II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 559

To make the protection of vulnerable populations, especially women and 

children, who are affected by a humanitarian emergency a priority of 

the United States Government, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 8, 2005

Mr. BIDEN (for himself and Mr. LUGAR) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL

To make the protection of vulnerable populations, especially 

women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian 

emergency a priority of the United States Government, 

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 ‘‘Protection of Vulner5 able Populations During Humanitarian Emergencies Act 

6 of 2005’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

8 The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Findings. 

TITLE I—PROGRAM AND POLICY COORDINATION 

Sec. 101. Requirement to develop integrated strategy. 

Sec. 102. Designation of coordinator. 

TITLE II—PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS 

Sec. 201. Reporting and monitoring systems. 

Sec. 202. Protection training and expertise. 

TITLE III—PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY 

DISPLACED PERSONS 

Sec. 301. Codes of conduct. 

Sec. 302. Health services for refugees and displaced persons. 

Sec. 303. Economic self-sufficiency of vulnerable populations affected by a humanitarian emergency. 

Sec. 304. International military education and training. 

Sec. 305. Sense of Congress regarding actions of United Nations peacekepers. 

TITLE IV—PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS 

AFFECTED BY A HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY 

Sec. 401. Report regarding programs to protect vulnerable populations. 

Sec. 402. Protection assistance.

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 

4 United States Agency for International Develop5 ment. 

6 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

9 of the Senate and the Committee on International 

10 Relations of the House of Representatives. 

11 (3) CHILDREN.—The term ‘‘children’’ means 

12 persons under the age of 18 years. 
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1 (4) COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘coordinator’’ 

2 means the individual designated by the Secretary 

3 under section 102(a). 

4 (5) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

5 means the Department of State. 

6 (6) EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN.—The term 

7 ‘‘exploitation of children’’ includes—

8 (A) adult sexual activity with children; 

9 (B) kidnapping or forcibly separating chil10 dren from their families; 

11 (C) subjecting children to forced child 

12 labor; 

13 (D) forcing children to commit or witness 

14 acts of violence, including compulsory recruit15 ment into armed forces or as combatants; and 

16 (E) withholding or obstructing access of 

17 children to food, shelter, medicine, and basic 

18 human services. 

19 (7) HIV.—The term ‘‘HIV’’ means the human 

20 immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes the ac21 quired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). 

22 (8) HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY.—The term 

23 ‘‘humanitarian emergency’’ means a situation in 

24 which, due to a natural or manmade disaster, civil-
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1 ians, including refugees and internally displaced per2 sons, require basic humanitarian assistance. 

3 (9) INTER-AGENCY STANDING COMMITTEE.—

4 The term ‘‘Inter-Agency Standing Committee’’ 

5 means the Inter-Agency Standing Committee estab6 lished in response to United Nations General Assem7 bly Resolution 46/182 of December 19, 1991. 

8 (10) PROTECTION.—The term ‘‘protection’’ 

9 means all appropriate measures to provide the phys10 ical and psychological security of, provide equal ac11 cess to basic services for, and safeguard the legal 

12 and human rights of, individuals. 

13 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 means the Secretary of State. 

15 (12) SEX TRAFFICKING.—The term ‘‘sex traf16 ficking’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

17 103 of Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

18 (22 U.S.C. 7102). 

19 (13) SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE.—The 

20 term ‘‘sexual exploitation and abuse’’ means causing 

21 harm to a person through—

22 (A) rape; 

23 (B) sexual assault or torture; 

24 (C) sex trafficking and trafficking in per25 sons; 
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1 (D) demands for sex in exchange for em2 ployment, goods, services, or protection; and 

3 (E) other forms of sexual violence. 

4 (14) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.—The term 

5 ‘‘trafficking in persons’’ has the meaning given the 

6 term ‘‘severe forms of trafficking in persons’’ in sec7 tion 103 of Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 

8 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102). 

9 (15) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.—The term 

10 ‘‘vulnerable populations’’ means those people, such 

11 as women, children, the disabled, and the elderly, 

12 who by virtue of their status are at a disadvantage 

13 in obtaining or accessing goods and services. 

14 SEC. 4. FINDINGS. 

15 Congress makes the following findings: 

16 (1) The nature of war has changed dramatically 

17 in recent decades, putting civilians, especially women 

18 and children, at greater risk of death, disease, dis19 placement, and exploitation. 

20 (2) In the last decade alone, more than 

21 2,000,000 children have been killed during wars, 

22 while more than 4,000,000 have survived physical 

23 mutilation, and more than 1,000,000 have been or24 phaned or separated from their families as a result 

25 of war.
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1 (3) The use of rape, particularly against women 

2 and girls, is an increasingly common tactic in mod3 ern war. 

4 (4) Civilians, particularly women and children, 

5 account for the vast majority of those adversely af6 fected by humanitarian emergencies, including as 

7 refugees and internally displaced persons, and in8 creasingly are targeted by combatants and armed 

9 elements for murder, abduction, forced military con10 scription, involuntary servitude, displacement, sexual 

11 abuse and slavery, mutilation, and loss of freedom. 

12 (5) Large-scale natural disasters, such as the 

13 tsunami that struck South East Asia, South Asia, 

14 and East Africa on December 26, 2004, and claimed 

15 over 200,000 lives, are particularly threatening to 

16 children, who are often orphaned or separated from 

17 their families. 

18 (6) Traditionally, the response to such humani19 tarian emergencies has focused on providing food, 

20 medical care, and shelter needs, and has placed less 

21 emphasis on the safety and security of those affected 

22 by a humanitarian emergency. 

23 (7) Refugee women and girls face particular 

24 threats because of power inequities, including being 

25 forced to exchange sex for food and humanitarian 
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1 supplies, and being at increased risk of rape and 

2 sexual exploitation and abuse due to poor security in 

3 refugee camps. 

4 (8) In some circumstances, humanitarian agen5 cies have failed to make individuals affected by a hu6 manitarian emergency, especially women and chil7 dren, aware of their rights to protection and assist8 ance, to give them access to effective channels of re9 dress, and to make humanitarian workers aware of 

10 their duty to respect these rights and provide ade11 quate assistance. 

12 (9) Refugee and displaced women face height13 ened risks of developing complications during preg14 nancy, suffering a miscarriage, dying, being injured 

15 during childbirth, becoming infected with HIV or 

16 another sexually transmitted infection, or suffering 

17 from posttraumatic stress disorder. 

18 (10) Despite the heightened risks for women 

19 during a humanitarian emergency, women’s needs 

20 for specialized health services have often been over21 looked by donors and relief organizations, which are 

22 focused on providing food, water, and shelter. 

23 (11) There is a substantial need for the protec24 tion of civilians, especially women and children, to be 
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1 given a high priority during all humanitarian emer2 gencies. 

3 TITLE I—PROGRAM AND POLICY 

4 COORDINATION 

5 SEC. 101. REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE 

6 STRATEGY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in consulta8 tion with the Administrator of the United States Agency 

9 for International Development, develop a comprehensive 

10 strategy for the protection of vulnerable populations, espe11 cially women and children, who are affected by a humani12 tarian emergency. The strategy shall include—

13 (1) measures to address the specific protection 

14 needs of women and children; 

15 (2) training for personnel to respond to the spe16 cific needs of such vulnerable populations; and 

17 (3) measures taken to comply with section 301. 

18 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

20 to the appropriate congressional committees a report set21 ting forth the strategy described in subsection (a). 

22 SEC. 102. DESIGNATION OF COORDINATOR. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall des25 ignate an individual within the Department or the Agency 
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1 as the coordinator to be responsible for the oversight and 

2 coordination of efforts by the Department and the Agency 

3 to provide protection for vulnerable populations, especially 

4 women and children, affected by a humanitarian emer5 gency. 

6 (b) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary 

7 shall consult with the Administrator of the United States 

8 Agency for International Development in making a des9 ignation under subsection (a). 

10 (c) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 5 days after des11 ignating an official as a coordinator under subsection (a), 

12 the Secretary shall inform the appropriate congressional 

13 committees of such designation. 

14 TITLE II—PREVENTION AND 

15 PREPAREDNESS 

16 SEC. 201. REPORTING AND MONITORING SYSTEMS. 

17 (a) DUTIES OF COORDINATOR.—The coordinator 

18 shall—

19 (1) develop and maintain a database of histor20 ical information about occurrences of sexual exploi21 tation and abuse, and other exploitation, of children 

22 during a humanitarian emergency; 

23 (2) establish a reporting and monitoring system 

24 for United States diplomatic missions to collect and 

25 submit to the coordinator information that indicates 
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1 that vulnerable populations, especially women and 

2 children, are being targeted for or are at substantial 

3 risk of violence or exploitation in humanitarian 

4 emergencies; 

5 (3) assist United States diplomatic missions in 

6 developing responses to situations where there is a 

7 substantial risk of sexual exploitation and abuse or 

8 exploitation of children that may occur during a hu9 manitarian emergency; and 

10 (4) develop mechanisms for the receipt and dis11 tribution of reports to and from the public and rel12 evant nongovernmental and international organiza13 tions of evidence of sexual exploitation and abuse 

14 and exploitation of children during a humanitarian 

15 emergency. 

16 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out duties under 

17 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), the Coordinator 

18 shall consult with inter-governmental organizations and 

19 nongovernmental organizations. 

20 SEC. 202. PROTECTION TRAINING AND EXPERTISE. 

21 (a) FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—The Administrator of 

22 the United States Agency for International Development 

23 is authorized to establish a fellowship program at the 

24 Agency to increase the expertise of the personnel of the 

25 Agency in developing programs and policies to carry out
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1 activities related to the protection of vulnerable popu2 lations, especially women and children, affected by a hu3 manitarian emergency. 

4 (b) TERM OF FELLOWSHIP.—An individual may par5 ticipate in a fellowship under this section for a term of 

6 not more than 3 years. 

7 (c) NUMBER OF FELLOWS.—The Administrator is 

8 authorized to employ up to 10 fellows at any one time 

9 under this program. 

10 (d) QUALIFICATION.—An individual is qualified to 

11 participate in a fellowship under this section if such indi12 vidual has the specific expertise required—

13 (1) to develop and implement policies and pro14 grams related to the protection of vulnerable popu15 lations, especially women and children; and 

16 (2) to promote the exchange of knowledge and 

17 experience between the Agency and entities that as18 sist the Agency in carrying out assistance programs. 

19 TITLE III—PROTECTION OF REF20 UGEES AND INTERNALLY DIS21 PLACED PERSONS 

22 SEC. 301. CODES OF CONDUCT. 

23 None of the funds made available by the Department 

24 or Agency to provide assistance under section 491 of the 

25 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292) or over-
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1 seas assistance under section 2 of the Migration and Ref2 ugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601) may be 

3 provided to a primary grantee or contractor for the pur4 pose of providing assistance to refugees or internally dis5 placed persons unless such grantee or contractor has 

6 adopted a code of conduct that is consistent with the 6 

7 core principles recommended by the Inter-Agency Stand8 ing Committee. To the extent practicable, a grantee or 

9 contractor that has adopted such a code of conduct shall 

10 ensure that subgrantees and subcontractors of such grant11 ee or contractor have adopted, or agree to act in accord12 ance with, such a code of conduct. 

13 SEC. 302. HEALTH SERVICES FOR REFUGEES AND DIS14 PLACED PERSONS. 

15 (a) PROVISION OF HEALTH SERVICES TO VULNER16 ABLE POPULATIONS AFFECTED BY HUMANITARIAN

17 EMERGENCIES.—The coordinator shall seek to ensure 

18 that organizations funded by the Department and the 

19 Agency for the purpose of responding to a humanitarian 

20 emergency coordinate and implement activities needed to 

21 respond to the health needs of vulnerable populations, es22 pecially women and children, as soon as practicable and 

23 not later than 30 days after the onset of a humanitarian 

24 emergency. 
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1 (b) ACTIVITIES DEFINED.—The activities referred to 

2 in subsection (a) include activities to—

3 (1) prevent and manage the consequences of 

4 sexual violence; 

5 (2) reduce transmission of HIV; 

6 (3) provide obstetric care; and 

7 (4) develop a plan to integrate women’s health 

8 services into the primary health care services pro9 vided during a humanitarian emergency. 

10 SEC. 303. ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF VULNERABLE 

11 POPULATIONS AFFECTED BY A HUMANI12 TARIAN EMERGENCY. 

13 (a) AMENDMENTS TO MICROENTERPRISE ACT OF

14 2000.—Section 102 of the Microenterprise for Self-Reli15 ance Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 2151f note) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (4)—

17 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), 

18 (C), and (D) and subparagraphs (C), (D), and 

19 (E), respectively; and 

20 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) Women displaced by armed conflict are 

23 particularly at risk, lacking access to traditional live24 lihoods and means for generating income.’’; and 

25 (2) in paragraph (13)—
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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

2 subparagraph (C); and 

3 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) Particular efforts should be made to ex6 pand the availability of microcredit programs to in7 ternally displaced persons, who historically have not 

8 had access to such programs.’’.

9 (b) AMENDMENT TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

10 ACT.—Section 256(b)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

11 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2212(b)(3)) is amended by inserting 

12 after ‘‘clients’’ the following: ‘‘, including women 

13 microentrepeneurs,’’. 

14 SEC. 304. INTERNATIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION AND 

15 TRAINING. 

16 Section 541 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

17 (22 U.S.C. 2347) is amended—

18 (1) by striking ‘‘or (iv)’’ and inserting ‘‘(iv)’’; 

19 and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘rights.’’ and inserting ‘‘rights, 

21 or (v) improve the protection of civilians, especially 

22 women and children, including those who are refu23 gees or displaced persons.’’. 
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1 SEC. 305. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING ACTIONS OF 

2 UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that—

4 (1) the Secretary-General of the United Nations 

5 should strengthen the existing ability of the United 

6 Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations to 

7 protect civilians, especially women and children, 

8 from sexual exploitation and abuse by personnel in 

9 peace operation missions by—

10 (A) directing the Department of Peace11 keeping Operations to identify nongovernmental 

12 organizations and local community officials to 

13 receive and communicate to senior level mission 

14 officials credible reports from civilians of sexual 

15 exploitation and abuse; 

16 (B) ensuring that there is a mechanism in 

17 place for all credible allegations of sexual ex18 ploitation and abuse to be brought to the atten19 tion of senior level mission officials in an expe20 dited fashion; 

21 (C) developing missions based rapid re22 sponse teams to investigate allegations of sexual 

23 exploitation and abuse; 

24 (D) improving informational programs for 

25 United Nations personnel on their responsibility
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1 not to engage in acts of sexual exploitation and 

2 abuse and the sanctions for such actions; 

3 (E) identifying troop contributing coun4 tries that refuse to investigate allegations of 

5 sexual exploitation and abuse by nationals serv6 ing in peacekeeping missions; 

7 (F) permanently excluding individuals 

8 found to have engaged in sexual abuse or ex9 ploitation, as well as troop contingent com10 manders and civilian managerial personnel 

11 complicit in such behavior, from participating in 

12 future United Nations peacekeeping missions; 

13 and 

14 (G) demanding that troop contributing 

15 countries—

16 (i) thoroughly investigate cases in 

17 which their nationals have been alleged to 

18 have engaged in sexual abuse or exploi19 tation which on United Nations peace20 keeping missions; and 

21 (ii) punish those found guilty of such 

22 misconduct; 

23 (2) troop contributing states should ensure that 

24 their soldiers are properly trained on United Nations 

25 guidelines regarding proper conduct towards civil-
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1 ians, in particular those guidelines that address gen2 der-based violence, before participating in United 

3 Nations peace operation missions; 

4 (3) the United Nations should suspend payment 

5 of peacekeeping funds to countries when there is 

6 credible evidence of sexual exploitation and abuse by 

7 troops of such countries that are participating in 

8 peacekeeping operations, and the governments of 

9 such countries are not investigating or punishing 

10 such conduct; and 

11 (4) the Secretary should consider a suspension 

12 of United States military assistance to countries 

13 that do not—

14 (A) investigate allegations of sexual exploi15 tation and abuse by troops participating in 

16 United Nations peacekeeping operations; or 

17 (B) hold perpetrators of such abuse and 

18 exploitation accountable. 

19 TITLE IV—PROTECTION OF VUL20 NERABLE POPULATIONS AF21 FECTED BY A HUMANITARIAN 

22 EMERGENCY 

23 SEC. 401. ACTIONS TO SUPPORT PROTECTION. 

24 (a) PROGRAMS OF THE INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR

25 RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.—The United 
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1 States Executive Director of the International Bank for 

2 Reconstruction and Development should take steps to en3 sure that disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration 

4 programs developed and funded by the International Bank 

5 for Reconstruction and Development provide benefits to 

6 former combatants that are comparable to the benefits 

7 provided by such programs to other individuals. 

8 (b) REPORT REGARDING PROGRAMS TO ASSIST CI9 VILIAN POLICE.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a re11 port to the appropriate congressional committees on all 

12 current programs being conducted by the Department or 

13 the Agency to assist foreign countries with the enforce14 ment of the laws of such countries that are designed to 

15 protect women and children and improve accountability 

16 for sexual exploitation and abuse. 

17 SEC. 402. PROTECTION ASSISTANCE. 

18 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 

19 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following new section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE FOR THE PROTECTION OF VULNER22 ABLE POPULATIONS DURING HUMANITARIAN 

23 EMERGENCIES. 

24 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other provi25 sion of law, and subject to the limitations of subsection 
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1 (b), the President is authorized to provide assistance for 

2 programs, projects, and activities to promote the security 

3 of, provide equal access to basic services for, and safe4 guard the legal and human rights of civilians, especially 

5 women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian 

6 emergency. Such assistance shall include programs—

7 ‘‘(1) to build the capacity of nongovernmental 

8 organizations to address the special protection needs 

9 of vulnerable populations, especially women and chil10 dren, affected by a humanitarian emergency; 

11 ‘‘(2) to support local and international non12 governmental initiatives to prevent, detect, and re13 port exploitation of children and sexual exploitation 

14 and abuse, including through the provision of train15 ing humanitarian protection monitors for refugees 

16 and internally displaced persons; 

17 ‘‘(3) to conduct protection and security assess18 ments for refugees and internally displaced persons 

19 in camps or in communities for the purpose of im20 proving the design and security of camps for refu21 gees and internally displaced persons, with special 

22 emphasis on the security of women and children; 

23 ‘‘(4) to provide, when practicable, education 

24 during a humanitarian emergency, including struc-
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1 tured activities that create safe spaces for children, 

2 in particular girls; 

3 ‘‘(5) to reintegrate and rehabilitate former com4 batants and survivors of a humanitarian emergency, 

5 including through education, psychosocial assistance 

6 and trauma counseling, family and community re7 insertion, medical assistance, and strengthening 

8 community systems to support sustained reintegra9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(6) to establish registries and clearinghouses 

11 to trace relatives and begin family reunification, 

12 with a specific focus on helping children find their 

13 families; 

14 ‘‘(7) to provide interim care and placement for 

15 separated children and orphans, including moni16 toring and followup services; 

17 ‘‘(8) to provide legal services for survivors of 

18 sexual exploitation, abuse, or torture, including the 

19 collection of evidence for war crimes tribunals and 

20 advocacy for legal reform; and 

21 ‘‘(9) to provide to local law enforcement per22 sonnel working in areas affected by a humanitarian 

23 emergency training in human rights law, particularly 

24 as it relates to the protection of women and children. 
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1 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—Amounts made 

2 available to carry out this part and chapter 4 of part II 

3 may be made available to carry out this section.’’.

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