Combating Human Rights Abuses Act of 2023

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 484 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 484

 To require the Secretary of Commerce to provide training and guidance 
  relating to human rights abuses, including such abuses perpetrated 
    against the Uyghur population by the Government of the People's 
               Republic of China, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2023

Mr. Peters (for himself and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Commerce to provide training and guidance 
  relating to human rights abuses, including such abuses perpetrated 
    against the Uyghur population by the Government of the People's 
               Republic of China, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Combating Human Rights Abuses Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE RELATING 
              TO AWARENESS OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce shall provide training 
described in subsection (b) to such employees of the Department of 
Commerce who provide counseling services to businesses engaged in 
interstate commerce or foreign direct investment as the Secretary 
considers appropriate.
    (b) Contents of Training.--The training required under subsection 
(a) shall be--
            (1) designed to raise awareness about emerging trends and 
        issues with respect to human rights abuses occurring worldwide, 
        such as human rights abuses perpetrated by the Government of 
        the People's Republic of China, including the use of forced 
        labor, against Uyghurs and other ethnic minority populations in 
        the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
            (2) incorporated to the greatest extent possible into 
        existing training provided by the Department of Commerce.
    (c) Timing.--The training required under subsection (a) shall be 
offered and updated at such times as the Secretary considers 
appropriate.

SEC. 3. GUIDANCE FOR UNITED STATES BUSINESSES RELATING TO AWARENESS OF 
              HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Commerce shall--
            (1) offer guidance for United States businesses engaged in 
        interstate commerce or foreign direct investment, including 
        such businesses that are, or are considering, conducting 
        transactions with entities subject to the control or influence 
        of jurisdictions where significant human rights abuses have 
        occurred, such as the People's Republic of China; and
            (2) incorporate the guidance required under paragraph (1) 
        into any counseling services that the Department of Commerce 
        provides to such businesses as the Secretary considers 
        appropriate.
    (b) Contents of Guidance.--The guidance required under subsection 
(a) shall--
            (1) provide information about emerging trends and issues 
        involving human rights abuses, such as information that 
        describes--
                    (A) human rights abuses perpetrated by the 
                Government of the People's Republic of China, including 
                the use of forced labor, against Uyghurs and other 
                ethnic minority populations in the Xinjiang Uyghur 
                Autonomous Region;
                    (B) risk factors that may be used to identify 
                entities subject to the influence or control of 
                jurisdictions such as the People's Republic of China 
                that may be implicated in human rights abuses;
                    (C) ways to avoid doing business with entities 
                described in subparagraph (B); and
                    (D) potential reputational, economic, legal, and 
                other risks of conducting transactions with an entity 
                described in subparagraph (B); and
            (2) make clear that the guidance is for advisory purposes 
        and that the Department of Commerce is not responsible for 
        certifying the accuracy or completeness of the information 
        provided in the guidance.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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