“To establish a Special Envoy for Humanitarian Aid Workers, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a Special Envoy for Humanitarian Aid Workers in the Department of State, appointed by the President with the rank and status of ambassador and reporting to the Secretary of State. The envoy's duties include (1) inquiring into the death, fatal injury, or detention of any aid worker (i.e., an individual providing humanitarian assistance abroad) during a U.S.-supported humanitarian mission; (2) advocating for coordination and deconfliction between such missions, international bodies, and foreign security forces; (3) promoting foreign adoption of aid worker security best practices; (4) developing best practices for foreign countries to work with humanitarian NGOs and civil society; and (5) advocating for other matters supporting unimpeded NGO humanitarian assistance. Not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter, the envoy must submit to the Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a report on security challenges for NGOs delivering U.S. humanitarian assistance, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' (OCHA) deconfliction effectiveness, the amount of U.S. humanitarian assistance distributed in the prior year, and related policy recommendations. Separately, within one year of enactment, the envoy—in consultation with the Secretary—must submit to the same committees a report assessing OCHA's effectiveness in coordinating humanitarian NGOs with foreign countries during U.S.-supported responses.
This section prohibits security assistance (as defined in Foreign Assistance Act §502B) and defense articles or services subject to Arms Export Control Act §36 requirements from being furnished to any foreign country that the Secretary of State certifies has unlawfully killed or fatally injured humanitarian aid workers or refused reasonable requests for relevant information, unless the Secretary also certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the country (1) has investigated prior violations, adopted corrective actions, prosecuted responsible security force members, and coordinated active humanitarian aid missions; and (2) will protect aid workers from future unlawful killings or injuries, with certifications submitted at least 15 days prior to taking effect. This section directs the President to establish, not later than 60 days after appointing the Special Envoy for Humanitarian Aid Workers, an interagency Aid Worker Independent Inquiry Group led by the Envoy—with members from the Departments of Justice and State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other agencies as determined appropriate—to assess deaths or detentions of individuals in active humanitarian aid missions occurring after enactment. Not later than 90 days after each such incident, the Envoy must submit to Congress a report detailing the cause and circumstances (including any U.S.-origin defense articles used and host country intentions), grounds for detention if applicable, degree of host country cooperation, and compliance with international law, host country law, and the Department of Defense Law of War Manual. This section defines "active humanitarian aid mission" (ongoing organized efforts outside the U.S. delivering non-political, non-military assistance), "humanitarian aid worker" (individuals providing such assistance), "unlawful killing" (lethal force inconsistent with international humanitarian law in armed conflict or equivalent to U.S. homicide statutes outside armed conflict), and "appropriate congressional committees" (specified House and Senate Appropriations, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Relations panels).