UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act
Bill: S.2479 | Sponsor: Sen. Risch, James E. (R-ID)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
UNRWA Accountability and Transparency Act
This bill makes changes to U.S. foreign policy in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
For purposes of this policy, the bill defines Palestinian refugee as a person who (1) resided from June 1946 to May 1948 in Mandatory Palestine (a region controlled by Britain until 1948), (2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict, and (3) has not accepted citizenship or other permanent adjustment in status in another country.
The bill withholds U.S. funding for the UNRWA unless the Department of State makes certifications concerning the UNRWA's staff, partners, and funding. Specifically, the State Department must certify that neither UNRWA staff and partners nor its funding and facilities are affiliated with terrorism or engaged in the dissemination of anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic ideologies. Additionally, the State Department must certify that the UNRWA is subject to comprehensive financial audits by an independent auditing firm and is unaffiliated with any financial institutions that the United States considers to be complicit in money laundering or terror financing.
The bill also requires the State Department to implement a plan to encourage other countries to align their activities and efforts regarding the UNRWA with U.S. policy objectives, including the phase out of the UNRWA by resettling Palestinian refugees in countries other than Israel and in territories not controlled by Israel. The State Department must report to Congress on this plan.

To withhold United States contributions to the United Nations Relief 
 and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 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 ``UNRWA Accountability and 
Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Palestinian Refugee Defined.--It shall be the policy of the 
United States, in matters concerning the United Nations Relief and 
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (referred to in 
this Act as ``UNRWA''), which operates in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the 
Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, to define a Palestinian refugee as a 
person who--
            (1) resided, between June 1946 and May 1948, in the region 
        controlled by Britain between 1922 and 1948 that was known as 
        Mandatory Palestine;
            (2) was personally displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-
        Israeli conflict; and
            (3) has not accepted an offer of legal residency status, 
        citizenship, or other permanent adjustment in status in another 
        country or territory.
    (b) Limitations on Refugee and Derivative Refugee Status.--In 
applying the definition under subsection (a) with respect to refugees 
receiving assistance from UNRWA, it shall be the policy of the United 
States, consistent with the definition of refugee in section 101(a)(42) 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(42)) and the 
requirements for eligibility for refugee status under section 207 of 
such Act (8 U.S.C. 1157), that--
            (1) derivative refugee status may only be extended to the 
        spouse or a minor child of a Palestinian refugee; and
            (2) an alien who is firmly resettled in any country is not 
        eligible to retain refugee status.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO UNRWA.

    Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2221) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Withholding.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Anti-semitic.--The term `anti-Semitic'--
                            ``(i) has the meaning adopted on May 26, 
                        2016, by the International Holocaust 
                        Remembrance Alliance as the non-legally binding 
                        working definition of anti-Semitism; and
                            ``(ii) includes the contemporary examples 
                        of anti-Semitism in public life, the media, 
                        schools, the workplace, and in the religious 
                        sphere identified on such date by the 
                        International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
                    ``(B) Appropriate congressional committees.--The 
                term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
                            ``(i) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
                        the Senate;
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Appropriations of 
                        the Senate;
                            ``(iii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
                        the House of Representatives; and
                            ``(iv) the Committee on Appropriations of 
                        the House of Representatives.
                    ``(C) Boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions 
                against israel.--The term `boycott of, divestment from, 
                and sanctions against Israel' has the meaning given to 
                such term in section 909(f)(1) of the Trade 
                Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (19 
                U.S.C. 4452(f)(1)).
                    ``(D) Foreign terrorist organization.--The term 
                `foreign terrorist organization' means an organization 
                designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the 
                Secretary of State in accordance with section 219(a) of 
                the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
                    ``(E) UNRWA.--The term `UNRWA' means the United 
                Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees 
                in the Near East.
            ``(2) Certification.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, the United States may not provide contributions to 
        UNRWA, to any successor or related entity, or to the regular 
        budget of the United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a 
        successor entity (through staff positions provided by the 
        United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) unless the Secretary 
        of State submits a written certification to the appropriate 
        congressional committees that--
                    ``(A) no official, employee, consultant, 
                contractor, subcontractor, representative, affiliate of 
                UNRWA, an UNRWA partner organization, or an UNRWA 
                contracting entity pursuant to completion of a thorough 
                vetting and background check process--
                            ``(i) is a member of, is affiliated with, 
                        or has any ties to a foreign terrorist 
                        organization, including Hamas and Hezbollah;
                            ``(ii) has advocated, planned, sponsored, 
                        or engaged in any terrorist activity;
                            ``(iii) has propagated or disseminated 
                        anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic 
                        rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda, 
                        including--
                                    ``(I) calling for or encouraging 
                                the destruction of Israel;
                                    ``(II) failing to recognize 
                                Israel's right to exist;
                                    ``(III) showing maps without 
                                Israel;
                                    ``(IV) describing Israelis as 
                                `occupiers' or `settlers';
                                    ``(V) advocating, endorsing, or 
                                expressing support for violence, 
                                hatred, jihad, martyrdom, or terrorism, 
                                glorifying, honoring, or otherwise 
                                memorializing any person or group that 
                                has advocated, sponsored, or committed 
                                acts of terrorism, or providing 
                                material support to terrorists or their 
                                families;
                                    ``(VI) expressing support for 
                                boycott of, divestment from, and 
                                sanctions against Israel (commonly 
                                referred to as `BDS');
                                    ``(VII) claiming or advocating for 
                                a `right of return' of refugees into 
                                Israel;
                                    ``(VIII) ignoring, denying, or not 
                                recognizing the historic connection of 
                                the Jewish people to the land of 
                                Israel; and
                                    ``(IX) calling for violence against 
                                Americans; or
                            ``(iv) has used any UNRWA resources, 
                        including publications, websites, or social 
                        media platforms, to propagate or disseminate 
                        anti-American, anti-Israel, or anti-Semitic 
                        rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda, including 
                        with respect to any of the matters described in 
                        subclauses (I) through (IX) of clause (iii);
                    ``(B) no UNRWA school, hospital, clinic, facility, 
                or other infrastructure or resource is being used by a 
                foreign terrorist organization or any member thereof--
                            ``(i) for terrorist activities, such as 
                        operations, planning, training, recruitment, 
                        fundraising, indoctrination, communications, 
                        sanctuary, storage of weapons or other 
                        materials; or
                            ``(ii) as an access point to any 
                        underground tunnel network, or any other 
                        terrorist-related purposes;
                    ``(C) UNRWA is subject to comprehensive financial 
                audits by an internationally recognized third party 
                independent auditing firm that--
                            ``(i) is agreed upon by the Government of 
                        Israel and the Palestinian Authority; and
                            ``(ii) has implemented an effective system 
                        of vetting and oversight to prevent the use, 
                        receipt, or diversion of any UNRWA resources by 
                        any foreign terrorist organization or members 
                        thereof;
                    ``(D) no UNRWA controlled or funded facility, such 
                as a school, an educational institution, or a summer 
                camp, uses textbooks or other educational materials 
                that propagate or disseminate anti-American, anti-
                Israel, or anti-Semitic rhetoric, incitement, or 
                propaganda, including with respect to any of the 
                matters described in subclauses (I) through (IX) of 
                subparagraph (A)(iii);
                    ``(E) no recipient of UNRWA funds or loans is--
                            ``(i) a member of, is affiliated with, or 
                        has any ties to a foreign terrorist 
                        organization; or
                            ``(ii) otherwise engaged in terrorist 
                        activities; and
                    ``(F) UNRWA holds no accounts or other affiliations 
                with financial institutions that the United States 
                considers or believes to be complicit in money 
                laundering and terror financing.
            ``(3) Period of effectiveness.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A certification described in 
                paragraph (2) shall be effective until the earlier of--
                            ``(i) the date on which the Secretary 
                        receives information rendering the 
                        certification described in paragraph (2) 
                        factually inaccurate; or
                            ``(ii) the date that is 180 days after the 
                        date on which it is submitted to the 
                        appropriate congressional committees.
                    ``(B) Notification of renunciation.--If a 
                certification becomes ineffective pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall promptly notify 
                the appropriate congressional committees of the reasons 
                for renouncing or failing to renew such certification.
            ``(4) Limitation.--During any year in which a certification 
        described in paragraph (1) is in effect, the United States may 
        not contribute to UNRWA, or to any successor entity, an amount 
        that--
                    ``(A) is greater than the highest contribution to 
                UNRWA made by a member country of the League of Arab 
                States for such year; and
                    ``(B) is greater (as a proportion of the total 
                UNRWA budget) than the proportion of the total budget 
                for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
                paid by the United States.''.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    (a) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.
    (b) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State 
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees 
describing the actions being taken to implement a comprehensive plan 
for--
            (1) encouraging other countries to adopt the policy 
        regarding Palestinian refugees that is described in section 2;
            (2) urging other countries to withhold their contributions 
        to UNRWA, to any successor or related entity, or to the regular 
        budget of the United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a 
        successor entity (through staff positions provided by the 
        United Nations Secretariat or otherwise) until UNRWA has met 
        the conditions listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of 
        section 301(c)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 
        added by section 3;
            (3) working with other countries to phase out UNRWA and 
        assist Palestinians receiving UNRWA services by--
                    (A) integrating such Palestinians into their local 
                communities in the countries in which they are 
                residing; or
                    (B) resettling such Palestinians in countries other 
                than Israel or territories controlled by Israel in the 
                West Bank in accordance with international humanitarian 
                principles; and
            (4) ensuring that the actions described in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) are being implemented in complete coordination 
                with, and with the support of, Israel; and
                    (B) do not endanger the security of Israel in any 
                way.
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