foreign prisons and other detention facilities that do not 

meet minimum humane standards of health, sanitation, and safety, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 

Mr. DELAHUNT (for himself and Mr. PITTS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize appropriations of United States assistance to 

help eliminate conditions in foreign prisons and other 

detention facilities that do not meet minimum humane 

standards 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 2010’’. 


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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 (2) According to a 2009 International Centre 

8 for Prison Studies report, there are an estimated 

9 9,800,000 people held in penal institutions in the 

10 world, with prison populations increasing in 71 per11 cent of the over 200 countries surveyed. 

12 (3) Rates of malnutrition, disease, and death 

13 among prisoners and other detainees far exceed 

14 those of the general population, and medical treat15 ment for serious illness or injury is, in many in16 stances, non-existent or grossly inadequate. 

17 (4) These conditions are compounded by severe 

18 overcrowding in prisons and other detention facili19 ties. Excessive pre-trial detention and dysfunctional 

20 justice systems frequently result in prisoners and 

21 other detainees spending years in such conditions be22 fore their cases are adjudicated. In some countries, 

23 such facilities are filled to capacity many times over 

24 resulting in conditions so cramped that individual 

25 prisoners cannot move without all doing so en 

26 masse. 


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1 (5) Amnesty International’s 2009 State of the 

2 World’s Human Rights Report documented wide3 spread inhumane prison conditions, including over4 crowding, inadequate food and water, no access to 

5 hygiene products or medical care, juveniles detained 

6 with adults, and denial of visits from family. 

7 (6) Some governments fail to provide even the 

8 most rudimentary sanitation in prisons and other 

9 detention facilities, putting prisoners and other de10 tainees at even greater risk of easily preventable and 

11 often life-threatening diseases. Toilets are few or 

12 non-existent and human waste repositories often are 

13 located among the general prison population, forcing 

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

15 conditions. 

16 (7) According to a 2009 report by the United 

17 Nations Economic and Social Council’s Commission 

18 on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, former 

19 prisoners are likely to spread diseases contracted in 

20 prison to the local population. 

21 (8) Some governments fail to permit prisoners 

22 and other detainees reasonable exercise of religious 

23 worship or contact with family members or other 

24 visitors. 


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1 (9) According to the United States Commission 

2 on International Religious Freedom’s 2009 Annual 

3 Report, religious prisoners have been confined to 

4 overcrowded cells, exposed to extreme temperature 

5 fluctuations, denied adequate food and medical care, 

6 and denied access to clergy and religious literature. 

7 (10) Inhumane conditions in prisons and other 

8 detention facilities often exist in countries where re9 sources for law enforcement are limited and only a 

10 small fraction of such resources are made available 

11 for the operation and maintenance of prisons and 

12 other detention facilities. Inadequate, misplaced, or 

13 lost prison records often result in prisoners and de14 tainees being incarcerated indefinitely because of 

15 never being tried or otherwise adjudicated, and being 

16 held long after their sentences have expired thereby 

17 further swelling prison populations. Allocating the 

18 relatively modest resources necessary to provide for 

19 the basic human needs of prisoners and other de20 tainees and to remediate the inhumane conditions 

21 under which such prisoners are held is often a low 

22 priority. 

23 (11) The United States Government currently 

24 provides significant amounts of assistance to coun25 tries whose governments operate prisons and other 


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1 detention facilities that, because of their inhumane 

2 conditions, seriously jeopardize the lives of prisoners 

3 and other detainees held under their authority. 

4 (12) The Department of State’s 2009 Country 

5 Reports on Human Rights Practices reported prison 

6 conditions as poor, inhumane, or life threatening in 

7 more than 100 countries, all of which receive United 

8 States assistance. 

9 (13) The United States Government should use 

10 its influence and resources to help ensure that gov11 ernments that receive United States assistance do 

12 not operate prisons and other detention facilities 

13 under inhumane conditions. The United States Gov14 ernment also should assist countries that are making 

15 significant efforts to eliminate inhumane conditions 

16 in prisons and other detention facilities. 

17 (14) Eliminating inhumane conditions in for18 eign prisons and other detention facilities will 

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

20 the health and well-being of vulnerable people in 

21 poor countries, and it will advance United States in22 terests. 

23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

5 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen6 ate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

8 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

9 of Representatives. 

10 (2) MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMI11 NATION OF INHUMANE CONDITIONS IN FOREIGN

12 PRISONS AND OTHER DETENTION FACILITIES.—The 

13 term ‘‘minimum standards for the elimination of in14 humane conditions in prisons and other detention fa15 cilities’’ means, with respect to the operation or 

16 maintenance of prisons and other detention facilities 

17 in a foreign country that is a recipient of United 

18 States assistance, the following: 

19 (A) The number of inmates or detainees 

20 held in a facility does not so exceed prison ca21 pacity such that per capita floor space is insuf22 ficient to allow for humane sleeping conditions 

23 and reasonable physical movement. 


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1 (B) Human waste facilities are sanitary 

2 and accessible, and human waste is disposed of 

3 regularly and in a sanitary manner. 

4 (C) The lighting, ventilation, temperature, 

5 and physical construction of prisons and other 

6 detention facilities do not seriously endanger 

7 the health and safety of prisoners. 

8 (D) Prisoners and other detainees have ac9 cess to adequate food and potable drinking 

10 water. 

11 (E) Prisoners and other detainees have ac12 cess to essential and emergency medical care. 

13 (F) To the maximum extent practicable, 

14 prisoners and other detainees are allowed reli15 gious observance and materials, and contact 

16 with clergy, family, and friends, by both cor17 respondence and personal visits. 

18 (3) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.—The term 

19 ‘‘United States assistance’’ means any non-humani20 tarian assistance furnished to carry out the provi21 sions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

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

23 (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), or the Millennium Chal24 lenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 4. ACTIONS TO HELP ELIMINATE INHUMANE CONDI2 TIONS IN FOREIGN PRISONS AND OTHER DE3 TENTION FACILITIES. 

4 (a) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

5 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an7 nually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit 

8 to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

9 describing the conditions in prisons and other deten10 tion facilities in countries receiving United States 

11 assistance. The report shall include a list of those 

12 countries, if any, receiving United States assistance, 

13 whose governments— 

14 (A) do not meet minimum standards for 

15 the elimination of inhumane conditions in pris16 ons and other detention facilities but are mak17 ing significant efforts to comply; and 

18 (B) do not meet such standards and are 

19 not making significant efforts to comply. 

20 (2) SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS.—In making deter21 minations under paragraph (1) as to whether the 

22 government of a country is making significant ef23 forts to meet minimum standards for the elimination 

24 of inhumane conditions in prisons and other deten25 tion facilities, the Secretary of State shall consider 


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1 the extent to which the government of the country 

2 is— 

3 (A) regularly monitoring the conditions of 

4 prisons and other detention facilities under its 

5 authority, including permitting prisoners and 

6 other detainees to submit complaints without 

7 censorship, cooperating with international ex8 perts on eliminating and monitoring inhumane 

9 conditions in prisons and other detention facili10 ties, promptly investigating credible allegations 

11 of inhumane conditions, and making informa12 tion concerning conditions and investigations 

13 available to the public and the Secretary of 

14 State; 

15 (B) taking effective steps to eliminate in16 humane conditions in prisons and other deten17 tion facilities, which may include, among other 

18 steps, appointing ombudsmen to serve on behalf 

19 of prisoners and other detainees, providing al20 ternatives to incarceration for nonviolent of21 fenders in order to alleviate inhumane over22 crowding, addressing the status and cir23 cumstances of confinement of juveniles, improv24 ing pretrial detention practices, and imple25 menting bail and recordkeeping procedures to 


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1 reduce pretrial detention periods and to ensure 

2 that prisoners do not serve beyond the max3 imum sentence for the charged offense; and 

4 (C) increasing the amount of government 

5 resources to eliminate inhumane conditions in 

6 prisons and other detention facilities. 

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

8 required under paragraph (1) may draw from the 

9 discussion of prison conditions contained in the 

10 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices re11 quired under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the 

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

13 2151n(d) and 2304(b)), but shall for each country 

14 provide a detailed and up to date report covering, 

15 whenever possible, each of the issues set forth in sec16 tion 3(2). 

17 (4) PUBLICATION.—The report required under 

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

19 including on a publicly available website of the De20 partment of State. 

21 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR GOVERNMENTS MAKING SIG22 NIFICANT EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE INHUMANE CONDI23 TIONS IN PRISONS AND OTHER DETENTION FACILI24 TIES.— 


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

2 the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

3 International Development should furnish assistance 

4 for the purpose of helping to eliminate inhumane 

5 conditions in prisons and other detention facilities to 

6 countries whose governments do not meet minimum 

7 standards for the elimination of inhumane conditions 

8 in prisons and other detention facilities but are mak9 ing significant efforts to comply. 

10 (2) INAPPLICABILITY OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

11 ACT PROHIBITION.—The prohibitions under section 

12 660 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

13 U.S.C. 2420) shall not be applicable to assistance 

14 furnished to carry out the provisions of paragraph 

15 (1). 

16 (3) GRANT FUNDS.—Grants made under this 

17 subsection shall be designated and used exclusively 

18 to help eliminate inhumane conditions in the country 

19 receiving the grant, but may not include the con20 struction of new prisons. Funds made available 

21 under this section shall be subject to the regular no22 tification procedures of the Committees on Appro23 priations of the Senate and the House of Represent24 atives. 


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1 (c) NEGOTIATIONS WITH GOVERNMENTS NOT MAK2 ING SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE INHUMANE

3 CONDITIONS IN PRISONS AND OTHER DETENTION FA4 CILITIES.— 

5 (1) NEGOTIATIONS.—In the case of a govern6 ment receiving United States assistance that is listed 

7 in the report submitted under subsection (a)(1)(B) 

8 as not making significant efforts to eliminate inhu9 mane conditions in prisons and other detention fa10 cilities, the Secretary of State shall, not later than 

11 90 days after the date such report is submitted, 

12 enter into negotiations with such government to 

13 achieve the purposes of this Act. 

14 (2) ACTIONS REGARDING ASSISTANCE AND

15 VISAS.— 

16 (A) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of State 

17 and the Administrator of the United States 

18 Agency for International Development may re19 structure, reprogram, or reduce United States 

20 assistance for a government described in para21 graph (1) to achieve the purposes of this Act. 

22 (B) VISAS.—The Secretary of State may 

23 issue or deny visas for travel to the United 

24 States by officials of a government described in 


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1 paragraph (1) to achieve the purposes of this 

2 Act. 

3 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

4 the beginning of the negotiations required under 

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the ap6 propriate congressional committees a report describ7 ing the actions taken or agreed to be taken, if any, 

8 during such negotiations by the government of that 

9 country that constitute significant efforts to elimi10 nate inhumane conditions in prisons and other de11 tention facilities and the actions taken, or that will 

12 be taken, by the United States pursuant to para13 graph (2) regarding assistance and visas. If the Sec14 retary determines that United States assistance to 

15 such government should not be restructured, repro16 grammed, or reduced, or that visas should be issued 

17 or denied to officials of such government, the report 

18 shall contain a detailed explanation for that decision. 

19 SEC. 5. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 

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

21 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing new subsection: 

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

24 other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the stand25 ard training provided for chiefs of mission, deputy chiefs 


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

2 will be involved in the assessment of conditions in foreign 

3 prisons and other detention facilities or the drafting of the 

4 annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, in5 struction on matters related to conditions in such prisons 

6 and other detention facilities and the substance of the 

7 Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act of 2010.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. NEW POSITION TO MONITOR FOREIGN PRISON CON9 DITIONS. 

10 The Secretary of State shall establish, within the Bu11 reau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, a new full12 time equivalent Deputy Assistant Secretary level position 

13 which shall have responsibility for advancing the purposes 

14 of this Act. 

15 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 The Secretary of State may use funds available for 

17 any fiscal year to carry out the provisions of part I and 

18 chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

19 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq. and 22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.) and 

20 the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act 

21 of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) to carry out the provi22 sions of section 4(b) and section 6 of this Act and section 

23 708(d) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by 

24 section 5. 


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1 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 For purposes of this Act— 

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

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

5 2151b(f)) shall apply and shall not be construed to 

6 be altered by this Act; and 

7 (2) the minimum standards for foreign prisons 

8 and other detention facilities shall not be determined 

9 based on the provision of services for which funding 

10 is prohibited by that section. 

Æ 


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