109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 912
AN ACT
To ensure the protection of beneficiaries of United
States humanitarian assistance.
109TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 912
AN ACT
To ensure the protection of beneficiaries of United States
humanitarian assistance.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Humanitarian Assist-
ance Code of Conduct Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE PROTECTION OF
BENEFICIARIES OF HUMANITARIAN ASSIST-
ANCE.
(a) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds made available
for foreign operations, export financing, and related pro-
grams under the headings ‘‘Migration and Refugee Assist-
ance’’, ‘‘United States Emergency Refugee and Migration
Assistance Fund’’, ‘‘International Disaster and Famine
Assistance’’, or ‘‘Transition Initiatives’’ may be obligated
to an organization that fails to adopt a code of conduct
that provides for the protection of beneficiaries of assist-
ance under any such heading from sexual exploitation and
abuse in humanitarian relief operations.
(b) SIX CORE PRINCIPLES.—The code of conduct re-
ferred to in subsection (a) shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, be consistent with the following six core prin-
ciples of the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Com-
mittee Task Force on Protection From Sexual Exploi-
tation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises:
(1) ‘‘Sexual exploitation and abuse by humani-
tarian workers constitute acts of gross misconduct
and are therefore grounds for termination of employ-
ment.’’.
(2) ‘‘Sexual activity with children (persons
under the age of 18) is prohibited regardless of the
age of majority or age of consent locally. Mistaken
belief regarding the age of a child is not a defense.’’.
(3) ‘‘Exchange of money, employment, goods, or
services for sex, including sexual favors or other
forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative be-
havior, is prohibited. This includes exchange of as-
sistance that is due to beneficiaries.’’.
(4) ‘‘Sexual relationships between humanitarian
workers and beneficiaries are strongly discouraged
since they are based on inherently unequal power dy-
namics. Such relationships undermine the credibility
and integrity of humanitarian aid work.’’.
(5) ‘‘Where a humanitarian worker develops
concerns or suspicions regarding sexual abuse or ex-
ploitation by a fellow worker, whether in the same
agency or not, he or she must report such concerns
via established agency reporting mechanisms.’’.
(6) ‘‘Humanitarian agencies are obliged to cre-
ate and maintain an environment which prevents
sexual exploitation and abuse and promotes the im-
plementation of their code of conduct. Managers at
all levels have particular responsibilities to support
and develop systems which maintain this environ-
ment.’’.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, and not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
transmit to the Committee on Appropriations and the
Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations and
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a de-
tailed report on the implementation of this Act.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.
This Act—
(1) takes effect 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act; and
(2) applies to funds obligated after the effective
date referred to in paragraph (1)—
(A) for fiscal year 2005; and
(B) any subsequent fiscal year.
Passed the House of Representatives March 2,
2005.
Attest:
Clerk.