I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6293 
To express United States foreign policy with respect to, and to strengthen 
United States advocacy on behalf of, individuals persecuted and denied 
their rights in foreign countries on account of gender, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 
Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. LANTOS, and Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
International Relations, and in addition to the Committees on Financial 
Services and Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To express United States foreign policy with respect to, 
and to strengthen United States advocacy on behalf of, 
individuals persecuted and denied their rights in foreign 
countries on account of gender, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘International Women’s Freedom Act of 2006’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings; policy. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES 
Sec. 101. Office on International Women’s Rights; Ambassador at Large for 
International Women’s Rights. 
Sec. 102. Reports. 
Sec. 103. Establishment of a women’s rights internet site. 
Sec. 104. Training for foreign service officers. 
Sec. 105. High-level contacts with nongovernmental organizations. 
Sec. 106. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad. 
Sec. 107. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on women’s rights concerns. 
TITLE II—COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S RIGHTS 
Sec. 201. Establishment and composition. 
Sec. 202. Duties of the Commission. 
Sec. 203. Powers of the Commission. 
Sec. 204. Commission personnel matters. 
Sec. 205. Reports of the Commission. 
Sec. 206. Applicability of other laws. 
Sec. 207. Standards of conduct and disclosure. 
Sec. 208. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 209. Termination. 
TITLE III—NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL 
Sec. 301. Special Adviser on International Women’s Rights. 
TITLE IV—PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS 
Subtitle A—Targeted Responses to Violations of Women’s Rights Abroad 
Sec. 401. Presidential actions in response to violations of women’s rights. 
Sec. 402. Presidential actions in response to particularly severe violations of 
women’s rights. 
Sec. 403. Consultations. 
Sec. 404. Report to Congress. 
Sec. 405. Description of Presidential actions. 
Sec. 406. Effects on existing contracts. 
Sec. 407. Presidential waiver. 
Sec. 408. Publication in Federal Register. 
Sec. 409. Termination of Presidential actions. 
Sec. 410. Preclusion of judicial review. 
Subtitle B—Strengthening Existing Law 
Sec. 421. United States assistance. 
Sec. 422. Multilateral assistance. 
Sec. 423. Exports of certain items used in particularly severe violations of wom-
en’s rights. 
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TITLE V—PROMOTION OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS 
Sec. 501. Assistance for promoting women’s rights. 
Sec. 502. International broadcasting. 
Sec. 503. International exchanges. 
Sec. 504. Foreign service awards. 
TITLE VI—REFUGEE, ASYLUM, AND CONSULAR MATTERS 
Sec. 601. Use of annual report. 
Sec. 602. Refugee training. 
Sec. 603. Reform of asylum policy. 
Sec. 604. Inadmissibility of foreign government officials who have engaged in 
particularly severe violations of women’s rights. 
Sec. 605. Studies relating to the effect of expedited removal provisions on asy-
lum claims. 
TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 701. Business codes of conduct. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) Support for human rights is the cornerstone 
of American foreign policy, and the advance of wom-
en’s rights and the advance of liberty are ultimately 
inseparable. 
(2) The importance of women’s equal rights is 
articulated in numerous international instruments, 
including the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Po-
litical Rights, the Helsinki Accords, and the Charter 
of the United Nations. 
(3) Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights recognizes that all human beings are 
born free and equal in dignity and rights. Article 3 
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of the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights recognizes that the State Parties to the Cov-
enant undertake to ensure the equal right of men 
and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political 
rights set forth in the Covenant. Article 26 of the 
Covenant provides that all persons are equal before 
the law and are entitled without any discrimination 
to the equal protection of the law. In this respect, 
the laws of each State Party shall prohibit any dis-
crimination and guarantee to all persons equal and 
effective protection against discrimination on any 
ground such as race, color, sex, language, religion, 
political or other opinion, national or social origin, 
property, birth or other status. The Preamble of the 
Charter of the United Nations affirms the equal 
rights of men and women. Governments have the re-
sponsibility to protect the fundamental rights of 
their citizens and to pursue justice for all. Women’s 
rights are fundamental rights, regardless of race, 
country, creed, or nationality, and should never be 
arbitrarily abridged by any government. 
(4) Barbaric treatment of women persists in 
many parts of the world. Women suffer both govern-
ment-sponsored and government-tolerated violations 
of their human rights. In countries that do par-
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ticular violence to women’s rights, women cannot 
work outside the home, cannot attend schools or uni-
versities, cannot drive, cannot leave the home with-
out a male companion, may only use segregated 
transportation, cannot obtain a passport without the 
permission of a male relative, must wear particular 
clothing, must black out house windows in public 
view, cannot obtain quality health education, have 
limited access to health care because a male relative 
must be present or because male doctors are not al-
lowed to touch female patients. Some countries also 
limit women’s property rights and stunt women’s 
economic opportunities. The most brutal forms of 
women’s rights violations include female genital mu-
tilation, sex trafficking and imprisonment of unmar-
ried pregnant women. 
(5) Though not confined to a particular region 
or regime, violations of women’s rights are often 
particularly widespread, systematic, and heinous 
under totalitarian governments and in countries with 
militant, politicized religious majorities or with 
strong tribal traditions. 
(6) Congress has recognized and denounced 
international violations of women’s rights through 
the adoption of the following resolutions: 
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(A) Senate Resolution 68 of the 106th 
Congress, expressing the sense of the Senate re-
garding the treatment of women and girls by 
the Taliban in Afghanistan. 
(B) Senate Concurrent Resolution 42 of 
the 107th Congress, condemning the Taliban 
for their discriminatory policies towards women. 
(C) Senate Concurrent Resolution 86 of 
the 107th Congress, expressing the sense of 
Congress that women from all ethnic groups in 
Afghanistan should participate in the economic 
and political reconstruction of Afghanistan. 
(D) House Resolution 393 of the 108th 
Congress, commending Afghan women for their 
participation in Afghan government and civil 
society, encouraging the inclusion of Afghan 
women in the political and economic life of Af-
ghanistan, and advocating the protection of the 
human rights of all Afghans, particularly 
women, in the Afghanistan Constitution. 
(E) Senate Resolution 74 of the 109th 
Congress, designating March 8, 2005, as Inter-
national Women’s Day. 
(F) On October 10, 2003, First Lady 
Laura Bush said, ‘‘All of us have an obligation 
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to speak up and to speak out. We may come 
from different backgrounds and faiths; but ad-
vancing human rights is the responsibility of all 
humanity—a commitment shared by people of 
good will on every continent. As we work to 
meet the challenges that women face at home 
and abroad, our goal is simple: we seek wom-
en’s full participation in every dimension of 
life. . . Our dedication to advancing and pro-
tecting women’s rights in all countries must 
continue for a prosperous and stable world. 
Without women, the goals of democracy and 
peace cannot be achieved.’’. 
(G) On October 18, 2004, First Lady 
Laura Bush said, ‘‘Empowered women are vital 
to democracy. And this is even clearer to all of 
us today as we look around the world and we 
see what happens in countries where half of the 
population is left out. The struggle for human 
rights is a story of ordinary people doing ex-
traordinary things.’’. 
(b) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United 
States to do the following: 
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(1) To condemn violations of women’s rights, 
and to promote, and to assist other governments in 
promoting, the fundamental human rights of women. 
(2) To seek to channel United States security 
and development assistance to governments other 
than those found to be engaged in gross violations 
of the rights of women, as set forth in the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961, in the International Finan-
cial Institutions Act, and in other formulations of 
United States human rights policy. 
(3) To be vigorous and flexible, reflecting both 
the unwavering commitment of the United States to 
women’s rights and the desire of the United States 
for the most effective and principled response, in 
light of the range of violations of women’s rights by 
a variety of persecuting regimes, and the status of 
the relations of the United States with different na-
tions. 
(4) To work with foreign governments that af-
firm and protect women’s rights, in order to develop 
multilateral documents and initiatives to combat vio-
lations of women’s rights and promote the right of 
women to enjoy their human rights abroad. 
(5) Standing for liberty and standing with the 
disadvantaged, to use and implement appropriate 
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tools in the United States foreign policy apparatus, 
including diplomatic, political, commercial, chari-
table, educational, and cultural channels, to promote 
respect for women’s rights by all governments and 
peoples. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AMBASSADOR AT LARGE.—The term ‘‘Am-
bassador at Large’’ means the Ambassador at Large 
for International Women’s Rights appointed under 
section 101(b). 
(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The term ‘‘Annual Re-
port’’ means the Annual Report on International 
Women’s Rights described in section 102(b). 
(3) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’— 
(A) means the Committee on Foreign Re-
lations of the Senate and the Committee on 
International Relations of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
(B) includes, in the case of any determina-
tion made with respect to the taking of Presi-
dent action under paragraphs (9) through (15) 
of section 405(a), the committees described in 
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subparagraph (A) and, where appropriate, the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Bank-
ing, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 
(4) COMMENSURATE ACTION.—The term ‘‘com-
mensurate action’’ means action taken by the Presi-
dent under section 405(b). 
(5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the United States Commission on Inter-
national Women’s Rights established in section 
201(a). 
(6) COUNTRY
REPORTS
ON
HUMAN
RIGHTS 
PRACTICES.—The 
term 
‘‘Country 
Reports 
on 
Human Rights Practices’’ means the annual report 
required to be submitted by the Secretary of State 
to Congress under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 
(7) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.—The term ‘‘Execu-
tive Summary’’ means the Executive Summary to 
the 
Annual 
Report, 
as 
described 
in 
section 
102(b)(1)(F). 
(8) 
GOVERNMENT
OR
FOREIGN
GOVERN-
MENT.—The term ‘‘government’’ or ‘‘foreign govern-
ment’’ includes any agency or instrumentality of the 
government. 
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