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Union Calendar No. 324 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7025 

[Report No. 117–417] 

To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 

from funding entities that commit, fund, or support gross violations 

of internationally recognized human rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2022 

Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself, Mr. WESTERMAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, and Mr. 

BENTZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

JULY 18, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. LOWENTHAL and Mr. COHEN

JULY 18, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 9, 2022] 


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A BILL 

To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish and 

Wildlife Service from funding entities that commit, fund, 

or support gross violations of internationally recognized 

human rights, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Advancing Human 

5 Rights-Centered International Conservation Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

9 The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ 

10 means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Natural Resources of 

12 the House of Representatives; 

13 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives; 

15 (C) the Committee of Appropriations of the 

16 House of Representatives; 

17 (D) the Committee on Environment and 

18 Public Works of the Senate; 

19 (E) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

20 the Senate; and 

21 (F) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

22 Senate. 

23 (2) COVERED RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘covered re24 cipient’’ means any entity that receives financial as25 sistance from the Director for the purpose of interVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Jul 19, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7025.RH H7025

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1 national activities or a subgrantee of such entity with 

2 respect to a grant issued by the Director. 

3 (3) CREDIBLE INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘cred4 ible information’’ means information that, consid5 ering the source of such information and the sur6 rounding circumstances, supports a reasonable belief 

7 that an event has occurred or will occur. 

8 (4) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the 

9 Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv10 ice. 

11 (5) GROSS VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONALLY REC12 OGNIZED HUMAN RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘gross violation 

13 of internationally recognized human rights’’ has the 

14 meaning given that term in section 502B(d)(1) of the 

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

16 2304(d)(1)). 

17 (6) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Inspector 

18 General’’ means the Inspector General for the Depart19 ment of the Interior. 

20 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘the Secretary’’ 

21 means the Secretary of State. 

22 (8) SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Service’’ means the 

23 United States Fish and Wildlife Service. 


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1 (9) UNIT OF A FOREIGN SECURITY FORCE.—The 

2 term ‘‘unit of a foreign security force’’ means a unit 

3 of— 

4 (A) a foreign military; 

5 (B) a foreign police force; 

6 (C) a foreign paramilitary group; 

7 (D) any person providing security services 

8 to a foreign government; and 

9 (E) such other organizations as the Sec10 retary of State determines appropriate. 

11 SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION GRANT RESTRIC12 TIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall ensure that no 

14 international financial assistance provided by the Director 

15 shall be furnished to any covered recipient or subgrantee 

16 for funding or supporting any unit of a foreign security 

17 force if the Director or the Secretary of State has credible 

18 information that such unit has committed a gross violation 

19 of internationally recognized human rights. 

20 (b) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition in subsection (a) 

21 shall not apply if the Director, in consultation with the Sec22 retary, determines and reports to the appropriate Congres23 sional committees that the applicable national government, 

24 and covered recipient or subgrantee as appropriate, is tak25 ing effective steps to bring the responsible members of the 


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1 unit of a foreign security force to justice and to prevent 

2 gross violations of internationally recognized human rights 

3 by the unit in the future. 

4 (c) RISK ANALYSIS.—In performing a risk assessment 

5 analysis for a grant to a covered recipient, the Director, 

6 in consultation with the Secretary, shall include the occur7 rence of human rights violations by individuals employed, 

8 funded, or supported by the covered recipient or subgrantee 

9 as a factor in such analysis. 

10 (d) PROCEDURES TO IDENTIFY HUMAN RIGHTS VIO11 LATORS.—The Director, in consultation with the Secretary, 

12 shall establish, and periodically update, procedures to— 

13 (1) avoid duplication of effort with respect to 

14 vetting a unit of a foreign security force under this 

15 Act and vetting carried out under section 620M of the 

16 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d); 

17 (2) carry out the requirements of section 4; 

18 (3) ensure that for each country the Director and 

19 the Secretary have a current list of all units of foreign 

20 security forces receiving training, equipment, or other 

21 types of assistance through covered recipients or sub22 grantees; 

23 (4) ensure that when an individual is designated 

24 to receive United States training, equipment, or other 


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1 types of assistance the individual’s unit is vetted as 

2 well as the individual; 

3 (5) seek to identify the unit involved with respect 

4 to any credible information of a gross violation of 

5 internationally recognized human rights in any na6 tion in which a covered recipient or subgrantee pro7 vides funding, training, equipment, or other assist8 ance to a unit of a foreign security force; and 

9 (6) make publicly available the identity of those 

10 units for which no assistance shall be furnished pur11 suant to subsection (a) unless such publication would 

12 create a risk to national security or the health and 

13 safety of a victim of a gross violation of internation14 ally recognized human rights. 

15 SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION GRANT REQUIRE16 MENTS. 

17 (a) REQUIREMENTS TO RECEIVE A GRANT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall incorporate 

19 into the terms of an agreement for financial assist20 ance to a covered recipient and require a duly des21 ignated representative of the covered recipient to cer22 tify before receiving the award that— 

23 (A) the covered recipient will not commit, 

24 fund, or support gross violations of internationVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Jul 19, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7025.RH H7025

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1 ally recognized human rights in carrying out the 

2 activities under the award; 

3 (B) the covered recipient has provided a list 

4 to the contracting officer of each subgrantee to 

5 which the covered recipient intends to provide 

6 funding using such financial assistance and has 

7 provided a certification from each subgrantee 

8 that such subgrantee will not commit, fund, or 

9 support gross violations of internationally recog10 nized human rights in carrying out the activities 

11 under the award; 

12 (C) the covered recipient has provided the 

13 Director with the covered recipient’s and each 

14 subgrantee’s written policy on maintaining 

15 standards for conduct consistent with recognized 

16 international human rights standards, including 

17 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 

18 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of In19 digenous Peoples, and the United Nations Guid20 ing Principles on Business and Human Rights; 

21 (D) the covered recipient has implemented 

22 and is enforcing a social safeguards plan de23 scribed in subsection (b); 

24 (E) the covered recipient has implemented 

25 procedures to detect, investigate, discipline or 


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1 terminate a subgrantee, employee, or agent of the 

2 covered recipient that fails to comply with appli3 cable policies to protect human rights in connec4 tion with the award; and 

5 (F) the covered recipient will comply with 

6 the requirements established in this section. 

7 (2) SUBSEQUENT SUBGRANTEE.—If, after receiv8 ing an award of funds from the Director, a covered 

9 recipient selects a new subgrantee, the covered recipi10 ent shall provide the Director with— 

11 (A) an updated version of the list described 

12 in paragraph (1)(B); 

13 (B) a certification from such subgrantee 

14 that such subgrantee will not commit, fund, or 

15 support gross violations of internationally recog16 nized human rights in carrying out the activities 

17 under the award; 

18 (C) the subgrantee’s written policy described 

19 in subparagraph (1)(C); and 

20 (D) justification for any changes in selec21 tion of subgrantees. 

22 (b) SOCIAL SAFEGUARDS PLAN.—A social safeguards 

23 plan described in this subsection is a plan consistent with 

24 the principles of the documents listed in subsection 

25 (a)(1)(C) to implement appropriate human rights standVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Jul 19, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H7025.RH H7025

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1 ards and prevent gross violations of internationally recog2 nized human rights in connections with activities funded 

3 under the award that includes, as determined appropriate 

4 by the Director, taking into consideration the location, size, 

5 complexity, and scope of the award— 

6 (1) a process for meaningful consultation and 

7 engagement with Indigenous Peoples and local com8 munities to safeguard their rights, including obtain9 ing their free, prior, and informed consent for any 

10 new land-use restriction and, if applicable, procedures 

11 for the fair resolution of existing land and resource 

12 claims, in the area in which the project will be con13 ducted; 

14 (2) requirements for internal review of research 

15 involving human subjects; 

16 (3) measures to improve governance, increase the 

17 agency and protect the rights and needs of Indigenous 

18 Peoples and local communities, and address the po19 tential adverse impacts of a project on the well-being 

20 and security of Indigenous Peoples and local commu21 nities; 

22 (4) a grievance redress mechanism to redress 

23 gross violations of internationally recognized human 

24 rights; 


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1 (5) human rights training and effective moni2 toring by the recipient for law enforcement personnel 

3 and units of a foreign security force; and 

4 (6) publication of documents, such as park man5 agement plans and ranger codes of conduct, that are 

6 relevant to potential impacts of the project on Indige7 nous Peoples and local communities. 

8 (c) REQUIREMENT TO REMEDY VIOLATIONS.—The Di9 rector may require a covered recipient to take such measures 

10 to address an alleged violation of the terms of an agreement 

11 required by subsection (a) as the Director determines appro12 priate. 

13 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

14 (1) INITIAL NOTIFICATION.—A covered recipient 

15 shall refer all credible information of a gross violation 

16 of internationally recognized human rights in connec17 tion with a Service award by such covered recipient 

18 or a subgrantee of such covered recipient to the con19 tracting officer and to the diplomatic or consular post 

20 of the United States for the country at issue as soon 

21 as reasonably practicable, but not later than 30 days 

22 after the date on which the covered recipient knew or 

23 should have known such information. 

24 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 

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1 fication under paragraph (1), the covered recipient 

2 shall submit to the contracting officer a report de3 scribing specific steps taken to address an alleged vio4 lation and enforce the requirements of the covered re5 cipient’s plan pursuant to subsection (a)(1)(D) and 

6 all relevant information relating to the allegation. 

7 (3) EXTENSION.—The Director may grant a cov8 ered recipient an extension of not more than 30 days 

9 on the time period to file a report under paragraph 

10 (2) if the Director determines that such extension will 

11 improve the Director’s ability to carry out the pur12 poses of this section. 

13 (4) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COVERED RECIPI14 ENT.—The covered recipient shall fully cooperate with 

15 any Federal agencies responsible for audits, investiga16 tions, or corrective actions relating to gross violations 

17 of human rights under this Act. 

18 (5) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONTRACTING OF19 FICER.—The contracting officer shall, with respect to 

20 each allegation reported under paragraph (1), not 

21 later than 30 days after receipt of the report required 

22 by paragraph (2), complete an investigation into such 

23 allegation and submit the results of such investiga24 tion, information received under paragraph (1), and 


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1 each report received under paragraph (2) relating to 

2 such allegation to the Director. 

3 (e) NOTIFICATION.—If the Director receives credible 

4 information of a gross violation of internationally recog5 nized human rights by a covered recipient or a subgrantee 

6 of a covered recipient in connection with an award pro7 vided by the Service, then the Director shall, in consultation 

8 with the diplomatic or consular post of the United States 

9 for the applicable country— 

10 (1) immediately notify the relevant covered re11 cipient and require that the covered recipient submit 

12 a report under subsection (d)(2) not later than 60 

13 days after such notification; 

14 (2) immediately notify the government of the ap15 plicable country; and 

16 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, assist 

17 such government in taking effective measures to bring 

18 the responsible members of the unit of a foreign secu19 rity force to justice. 

20 (f) REVIEW OF ALLEGATIONS.— 

21 (1) REFERRAL.—Unless the covered recipient 

22 submits information showing, to the satisfaction of 

23 the Director, that the alleged violation has been re24 solved, abated, or did not occur, the Director shall, 

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1 lating to an allegation under subsection (d)(5), refer 

2 such alleged violation to the Inspector General, in3 cluding the report provided by the covered recipient 

4 under subsection (d)(2), and notify the covered recipi5 ent of such referral. 

6 (2) INVESTIGATION.— 

7 (A) PRELIMINARY DETERMINATION.—The 

8 Inspector General shall, not later than 30 days 

9 after a referral of an alleged violation under 

10 paragraph (1), determine whether the referral re11 quires an investigation. 

12 (B) DETERMINATION THAT NO INVESTIGA13 TION IS REQUIRED.—If the Inspector General de14 termines under subparagraph (A) that the refer15 ral does not require further investigation, the In16 spector General shall document the rationale for 

17 such determination and shall notify the relevant 

18 Committees of Congress. 

19 (C) DETERMINATION THAT AN INVESTIGA20 TION IS REQUIRED.—If the Inspector General de21 termines that an investigation is required under 

22 subparagraph (A), the Inspector General shall 

23 complete such investigation not later than 180 

24 days after a referral under paragraph (1) and 

25 prepare a report on such investigation, which 


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1 shall include the Inspector General’s conclusions 

2 regarding whether or not any allegations that the 

3 covered recipient or any subgrantee of the cov4 ered recipient has committed a gross violation of 

5 internationally recognized human rights in con6 nection with the award, are substantiated, and 

7 regarding the effectiveness of the actions of the 

8 recipient and any subgrantee in preventing and 

9 responding to such violations. The report shall 

10 include recommendations based on the findings 

11 of such investigation. 

12 (g) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES.—The following re13 quirements apply to any administrative action to enforce 

14 the requirements of this section with respect to a covered 

15 recipient: 

16 (1) WRITTEN RESPONSE.—A covered recipient 

17 subject to administrative action under this subsection 

18 may submit, not later than 30 days after the date of 

19 such administrative action, a written response to con20 test such action. 

21 (2) MEETING.—The Director, or a representative, 

22 shall meet with a covered recipient that has filed a 

23 response under subparagraph (1) and requests such a 

24 meeting not later than 45 days after the date of such 

25 administrative action to allow such covered recipient 


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1 an opportunity to present information, including wit2 ness testimony, for inclusion in the administrative 

3 record. 

4 (3) TIMELINE FOR DETERMINATION.—The Direc5 tor shall, not later than 45 days after conclusion of 

6 any procedures required by paragraphs (1) and (2), 

7 make a determination in writing as to whether to 

8 continue, modify, or terminate an administrative ac9 tion under this subsection. 

10 (4) RECONSIDERATION.—A covered recipient 

11 that was the subject of an administrative action 

12 under this subsection may request a reconsideration of 

13 such administration action based upon— 

14 (A) newly discovered evidence; 

15 (B) a change in ownership or management; 

16 or 

17 (C) such other factors as the Director deter18 mines appropriate. 

19 (h) FINANCIAL AND PROGRAMMATIC AUDIT OF

20 GRANTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall perform 

22 and require compliance with periodic financial and 

23 programmatic audits of covered recipients receiving 

24 financial assistance from the Director. The Director 

25 shall prioritize audits of programs— 


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1 (A) with new land-use restrictions; 

2 (B) in fragile or conflict-affected states; or 

3 (C) in regions that otherwise have an ele4 vated risk of gross violations of internationally 

5 recognized human rights. 

6 (2) SPECIFIC AWARD CONDITION AUDITS.—The 

7 Director shall carry out regular audits of any covered 

8 recipient that is subject to specific award conditions 

9 under subsection (i). 

10 (i) REMEDIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—Each agree11 ment for financial assistance made by the Director with a 

12 covered recipient is subject to the provisions of subpart D 

13 of part 200 of chapter II of subtitle A of title 2 of the Code 

14 of Federal Regulations. The Director may consider, in de15 termining an appropriate remedy of a violation of a grant 

16 requirement under such provision, whether the covered re17 cipient was in compliance with subsection (a)(1)(D) at the 

18 time of such violation. 

19 (j) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director, in consultation 

20 with the Secretary of State, shall, not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of enactment of this Act and annually there22 after, submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

23 report summarizing, with respect to the previous calendar 

24 year— 

25 (1) each report received under subsection (d)(2); 


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1 (2) each investigation concluded by the Inspector 

2 General under subsection (f)(2), including the purpose 

3 and duration of such investigation; 

4 (3) each administrative action taken with respect 

5 to a covered recipient to enforce this Act; 

6 (4) information about the action taken by each 

7 covered recipient to abate a gross violation of inter8 nationally recognized human rights; 

9 (5) information about remedial actions taken by 

10 the Director pursuant to subsection (i); 

11 (6) explanations for each extension of time given 

12 under subsection (d)(3); and 

13 (7) a summary of allegations and information 

14 that the Director did not refer to the Inspector Gen15 eral and the explanation for why such information 

16 was not referred. 

17 (k) SAFEGUARD FOR SENSITIVE INFORMATION.—In 

18 carrying out this section, the Director may take such meas19 ures and withhold such information as the Director deter20 mines necessary to protect the safety of individuals— 

21 (1) who are victims, or at risk of being victims, 

22 of a gross violation of internationally recognized 

23 human rights; and 


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1 (2) who provide information regarding a poten2 tial gross violation of internationally recognized 

3 human rights. 


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Union Calendar No. 324 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7025 

[Report No. 117–417] 

A BILL 

To prohibit the Director of the United States Fish 

other purposes. internationally recognized human rights, and for commit, fund, or support gross violations of and Wildlife Service from funding entities that 

JULY 18, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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