What This Bill Does
This bill makes it harder to sell military weapons and equipment to countries with poor human rights records. It requires the U.S. government to check whether a country's leaders commit genocide, war crimes or other serious human rights abuses before approving weapon sales. Congress gets more power to review and block these sales.
Who It Affects
The U.S. State Department, the Department of Defense, Congress, foreign governments receiving U.S. weapons, and security forces (like military and police units) in those countries.
Key Provisions
• The government cannot sell weapons to any country if credible information shows that country committed genocide or violated international humanitarian law (the rules of war) after this law passes, unless the country punished those responsible, stopped the abuse, and compensated victims. (Sec. 3)
• All weapon sales must include an agreement that the foreign country won't use those weapons to violate human rights or international humanitarian law. (Sec. 4(a)(1))
• When the State Department considers selling weapons, it must look at how well that country's government protects human rights and supports democratic institutions (like independent courts), and must listen to the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. (Sec. 5(a))
• Congress must review certain weapon sales without any dollar limit if credible information shows a country experienced a military coup, or if a security force unit committed serious human rights abuses without being fairly investigated and punished. (Sec. 6(a))
• Starting 180 days after this law passes, major weapons including missiles, armed vehicles, attack helicopters, and fighter jets can only be sold through a special congressional review process that gives Congress more oversight power. (Sec. 10)
What Changes
The State Department must add new requirements to weapon sale agreements that ban using those weapons for human rights violations. Congress gains the right to review weapon sales to countries with recent military coups or documented human rights abuses by security forces, regardless of how much the weapons cost. Certain dangerous weapons get automatically sent to Congress for review instead of being approved quietly by the executive branch. The government must monitor whether weapons are actually being misused after they're sold. The State Department must write reports assessing the risk that sold weapons will be used to violate human rights.
Important Definitions
"Defense articles" and "defense services" are defined in section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act, but the bill does not redefine them with new meaning.
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text for most provisions. The requirement for certain weapons to go through the congressional review process takes effect 180 days after the law is enacted. (Sec. 10)
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1801
To enhance the consideration of human rights in arms exports.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 27, 2023
Mr. MEEKS (for himself, Ms. WILD, Ms. SPANBERGER, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. CAS-
TRO of Texas, and Mr. PHILLIPS) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the
Committee on Rules, 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 enhance the consideration of human rights in arms
exports.
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 ‘‘Safeguarding Human
4
Rights in Arms Exports Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘SAFE-
5
GUARD Act of 2023’’.
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•HR 1801 IH
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON CONTROL OF DEFENSE
1
EXPORTS
AND
PROTECTION
OF
HUMAN
2
RIGHTS.
3
It is the policy of the United States that one of the
4
purposes for controlling the export of defense articles and
5
defense services to foreign countries is to prevent such ex-
6
ports from being used in violation of international humani-
7
tarian law or internationally recognized human rights, to
8
require accountability for any such violations, and to en-
9
sure that the sale, export, or transfer of such articles and
10
services serves to encourage governments of foreign coun-
11
tries to fully comply with international humanitarian law
12
and observe internationally recognized human rights.
13
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF ARMS SALES TO COUNTRIES COM-
14
MITTING GENOCIDE OR WAR CRIMES.
15
(a) IN GENERAL.—No sale, export, or transfer of de-
16
fense articles or defense services may occur to any country
17
if the Secretary of State has credible information that the
18
government of such country has committed or is commit-
19
ting genocide or violations of international humanitarian
20
law after the date of the enactment of this Act.
21
(b) EXCEPTION.—The restriction under subsection
22
(a) shall not apply if the Secretary of State certifies to
23
the appropriate congressional committees that—
24
(1) the government has adequately punished the
25
persons directly or indirectly responsible for such
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•HR 1801 IH
acts through a credible, transparent, and effective
1
judicial process;
2
(2) appropriate measures have been instituted
3
to ensure that such acts will not recur; and
4
(3) other appropriate compensation or appro-
5
priate compensatory measures have been or are
6
being provided to the persons harmed by such acts.
7
SEC. 4. MISUSE OF ARMS SALES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
8
ABUSES.
9
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ensure that—
10
(1) the sale, export, or transfer of any defense
11
article or defense service to a foreign country or
12
international organization shall be pursuant to an
13
agreement that the government of such country or
14
such international organization will not use such ar-
15
ticle or service in the commission, or to enable the
16
commission, of a violation of international humani-
17
tarian law or internationally recognized human
18
rights;
19
(2) the United States Government has the legal
20
right to require the return of any defense articles
21
sold, exported, or transferred to a foreign country or
22
international organization if the government of such
23
country or such organization has used United
24
States-origin defense articles in the commission, or
25
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•HR 1801 IH
has enabled the commission, of a violation of inter-
1
national humanitarian law or internationally recog-
2
nized human rights; and
3
(3) if defense articles are sold, exported, or
4
transferred to a foreign country in a manner in
5
which the intended end-user has not been identified
6
at the unit level for human rights vetting, the agree-
7
ment for such sale, export, or transfer includes a list
8
of units ineligible to receive such articles, consistent
9
with applicable provisions of United States law.
10
(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR DEFENSE SERVICES OR ARTI-
11
CLES.—
12
(1) ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.—Section 3(a)
13
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
14
2753(a)) is amended—
15
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and
16
promote world peace’’ and inserting ‘‘, promote
17
world peace, and is unlikely to contribute to
18
human rights abuses’’;
19
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’
20
and inserting a semicolon;
21
(C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as
22
paragraph (5); and
23
(D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the
24
following new paragraph:
25
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•HR 1801 IH
‘‘(4) the country or international organization
1
has agreed not to use such article or service in the
2
commission, or to enable the commission, of a viola-
3
tion of international humanitarian law or inter-
4
nationally recognized human rights; and’’.
5
(2) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—Sec-
6
tion 505 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
7
U.S.C. 2314(a)) is amended—
8
(A) in subsection (a)—
9
(i) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘;
10
and’’ and inserting a semicolon;
11
(ii) by redesignating paragraph (4) as
12
paragraph (5); and
13
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (3)
14
the following new paragraph:
15
‘‘(4) the country or international organization
16
has agreed not to use such articles or service in the
17
commission, or to enable the commission, of a viola-
18
tion of international humanitarian law or inter-
19
nationally recognized human rights; and’’; and
20
(B) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘sub-
21
section (a)(1) or (a)(4)’’ both places it appears
22
and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1) or (a)(5)’’.
23
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•HR 1801 IH
(c) AUTHORIZED PURPOSE FOR MILITARY SALES.—
1
Section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2
2754) is amended—
3
(1) by inserting ‘‘legitimate’’ before ‘‘internal
4
security’’; and
5
(2) by inserting ‘‘, provided that such defense
6
articles and defense services will not present a sig-
7
nificant risk of being used to violate international
8
humanitarian law or internationally recognized
9
human rights’’ after ‘‘such friendly countries’’.
10
SEC. 5. CONSIDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOC-
11
RATIZATION IN ARMS EXPORTS.
12
(a) IN GENERAL.—In considering the sale, export, or
13
transfer of defense articles and defense services to foreign
14
countries, the Secretary of State shall—
15
(1) also consider the extent to which the gov-
16
ernment of the foreign country protects human
17
rights and supports democratic institutions, includ-
18
ing an independent judiciary; and
19
(2) ensure that the views and expertise of the
20
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of
21
the Department of State in connection with any sale,
22
export, or transfer are fully taken into account.
23
(b) INSPECTOR GENERAL OVERSIGHT.—Not later
24
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
25
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•HR 1801 IH
and annually thereafter for four years, the Inspector Gen-
1
eral of the Department of State shall submit to the appro-
2
priate congressional committees a report on the implemen-
3
tation of the requirement under subsection (a) during the
4
preceding year.
5
SEC. 6. ENHANCEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT
6
OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMS EXPORTS.
7
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any letter of offer to sell, or any
8
application for a license to export or transfer, defense arti-
9
cles or defense services controlled for export shall be sub-
10
ject to the congressional review and disapproval require-
11
ments, regardless of monetary value, of section 36 of the
12
Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) if the Sec-
13
retary of State has credible information, with respect to
14
a country to which the defense articles or defense services
15
are proposed to be sold, exported, or transferred, that—
16
(1) the government of such country on or after
17
the date of enactment of this Act has been deposed
18
by a coup d’etat or decree in which the military
19
played a decisive role, and a democratically elected
20
government has not taken office subsequent to the
21
coup or decree; or
22
(2) a unit of the security forces of the govern-
23
ment of such country—
24
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•HR 1801 IH
(A) has violated international humani-
1
tarian law and has not been credibly inves-
2
tigated and subjected to a credible and trans-
3
parent judicial process addressing such allega-
4
tion; or
5
(B) has committed a gross violation of
6
human rights, and has not been credibly inves-
7
tigated and subjected to a credible and trans-
8
parent judicial process addressing such allega-
9
tion, including, inter alia—
10
(i) torture or rape;
11
(ii) ethnic cleansing of civilians;
12
(iii) recruitment or use of child sol-
13
diers;
14
(iv) unjust or wrongful detention;
15
(v) the operation of, or effective con-
16
trol or direction over, secret detention fa-
17
cilities; or
18
(vi) extrajudicial killings, whether by
19
military, police, or other security forces.
20
(b) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION IN HUMAN RIGHTS
21
REPORT.—The Secretary of State shall also provide to the
22
appropriate congressional committees the report described
23
in section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act (22
24
U.S.C. 2304(c)) biannually for the period of time specified
25
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•HR 1801 IH
in subsection (c) of this section regarding any country cov-
1
ered under subsection (a).
2
(c) DURATION.—
3
(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a letter of
4
offer to sell or an application for a license to sell,
5
export, or transfer described in subsection (a), the
6
letter or application shall be subject to the require-
7
ments and procedures for congressional review and
8
disapproval under section 36 of the Arms Export
9
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) for 2 years after the
10
date on which the Secretary of State receives the in-
11
formation described in subsection (a).
12
(2) TERMINATION.—
13
(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to such a
14
letter or application, the enhanced congressional
15
oversight under subsections (a) and paragraph
16
(1) of this subsection shall terminate on the
17
date on which the Secretary of State determines
18
and so informs the appropriate congressional
19
committees that—
20
(i) the credible information described
21
in subsection (a)(2) is inaccurate; or
22
(ii) the activity has ceased, and the
23
government of the applicable country has
24
taken appropriate steps to ensure that
25
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•HR 1801 IH
such activity does not recur, including ap-
1
propriate punishment for the person or
2
persons involved in such activity.
3
(B) INFORMATION
SUPPORTING
DETER-
4
MINATION.—The Secretary of State shall sub-
5
mit to the appropriate congressional committees
6
all information forming the basis for a deter-
7
mination under subparagraph (A). The deter-
8
mination shall, to the fullest extent possible, be
9
unclassified, but may include a classified annex.
10
(d) MODIFICATION
OF PRIOR NOTIFICATION
OF
11
SHIPMENT OF ARMS.—Section 36(i) of the Arms Export
12
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(i)) is amended by striking
13
‘‘subject to the requirements of subsection (b) at the joint
14
request of the Chairman and Ranking Member’’ and in-
15
serting ‘‘subject to the requirements of this section at the
16
request of the Chairman or Ranking Member’’.
17
SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON SALES TO SECURITY FORCES IN-
18
VOLVED IN GROSS VIOLATION OF HUMAN
19
RIGHTS.
20
Section 620M(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
21
1961 (23 U.S.C. 2378d(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘No
22
assistance’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Arms Export
23
Control Act’’ and inserting ‘‘No assistance, including the
24
sale of defense articles or defense services, shall be fur-
25
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•HR 1801 IH
nished under this Act, the Arms Export Control Act, or
1
any other provision of law controlling the export or trans-
2
fer of such articles and services’’.
3
SEC. 8. END-USE MONITORING OF MISUSE OF ARMS IN
4
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.
5
(a) END-USE MONITORING.—Section 40A(a)(2)(B)
6
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2785) is
7
amended—
8
(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and insert-
9
ing a semicolon;
10
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the
11
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
12
(3) by adding at the end the following new
13
clause:
14
‘‘(iii) such articles and services are
15
not being used to violate international hu-
16
manitarian law or internationally recog-
17
nized human rights.’’.
18
(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to the ap-
19
propriate congressional committees on the measures that
20
will be taken, including any additional resources needed,
21
to conduct an effective end-use monitoring program to ful-
22
fill the requirement of clause (iii) of section 40A(a)(2)(B)
23
of the Arms Export Control Act, as added by subsection
24
(a)(3).
25
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•HR 1801 IH
SEC. 9. HUMAN RIGHTS ELEMENTS IN AUXILIARY RE-
1
PORTS.
2
Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act (22
3
U.S.C. 2776(b)(1)) is amended—
4
(1) in subparagraph (O), by striking ‘‘; and’’
5
and inserting a semicolon;
6
(2) in subparagraph (P), by striking the period
7
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
8
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
9
paragraph:
10
‘‘(Q) an ass
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]