Atrocity Prevention Act

Bill: 118-hr-4871
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Jacobs, Sara [D-CA-51]
Introduced: 2023-07-25
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-07-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-07-25
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Atrocity Prevention Act</b></p> <p>This bill establishes annual reporting requirements for the Department of State regarding countries and regions at risk of atrocities (such as genocide). The bill also makes permanent a requirement, currently set to expire in 2025, for the State Department to report annually to Congress on U.S. efforts to prevent and respond to atrocities. </p>  <p>Under this bill, the State Department must annually (1) rank countries and regions at risk of atrocities as high, medium, or low risk, and (2) assess the risks related to providing security assistance and cooperation to medium- and high-risk countries. <p> For each country identified as high- or medium-risk, the State Department must determine whether the United States should continue to provide security assistance and cooperation. For each country newly identified as high- or medium-risk, the State Department must address whether U.S. security assistance and cooperation may be used to perpetrate atrocities or exacerbate risk factors for the commission of atrocities. For each country that was already identified as high- or medium-risk in the previous report, the State Department must assess any relevant changes in the country since the last report. <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p> <p>Finally, the bill requires that the report be submitted in unclassified form. The report may include a classified annex.</p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4871 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 25, 2023 Ms. Jacobs (for herself, Mr. Castro of Texas , and Ms. Lee of California ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To modify and expand the annual report required under the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 and require additional review of United States assistance provided to certain countries identified as being at risk of atrocities by such report, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Atrocity Prevention Act . 2. Extension and modification of annual report requirement Section 5(a) of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 ( 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking for the following six years ; and (2) in paragraph (1)(E), by inserting (ranked as high-, medium-, or low-risk) after countries and regions at risk of atrocities . 3. Review of security assistance provided to countries The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 ( 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) is amended by inserting after section 5 the following: 5A. Security assistance and cooperation review (a) Review required Not later than 60 days after the submission of each annual report required by section 5, the Secretary of State (acting through the Department of State officials listed in subsection (c)), in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report consisting of the results of a review of the risks related to the provision of security assistance and cooperation in countries identified in the most recent annual report (including in the classified annex to such report) pursuant to such section 5 as being at high- or medium-risk for atrocities. Such report shall also include, for each such country, the following: (1) With respect to a country newly identified as being at such risk, an assessment of the risks associated with providing security assistance and cooperation to the governments of such countries, including the risks of whether security assistance and cooperation— (A) may be used for perpetrating atrocities; or (B) may exacerbate identified relevant risk factors for the commission of such atrocities. (2) With respect to a country identified as being at high- or medium-risk for atrocities for which an assessment described in paragraph (1) has previously been submitted pursuant to this section, an assessment of whether such risk factors, the current or planned security assistance and cooperation provided by the United States, or other relevant context have changed in the intervening period since the prior submission. (3) A determination, including a justification, on whether current or planned United States security assistance and cooperation should be continued, terminated, paused, or otherwise delayed in light of the risks assessed pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2). (b) Definitions For purposes of the review required by subsection (a)— (1) the term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; (2) the term security assistance and cooperation — (A) means— (i) assistance meeting the definition of security assistance under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2304(d)(2) ); (ii) programs and activities meeting the definition of security cooperation programs and activities of the Department of Defense under section 301 of title 10, United States Code; and (iii) activities authorized pursuant to— (I) 127(e) of title 10, United States Code; or (II) section 1202 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 ( Public Law 115–91 ; 131 Stat. 1639); and (B) includes any use of amounts made available to the Department of Defense— (i) to increase the capacity or capability of a unit of a foreign security force, a member of such a unit, or an irregular force, group, or individual; or (ii) to support foreign security forces, irregular forces, groups, or individuals to operate with United States forces in coalition, combined operations or other operations. (c) Department of State officials The Department of State officials listed in this subsection are the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor working jointly with the Assistant Secretary for Conflict and Stabilization Operations, and in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Bureau. (d) Form The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form and may include a classified annex. .