What This Bill Does
This bill aims to help the United States government better support and protect people who defend human rights and democracy around the world. The bill recognizes that these defenders face increasing threats and violence for their work, and it directs the U.S. government to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent, reduce, and respond to attacks against them.
Who It Affects
Human rights defenders abroad (people who work nonviolently to promote human rights and democratic freedoms). U.S. State Department officials and diplomats at embassies and consulates. U.S. federal agencies involved in foreign policy. Congressional committees overseeing foreign relations.
Key Provisions
- The President must develop and submit to Congress a comprehensive government-wide strategy called the Global Voices of Freedom Strategy within 180 days of the bill becoming law, including specific goals, measurement tools, and timelines for implementation (Sec. 5(a) and (b)).
- Each U.S. embassy or mission must designate a specific person to report directly to the chief of mission who will consult regularly with human rights defenders, track patterns of attacks against them, and manage responses (Sec. 5(b)(3)(C)).
- U.S. officials at the United Nations shall use American influence to promote full participation of human rights defenders in the United Nations and other international bodies and to support sanctions or other measures against those who attack defenders (Sec. 6).
- Annual country human rights reports must now include descriptions of how human rights defenders are treated in each country, patterns of attacks against them, and details about investigations and prosecutions related to such attacks (Sec. 7).
- All Foreign Service Officers and Presidential appointees working on political, economic, public diplomacy, security, or development issues must receive dedicated training on supporting human rights defenders (Sec. 8).
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the U.S. government will be required to create a formal, written strategy for protecting human rights defenders abroad. U.S. embassies will have designated staff responsible for tracking attacks on defenders and coordinating responses. Annual human rights reports will include new information about attacks on defenders and government prosecutions of those responsible. U.S. diplomats will receive mandatory training on how to support defenders facing reprisals.
Important Definitions
Human rights defender: An individual or group using nonviolent means to promote or protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, consistent with United Nations principles. This may include members of civil society organizations, journalists, activists, lawyers, community leaders, and whistleblowers.
Reprisal: An action or failure to act that violates or tries to violate the rights of a human rights defender, or that prevents a defender from doing their work.
Appropriate congressional committees: The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 962
To protect individuals who face reprisals for defending human rights and
democracy by enhancing the capacity of the United States Government
to prevent, mitigate, and respond in such cases.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 23, 2023
Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. COONS, and
Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To protect individuals who face reprisals for defending
human rights and democracy by enhancing the capacity
of the United States Government to prevent, mitigate,
and respond in such cases.
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 ‘‘Global Voices of Free-
4
dom Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
6
Congress finds the following:
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(1) Seventy-five years ago, the United Nations
1
General Assembly, with leadership from the United
2
States, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human
3
Rights, done at Paris December 10, 1948 (referred
4
to in this section as the ‘‘Declaration’’), and since
5
the adoption of the Declaration, human rights de-
6
fenders have mobilized communities around the vi-
7
sion of a world ‘‘free and equal in dignity and
8
rights’’ described in the Declaration.
9
(2) Twenty-five years ago, the United Nations
10
unanimously adopted the United Nations Declara-
11
tion on Human Rights Defenders, which calls upon
12
all States to respect the role of individual citizens
13
and civil society organizations in defending human
14
rights and democratic principles.
15
(3) Human rights defenders advocate for
16
human rights and democratic principles, fight cor-
17
ruption, support good governance, seek to end impu-
18
nity, support victims of human rights violations, and
19
speak truth to power, creating safeguards against
20
autocratic regimes and backsliding democracies.
21
(4)
Increasingly,
human
rights
defenders
22
around the world face threats and violence in retalia-
23
tion for exercising their civil and political rights, and
24
reprisals against such defenders have grown in num-
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ber, scale, and sophistication, with online and digital
1
threats evolving rapidly.
2
(5) According to the United Nations High Com-
3
missioner for Human Rights, every year hundreds of
4
human rights defenders are murdered and thousands
5
more are subjected to torture, enforced disappear-
6
ance, sexual violence, hate crimes, unlawful or arbi-
7
trary detention, judicial harassment, unlawful or ar-
8
bitrary digital surveillance, and forced exile.
9
(6) Today, autocratic regimes are engaging in
10
increasingly brutal crackdowns on human rights de-
11
fenders by co-opting states or collaborating with
12
transnational criminal organizations, paramilitary
13
groups, and other actors to silence critical voices.
14
(7) Such tactics are not limited to autocratic
15
regimes and are now used in every region of the
16
world, accelerating a global decline in respect for
17
human rights and democratic principles.
18
(8) Few attacks against human rights defend-
19
ers are investigated or prosecuted, and rampant im-
20
punity has only spurred further violence, creating a
21
chilling effect on the work of others seeking to pro-
22
mote human rights and democratic principles.
23
(9) Human rights defenders who speak up on
24
behalf of communities that have historically faced
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discrimination face the highest levels of violence,
1
such as those advocating for Indigenous commu-
2
nities, environmental and climate change justice, and
3
respect for LGBTQ+, women’s, and religious rights.
4
(10) Attacks on human rights defenders are not
5
limited to individuals residing in-country, and many
6
foreign governments engage in transnational repres-
7
sion, reaching across borders to target human rights
8
defenders outside of their country of origin.
9
(11) Although the United States has long
10
played a critical role in supporting human rights de-
11
fenders, the United States must increase support at
12
United States embassies, consulates, and foreign
13
missions in order to meet the needs of the growing
14
number of human rights defenders at risk.
15
(12) Diplomats of the United States often lack
16
sufficient training or guidance on how to best re-
17
spond to reprisals against human rights defenders,
18
while human rights defenders often lack clear guid-
19
ance on how to safely contact United States officials
20
abroad and what support human rights defenders
21
can request when threatened, imprisoned, in exile, or
22
in hiding.
23
(13) Given the dramatic increase in attacks on
24
human rights defenders globally, the current ap-
25
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proach by the United States Government to address
1
such attacks is insufficient to adequately respond to
2
the threats human rights defenders face, weakening
3
the ability of the United States to advance human
4
rights and democratic principles at a time when
5
authoritarianism is on the rise.
6
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
7
In this Act—
8
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
9
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
10
mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations
11
of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
12
of the House of Representatives.
13
(2) HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER.—
14
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘human
15
rights defender’’ means an individual, working
16
alone or in a group, who uses nonviolent means
17
to promote or protect human rights and funda-
18
mental freedoms, in a manner consistent with
19
the principles described in the United Nations
20
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
21
(B)
INCLUSIONS.—The
term
‘‘human
22
rights defender’’ may include members of civil
23
society organizations, journalists, activists, law-
24
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yers, community leaders, whistleblowers, and
1
others.
2
(3) REPRISAL.—The term ‘‘reprisal’’ means an
3
act or omission that—
4
(A) violates, intends to violate, or encour-
5
ages a violation of the rights of a human rights
6
defender; or
7
(B) otherwise prevents a human rights de-
8
fender from carrying out his or her work.
9
(4) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘Strategy’’ means
10
the Global Voices of Freedom Strategy submitted in
11
accordance with section 5.
12
(5) UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON HUMAN
13
RIGHTS
DEFENDERS.—The term ‘‘United Nations
14
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders’’ means
15
the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of
16
Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Pro-
17
mote and Protect Universally Recognized Human
18
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (United Nations
19
General Assembly Resolution 53/144 (1998)), adopt-
20
ed by the United Nations General Assembly on De-
21
cember 9, 1998.
22
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
23
It shall be the policy of the United States—
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(1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United
1
States to the United Nations Declaration on Human
2
Rights Defenders and to human rights defenders,
3
who, often at great risk to themselves, work to pro-
4
tect and advance human rights and democratic prin-
5
ciples;
6
(2) to integrate support for human rights de-
7
fenders and their protection from reprisals as part
8
of bilateral and multilateral diplomatic, economic,
9
humanitarian, development, law enforcement, secu-
10
rity assistance, and anti-corruption activities of the
11
United States; and
12
(3) to view support for human rights defenders
13
and their protection from reprisals as critical foreign
14
policy interests of the United States.
15
SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF A GOVERNMENT-WIDE STRAT-
16
EGY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS.
17
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
18
date of the enactment of this Act, the President, in con-
19
sultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall
20
develop and submit to the appropriate congressional com-
21
mittees a comprehensive interagency strategy to support
22
and protect human rights defenders abroad to be known
23
as the Global Voices of Freedom Strategy.
24
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(b) ELEMENTS OF THE STRATEGY.—The Strategy
1
shall include detailed information on the following ele-
2
ments:
3
(1) How the United States intends to imple-
4
ment the policy objectives under section 4, includ-
5
ing—
6
(A) specific and measurable goals;
7
(B) metrics to measure progress against
8
such goals; and
9
(C) a timeline for implementation.
10
(2) An assessment of tools and resources avail-
11
able at United States embassies and missions to
12
support human rights defenders, including—
13
(A) measures to monitor and respond to
14
reprisals against human rights defenders; and
15
(B) information on implementation of the
16
training required by subparagraph (E) of sec-
17
tion 708(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of
18
1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)(1)), as added by sec-
19
tion 8.
20
(3) Bolstering the ability of United States em-
21
bassies and missions to prioritize the protection of
22
human rights defenders, including—
23
(A) ensuring the policy objectives under
24
section 4 are addressed in each country-specific
25
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Integrated Country Strategy of the Department
1
of State;
2
(B) developing guidance for United States
3
embassies and missions on assessing when and
4
how to respond to reprisals against human
5
rights defenders;
6
(C) identifying a designated point of con-
7
tact at each United States embassy or mission
8
who—
9
(i) reports directly to the chief of mis-
10
sion; and
11
(ii) shall be responsible for—
12
(I) conducting regular consulta-
13
tions with human rights defenders, in-
14
cluding individuals based outside of
15
major urban areas; and
16
(II) tracking patterns of reprisals
17
and managing responses to reprisals,
18
including by assessing the impact of
19
such responses;
20
(D) integrating consideration of reprisals
21
against human rights defenders into engage-
22
ments by United States embassies and missions
23
with the private sector;
24
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(E) providing a secure means, where fea-
1
sible, by which human rights defenders can con-
2
tact each United States embassy or mission, re-
3
spectively publicized on the website of each
4
United States embassy or mission;
5
(F) including requests for additional re-
6
sources to engage with and support human
7
rights defenders in annual Mission Resource
8
Requests; and
9
(G) acknowledging and rewarding efforts
10
by United States diplomatic personnel to pro-
11
tect human rights defenders as part of annual
12
performance reviews.
13
(4) Seeking to reduce impunity for reprisals
14
against human rights defenders by strengthening ac-
15
countability for perpetrators, including—
16
(A) using diplomatic pressure to encourage
17
foreign governments to investigate and pros-
18
ecute persons who order, plan, and carry out re-
19
prisals;
20
(B) using diplomatic pressure to respond
21
to patterns of non-lethal reprisals that have an
22
adverse impact on civic space, including the
23
criminalization of nonviolent advocacy, smear
24
campaigns, and illegal surveillance; and
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(C) increasing support for multilateral ini-
1
tiatives that seek to curb the misuse of dual-use
2
technologies by foreign governments to monitor,
3
harass, or threaten human rights defenders and
4
their families.
5
(c) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the Strat-
6
egy, the President shall—
7
(1) establish within the National Security
8
Council an interagency working group that shall be
9
responsible for coordinating implementation of the
10
Strategy;
11
(2) require each relevant Federal agency to pro-
12
vide a specific implementation plan for the Strategy;
13
and
14
(3) consult with human rights defenders and
15
civil society organizations on the design and imple-
16
mentation of the Strategy.
17
(d) FORM AND AVAILABILITY.—
18
(1) FORM.—The Strategy shall be submitted in
19
unclassified form, but may include a classified
20
annex, if necessary.
21
(2) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days prior to
22
publication of the Strategy in accordance with para-
23
graph (3), the Under Secretary for Civilian Security,
24
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Democracy, and Human Rights shall brief the ap-
1
propriate congressional committees on the Strategy.
2
(3) PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The unclassified
3
portion of the Strategy shall be made available to
4
the public, including through publication in the Fed-
5
eral Register.
6
SEC. 6. PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT THE
7
UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER MULTILAT-
8
ERAL BODIES.
9
The Secretary of State and the United States Perma-
10
nent Representative to the United Nations shall use the
11
voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the
12
United Nations and other multilateral bodies—
13
(1) to promote full participation and oppose ef-
14
forts that prevent the full participation of human
15
rights defenders and block the accreditation of bona
16
fide human rights organizations at the United Na-
17
tions and other multilateral bodies;
18
(2) to ensure that the United Nations bolsters
19
the protection and safe participation of human
20
ri
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]