What This Bill Does
This bill requires the federal government to consider human rights when deciding whether to sell, export, or transfer military equipment and services to other countries. It aims to prevent military equipment made in the United States from being used to commit genocide, war crimes, or human rights abuses.
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Who It Affects
The Secretary of State (the official leading the Department of State who handles international relations), the President, Congress (through new oversight powers), the Inspector General of the Department of State, and foreign countries receiving U.S. military equipment.
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Key Provisions
• The United States cannot sell, export, or transfer military equipment to any country whose government has committed genocide or war crimes after this law passes, unless the Secretary of State certifies that the country has brought those responsible to justice through a credible court process and taken steps to prevent it from happening again (Sec. 3).
• All military equipment sales must include an agreement that the receiving country will not use that equipment to violate international humanitarian law (the laws protecting people during armed conflict) or international human rights law (Sec. 4).
• The Secretary of State must consider how well a foreign country protects human rights and supports democratic institutions (a system of government where citizens have a say) before approving military sales, and must take advice from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (Sec. 5).
• Military equipment sales must be reviewed by Congress without any dollar limit if the Secretary of State has credible information that the country experienced a military coup (a sudden, violent takeover of government) or if security forces committed serious human rights abuses without being investigated and prosecuted (Sec. 6).
• Certain weapons including missiles, bombs, armored vehicles, bombers, fighter jets, and attack helicopters can only be sold through formal foreign military sales with specific oversight requirements 180 days after this law passes (Sec. 10).
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What Changes
The Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 are updated to add human rights protections as requirements for military sales. Congress gains new power to review and block military equipment sales regardless of cost if human rights concerns exist. The Secretary of State must now monitor whether U.S. military equipment is being used to violate human rights laws. Reports to Congress must include assessments of risks that military equipment will be misused for human rights violations.
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Important Definitions
• "Appropriate congressional committees" means the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the House Committee on Appropriations.
• "Defense article" and "defense service" have the same meanings as defined in section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act.
##
Effective Date
Most provisions take effect upon enactment (when signed into law). The requirement for certain weapons to be subject to oversight takes effect 180 days after the date of enactment. The Inspector General must submit a report no later than one year after enactment, then annually for four years.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1025
To enhance the consideration of human rights in arms exports.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 29, 2023
Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. MURRAY, and
Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
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’’.
6
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•S 1025 IS
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 human rights, to require accountability for
8
any such violations, and to ensure that the sale, export,
9
or transfer of such articles and services serves to encour-
10
age governments of foreign countries to fully comply with
11
international humanitarian law and observe human rights.
12
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF ARMS SALES TO COUNTRIES COM-
13
MITTING GENOCIDE OR WAR CRIMES.
14
(a) IN GENERAL.—No sale, export, or transfer of de-
15
fense articles or defense services may occur to any country
16
the government of which the Secretary of State determines
17
has committed, or is committing, genocide or war crimes
18
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
19
(b) EXCEPTION.—The restriction under subsection
20
(a) shall not apply if the Secretary of State certifies to
21
the appropriate congressional committees that—
22
(1) the government has taken steps to bring to
23
justice the persons directly or indirectly responsible
24
for such acts through a credible, transparent, and
25
effective judicial process;
26
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•S 1025 IS
(2) appropriate measures have been instituted
1
to ensure that such acts will not recur; and
2
(3) other appropriate compensation or appro-
3
priate compensatory measures have been or are
4
being provided to the persons harmed by such acts.
5
SEC. 4. MISUSE OF ARMS SALES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
6
ABUSES.
7
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ensure that—
8
(1) the sale, export, or transfer of any defense
9
article or defense service to a foreign country or
10
international organization shall be pursuant to an
11
agreement that the government of such country or
12
such international organization will not use such ar-
13
ticle or service in the commission, or to enable the
14
commission, of a violation of international humani-
15
tarian law or international human rights law;
16
(2) the United States Government has the legal
17
right to require the return of any defense articles
18
sold, exported, or transferred to a foreign country or
19
international organization if the government of such
20
country or such organization has used United
21
States-origin defense articles in the commission, or
22
has enabled the commission, of a violation of inter-
23
national humanitarian law or international human
24
rights law; and
25
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•S 1025 IS
(3) if defense articles are sold, exported, or
1
transferred to a foreign country in a manner in
2
which the intended end-user has not been identified
3
at the unit level for human rights vetting, the agree-
4
ment for such sale, export, or transfer includes a list
5
of units ineligible to receive such articles, consistent
6
with applicable provisions of United States law.
7
(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR DEFENSE SERVICES OR ARTI-
8
CLES.—
9
(1) ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT.—Section 3(a)
10
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
11
2753(a)) is amended—
12
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and
13
promote world peace’’ and inserting ‘‘, promote
14
world peace, and is unlikely to contribute to
15
human rights abuses’’;
16
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’
17
and inserting a semicolon;
18
(C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as
19
paragraph (5); and
20
(D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the
21
following new paragraph:
22
‘‘(4) the country or international organization
23
has agreed not to use such article or service in the
24
commission, or to enable the commission, of a viola-
25
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•S 1025 IS
tion of international humanitarian law or inter-
1
national human rights law; and’’.
2
(2) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—Sec-
3
tion 505of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
4
U.S.C. 2314(a)) is amended—
5
(A) in subsection (a)—
6
(i) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘;
7
and’’ and inserting a semicolon;
8
(ii) by redesignating paragraph (4) as
9
paragraph (5); and
10
(iii) by inserting after paragraph (3)
11
the following new paragraph:
12
‘‘(4) the country or international organization
13
has agreed not to use such articles or service in the
14
commission, or to enable the commission, of a viola-
15
tion of international humanitarian law or inter-
16
national human rights law; and’’; and
17
(B) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘sub-
18
section (a)(1) or (a)(4)’’ both places it appears
19
and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(1) or (a)(5)’’.
20
(c) AUTHORIZED PURPOSE FOR MILITARY SALES.—
21
Section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
22
2754) is amended—
23
(1) by inserting ‘‘legitimate’’ before ‘‘internal
24
security’’; and
25
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•S 1025 IS
(2) by inserting ‘‘, provided that such defense
1
articles and defense services will not present a sig-
2
nificant risk of being used to violate international
3
humanitarian law or international human rights
4
law’’ after ‘‘such friendly countries’’.
5
SEC. 5. CONSIDERATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOC-
6
RATIZATION IN ARMS EXPORTS.
7
(a) IN GENERAL.—In considering the sale, export, or
8
transfer of defense articles and defense services to foreign
9
countries, the Secretary of State shall—
10
(1) also consider the extent to which the gov-
11
ernment of the foreign country protects human
12
rights and supports democratic institutions, includ-
13
ing an independent judiciary; and
14
(2) ensure that the views and expertise of the
15
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of
16
the Department of State in connection with any sale,
17
export, or transfer are fully taken into account.
18
(b) INSPECTOR GENERAL OVERSIGHT.—Not later
19
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
20
and annually thereafter for four years, the Inspector Gen-
21
eral of the Department of State shall submit to the appro-
22
priate congressional committees a report on the implemen-
23
tation of the requirement under subsection (a) during the
24
preceding year.
25
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•S 1025 IS
SEC. 6. ENHANCEMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT
1
OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMS EXPORTS.
2
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any letter of offer to sell, or any
3
application for a license to export or transfer, defense arti-
4
cles or defense services controlled for export shall be sub-
5
ject to the congressional review and disapproval require-
6
ments, regardless of monetary value, of section 36 of the
7
Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) if the Sec-
8
retary of State has credible information, with respect to
9
a country to which the defense articles or defense services
10
are proposed to be sold, exported, or transferred, that—
11
(1) the government of such country on or after
12
the date of enactment of this Act has been deposed
13
by a coup d’etat or decree in which the military
14
played a decisive role, and a democratically elected
15
government has not taken office subsequent to the
16
coup or decree; or
17
(2) a unit of the security forces of the govern-
18
ment of such country—
19
(A) has violated international humani-
20
tarian law and has not been credibly inves-
21
tigated and subjected to a credible and trans-
22
parent judicial process addressing such allega-
23
tion; or
24
(B) has committed a gross violation of
25
human rights, and has not been credibly inves-
26
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•S 1025 IS
tigated and subjected to a credible and trans-
1
parent judicial process addressing such allega-
2
tion, including, inter alia—
3
(i) torture or rape;
4
(ii) ethnic cleansing of civilians;
5
(iii) recruitment or use of child sol-
6
diers;
7
(iv) unjust or wrongful detention;
8
(v) the operation of, or effective con-
9
trol or direction over, secret detention fa-
10
cilities; or
11
(vi) extrajudicial killings, whether by
12
military, police, or other security forces.
13
(b) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION IN HUMAN RIGHTS
14
REPORT.—The Secretary of State shall also provide to the
15
appropriate congressional committees the report described
16
in section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act (22
17
U.S.C. 2304(c)) biannually for the period of time specified
18
in subsection (c) of this section regarding any country cov-
19
ered under subsection (a).
20
(c) DURATION.—
21
(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a letter of
22
offer to sell or an application for a license to sell,
23
export, or transfer described in subsection (a), the
24
letter or application shall be subject to the require-
25
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•S 1025 IS
ments and procedures for congressional review and
1
disapproval under section 36 of the Arms Export
2
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776) for 2 years after the
3
date on which the Secretary of State receives the in-
4
formation described in subsection (a).
5
(2) TERMINATION.—
6
(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to such a
7
letter or application, the enhanced congressional
8
oversight under subsections (a) and paragraph
9
(1) of this subsection shall terminate on the
10
date on which the Secretary of State determines
11
and so informs the appropriate congressional
12
committees that—
13
(i) the credible information described
14
in subsection (a)(2) is inaccurate; or
15
(ii) the activity has ceased, and the
16
government of the applicable country has
17
taken appropriate steps to ensure that
18
such activity does not recur, including ap-
19
propriate punishment for the person or
20
persons involved in such activity.
21
(B) INFORMATION
SUPPORTING
DETER-
22
MINATION.—The Secretary of State shall sub-
23
mit to the appropriate congressional committees
24
all information forming the basis for a deter-
25
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•S 1025 IS
mination under subparagraph (A). The deter-
1
mination shall, to the fullest extent possible, be
2
unclassified, but may include a classified annex.
3
(d) MODIFICATION
OF PRIOR NOTIFICATION
OF
4
SHIPMENT OF ARMS.—Section 36(i) of the Arms Export
5
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(i)) is amended by striking
6
‘‘subject to the requirements of subsection (b) at the joint
7
request of the Chairman and Ranking Member’’ and in-
8
serting ‘‘subject to the requirements of this section at the
9
request of the Chairman or Ranking Member’’.
10
SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON SALES TO SECURITY FORCES IN-
11
VOLVED IN GROSS VIOLATION OF HUMAN
12
RIGHTS.
13
Section 620M(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of
14
1961 (23 U.S.C. 2378d(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘No
15
assistance’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Arms Export
16
Control Act’’ and inserting ‘‘No assistance, including the
17
sale of defense articles or defense services, shall be fur-
18
nished under this Act, the Arms Export Control Act, or
19
any other provision of law controlling the export or trans-
20
fer of such articles and services’’.
21
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•S 1025 IS
SEC. 8. END-USE MONITORING OF MISUSE OF ARMS IN
1
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES.
2
(a) END-USE MONITORING.—Section 40A(a)(2)(B)
3
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2785) is
4
amended—
5
(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and insert-
6
ing a semicolon;
7
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the
8
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
9
(3) by adding at the end the following new
10
clause:
11
‘‘(iii) such articles and services are
12
not being used to violate international hu-
13
manitarian law or international human
14
rights law.’’.
15
(b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to the ap-
16
propriate congressional committees on the measures that
17
will be taken, including any additional resources needed,
18
to conduct an effective end-use monitoring program to ful-
19
fill the requirement of clause (iii) of section 40A(a)(2)(B)
20
of the Arms Export Control Act, as added by subsection
21
(a)(3).
22
SEC. 9. HUMAN RIGHTS ELEMENTS IN AUXILIARY RE-
23
PORTS.
24
Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act (22
25
U.S.C. 2776(b)(1)) is amended—
26
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•S 1025 IS
(1) in subparagraph (O), by striking ‘‘; and’’
1
and inserting a semicolon;
2
(2) in subparagraph (P), by striking the period
3
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
4
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
5
paragraph:
6
‘‘(Q) an assessment of the risk that such
7
defense articles or defense services will be used
8
in the commission of violations of international
9
humanitarian law or international human rights
10
law, and a description of any measures to be
11
taken by the recipient government or by the
12
United States to prevent and monitor any such
13
use.’’.
14
SEC. 10. REQUIREMENT FOR CERTAIN WEAPONS TO BE
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]