zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Iran Human Rights Act of 2007 - Amends the Iran Freedom Support Act to direct the President to appoint a special envoy for human rights in Iran within the Department of State to coordinate efforts to improve respect for the fundamental human rights of the people of Iran and work with organizations committed to promoting democracy in Iran. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) there is a direct relationship between the state of freedom and democracy within Iran and the efforts of the Iranian regime to acquire nuclear weapons and the long-term success of the global war on terror; (2) it is essential that the issue of human rights violations in Iran should remain a top U.S. foreign policy priority independent of efforts to address the nuclear threat in Iran; (3) the U.S. government should explore the possibility of a regional human rights dialogue with Iran; (4) the United Nations has a significant role to play in improving human rights in Iran; and (5) the commitment to human rights and democracy of an Iranian national who has applied for a U.S. entry visa should be considered when determining visa eligibility.

Date: 2007-05-25
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Prohibits an individual in the custody or control of the U.S. government, regardless of nationality or physical location, from being subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by specified sections of the U.S. Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations.Specifically prohibits the following treatment or techniques: (1) forcing an individual to be naked, perform sexual acts, or pose in a sexual manner; (2) placing a hood or sack over an individual's head, or duct tape over the eyes; (3) beating, electrical shock, burns, or other forms of physical pain; (4) the procedure known as "waterboarding"; (5) threats or attack from a military working dog; (6) inducing hypothermia or heat injury; (7) conducting a mock execution of an individual; and (8) deprivation of necessary food, water, or medical care.

Date: 2007-08-02
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2008- Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or 20-year prison term for knowingly recruiting, enlisting, or conscripting a person under 15 years of age into an armed force or group (other than a group assembled solely for nonviolent political association) or using such person to participate actively in combat hostilities, or attempting or conspiring to do so, knowing such person is under 15 years of age. Imposes a life sentence if the death of any person results from a violation of this Act. Provides for: (1) expanded jurisdiction for prosecuting U.S. nationals and resident aliens who violate this Act; and (2) a 10-year limitation period for prosecuting violations. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to render any alien who has recruited or used child soldiers inadmissible or deportable.Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to promulgate final regulations to deny asylum or withholding of removal to aliens who are either inadmissible to the United States or deportable for recruiting or using child soldiers.

Date: 2007-10-03
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
International Violence Against Women Act of 2007 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish in the Department of State the Office of Women's Global Initiatives (which shall replace the Office of International Women's Issues) to coordinate U.S. government efforts respecting international women's issues. Establishes within the Department an Advisory Commission on International Violence Against Women. Directs the President to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent violence against women and girls. Directs the Coordinator of the Women's Global Initiatives to ensure that foreign assistance programs incorporate measures to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. Provides that U.S. training of foreign military and police forces incorporates training on prevention of violence against women and girls. Directs the Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist programs that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls in all humanitarian relief, conflict, and post-conflict operations. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) encourage U.N. member states to expand the number of female members of U.N. peacekeeping missions; and (2) take emergency measures to respond to violence against women and girls during conflict or post-conflict operations. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United Nations should strengthen its ability to prevent violence against women and girls by U.N. military and civilian personnel. Provides that Foreign Service training include instruction on prevention of violence against women and girls. Authorizes appropriations to support the United Nations Development Fund for Women Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence Against Women.

Date: 2007-10-31
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Healing Our Nation's Heroes Act of 2008 - Establishes a commission on veterans and members of the Armed Forces (members) with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), or other mental health disorders caused by military service. Requires the commission to: (1) oversee the monitoring and treatment of veterans and members with such disorders; and (2) conduct a study of the long-term adverse consequences of such disorders for such veterans and members. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to carry out a program, to be known as the Heroes-to-Healers Program, to assist veterans and members separating from service to: (1) obtain certification as mental health care providers; and (2) find employment with federal, state, and local agencies and nongovernmental organizations that provide mental health care to members, veterans, and their families. Requires participants, following certification, to work for at least five years in such mental health care capacity, but authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirement when considered appropriate. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to pay a bonus of up to $10,000 to a Program participant who agrees to such service. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish a program to award grants to encourage state and local mental health agencies and other entities to establish, expand, or enhance mental health provider recruitment and retention efforts. Requires participants who receive training through the program to serve at a high-need medical facility or agency for at least three years.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Restoring America's Integrity Act - Prohibits any individual in the custody or control of personnel of the intelligence community (IC) or element or instrumentality thereof, regardless of nationality or physical location, from being subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by the U.S. Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations. Requires the head of an IC element or instrumentality who detains or has control of such an individual to notify the International Committee of the Red Cross and provide access to such individual in a manner consistent with practices of the Armed Forces. Prohibits the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from permitting a CIA contractor or subcontractor to carry out an interrogation (instead requiring a CIA employee to do so).

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Strategic Communications Act of 2008 - Repeals the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994 which will, among other things, abolish the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to abolish the position of Under Secretary for Public Policy. Transfers functions to the National Center for Strategic Communications.Establishes the National Center for Strategic Communication to be headed by a Director of Strategic Communication who shall be the President's principal advisor on, and federal coordinator of, strategic communications.States that the Center's missions are to: (1) serve as the primary U.S. government organization for conducting strategic communications to influence foreign audiences in support of American ideals and in opposition to violent extremism; (2) develop a national strategic communications strategy; (3) assist private U.S. institutions in developing exchange activities; (4) promote U.S. participation in international events; and (5) direct U.S. government foreign broadcasting and research and analyze global public opinion media trends and intelligence assessments.Directs the President to appoint: (1) an Assistant Director for the Strategic Communications Corps; (2) an Assistant Director for Information Operations; and (3) an Assistant Director for Global Networks.Establishes within the Center a Strategic Communications Board.States that the International Broadcasting Bureau shall continue to carry out all U.S. government-supported nonmilitary international broadcasting activities.Requires the Director to develop an interagency strategy for strategic communication.

Date: 2008-09-23
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
States that: (1) it shall be U.S. policy that the President and the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations work with the international community to increase political and financial support for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to prevent and resolve problems related to de jure and de facto statelessness and to promote the rights of de jure or de facto stateless persons; (2) the President shall make prevention and reduction of de jure or de facto statelessness an important goal of U.S. foreign policy and human rights efforts; and (3) it shall be U.S. policy to comply with the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. Directs the Secretary of State to increase staff and resources in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to work toward the prevention and resolution of de jure and de facto statelessness and the protection of de jure or de facto stateless persons.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Women's Freedom Act of 2009 - Establishes within the Department of State an Office of International Women's Rights to be headed by an Ambassador at Large for International Women's Rights. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) establish a women's rights Internet site; and (2) maintain prisoner lists and issue briefs on women's rights concerns. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to include instruction on the internationally recognized rights of women and the various aspects and manifestations of violations of women's rights in Foreign Service officer training. Establishes the United States Commission on International Women's Rights. (Terminates the Commission 12 years after the date of the initial appointment of its members.) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to express the sense of Congress that there should be within the National Security Council (NSC) staff a Special Adviser to the President on International Women's Rights. Directs the President to take specified actions in response to women's rights violations, including actions in response to particularly severe rights violations. Provides for prohibition of economic, multilateral, military, and export assistance in instances of particularly severe women's rights violations. Provides for the promotion of women's rights. Provides for women's rights-related training with respect to refugee, asylum, and consular matters. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the inadmissibility of foreign government officials who have engaged in particularly severe women's rights violations. Expresses the sense of Congress that transnational corporations operating overseas should adopt codes of conduct upholding the rights of their female employees.

Date: 2009-01-16
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Child Abduction Prevention Act of 2009 - Establishes within the Department of State an Office on International Child Abductions which shall be headed by the Ambassador at Large for International Child Abductions. States that Ambassador at Large shall be a principal adviser to the President and the Secretary of State regarding matters of international child abduction and refusals of rights of access. Authorizes the Ambassador at Large to represent the United States in such diplomatic matters and international forums. States that the primary responsibilities of the Ambassador at Large shall be to: (1) promote measures to prevent the international abduction of children from the United States; (2) advocate on behalf of abducted children whose habitual residence is the United States; (3) assist left-behind parents in the resolution of abduction or refusal of access cases; and (4) advance mechanisms to prevent and resolve cases of international child abduction. Directs the President to: (1) annually review the status of unresolved cases in each foreign country to determine whether the government has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation, and if so, designate such country as a Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation; (2) notify the appropriate congressional committees of such designation; and (3) take specified presidential or commensurate actions to bring about a cessation of noncooperation. Sets forth consultation, notification, and reporting requirements for the President and the Secretary. Prohibits judicial review of any presidential determination or agency action under this Act. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President, respectively, in determining whether a country engages in a pattern of gross human right violations for purposes of assistance considerations, to consider whether such country has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation regarding unresolved cases of international child abduction or denial of rights of access, or has failed to undertake serious efforts to locate children abducted to such country. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to consider for tariff preference purposes whether a country has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation regarding unresolved cases of international child abduction or denial of rights of access. Amends the Admiral James W. Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 to require, for issuance of a passport for a child under 14 years old living outside the United States, that the person executing the passport application provides documentary evidence that such person is a U.S. citizen, has joint custody over the child, and is executing such application outside the United States.

Date: 2009-07-16
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Iran Human Rights Sanctions Act - Directs the President to impose visa entry and financial sanctions on a person determined to be complicit in human rights abuses committed against Iranian citizens or their family members on or after June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Iran. Requires that: (1) the list of such persons required by this Act be made available to the public and posted on the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State websites; and (2) the President consider data obtained by other countries and nongovernmental organizations that monitor Iran's human rights abuses in preparing such list. Authorizes the President to: (1) not apply such sanctions in order to permit U.S. compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations and other international agreements; and (2) waive such sanctions if in the U.S. national interest. Terminates sanctions upon presidential certification to Congress that the government of Iran has: (1) released all political prisoners; (2) ceased its practices of violence and abuse of Iranian citizens engaging in peaceful political activity; and (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the killings and abuse of peaceful political activists in Iran and prosecuted those individuals responsible.

Date: 2010-02-23
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Iran Human Rights Sanctions Act - Directs the President to impose visa entry and financial sanctions on a person determined to be complicit in human rights abuses committed against Iranian citizens or their family members on or after June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Iran. Requires that: (1) the list of such persons required by this Act be made available to the public and posted on the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State websites; and (2) the President consider data obtained by other countries and nongovernmental organizations that monitor Iran's human rights abuses in preparing such list. Terminates sanctions upon presidential certification to Congress that: (1) the sanctioned persons have ceased complicity in human rights abuses; and (2) the government of Iran has released all political prisoners, ceased its killing and abuse of Iranian citizens engaging in peaceful political activity and prosecuted those responsible, committed itself to free elections and respect for human rights, and ceased broadcast interference.

Date: 2010-02-23
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
America Stands with Israel Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States: (1) supports Israel's right to defend itself; (2) supports Israel's naval blockade of Gaza; and (3) should oppose any investigation by the United Nations (U.N.) into the flotilla incident (involving the May 2010 Israeli interception of ships carrying supplies to Gaza). Requires the Secretary of State to direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to cease U.S. participation in and membership on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). Prohibits the Secretary from contributing any funds to the United Nations for an investigation into the flotilla incident. Directs the Secretary to ensure that no U.S. contributions to the United Nations are used for any such investigation, including by withholding from U.S. contributions to the regularly assessed biennial budget of the United Nations amounts equal to any amounts so expended.

Date: 2010-06-10
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Prevention of Child Marriage Act of 2010 - Directs the President, through the Secretary of State, to establish a multi-year strategy to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the empowerment of girls at risk of child marriage. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that Department of State country reports on human rights practices include a description of the status of child marriage for countries with specified rates of child marriage. Defines "child marriage" as the marriage of a girl or boy not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a resident, or where there is no such law, under the age of 18.

Date: 2010-12-14
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Women's Freedom Act of 2009 - Establishes within the Department of State an Office of International Women's Rights to be headed by an Ambassador at Large for International Women's Rights. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) establish a women's rights Internet site; and (2) maintain prisoner lists and issue briefs on women's rights concerns. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to include instruction on the internationally recognized rights of women and the various aspects and manifestations of violations of women's rights in Foreign Service officer training. Establishes the United States Commission on International Women's Rights. (Terminates the Commission 12 years after the date of the initial appointment of its members.) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to express the sense of Congress that there should be within the National Security Council (NSC) staff a Special Adviser to the President on International Women's Rights. Directs the President to take specified actions in response to women's rights violations, including actions in response to particularly severe rights violations. Provides for prohibition of economic, multilateral, military, and export assistance in instances of particularly severe women's rights violations. Provides for the promotion of women's rights. Provides for women's rights-related training with respect to refugee, asylum, and consular matters. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the inadmissibility of foreign government officials who have engaged in particularly severe women's rights violations. Expresses the sense of Congress that transnational corporations operating overseas should adopt codes of conduct upholding the rights of their female employees.

Date: 2009-01-13
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Crimes Against Humanity Act of 2010 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 20 years (or any term of years or for life if death results from a violation of the prohibitions of this Act) on any person who commits or engages in conduct that would violate specified federal criminal laws (including murder, kidnapping, peonage, involuntary servitude, forced labor or trafficking in persons, sex trafficking of children, sexual abuse, hostage taking, torture, extermination, national, ethnic, racial, or religious cleansing, or measures intended to prevent births) as part of a widespread (not less than 50 victims) and systematic attack against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. Provides for jurisdiction to prosecute a violation of this Act if: (1) the alleged offender is a U.S. national, an alien residing in the United States, or a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the United States; or (2) the offense is committed in whole or in part within the United States. Exempts prosecutions under this Act from any statute of limitations. Prohibits a prosecution for a violation of this Act in the United States unless the Attorney General certifies in writing that: (1) there is no foreign jurisdiction prepared to prosecute a violation of this Act and a prosecution by the United States is in the public interest and necessary to secure substantial justice; and (2) the Secretaries of State and Defense and the Director of National Intelligence do not object to a prosecution. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) make unlawful conduct pursuant to the laws of war; (2) limit or extinguish any otherwise available defense or immunity; (3) support ratification of, or participation by the United States in, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; or (4) repeal or limit the applicability of the American Servcemembers' Protection Act of 2002.

Date: 2009-06-24
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Nuclear Trafficking Prevention Act - Declares it to be the policy of the United States that the transfer of a nuclear weapon or device or of nuclear material or technology for terrorist purposes is a crime against humanity and should be punished under customary international criminal law. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer of a nuclear weapon or device, or of nuclear material or sensitive nuclear technology, to any foreign terrorist organization or any other person engaged in terrorist activities. Grants extraterritorial jurisdiction to prosecute violations of this Act. Imposes a fine and minimum prison term of 25 years for violations (life imprisonment for violations resulting in death). Requires the Secretary of State to direct the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations and representatives to bilateral and multilateral fora to seek international recognition that the transfer of nuclear weapons, devices, material, or technology for terrorist purposes is a crime against humanity.

Date: 2009-07-16
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Human Rights Enforcement Act of 2009 - Eliminates the Office of Special Investigations within the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish, within 90 days after the enactment of this Act, a section within the Criminal Division of DOJ with responsibility for the enforcement of laws against suspected participants in serious human rights offenses; and (2) consult with the Secretaries of Homeland Security and State in taking appropriate legal action against such individuals. Defines "serious human rights offenses" to include genocide, torture, war crimes, and the use or recruitment of child soldiers. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) to punish a conspiracy to commit genocide in the same manner as completed act of genocide; (2) eliminate the limitation period for prosecuting crimes of genocide; and (3) include genocide and recruitment of child soldiers as predicates for the crime of providing material support to terrorists. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to broaden the basis for rendering aliens participating in genocide inadmissible.

Date: 2009-07-20
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Secure and Safe Detention and Asylum Act - Sets forth provisions regarding procedures and standards applicable to aliens detained in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody and the conditions of such custody which shall address: (1) new detention standards; (2) fair and humane treatment; (3) solitary confinement limitations; (4) investigation of grievances; (5) access to telephones and legal assistance; (6) detainee transfers; (7) translation capabilities; (8) medical care; (9) vulnerable populations; (10) standards for non-criminal detainees; (11) personnel training; and (12) reporting of detainee deaths. Establishes in DHS: (1) an Office of Detention Oversight; and (2) a detention alternatives program under which detainees may be released under enhanced supervision. Provides for: (1) legal orientation for immigration and asylum detainees; (2) construction or use of less restrictive detention facilities, including facilities for families with children; and (3) quality assurance procedures regarding expedited removal interviews. Authorizes the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom to study the effect of expedited removal provisions, practices, and procedures on asylum claims.

Date: 2009-08-06
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Immigration
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2010 - Amends the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 to authorize FY2011-FY2012 appropriations for: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for grants to domestic treatment centers for the costs of services provided in the rehabilitation of victims of torture (including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of torture), social and legal services, and research and training of health care providers outside of treatment centers or programs; and (2) the President for grants to foreign treatment centers and programs for activities designed to treat victims for the physical and psychological effects of torture.

Date: 2009-12-04
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Terrorist Expatriation Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include among those voluntary acts for which a U.S. national (by birth or naturalization) will be subject to loss of U.S. nationality: (1) providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the Secretary of State; (2) engaging in, or purposefully and materially supporting, hostilities against the United States; or (3) engaging in, or purposefully and materially supporting, hostilities against any country or armed force that is directly engaged along with, or that is providing direct operational support to, the United States in hostilities engaged in by the United States.

Date: 2010-05-06
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Immigration
Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act - Directs the President to: (1) impose financial and immigration/entry sanctions on listed nationals of Vietnam who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam; and (2) submit to Congress a publicly available list of individuals determined to be complicit in such human rights abuses. Authorizes the President to waive sanctions: (1) to comply with international agreements; and (2) if in the U.S. national interest. Terminates sanctions if the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has: (1) released all political prisoners; (2) ceased its practices of violence, detention, and abuse of citizens of Vietnam engaging in peaceful political activity; and (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the killings, arrest, and abuse of such political activists and prosecuted those responsible.

Date: 2010-11-18
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act - Directs the President to: (1) impose financial and immigration/entry sanctions on listed nationals of Vietnam who are complicit in human rights abuses committed against nationals of Vietnam or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Vietnam; and (2) submit to Congress a publicly available list of individuals determined to be complicit in such human rights abuses. Authorizes the President to waive sanctions to comply with international agreements. Terminates sanctions if the President certifies to Congress that the government of Vietnam has: (1) released all political prisoners; (2) ceased its practices of violence, detention, and abuse of citizens of Vietnam engaging in peaceful political activity; and (3) conducted a transparent investigation into the killings, arrest, and abuse of such political activists and prosecuted those responsible.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Women's Freedom Act of 2011 - Establishes within the Department of State an Office of International Women's Rights to be headed by an Ambassador at Large for International Women's Rights. Directs the Secretary of State to establish a women's rights Internet site and maintain prisoner lists and issue briefs on women's rights concerns. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to include instruction on the internationally recognized rights of women and the various aspects and manifestations of violations of women's rights in Foreign Service officer training. Establishes the United States Commission on International Women's Rights. (Terminates the Commission 12 years after the date of the initial appointment of its members.) Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to express the sense of Congress that there should be within the National Security Council (NSC) staff a Special Adviser to the President on International Women's Rights. Directs the President to take specified actions in response to women's rights violations, including actions in response to particularly severe rights violations. Provides for prohibition of economic, multilateral, military, and export assistance in instances of particularly severe women's rights violations. Provides for the promotion of women's rights. Provides for women's rights-related training with respect to refugee, asylum, and consular matters. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the inadmissibility of foreign government officials who have engaged in particularly severe women's rights violations. Expresses the sense of Congress that transnational corporations operating overseas should adopt codes of conduct upholding the rights of their female employees.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2011 - Establishes within the Department of State an Office on International Child Abductions which shall be headed by the Ambassador at Large for International Child Abductions. States that Ambassador at Large shall be a principal adviser to the President and the Secretary of State regarding matters of international child abduction and refusals of rights of access. Authorizes the Ambassador at Large to represent the United States in such diplomatic matters and international forums. States that the primary responsibilities of the Ambassador at Large shall be to: (1) promote measures to prevent the international abduction of children from the United States, (2) advocate on behalf of abducted children whose habitual residence is the United States, (3) assist left-behind parents in the resolution of abduction or refusal of access cases, and (4) advance mechanisms to prevent and resolve cases of international child abduction. Directs the President to: (1) annually review the status of unresolved cases in each foreign country to determine whether the government has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation, and if so, designate such country as a Country With a Pattern of Noncooperation; (2) notify the appropriate congressional committees of such designation; and (3) take specified presidential or commensurate actions to bring about a cessation of noncooperation. Sets forth consultation, notification, and reporting requirements for the President and the Secretary. Prohibits judicial review of any presidential determination or agency action under this Act. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President, respectively, in determining whether a country engages in a pattern of gross human right violations for purposes of assistance considerations, to consider whether such country has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation regarding unresolved cases of international child abduction or denial of rights of access, or has failed to undertake serious efforts to locate children abducted to such country. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to consider for tariff preference purposes whether a country has engaged in a pattern of noncooperation regarding unresolved cases of international child abduction or denial of rights of access. Amends the Admiral James W. Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 to require, for issuance of a passport for a child under 14 years old living outside the United States, that the person executing the passport application provides documentary evidence that such person is a U.S. citizen, has joint custody over the child, and is executing such application outside the United States.

Date: 2011-05-23
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2011 - Amends the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 to authorize FY2012-FY2013 appropriations for: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for grants to domestic treatment centers for the costs of services provided in the rehabilitation of victims of torture (including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of torture), social and legal services, and research and training of health care providers outside of treatment centers or programs; and (2) the President for grants to foreign treatment centers and programs for activities designed to treat victims for the physical and psychological effects of torture. Directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress annually regarding: (1) Foreign Service officer training about torture victims, and (2) the percentage and number of torture victims who are approved for refugee entry into the United States. Directs the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide support for indigenous foreign treatment centers and programs for torture victims in order to increase such centers' capacities to train other local health care providers. Authorizes FY2012-FY2013 appropriations.

Date: 2011-06-28
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
(This measure has not been amended since it was amended by the Senate on December 13, 2011. The summary of that version is repeated here.) United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2011 - (Sec. 2) Amends the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to prohibit any individual (including members appointed prior to enactment of this Act) from serving more than two terms as a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Requires, for any member serving on the date of enactment of this Act who has completed at least two full terms, that such member's term expire 90 days after such enactment. Bars a member from serving after the expiration of that member's term. Prohibits: (1) a member attending less than 75% of the meetings during one of such member's terms from being eligible for reappointment, and (2) a member from being eligible to be elected as Chair of the Commission for a second, consecutive term. Subjects members to specified Department of State and federal travel regulations governing authorized travel at government expense. (Sec. 3) Requires, for purposes of providing remedies and procedures to address alleged violations of rights and protections that pertain to various specified antidiscrimination laws, that all employees of the Commission be treated as employees whose pay is disbursed by the Secretary of the Senate or the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives and that the Commission be treated as an employing office of the Senate or House. Authorizes such treatment for any administrative or judicial claim or action pending on the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 4) Authorizes appropriations of $3 million for each of FY2012-FY2014. (Sec. 5) Increases to $250,000 the maximum amount the Commission may expend in any fiscal year to procure temporary or intermittent services contracts for the conduct of certain activities necessary to Commission functions. (Sec. 6) Extends the Commission's termination date to September 30, 2014. (Sec. 7) Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) review the effectiveness of federal programs to promote international religious freedom; (2) assess the roles and functions of the Office on International Religious Freedom, the relationship to other offices in the Department of State, and the role of the Ambassador at Large; (3) analyze the Commission's structure as an independent nonpartisan entity in relation to other U.S. advisory commissions; and (4) review the relationship between the Ambassador at Large and the Commission.

Date: 2011-09-08
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
American Anti-Torture Act of 2012 - Amends the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 to prohibit any person in the custody or control of the United States (under current law, the Department of Defense [DOD]) from being subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the U.S. Army Field Manual on Human Intelligence Collector Operations. Makes such prohibition inapplicable with respect to any person in the custody or control of the United States (under current law, DOD) pursuant to a U.S. criminal or immigration law.

Date: 2012-02-09
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Ambassador James R. Lilley and Congressman Stephen J. Solarz North Korea Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2012 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should: (1) continue to seek cooperation from foreign governments to allow the United States to process North Korean refugees overseas for U.S. resettlement, (2) urge China to halt its forcible repatriation of North Koreans, and (3) allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to North Koreans inside China to determine whether such North Koreans are refugees requiring protection. Amends the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to authorize appropriations through FY2017: (1) for grants that promote democracy, human rights, and a market economy in North Korea, (2) to increase the availability of non-government controlled information inside North Korea, and (3) for organizations or persons that provide humanitarian assistance to North Koreans who are outside of North Korea. Extends through 2017 the annual congressional reporting requirement for: (1) the Secretary of State to report on activities to increase the availability of non-government controlled information inside North Korea, (2) the Special Envoy for North Korean human rights issues to report on human rights related activities, (3) the Secretary and Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to report on U.S. humanitarian assistance inside North Korea and to North Koreans outside of North Korea, and (4) the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to report on the number of North Koreans seeking refugee status or political asylum in the United States. Directs the Broadcasting Board of Governors to report to Congress regarding U.S. broadcasting to North Korea and the extent to which the Board has achieved the goal of 12-hour-per-day broadcasting to North Korea.

Date: 2012-03-22
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
International Commission on Missing Persons Assistance Act of 2012 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should support the work of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) to clarify the fate of persons missing as a result of conflict and natural and man-made disasters, (2) the United States should support the expansion of the ICMP's mandate to include assistance to governments in locating persons missing for involuntary reasons, (3) the President should enunciate a policy of assisting the ICMP in establishing a permanent and internationally recognized legal status, and (4) the Secretary of State shall make every effort to advance this proposal at the United Nations (U.N.). Directs the Secretary to report to Congress regarding such activities.

Date: 2012-03-30
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of State to publish and update a list of each person the Secretary has reason to believe: (1) is responsible for the detention, abuse, or death of Sergei Magnitsky, participated in related liability concealment efforts, financially benefited from Sergei Magnitsky's detention, abuse, or death, or was involved in the criminal conspiracy uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky; or (2) is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other human rights violations committed against individuals seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by Russian officials, or against persons seeking to promote human rights and freedoms. Makes an alien on such list ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Revokes any visa issued for such person. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such prohibition if in the U.S. national security interest. Requires congressional notification of any such waiver. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to freeze and prohibit U.S. property transactions of an individual who is on the list or who acts as an agent for a listed individual. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such actions if in the U.S. national security interest. Requires congressional notification of any such waiver. Subjects a person who violates, attempts to violate, or causes a violation of such prohibitions to specified penalties. Terminates this Act 10 years after its enactment.

Date: 2012-04-19
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
Arms Sale Responsibility Act of 2012 - Expresses the sense of Congress that it should be U.S. policy to adhere to a policy of restraint in transferring conventional arms if evidence exists of substantial risk that such arms will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law. Urges the President, in negotiating any conventional arms control agreement, to: (1) encourage the national control list of each party to an agreement to cover all types of weaponry, munitions, armaments and related material used for potentially lethal force in military and law enforcement operations; (2) assess each application or proposal to export or internationally transfer arms on a case-by-case basis; (3) deny an arms transfer authorization if there is a substantial risk that the arms will be used to commit or facilitate violations of international human rights law or international humanitarian law; (4) require import and transit state authorizations and certified end use assurances before issuing an export license or authorization for any international transfer of conventional arms; and (6) require each party to an agreement to establish a legal framework for lawful brokering and shipping activities relating to conventional arms transfers. Prohibits, with certain exemptions, the transfer of defense articles or defense services to the government of a foreign country under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or the Arms Export Control Act unless the President certifies to Congress that such government is not: (1) engaging in gross violations of internationally-recognized human rights, and (2) identified by the Secretary of State as having governmental armed forces or government supported armed groups that recruit or use child soldiers.

Date: 2012-05-15
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs
War Crimes Accountability Act of 2012 - Directs the President to submit a report to Congress for each of FY2013-FY2017 that identifies each country that is failing to: (1) cooperate with relevant jurisdictions in extraditing or deporting war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals to the appropriate jurisdiction; (2) enforce arrest warrants issued by an international tribunal against war crimes suspects; (3) accept Nazi war criminals deported from the United States; or (4) effectively prosecute war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals within such country's jurisdiction, including Nazi war criminals who resided in the United States and were deported from or extradited by the United States or left the United States voluntarily. Prohibits the President from issuing a letter of offer to sell defense articles under the Arms Export Control Act for $7 million or more to a country so identified. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition if in the U.S. national security interest.

Date: 2012-09-12
Topic: International Affairs (Human Rights)
Subject: International affairs