I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6436 
To eliminate conditions in foreign prisons and other detention facilities that 
do not meet primary indicators of health, sanitation, and safety, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To eliminate conditions in foreign prisons and other deten-
tion facilities that do not meet primary indicators of 
health, sanitation, and safety, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Foreign Prison Condi-
tions Improvement Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Millions of incarcerated people in the world 
suffer inhumane conditions in prisons and other de-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
tention facilities that are overcrowded, unsanitary, 
and unsafe to the point of endangering their lives. 
Many governments do not respect their international 
commitments to ensure that all individuals in deten-
tion or incarceration are treated with humanity and 
with respect for the inherent dignity of the human 
person. 
(2) Rates of malnutrition and death among 
prisoners and other detainees far exceed those of the 
general population, and medical treatment for seri-
ous illness or injury is, in many instances, non-exist-
ent or grossly inadequate. 
(3) Prisons are extremely high-risk environ-
ments for transmitting diseases, particularly HIV 
and tuberculosis, and create grave risks to commu-
nities in which released prisoners live; studies esti-
mate that HIV infection rates in prisons in devel-
oping countries can be as much as 50 times higher 
than in the general population, and tuberculosis in-
fection rates in prisons are more than 20 times high-
er than in the general population. 
(4) These conditions are compounded by severe 
overcrowding in prisons and other detention facili-
ties. Excessive pre-trial detention and dysfunctional 
justice systems frequently result in prisoners and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
other detainees spending years in such conditions be-
fore their cases are adjudicated. In some countries, 
such facilities are filled to capacity many times over 
resulting in conditions so cramped that individual 
prisoners cannot move without all doing so en 
masse. 
(5) Experts have documented widespread inhu-
mane prison conditions, including overcrowding, in-
adequate food and water, no access to hygiene prod-
ucts or medical care, juveniles detained with adults, 
and denial of visits from family. 
(6) Some governments fail to provide even the 
most rudimentary sanitation in prisons and other 
detention facilities, putting prisoners and other de-
tainees at even greater risk of easily preventable and 
often life-threatening diseases. Toilets are few or 
non-existent and human waste repositories often are 
located among the general prison population, forcing 
prisoners to eat, sleep, and live in grossly unsanitary 
conditions. 
(7) Some governments fail to permit prisoners 
and other detainees reasonable contact with family 
members or other visitors. Many governments deny 
access to certain prisoners and detainees, or do not 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
provide information about their location, health, and 
well-being, leaving them unaccounted for. 
(8) Inhumane conditions in prisons and other 
detention facilities often exist in countries where re-
sources for law enforcement are limited and only a 
small fraction of such resources are made available 
for the operation and maintenance of prisons and 
other detention facilities. Inadequate, misplaced, or 
lost records often result in prisoners and other de-
tainees being incarcerated indefinitely because their 
cases have never been tried or otherwise adjudicated. 
In other cases, poor recordkeeping results in pris-
oners and other detainees being held long after their 
sentences have expired. Allocating the relatively 
modest resources necessary to provide for the basic 
human needs of prisoners and other detainees and to 
remediate the inhumane conditions under which 
such prisoners are held is often a low priority. 
(9) The United States Government currently 
provides significant amounts of assistance to coun-
tries whose governments operate prisons and other 
detention facilities that, because of their inhumane 
conditions, seriously jeopardize the lives of prisoners 
and other detainees held under their authority. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(10) The Department of State’s 2011 Country 
Reports on Human Rights Practices reported prison 
conditions as poor, inhumane, or life threatening in 
scores of countries, all of which receive United 
States assistance. 
(11) On February 14, 2012, a fire at the 
Comayagua Prison in Honduras killed 360 pris-
oners. United States officials who investigated the 
fire attributed the deaths to severe overcrowding and 
poor safety practices. In one overcrowded cell block, 
only 4 of 105 prisoners survived. More than half of 
the prisoners were pretrial detainees who had never 
been convicted of any crime. 
(12) In many countries, United States citizens 
suffer serious harm and are at risk of death and 
mistreatment from being held in prisons and other 
detention facilities under inhumane conditions. 
(13) The United States Government should use 
its influence and resources to ensure that govern-
ments that receive United States assistance do not 
operate prisons and other detention facilities under 
inhumane conditions. The United States Govern-
ment also should assist countries to eliminate inhu-
mane conditions in prisons and other detention fa-
cilities. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(14) Eliminating inhumane conditions in for-
eign prisons and other detention facilities will 
strengthen the rule of law, save lives, and enhance 
the health and well-being of vulnerable people in 
poor countries, and it will advance United States in-
terests. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Appropriations and 
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-
ate; and 
(B) the Committee on Appropriations and 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives. 
(2) PRIMARY
INDICATORS
FOR
THE
ELIMI-
NATION
OF
INHUMANE
CONDITIONS
IN
FOREIGN 
PRISONS AND OTHER DETENTION FACILITIES.—The 
term ‘‘primary indicators for the elimination of inhu-
mane conditions in prisons and other detention fa-
cilities’’ means, with respect to the operation or 
maintenance of prisons and other detention facilities 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
in a foreign country that is a recipient of United 
States assistance, the following: 
(A) The number of inmates or detainees 
held in a facility does not so exceed prison ca-
pacity such that per capita floor space is insuf-
ficient to allow for humane sleeping conditions 
and reasonable physical movement. 
(B) Human waste facilities are sanitary 
and accessible, and human waste is disposed of 
regularly and in a sanitary manner. 
(C) The lighting, ventilation, temperature, 
and physical construction of prisons and other 
detention facilities do not seriously endanger 
the health and safety of prisoners. 
(D) Prisoners and other detainees have ac-
cess to adequate food and potable drinking 
water. 
(E) Prisoners and other detainees have ac-
cess to essential and emergency medical care. 
(F) To the maximum extent practicable, 
prisoners and other detainees are allowed reli-
gious observance and materials, and contact 
with clergy, family, and friends, by both cor-
respondence and personal visits. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(3) UNITED
STATES
ASSISTANCE.—The term 
‘‘United States assistance’’ means any non-humani-
tarian assistance furnished to carry out the provi-
sions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), the Arms Export Control Act 
(22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), or the Millennium Chal-
lenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). 
SEC. 4. EFFORTS TO HELP ELIMINATE INHUMANE CONDI-
TIONS IN FOREIGN PRISONS AND OTHER DE-
TENTION FACILITIES. 
(a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) ANNUAL REPORT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and annually thereafter for five years on 
October 1, the Secretary of State shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report describing the conditions in prisons and 
other detention facilities in at least 30 countries 
receiving United States assistance or under 
sanction by the United States selected as a re-
sult of the Secretary’s determination that such 
conditions raise the most serious human rights 
or humanitarian concerns. In selecting such 
countries, the Secretary shall consider only the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
conditions within each country’s prisons and de-
tention facilities. 
(B) CONTENT.—The report required under 
subparagraph (A) shall, for each country, de-
scribe the conditions that raise human rights 
and humanitarian concerns, including— 
(i) a detailed and up to date review, 
whenever possible, of each of the primary 
indicators set forth in section 3(2) and 
noting any efforts made to eliminate inhu-
mane conditions as described in paragraph 
(2); 
(ii) an identification of those coun-
tries, if any, receiving United States assist-
ance, whose governments— 
(I) do not meet one or more of 
the primary indicators for the elimi-
nation of inhumane conditions in pris-
ons and other detention facilities but 
are making significant efforts to com-
ply; and 
(II) do not meet one or more of 
the primary indicators and are not 
making significant efforts to comply; 
and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(iii) the steps being taken by the 
United States Government to improve con-
ditions in foreign prisons and other deten-
tion facilities. 
(C) BEST
PRACTICES.—The report shall 
also include a section on best practices world-
wide for achieving the primary indicators. 
(2) SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS.—In making deter-
minations under paragraph (1)(A) as to whether the 
government of a country is making significant ef-
forts to comply with the primary indicators for the 
elimination of inhumane conditions in prisons and 
other detention facilities, the Secretary of State shall 
consider the extent to which the government of the 
country is— 
(A) regularly monitoring the conditions of 
prisons and other detention facilities under its 
authority, including allowing access for inde-
pendent monitors, permitting prisoners and 
other detainees to submit complaints without 
censorship, cooperating with international ex-
perts on eliminating and monitoring inhumane 
conditions in prisons and other detention facili-
ties, promptly investigating credible allegations 
of inhumane conditions, and making informa-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
tion concerning conditions and investigations 
available to the public and the Secretary of 
State; 
(B) taking effective steps to eliminate in-
humane conditions in prisons and other deten-
tion facilities, which may include, among other 
steps, appointing ombudsmen to serve on behalf 
of prisoners and other detainees, providing al-
ternatives to incarceration for nonviolent of-
fenders in order to alleviate inhumane over-
crowding, addressing the status and cir-
cumstances of confinement of juveniles, improv-
ing pretrial detention practices, and imple-
menting bail and recordkeeping procedures to 
reduce pretrial detention periods and to ensure 
that prisoners do not serve beyond the max-
imum sentence for the charged offense; and 
(C) increasing the amount of government 
resources to eliminate inhumane conditions in 
prisons and other detention facilities. 
(3) USE OF COUNTRY REPORTS.—The report 
required under paragraph (1) may draw from the 
discussion of prison conditions contained in the 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices re-
quired under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2151n(d) and 2304(b)). 
(4) PUBLICATION.—The report required under 
paragraph (1) shall be made available to the public, 
including on a publicly available website of the De-
partment of State. 
(b) ASSISTANCE FOR GOVERNMENTS TO ELIMINATE 
INHUMANE CONDITIONS IN PRISONS AND OTHER DETEN-
TION FACILITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State and 
the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development should furnish assistance 
authorized under section 7 for the purpose of elimi-
nating inhumane conditions in prisons and other de-
tention facilities where such assistance would be ap-
propriate and beneficial. 
(2) INAPPLICABILITY
OF
PROHIBITION.—The 
prohibitions under section 660 of the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2420) shall not be ap-
plicable to assistance furnished to carry out the pro-
visions of paragraph (1). 
(3) ASSISTANCE.—Assistance made available 
under this subsection shall be designated and used 
exclusively to eliminate inhumane conditions in pris-
ons and other detention facilities in the country re-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
ceiving the grant, but may not include the construc-
tion of new prisons. Funds made available under 
this section shall be subject to the regular notifica-
tion procedures of the Committees on Appropriations 
of the Senate and the House of Representatives. 
(c) CONSULTATIONS
WITH
GOVERNMENTS
NOT 
MAKING SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE INHU-
MANE CONDITIONS IN PRISONS AND OTHER DETENTION 
FACILITIES.— 
(1) CONSULTATIONS.—In the case of a govern-
ment of a country that is listed in the report sub-
mitted under subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)(II) as not 
making significant efforts to eliminate inhumane 
conditions in prisons and other detention facilities, 
the Secretary of State shall, not later than 90 days 
after the date such report is submitted, enter into 
consultations with such government to achieve the 
purposes of this Act. 
(2) ACTIONS REGARDING UNITED STATES AS-
SISTANCE.— 
(A) UNITED
STATES
ASSISTANCE.—The 
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Devel-
opment may restructure, reprogram, or reduce 
United States assistance for a government de-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
scribed in paragraph (1) to achieve the pur-
poses of this Act. 
(B) REPORTING.—If assistance is provided 
to a country whose government is described in 
paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall sub-
mit to the appropriate congressional committees 
within 30 days of the decision to provide such 
assistance a report— 
(i) explaining that any government 
agency or facility to receive assistance has 
the independence and commitment nec-
essary to achieve the purposes of this Act; 
(ii) detailing the purposes for which 
such assistance will be provided; 
(iii) describing the United States in-
terest in providing such assistance notwith-
standing the failure of the government to 
make significant efforts to eliminate inhu-
mane conditions; and 
(iv) describing the conditions in pris-
ons and other detention facilities in such 
country unless this information has already 
been included in the report required under 
section 4(a)(1). 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(3) BRIEFING.—Not later than 180 days after 
the beginning of consultations required under para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall brief the appropriate 
congressional committees on the actions taken or 
agreed to be taken, if any, by the government of 
that country that constitute significant efforts to 
eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other 
detention facilities and the actions taken, or that will 
be taken, by the United States pursuant to para-
graph (2). Such information shall also be included in 
the next report required under subsection (a). If the 
Secretary determines that United States assistance 
to such government should not be restructured, re-
programmed, or reduced, the briefing and report 
shall contain an explanation for that decision. 
SEC. 5. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. 
Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 
U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) The Secretary of State, with the assistance of 
other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the stand-
ard training provided for chiefs of mission, deputy chiefs 
of mission, and other officers of the Service who are or 
will be involved in the assessment of conditions in foreign 
prisons and other detention facilities or the drafting of the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, in-
struction on matters related to conditions in such prisons 
and other detention facilities and the substance of the 
Foreign Prison Conditions Improvement Act of 2012.’’. 
SEC. 6. OFFICIAL TO MONITOR FOREIGN PRISON CONDI-
TIONS. 
The Secretary of State shall designate, within the 
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, an offi-
cial at a minimum level of a Deputy Assistant Secretary 
who shall have responsibility for implementing the provi-
sions of this Act, which shall be a substantial part of such 
official’s responsibilities. The Secretary shall instruct rel-
evant United States officials abroad to assist such official 
in gathering information regarding conditions in foreign 
prisons and other detention facilities and in implementing 
the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE FUNDING.—In addition to 
funds otherwise available for such purposes, the Secretary 
of State may use funds available for any fiscal year to 
carry out the provisions of part I and chapter 4 of part 
II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 
et seq. and 22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.) and the Support for 
East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
03:09 Sep 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6436.IH
H6436
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS