African Descent Affairs Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1134 To provide for the establishment of a global affairs strategy and assistance for people of African descent, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 18, 2021 Mr. HASTINGS (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. COHEN, Mr. MEEKS, and Mr. RUSH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To provide for the establishment of a global affairs strategy and assistance for people of African descent, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘African Descent Af- 4 fairs Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The struggle to end discrimination against 8 people of African descent is a global challenge, and 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1134 IH one that is central to the United States commitment 1 to human rights. 2 (2) Targeted exclusion, violence, and discrimi- 3 nation against people of African descent continues 4 around the world. 5 (3) Issues range from the fight for ancestral 6 lands in Latin America, hate crimes resulting in in- 7 jury and death in Europe, to profiling and excessive 8 use of force by law enforcement in the United States 9 and abroad, and continuing global disparities in 10 health, education, employment, housing, and other 11 sectors. 12 (4) It is imperative that the world actively ad- 13 dress the vestiges of slavery and colonialism that 14 have long hindered racial equality and justice and 15 prevented the recognition of the important contribu- 16 tions of people of African descent to the world. 17 (5) The International Decade for People of Af- 18 rican Descent, from January 1, 2015, to December 19 31, 2025, offers an opportunity to address these 20 issues domestically and globally through coordinated 21 government and civil society strategies, that include 22 the private sector. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1134 IH SEC. 3. ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 1 (a) OFFICE OF GLOBAL AFRICAN DESCENT AF- 2 FAIRS.—Title I of the State Department Basic Authorities 3 Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a et seq.) is amended by add- 4 ing at the end the following new section: 5 ‘‘SEC. 64. OFFICE OF GLOBAL AFRICAN DESCENT AFFAIRS. 6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—Not later than 7 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the 8 Secretary of State shall establish within the Department 9 of State an Office of Global African Descent Affairs (in 10 this section referred to as the ‘Office’) in the offices of 11 the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. 12 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Office 14 shall be the Director and Special Envoy to the Sec- 15 retary on Global African Descent Affairs (in this 16 section referred to as the ‘Special Envoy’). 17 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Special Envoy shall 18 be an expert on issues of African Descent Affairs 19 and be appointed by the Secretary. 20 ‘‘(c) OTHER PERSONNEL.—The Office shall be sup- 21 ported by at least two senior Foreign Service officers and 22 two Civil Service officers. 23 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office shall 24 include the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1134 IH ‘‘(1) Advise the Secretary and direct activities, 1 policies, programs, and funding relating to the 2 human rights and the advancement of people of Af- 3 rican descent internationally, for all bureaus and of- 4 fices of the Department of State and shall lead the 5 coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of relevant 6 international programs for all other Federal agen- 7 cies. 8 ‘‘(2) Represent the United States in diplomatic 9 matters relevant to the human rights of people of 10 African descent in contacts with foreign govern- 11 ments, intergovernmental organizations, and special- 12 ized agencies of the United Nations, the Organiza- 13 tion for American States, the Organization for Secu- 14 rity and Cooperation in Europe, other international 15 organizations of which the United States is a mem- 16 ber, and relevant multilateral conferences and meet- 17 ings. 18 ‘‘(3) Lead efforts to promote an international 19 focus on racial equality more broadly, including 20 through diplomatic initiatives with other countries 21 and partnerships and regular and enhanced coordi- 22 nation with international and nongovernmental orga- 23 nizations and the private sector. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1134 IH ‘‘(4) Develop and manage the Fund for African 1 Descent Affairs, established under section 3(c) of 2 the African Descent Affairs Act of 2021, for the 3 purpose of investing in efficient and innovative solu- 4 tions to combat racial discrimination and create eco- 5 nomic and other opportunities for people of African 6 descent internationally. 7 ‘‘(5) Develop a uniform set of indicators and 8 standards for monitoring and evaluating foreign pol- 9 icy assistance for people of African descent in Fed- 10 eral agencies. 11 ‘‘(6) Direct, as appropriate, United States Gov- 12 ernment resources to respond to needs for protec- 13 tion, integration, resettlement, and empowerment of 14 people of African descent in United States Govern- 15 ment policies and international programs, including 16 to prevent and respond to discrimination and vio- 17 lence against people of African descent internation- 18 ally. 19 ‘‘(7) Develop and coordinate United States Gov- 20 ernment international efforts related to the imple- 21 mentation of the International Decade for People of 22 African Descent and submit annual reports to Con- 23 gress on these efforts. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1134 IH ‘‘(8) Work in collaboration with the front of- 1 fices of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy 2 and Public Affairs and the Under Secretary of Civil- 3 ian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, and in 4 consultation with the Race, Ethnicity, and Social In- 5 clusion Unit in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere 6 Affairs, and the Bureau of African Affairs. 7 ‘‘(9) Compile an annual report on activities of 8 the United States Government relating to people of 9 African descent to fulfill the requirements of this 10 section and the African Descent Affairs Act of 2021. 11 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 13 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com- 14 mittees’ means— 15 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 16 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 17 Senate; 18 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 19 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 20 House of Representatives; and 21 ‘‘(C) the Commission on Security and Co- 22 operation in Europe. 23 ‘‘(2) PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.—The 24 term ‘people of African descent’ has the meaning 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1134 IH given the term in section 5 of the African Descent 1 Affairs Act of 2021.’’. 2 (b) ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Foreign Assistance Act 4 of 1961 is amended— 5 (A) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by 6 adding at the end the following new subsection: 7 ‘‘(h) STATUS OF PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required under 9 subsection (d) shall include, for countries outside of 10 sub-Saharan Africa, a description of the status of 11 people of African descent in each such country. 12 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 13 ‘people of African descent’ has the meaning given 14 the term in section 5 of the African Descent Affairs 15 Act of 2021.’’; and 16 (B) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 17 (i) by redesignating the second sub- 18 section (i) (as added by section 1207(b)(2) 19 of Public Law 113–4) as subsection (j); 20 and 21 (ii) by adding at the end the following 22 new subsection: 23 ‘‘(k) STATUS OF PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1134 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required under 1 subsection (b) shall include, for countries outside of 2 sub-Saharan Africa, a description of the status of 3 people of African descent in each such country. 4 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 5 ‘people of African descent’ has the meaning given 6 the term in section 5 of the African Descent Affairs 7 Act of 2021.’’. 8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 9 by this subsection take effect on the date of the en- 10 actment of this Act and apply with respect to re- 11 ports required to be submitted under sections 116 12 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 13 amended by this subsection, on or after such date of 14 enactment. 15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 17 appropriated to the Secretary of State $5,000,000 18 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2030 to 19 carry out this section and the amendments made by 20 this section. 21 (2) PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwithstand- 22 ing any other provision of law, the Secretary of 23 State is authorized to accept private contributions to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1134 IH carry out this section and the amendments made by 1 this section. 2 (3) DESIGNATION.—Amounts appropriated pur- 3 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 4 paragraph (1) and private contributions accepted 5 under paragraph (2) may be referred to as the 6 ‘‘Fund for African Descent Affairs’’. 7 SEC. 4. ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR 8 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. 9 (a) SENIOR ADVISOR.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 11 United States Agency for International Development 12 shall appoint within the immediate office of the Ad- 13 ministrator a Senior Advisor to the Administrator on 14 Global African Descent Affairs (in this section re- 15 ferred to as the ‘‘Senior Advisor’’). 16 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Senior Advisor shall 17 be appointed by the Administrator. 18 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Senior Advi- 19 sor shall include the following: 20 (1) Advise the Administrator and direct and co- 21 ordinate activities, policies, programs, and funding 22 relating to the human rights and advancement of 23 people of African descent internationally for all bu- 24 reaus and offices of the Agency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1134 IH (2) Develop a racial and ethnic equality and 1 empowerment policy, strategy, and action plan for 2 the Agency, in consultation with civil society, that 3 includes a focus on people of African descent. 4 (3) Serve as the Agency liaison to the Depart- 5 ment of State’s Office of Global African Descent Af- 6 fairs. 7 (4) Develop a uniform set of indicators and 8 standards for monitoring and evaluating foreign as- 9 sistance for people of African descent in Federal 10 agencies. 11 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 12 authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 13 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021 through 14 2030 to carry out this section. 15 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this Act: 17 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 19 mittees’’ means— 20 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 21 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 22 Senate; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1134 IH (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 1 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 2 of Representatives; and 3 (C) the Commission on Security and Co- 4 operation in Europe. 5 (2) PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.—The term 6 ‘‘people of African descent’’ means persons of Afri- 7 can origin who reside outside of sub-Saharan Africa. 8 SEC. 6. BRIEFINGS AND ASSESSMENTS. 9 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 10 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Director 11 and Special Envoy to the Secretary on Global African De- 12 scent Affairs (appointed under section 64 of the State De- 13 partment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (as added by sec- 14 tion 3 of this Act))— 15 (1) shall brief the appropriate congressional 16 committees on the status of the human rights, social 17 inclusion, equality, and empowerment of people of 18 African descent internationally, as well as the status 19 of programs and response strategies to address dis- 20 crimination and violence against people of African 21 descent internationally; and 22 (2) shall submit to the appropriate congres- 23 sional committees an assessment of human and fi- 24 nancial resources necessary to fulfill the purposes 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:26 Mar 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1134.IH H1134 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1134 IH and duties of this Act and the amendments made by 1 this Act. 2 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES POLICY TO PREVENT AND RE- 3 SPOND TO DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE 4 AGAINST PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT. 5 (a) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later 6 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 7 and annually thereafter for 10 years, the Director and 8 Special Envoy to the Secretary on Global African Descent 9 Affairs shall develop or update a United States global 10 strategy to empower, prevent, and respond to discrimina- 11 tion and violence against people of African descent. The 12 strategy shall be transmitted to the appropriate congres- 13 sional committees and, if practicable, made available to 14 the public. 15 (b) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In devel- 16 oping the strategy under subsection (a), the Director and 17 Special Envoy to the Secretary on Global African [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]