§1. Request for information on Panama’s human rights practices
This section requests that the Secretary of State submit to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and House Committee on Foreign Affairs, not later than 30 days after adoption of this resolution and pursuant to section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(c)), a statement on Panama’s human rights practices prepared in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Department of State’s Office of the Legal Adviser. (Section 502B(c) requires such a statement as part of certifying security assistance to countries with a consistent pattern of gross human rights violations under section 502B(b).)
The statement must include (1) all available credible information on alleged violations by Panama’s government, including arbitrary arrest or detention, torture, due process violations, enforced disappearances, killings, trafficking, and treatment of non-citizens removed to Panama by the United States; (2) U.S. government steps to promote human rights in Panama, discourage violations, disassociate from them, and assess treatment of such deportees prior to removal (including individualized assessments and assurances of legal status or humane treatment); and (3) other information, including assessments of security assistance use for deportee-related activities, detention conditions, compliance with U.S. court return orders, protections against risks, relevant agreements or transactions, 2025 deportees to Panama, and facilitation of releases or returns.