War Crimes Accountability Act of 2016

To hold war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals accountable by encouraging foreign governments to more efficiently prosecute, extradite, deport, or accept for deportation such war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the War Crimes Accountability Act of 2016 2. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the United States should actively encourage prosecution of war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals; (2) the Simon Wiesenthal Center should be commended for its historic work in bringing to light the atrocities of the Holocaust and in advancing justice for Nazi war criminals through Operation: Last Chance; (3) the pursuit and prosecution of war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals—from the crimes of the Nazi era to the most recent conflicts—is critical to maintenance of the rule of law globally; and (4) pursuit of war crimes suspects includes enforcement of an arrest warrant issued by an international tribunal against war crimes suspects indicted by such international tribunal, including war crimes suspects visiting a foreign country. 3. Identification of countries failing to cooperate satisfactorily with relevant jurisdictions in extraditing or deporting war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals (a) Report The President shall submit to Congress for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021 a report that identifies each country that is failing to— (1) cooperate satisfactorily with relevant jurisdictions in extraditing or deporting war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals to the jurisdiction in which such war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals, as the case may be, have been indicted or convicted; (2) enforce arrest warrants issued by an international tribunal against war crimes suspects indicted by such international tribunal, including war crimes suspects visiting a foreign country; (3) accept Nazi war criminals deported from the United States; or (4) effectively prosecute war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals within such country’s jurisdiction, including Nazi war criminals who resided in the United States and were deported from or extradited by the United States or left the United States voluntarily. (b) Matters To be included Each such report shall include detailed information regarding the war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals described in subsection (a). (c) Form Each such report, and the identification of each country in such report, shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex if necessary. 4. Prohibition on government-to-government sales of defense articles under the Arms Export Control Act to countries identified under section 3 (a) Prohibition For each country identified in the report under section 3 for a fiscal year, the President may not issue a letter of offer to sell defense articles under the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq. 22 U.S.C. 2776(b) (b) Waiver The President may waive the prohibition in subsection (a) for any fiscal year in which a letter of offer may be issued by the United States Government if the President determines and certifies to Congress that it is in the national security interest of the United States to do so. 5. Definitions In this Act: (1) Nazi war criminal The term Nazi war criminal (A) the Nazi government of Germany; (B) any government in any area occupied by the military forces of the Nazi government of Germany; (C) any government established with the assistance or cooperation of the Nazi government of Germany; or (D) any government which was an ally of the Nazi government of Germany. (2) War crimes suspect The term war crimes suspect 6. Effective date This Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Summary: War Crimes Accountability Act of 2016 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should actively encourage prosecution of war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals. The President shall submit a report for each of FY2017-FY2021 that identifies each country that is failing to: (1) cooperate with relevant jurisdictions in extraditing or deporting war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals to the appropriate jurisdiction; (2) enforce arrest warrants issued by an international tribunal against war crimes suspects; (3) accept Nazi war criminals deported from the United States; or (4) effectively prosecute war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals within such country's jurisdiction, including Nazi war criminals who resided in the United States and were deported from or extradited by the United States or left the United States voluntarily. The President may not issue a letter of offer to sell defense articles under the Arms Export Control Act for $7 million or more to an identified country. The President may waive such prohibition in the U.S. national security interest.