Sec. 707. Addressing abuse and misuse by the Russian Federation of INTERPOL red notices and red diffusions
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Congress makes the following findings: The International Criminal Police Organization (commonly known as INTERPOL ) works to prevent and fight crime through enhanced cooperation and innovation on police and security matters, including counterterrorism, cybercrime, counternarcotics, and transnational organized crime. United States membership and participation in INTERPOL advances the national security and law enforcement interests of the United States related to combating counterterrorism, cybercrime, counternarcotics, and combating transnational organized crime.
Article 2 of INTERPOL’s Constitution states that the organization aims [t]o ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities […] in the spirit of the . Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution states that, [i]t is strictly forbidden for the Organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. . Independent international nongovernmental organizations have documented how several INTERPOL member countries, including the Government of the Russian Federation and others, have used INTERPOL's processes, including the red notice and red diffusion mechanisms, for activities of a political character.
It is the sense of Congress that the Government of the Russian Federation and the governments of certain other countries have repeatedly abused and misused INTERPOL’s red notice and red diffusion mechanisms for overtly political purposes and activities such as harassing or persecuting political opponents, human rights defenders, or journalists. The Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States at INTERPOL— to inform the General Secretariat about cases in which countries are misusing its systems for activities of a political character or other purposes contrary to INTERPOL's Constitution, so that appropriate measures may be taken by INTERPOL; to advance institutional reforms at INTERPOL, including in the General Secretariat, the Commission for the Control of Files, and the Notices and Diffusions Task Force within the General Secretariat, to prevent member countries from abusing and misusing INTERPOL’s red notice and diffusion mechanisms; to increase, to the extent practicable, dedicated funding to the Commission for the Control of Files and the Notices and Diffusions Task Force in order to further expand operations related to the review of requests for red notices and red diffusions; and to censure member countries that repeatedly abuse and misuse INTERPOL's red notice and red diffusion mechanisms, including restricting the access of those countries to INTERPOL's data systems.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an unclassified report on United States support for institutional reforms at INTERPOL that are necessary to address abuse and misuse of INTERPOL's red notice and red diffusion mechanisms. The report required by paragraph
(1)shall include— to the extent feasible, a description of United States support for reforms that increase INTERPOL's transparency with respect to— the number of red notices and red diffusions requested by each member country; the number or proportion of requests for red notice or red diffusions rejected by INTERPOL, following internal review, for each member country; how INTERPOL’s General Secretariat identifies requests for red notice or red diffusions that are politically motivated or are otherwise in violation of INTERPOL’s rules; and how INTERPOL reviews and addresses cases in which a member country has abused or misused the red notice and red diffusion mechanisms for overtly political purposes; and a list of countries that the Secretary determines have repeatedly abused and misused the red notice and red diffusion mechanisms for political purposes. The report required by paragraph
(1)shall be posted on a publicly available interest website of the Department of State and of the Department of Justice. An official of the United States may not take any action against a person based solely on the issuance of an INTERPOL red notice or red diffusion issued by a country identified on the list required by paragraph (2)(B) unless the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the red notice or red diffusion was not issued for political purposes. In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.