Brunei Human Rights Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2561 To authorize the imposition of sanctions on officials of Brunei responsible for implementing the newly revised penal code, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 7, 2019 Ms. OMAR (for herself, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize the imposition of sanctions on officials of Brunei responsible for implementing the newly revised penal code, 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 ‘‘Brunei Human Rights 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2561.IH H2561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2561 IH (1) On May 1, 2014, the Sultan of Brunei an- 1 nounced that a revised penal code would take effect 2 in three phases. 3 (2) The penal code mandates the death penalty 4 for numerous offenses, among them adultery, con- 5 sensual same-sex relations, blasphemy, and robbery. 6 (3) The penal code also mandates flogging for 7 women who have abortions, and amputation for 8 theft. 9 (4) The penal code further criminalizes expos- 10 ing Muslim children to the beliefs and practices of 11 any religion other than Islam. 12 (5) The revised penal code represents an as- 13 sault on the rights of the LGBTI community, 14 women, children, and religious minorities, as well as 15 on the people of Brunei as a whole. 16 (6) According to the United Nations High Com- 17 missioner for Human Rights, the penal code intro- 18 duced stoning to death as the specific method of exe- 19 cution for adultery, consensual same-sex relations, 20 and extramarital sexual relations. 21 (7) On April 11, 2014, the spokesperson for the 22 United Nations High Commissioner for Human 23 Rights said that ‘‘Under international law, stoning 24 people to death constitutes torture or other cruel, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2561.IH H2561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2561 IH human or degrading treatment or punishment and is 1 thus clearly prohibited.’’ and noted that— 2 (A) ‘‘A number of UN studies have also re- 3 vealed that women are more likely to be sen- 4 tenced to death by stoning, due to deeply en- 5 trenched discrimination and stereotyping 6 against them, including among law enforcement 7 and judicial officers.’’; and 8 (B) ‘‘The criminalization and application 9 of the death penalty for consensual relations be- 10 tween adults in private also violates a whole 11 host of rights, including the rights to privacy, 12 to equality before the law, the right to health 13 and freedom from arbitrary arrest and deten- 14 tion. The provisions of the revised penal code 15 may encourage further violence and discrimina- 16 tion against women and also against people on 17 the basis of sexual orientation.’’. 18 (8) The first phase of the new penal code went 19 into effect in 2014, but the final two phases were 20 not enacted between 2014 and 2019 as a result of 21 pressure from international and domestic human 22 rights organizations. 23 (9) In December 2018, the Government of 24 Brunei confirmed that the final rollout of the second 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2561.IH H2561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2561 IH and third phases of the penal code, including the 1 provisions of capital punishment by stoning, would 2 be fully implemented beginning April 3, 2019. 3 (10) On April 1, 2019, a statement from the 4 United Nations High Commissioner for Human 5 Rights noted that the revised penal code ‘‘would en- 6 shrine in legislation cruel and inhuman punishments 7 that seriously breach international human rights 8 law’’ and stated that ‘‘Human rights and faith are 9 not opposing forces – indeed, it is human interpreta- 10 tion that creates tensions. It is vital that the Gov- 11 ernment, religious authorities and a wide range of 12 civil society actors work jointly to uphold human 13 dignity and equality for all.’’. 14 (11) Several other countries have provisions in 15 their penal code similar to those described in this 16 section with respect to Brunei, which also represent 17 instances of grave abuses of human rights when en- 18 forced. 19 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 20 It is the sense of Congress that— 21 (1) the implementation of Brunei’s draconian 22 new penal code should be condemned in the strong- 23 est possible terms; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2561.IH H2561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2561 IH (2) the United States should reaffirm its com- 1 mitment to the full enjoyment of human rights by all 2 people; 3 (3) particular protections are needed for vulner- 4 able populations throughout the world, including the 5 LGBTI community, women, children, and religious 6 minorities; 7 (4) the revised penal code in Brunei represents 8 an assault on the rights of those vulnerable popu- 9 lations, as well as on the people of Brunei as a 10 whole; 11 (5) the President and Secretary of State should 12 condemn in clear terms the grave breach of human 13 rights represented by the new penal code; 14 (6) the Government of Brunei should consider 15 the potential negative impact of these new provisions 16 on tourism from, and business with, countries that 17 respect human rights; and 18 (7) sanctions should be imposed on any official 19 of any other country who implements or enforces 20 provisions similar to those found in the revised penal 21 code of Brunei. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2561.IH H2561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2561 IH SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS UNDER THE GLOBAL 1 MAGNITSKY HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNT- 2 ABILITY ACT. 3 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact- 4 ment of this Act, the President may impose sanctions pur- 5 suant to the authorities provided by section 1263(a)(1) of 6 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 7 2016 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) with respect to each official 8 of Brunei who the President determines is responsible for 9 implementing the penal code described in section 2 of this 10 Act in a manner that constitutes ‘‘extrajudicial killings, 11 torture, or other gross violations of internationally recog- 12 nized human rights’’ for purposes of such section 13 1263(a)(1). 14 SEC. 5. REPORTS REQUIRED. 15 (a) ANNUAL REPORT ON ENFORCEMENT OF FOR- 16 EIGN CRIMINAL LAW PROVISIONS.—Not later than 180 17 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu- 18 ally thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation with 19 the Ambassador at Large for International Religious 20 Freedom and the Special Envoy for the Human Rights 21 of LGBTI Persons, shall submit to Congress a report on 22 the enforcement of penal or criminal provisions of law of 23 foreign countries explicitly targeting or disproportionately 24 enforced against the LGBTI community, women, children, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2561.IH H2561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2561 IH religious minorities, or other vulnerable populations sub- 1 ject to the jurisdiction of each such foreign country. 2 (b) REPORT RELATING TO ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE 3 UNITED STATES.—Not later than 180 days after the date 4 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 5 Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the 6 Attorney General, shall submit to Congress a report that 7 includes— 8 (1) the number of nationals of Brunei that ap- 9 plied for status as a refugee or asylee in the United 10 States; 11 (2) the number of such nationals that were 12 granted such status; and 13 (3) the number of such nationals that were de- 14 nied such status on the basis of lacking a credible 15 fear of persecution. 16 (c) REPORT RELATING TO REFUGEES IN OTHER 17 COUNTRIES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of 18 the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 19 Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report de- 20 scribing the manner in which the Department of State is 21 supporting the efforts of refugees from Brunei to obtain 22 asylum in other countries. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:10 May 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 \\ALPHA3\E\BILLS\H2561.IH H2561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS