Sec. 4. Efforts to help eliminate inhumane conditions in foreign prisons and other detention facilities
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Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and October 1 every other year thereafter for a six-year period, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the conditions in prisons and other detention facilities in at least 30 countries receiving United States assistance or under sanction by the United States selected as a result of the Secretary's determination that such conditions raise the most serious human rights or humanitarian concerns. In selecting such countries, the Secretary shall consider only the conditions within each country's prisons and detention facilities. The report required under subparagraph
(A)shall, for each country, describe the conditions that raise human rights and humanitarian concerns, including— a detailed and up to date review, whenever possible, of each of the primary indicators set forth in section 3(2) and noting any efforts made to eliminate inhumane conditions as described in paragraph (2); an identification of those countries, if any, receiving United States assistance, whose governments— do not meet one or more of the primary indicators for the elimination of inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities but are making significant efforts to comply; and do not meet one or more of the primary indicators and are not making significant efforts to comply; and the steps being taken by the United States Government to improve conditions in foreign prisons and other detention facilities. The report shall also include a section on best practices for achieving the primary indicators. In making determinations under paragraph (1)(A) as to whether the government of a country is making significant efforts to comply with the primary indicators for the elimination of inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities, the Secretary of State shall consider the extent to which the government of the country is— regularly monitoring the conditions of prisons and other detention facilities under its authority, including allowing access for independent monitors, permitting prisoners and other detainees to submit complaints without censorship, cooperating with humanitarian organizations in eliminating and monitoring inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities, promptly investigating credible allegations of inhumane conditions, and making information concerning conditions and investigations available to the public and the Secretary of State; taking effective steps to eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities, which may include, among other steps, appointing ombudsmen to serve on behalf of prisoners and other detainees, providing alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders in order to alleviate inhumane overcrowding, addressing the status and circumstances of confinement of juveniles, improving pretrial detention practices, and implementing bail and recordkeeping procedures to reduce pretrial detention periods and to ensure that prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offense; and increasing the amount of government resources to eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities. The report required under paragraph
(1)may draw from the discussion of prison conditions contained in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices required under sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) and 2304(b)). The report required under paragraph
(1)shall be made available to the public, including on a publicly available website of the Department of State. The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development should furnish assistance for the purpose of eliminating inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities where such assistance would be appropriate and beneficial. The prohibitions under section 660 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 ( 22 U.S.C. 2420 ) shall not be applicable to assistance furnished to carry out the provisions of paragraph (1). Assistance made available under this subsection shall be designated and used exclusively to eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities in the country receiving the grant, but may not include the construction of new prisons. Funds made available under this section shall be subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In the case of a government of a country that is listed in the report submitted under subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)(II) as not making significant efforts to eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities, the Secretary of State shall, not later than 90 days after the date such report is submitted, enter into consultations with such government to achieve the purposes of this Act. The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development may restructure, reprogram, or reduce United States assistance for a government described in paragraph
(1)to achieve the purposes of this Act. If assistance is provided to a country whose government is described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees within 30 days of the decision to provide such assistance a report— explaining that any government agency or facility to receive assistance has the independence and commitment necessary to achieve the purposes of this Act; detailing the purposes for which such assistance will be provided; describing the United States interest in providing such assistance notwithstanding the failure of the government to make significant efforts to eliminate inhumane conditions; and describing the conditions in prisons and other detention facilities in such country unless this information has already been included in the report required under section 4(a)(1). Not later than 180 days after the beginning of consultations required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the actions taken or agreed to be taken, if any, by the government of that country that constitute significant efforts to eliminate inhumane conditions in prisons and other detention facilities and the actions taken, or that will be taken, by the United States pursuant to paragraph (2). Such information shall also be included in the next report required under subsection (a). If the Secretary determines that United States assistance to such government should not be restructured, reprogrammed, or reduced, the briefing and report shall contain an explanation for that decision.
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Sec. 4
Efforts to help eliminate inhumane conditions in foreign prisons and other detention facilities
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