Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2024

Bill: 118-hr-8124
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]
Introduced: 2024-04-23
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2024-12-17
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8124 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 23, 2024 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Suozzi ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs , and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary , Financial Services , Ways and Means , Oversight and Accountability , and House Administration , 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 expand the imposition of sanctions under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 with respect to human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China and to counter the genocidal policies of the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

1. Short title; table of contents (a) Short title This Act may be cited as the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2024 . (b) Table of contents The table of contents for this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Expansion of sanctions under Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress on application of sanctions under Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. Sec. 4. Denial of United States entry for individuals complicit in forced abortions or forced sterilizations. Sec. 5. Physical and psychological support for Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic groups. Sec. 6. Preservation of cultural and linguistic heritage of ethnic groups oppressed by the People’s Republic of China. Sec. 7. Determination of whether actions of certain Chinese entities meet criteria for imposition of sanctions. Sec. 8. Countering propaganda from the People’s Republic of China about genocide. Sec. 9. Documenting atrocities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Sec. 10. Prohibition on certain United States Government agency contracts. Sec. 11. Strategy to deter and disrupt forced organ harvesting in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 2. Expansion of sanctions under Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (a) In general Section 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 ( Public Law 116–145 ; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking persons in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and inserting persons residing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or members of those groups in countries outside of the People’s Republic of China ; (ii) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following: (G) Systematic rape, coercive abortion, forced sterilization, or involuntary contraceptive implantation policies and practices. (H) Human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal. (I) Forced separation of children from their parents to be placed in boarding schools. (J) Forced deportation or refoulement to the People’s Republic of China. ; (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: (2) Additional matters to be included The President shall include in the report required by paragraph (1) an identification of— (A) each foreign person that knowingly provides significant goods, services, or technology to or for a person identified in the report; and (B) each foreign person that knowingly engages in a significant transaction relating to any of the acts described in subparagraphs (A) through (J) of paragraph (1). ; (2) in subsection (b), by striking subsection (a)(1) and inserting subsection (a) ; and (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as follows: (d) Implementation; regulatory authority (1) Implementation The President may exercise all authorities provided under section 203 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1702 ) to carry out this section. (2) Regulatory authority The President shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as necessary to carry out this section. . (b) Effective date; applicability The amendments made by this section— (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) apply with respect to the first report required by section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 submitted after such date of enactment. 3. Sense of Congress on application of sanctions under Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (a) Finding Congress finds that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act the sanctions provided for under that Act have been employed once since passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act in 2020, even though genocide and other horrific human rights abuses continue to occur. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the President should employ the sanctions provided for under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020— (1) to address ongoing atrocities, including the use of forced labor and the arbitrary detention of the families of United States citizens and residents, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China; and (2) to hold entities and officials of the People’s Republic of China accountable for atrocities. 4. Denial of United States entry for individuals complicit in forced abortions or forced sterilizations Section 801 of the Admiral James W. Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 ( Public Law 106–113 ; 8 U.S.C. 1182e ) is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking may not each place it appears and inserting shall not ; (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: (c) Waiver The Secretary of State may waive the prohibitions in subsection (a) with respect to a foreign national if the Secretary— (1) determines that— (A) the foreign national is not directly complicit in atrocities, specifically the oversight of programs or policies the intent of which is to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group through the use of forced sterilization, forced abortion, or other egregious population control policies; (B) admitting or paroling the foreign national into the United States is necessary— (i) to permit the United States to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success on June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United States, or other applicable international obligations of the United States; or (ii) to carry out or assist law enforcement activity of the United States; and (C) it is important to the national security interest of the United States to admit or parole the foreign national into the United States; and (2) provides written notification to the appropriate congressional committees containing a justification for the waiver. (d) Notice The Secretary of State shall make a public announcement whenever the prohibitions under subsection (a) are imposed under this section. (e) Information requested by Congress The Secretary of State, upon the request of a Member of Congress, shall provide— (1) information about the use of the prohibitions under subsection (a), including the number of times such prohibitions were imposed, disaggregated by country and by year; or (2) a classified briefing that includes information about the individuals subject to such prohibitions or subject to sanctions under any other Act authorizing the imposition of sanctions with respect to the conduct of such individuals. . 5. Physical and psychological support for Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic groups (a) Authorization (1) In general Using funds appropriated to the Department of State in annual appropriations bills under the heading development assistance , the Secretary of State, in conjunction and in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, is authorized, subject to the requirements under chapters 1 and 10 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq. ) and section 634A of such Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2394–1 )— (A) to provide the assistance described in paragraph (2) to individuals who— (i) belong to the Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, or another oppressed ethnic group in the People’s Republic of China; (ii) experienced torture, forced sterilization, rape, forced abortion, forced labor, or other atrocities in the People’s Republic of China; and (iii) are residing outside of the People’s Republic of China; and (B) to build local capacity for the care described in subparagraph (A) through— (i) grants to treatment centers and programs in foreign countries in accordance with section 130(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2152(b) ); and (ii) research and training to health care providers outside of such treatment centers or programs in accordance with section 130(c)(2) of such Act. (2) Authorized assistance The assistance described in this paragraph is— (A) medical care; (B) physical therapy; and (C) psychological support. (b) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that describes— (1) the direct care or services provided in foreign countries for individuals described in subsection (a)(1)(A); and (2) any projects started or supported in foreign countries to provide the care or services described in paragraph (1). (c) Federal share Not more than 50 percent of the costs of providing the assistance authorized under subsection (a) may be paid by the United States Government. 6. Preservation of cultural and linguistic heritage of ethnic groups oppressed by the People’s Republic of China (a) Finding Congress finds that the genocide perpetrated by officials of the Government of the People’s Republic of China in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region aims to erase the distinct cultural and linguistic heritage of oppressed ethnic groups. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government should use its diplomatic, development, and cultural activities to promote the preservation of cultural and linguistic heritages of ethnic groups in the People’s Republic of China threatened by the Chinese Communist Party. (c) Report required Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report that assesses the feasibility of establishing a grant program to assist communities facing threats to their cultural and linguistic heritage from officials of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. (d) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2027, to support the establishment of a Repressed Cultures Preservation Initiative within the Smithsonian Institution to pool Institution-wide efforts toward research, exhibitions, and education related to the cultural and linguistic heritage of ethnic and religious groups the cultures of which are threatened by repressive regimes, including the Chinese Communist Party. 7. Determination of whether actions of certain Chinese entities meet criteria for imposition of sanctions (a) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, shall— (1) determine whether any entity specified in subsection (b)— (A) is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuses against Uyghurs or other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China; or (B) meets the criteria for the imposition of sanctions under— (i) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act ( 22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq. ); (ii) section 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 ( Public Law 116–145 ; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note); (iii) section 105, 105A, 105B, or 105C of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 ( 22 U.S.C. 8514 , 8514a, 8514b, and 8514c); (iv) Executive Order 13818 ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the property of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or corruption), as amended on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; or (v) Executive Order 13553 ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property of certain persons with respect to serious human rights abuses by the Government of Iran and taking certain other actions), as amended on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; (2) if the Secretary of the Treasury determines under paragraph (1) that an entity is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuses described in subparagraph (A) of that paragraph or meets the criteria for the imposition of sanctions described in subparagraph (B) of that paragraph, include the entity on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control; and (3) submit to Congress a report on that determination that includes the reasons for the determination. (b) Entities specified An entity specified in this subsection is any of the following: (1) Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (2) Shenzhen Huada Gene Technology Co., Ltd. (BGI Group). (3) Tiandy Technologies Co., Ltd. (4) Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. (5) China Electronics Technology Group Co. (6) Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co., Ltd. (7) ByteDance Ltd. (c) Form of report The report required by subsection (a)(3) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. 8. Countering propaganda from the People’s Republic of China about genocide (a) In general Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the United States Agency for Global Media, shall submit a strategy to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives for countering propaganda and other messaging from news and information sources associated with the Government of the People’s Republic of China or entities associated with the Chinese Communist Party or influenced by the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People’s Republic of China that— (1) deny the genocide, crimes against humanity, and other egregious human rights abuses experienced by Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; (2) spread propaganda regarding the role of the United States Government in imposing economic and reputational costs on the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People’s Republic of China for its ongoing genocide; (3) target Uyghurs and other people who publicly oppose the Government of the People's Republic of China’s genocidal policies and forced labor practices, including the detention and intimidation of their family members; or (4) increase pressure on member countries of the United Nations to deny or defend genocide or other egregious violations of internationally recognized human rights in the People’s Republic of China within international organizations and multilateral fora, including at the United Nations Human Rights Council. (b) Strategy elements The strategy required under subsection (a) shall include— (1) existing messaging strategies and specific broadcasting efforts to counter the propaganda described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) and the reach of such strategies and efforts to audiences targeted by such propaganda; (2) specific metrics used for determining the success or failure of the messaging strategies and broadcasting efforts described in paragraph (1) and an analysis of the impact of such strategies and efforts; (3) a description of any new or pilot messaging strategies and broadcasting efforts expected to be implemented during the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and an explanation of the need for such strategies and efforts; (4) measurable goals to be completed during the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and tangible outcomes for expanding broadcasting efforts and countering propaganda; and (5) estimates of additional funding needed to counter the propaganda described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a). (c) Funding The Secretary of State is authorized to use amounts made available for the Countering PRC Influence Fund under section 7043(c)(2) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 (division K of Public Law 117–103 ) to develop and carry out the strategy required under subsection (a). 9. Documenting atrocities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development may provide assistance, including financial and technical assistance, as necessary and appropriate, to support the efforts of entities, including nongovernmental organizations with expertise in international criminal investigations and law, to address genocide, crimes against humanity, and their constituent crimes by the Government of the People’s Republic of China by— (1) collecting, documenting, and archiving evidence, including the testimonies of victims and visuals from social media, and preserving the chain of custody for such evidence; (2) identifying suspected perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity; (3) conducting criminal investigations of atrocity crimes, including by developing indigenous investigative and judicial skills through partnerships, direct mentoring, and providing the necessary equipment and infrastructure to effectively adjudicate cases for use in prosecutions in domestic courts, hybrid courts, and internationalized domestic courts; (4) supporting investigations conducted by foreign countries, civil society groups, and multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations; and (5) supporting and protecting witnesses participating in such investigations. 10. Prohibition on certain United States Government agency contracts (a) Prohibition The head of an executive agency may not enter into a contract for the procurement of goods or services with or for any of the following: (1) Any person identified in the report required by section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 ( Public Law 116–145 ; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note). (2) Any person that mined, produced, or manufactured goods, wares, articles, and merchandise detained and denied entry into the United States by U.S. Customs and Border Protection pursuant to section 3 of the Act entitled An Act to ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States market, and for other purposes , approved December 23, 2021 ( Public Law 117–78 ; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) (commonly referred to as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act ). (3) Any person that the head of the executive agency determines, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, facilitates the genocide and human rights abuses occurring in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. (4) Any person, program, project, or activity that— (A) contributes to forced labor, particularly through the procurement of any goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly, or in part, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or by the forced labor of ethnic Uyghurs or other persecuted individuals or groups in the People’s Republic of China; or (B) violates internationally recognized labor rights of individuals or groups in the People’s Republic of China. (b) Consultations The head of each executive agency shall consult with the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, established under section 741 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act ( 19 U.S.C. 4681 ), with respect to the implementation of subsection (a)(2). (c) Report required Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a report on the implementation of this section to— (1) the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability of the House of Representatives. (d) Executive agency defined In this section, the term executive agency has the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code. 11. Strategy to deter and disrupt forced organ harvesting in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (a) In general Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a strategy to deter and disrupt forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China, including a determination whether the practice has occurred in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region since 2017 and whether future accountability efforts for genocide or crime against humanity will include officials complicity in forced organ harvesting. (b) Matters To be included The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include— (1) specific steps taken and authorities used to deter and disrupt the practice of illegal organ trafficking and forced organ harvesting in the People’s Republic of China and which offices in the Department of State are working on this issue; and (2) details about the number and level of diplomatic discussions that have occurred with Member-States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on the issue of forced organ harvesting and organ tourism by citizens of OIC countries to the People’s Republic of China.