What This Bill Does
This bill creates a system to punish foreign countries that violate international human rights laws and laws of war by cutting off U.S. military support and weapons sales to those countries. It also establishes a new commission to review evidence of these violations and recommend which countries should face these penalties.
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Who It Affects
- Foreign governments accused of human rights violations
- The President of the United States
- The Secretary of State
- U.S. military and defense contractors
- U.S. law enforcement agencies (federal, state and local)
- Members of the newly created United States Commission on Atrocity Accountability and Human Rights
- Congress
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Key Provisions
- The President must impose sanctions on any foreign government that commits genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes as defined in the bill. (Sec. 101)
- Sanctions prohibit the U.S. from providing military training, equipment, intelligence or defense cooperation to sanctioned countries. (Sec. 102(b))
- Sanctions prohibit the sale or transfer of weapons and military equipment to sanctioned countries. (Sec. 102(c) and (d))
- U.S. law enforcement agencies cannot train or exchange practices with police or military forces of sanctioned countries. (Sec. 102(e))
- A nine-member commission will review human rights violations, monitor ongoing abuses, and recommend to the President which countries should face sanctions or have sanctions lifted. (Sec. 201 and 202)
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What Changes
If a foreign country is found to commit the specified violations, the U.S. government stops providing military training, weapons sales, equipment transfers and defense cooperation with that country. U.S. police and law enforcement agencies stop sharing training or technology with that country's police and military forces.
The President can end these sanctions only if the country stops committing these acts and takes concrete steps like prosecuting perpetrators, paying victims, and establishing truth-telling mechanisms to prevent future abuses.
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Important Definitions
The bill defines "genocide" as intentional acts to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, including killing members, causing serious harm, creating deadly living conditions, preventing births, or forcibly transferring children. (Sec. 101(b))
The bill defines "crimes against humanity" as widespread or systematic attacks on civilians including murder, torture, sexual violence, forced disappearances and the use of excessive force (like tear gas and rubber bullets) against peaceful protests. (Sec. 101(c))
The bill defines "war crimes" as 36 specific prohibited acts during armed conflicts, including killing prisoners who surrender, targeting civilians, using poison or expanding bullets, intentionally starving civilians, and recruiting children under 18 into military forces. (Sec. 101(d))
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1471
To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to foreign countries
that are in violation of international human rights law or international
humanitarian law, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 2023
Ms. OMAR (for herself, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Intelligence
(Permanent Select), and Homeland Security, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to
foreign countries that are in violation of international
human rights law or international humanitarian law, 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,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Arming Human
4
Rights Abusers Act’’.
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•HR 1471 IH
TITLE I—SANCTIONS WITH RE-
1
SPECT TO FOREIGN COUN-
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TRIES THAT ARE IN VIOLA-
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TION
OF
INTERNATIONAL
4
HUMAN
RIGHTS
LAW
OR
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INTERNATIONAL
HUMANI-
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TARIAN LAW
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SEC. 101. DETERMINATION OF VIOLATIONS OF INTER-
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NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW OR INTER-
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NATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the
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sanctions described in section 102 with respect to the gov-
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ernment of a foreign country if the President determines
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that such government has committed any of the acts de-
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scribed in subsection (b), (c), or (d).
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(b) GENOCIDE.—Any acts committed with intent to
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destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial,
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or religious group, including the following:
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(1) Killing members of the group.
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(2) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to
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members of the group.
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(3) Deliberately inflicting on the group condi-
22
tions of life calculated to bring about its physical de-
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struction in whole or in part.
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•HR 1471 IH
(4) Imposing measures intended to prevent
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births within the group.
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(5) Forcibly transferring children of the group
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to another group.
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(c) CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Any of the following acts
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when committed as part of a widespread or system-
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atic attack directed against any civilian population:
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(A) Murder.
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(B) Extermination.
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(C) Enslavement, including sexual slavery.
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(D) Deportation or forcible transfer of
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population.
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(E) Imprisonment or other severe depriva-
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tion of physical liberty in violation of funda-
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mental rules of international law.
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(F) Torture.
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(G) Rape, enforced prostitution, forced
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pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other
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form of sexual violence of comparable gravity.
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(H) Persecution against any identifiable
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group or collectivity on political, racial, na-
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tional, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, lan-
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guage, social origin, age, disability, health, sex-
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ual orientation, gender identity, sex characteris-
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•HR 1471 IH
tics, indigenous, refugee, statelessness, or mi-
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gration status, or other grounds that are recog-
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nized as impermissible under international law.
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(I) Enforced disappearance of persons.
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(J) The crime of apartheid.
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(K) Other inhumane acts of a similar char-
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acter intentionally causing great suffering, or
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serious injury to body or to mental or physical
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health, including the excessive use of less-lethal
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crowd control weapons including tear gas, rub-
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ber bullets, sound cannons, and other less-lethal
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materials to disperse nonviolent protests.
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(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection—
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(A) the term ‘‘attack directed against any
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civilian population’’ means a course of conduct
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involving the multiple commission of acts re-
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ferred to in this subsection against any civilian
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population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a
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State or organizational policy to commit such
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attack;
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(B) the term ‘‘extermination’’ includes the
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intentional infliction of conditions of life, inter
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alia the deprivation of access to food and medi-
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cine, calculated to bring about the destruction
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of part of a population;
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•HR 1471 IH
(C) the term ‘‘enslavement’’ includes—
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(i) slavery, which means the exercise
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of any or all of the powers attaching to the
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right of ownership over a person including
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but not limited to the exercise of powers of
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ownership over sexual autonomy or integ-
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rity;
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(ii) the slave trade, which means all
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acts involved in the capture, acquisition or
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disposal of a person with intent to reduce
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the person to slavery;
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(iii) all acts involved in the acquisition
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of a enslaved person with a view to selling
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or exchanging the person;
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(iv) all acts of disposal by sale or ex-
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change of a enslaved person acquired with
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a view to being sold or exchanged; and
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(v) in general, every act of trade or
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transport in enslaved persons;
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(D) the term ‘‘deportation or forcible
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transfer of population’’ means forced displace-
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ment of the persons concerned by expulsion or
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other coercive acts from the area in which they
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are lawfully present, without grounds permitted
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under international law;
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•HR 1471 IH
(E) the term ‘‘torture’’—
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(i) means the intentional infliction of
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severe pain or suffering, whether physical
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or mental, for such purposes as obtaining
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information or a confession, punishment,
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intimidation or coercion or for any reason
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based on discrimination of any kind; but
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(ii) does not mean pain or suffering
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arising only from, inherent in or incidental
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to, lawful sanctions;
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(F) the term ‘‘forced pregnancy’’ means
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the unlawful confinement of a person forcibly
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made pregnant, with the intent of affecting the
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ethnic composition of any population or car-
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rying out other grave violations of international
15
law;
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(G) the term ‘‘persecution’’ means the in-
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tentional and severe deprivation of fundamental
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rights contrary to international law by reason of
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the identity of the group or collectivity;
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(H) the term ‘‘crime of apartheid’’ means
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an institutionalized regime of systematic op-
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pression and domination by one racial, ethnic,
23
or religious group over any other racial, ethnic,
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or religious group or groups and committed
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•HR 1471 IH
with the intention of maintaining that regime;
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and
2
(I) the term ‘‘enforced disappearance of
3
persons’’ means the arrest, detention, or abduc-
4
tion of persons by, or with the authorization,
5
support, or acquiescence of, a State or a polit-
6
ical organization, followed by a refusal to ac-
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knowledge that deprivation of freedom or to
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give information on the fate or whereabouts of
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those persons, with the intention of removing
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them from the protection of the law for a pro-
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longed period of time.
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(d) WAR CRIMES.—Any of the following acts against
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persons or property in an armed conflict, whether the con-
14
flict is of an international or internal character:
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(1) Willful killing.
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(2) Torture or inhumane treatment, including
17
biological experiments.
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(3) Willfully causing great suffering, or serious
19
injury to body or health.
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(4) Extensive destruction and appropriation of
21
property, not justified by military necessity and car-
22
ried out unlawfully and wantonly.
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(5) Compelling a prisoner of war or other de-
24
tainee to serve in the forces of a hostile power.
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•HR 1471 IH
(6) Willfully depriving a prisoner of war or
1
other detainee of the rights of fair and regular trial.
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(7) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlaw-
3
ful confinement.
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(8) Taking of hostages.
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(9) Intentionally directing attacks against the
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civilian population as such or against individual civil-
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ians not taking direct part in hostilities.
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(10) Intentionally directing attacks against ci-
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vilian objectives, that is, objectives which are not
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military objectives.
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(11) Intentionally directing attacks against per-
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sonnel, installations, material, units, or vehicles in-
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volved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping
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mission in accordance with the Charter of the
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United Nations.
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(12) Intentionally launching an attack in the
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knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss
18
of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian ob-
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jects, or widespread, long-term, and severe damage
20
to the natural environment which would be clearly
21
excessive in relation to the concrete and direct over-
22
all military advantage anticipated.
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(13) Attacking or bombarding, by whatever
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means, towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which
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•HR 1471 IH
are undefended and which are not military objec-
1
tives.
2
(14) Killing or wounding a combatant who, hav-
3
ing laid down his arms or having no longer means
4
of defense, has surrendered at discretion.
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(15) Making improper use of a flag of truce, of
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the flag or of the military insignia and uniform of
7
the enemy or of the United Nations, as well as of
8
the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions,
9
resulting in death or serious personal injury.
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(16) The transfer, directly or indirectly, by an
11
occupying power of parts of its own civilian popu-
12
lation into the territory it occupies, or the deporta-
13
tion or transfer of all or parts of the population of
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the occupied territory within or outside this terri-
15
tory.
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(17) Intentionally directing attacks against
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buildings dedicated to religion, education, art,
18
science or charitable purposes, historic monuments,
19
hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded
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are collected.
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(18) Subjecting persons who are in the power
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of an adverse party to physical mutilation or to med-
23
ical or scientific experiments of any kind which are
24
neither justified by the medical, dental, or hospital
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•HR 1471 IH
treatment of the person concerned nor carried out in
1
his or her interest, and which cause death to or seri-
2
ously endanger the health of such person or persons.
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(19) Killing or wounding treacherously individ-
4
uals belonging to the hostile nation or army.
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(20) Declaring that no quarter will be given.
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(21) Destroying or seizing the enemy’s property
7
unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively
8
demanded by the necessities of war.
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(22) Declaring abolished, suspended, or inad-
10
missible in a court of law the rights and actions of
11
the nationals of the hostile party.
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(23) Compelling the nationals of the hostile
13
party to take part in the operations of war directed
14
against their own country, even if they were in the
15
belligerent’s service before the commencement of the
16
war.
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(24) Pillaging a town or place.
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(25) Employing poison or poisoned weapons.
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(26) Employing asphyxiating, poisonous, or
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other gases, and all analogous liquids, materials, or
21
devices.
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(27) Employing bullets which expand or flatten
23
easily in the human body, such as bullets with a
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•HR 1471 IH
hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core
1
or is pierced with incisions.
2
(28) Employing weapons, projectiles, and mate-
3
rial and methods of warfare which are of a nature
4
to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering
5
or which are inherently indiscriminate in violation of
6
the international law of armed conflict.
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(29) Committing outrages upon personal dig-
8
nity, in particular humiliating and degrading treat-
9
ment.
10
(30) Committing rape, enforced prostitution,
11
forced pregnancy, as defined in subsection (c), en-
12
forced sterilization, or any other form of sexual vio-
13
lence also constituting a grave breach of the Geneva
14
Conventions.
15
(31) Committing slavery or the slave trade in
16
all their forms.
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(32) Utilizing the presence of a civilian or other
18
protected person to render certain points, areas, or
19
military forces immune from military operations.
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(33) Intentionally directing attacks against
21
buildings, material, medical units and transport, and
22
personnel using the distinctive emblems of the Gene-
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va Conventions in conformity with international law.
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•HR 1471 IH
(34) Intentionally using starvation of civilians
1
as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects
2
indispensable to their survival.
3
(35) Willfully impeding relief supplies as pro-
4
vided for under the Geneva Conventions.
5
(36) Conscripting or enlisting children under
6
the age of 18 into the national Armed Forces or
7
using them to participate actively in hostilities.
8
SEC. 102. DESCRIPTION OF SANCTIONS.
9
(a) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions to be imposed with
10
respect to the government of a foreign country under sec-
11
tion 101 are the sanctions described in subsections (b),
12
(c), (d), and (e).
13
(b) PROHIBITION ON SECURITY ASSISTANCE.—
14
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may not—
15
(A) provide any United States security as-
16
sistance, intelligence, training, equipment, or
17
s
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]