Sec. 107. Safeguarding democracy and human rights during the COVID–19 pandemic
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It is the sense of Congress that— governments may be required to take appropriate extraordinary measures during public health emergencies to halt the spread of disease, including closing businesses and public events, limiting access to public spaces, and restricting the movement of people; certain foreign governments have taken measures in response to COVID–19 that violate the human rights of their citizens without clear public health justification, oversight measures, or sunset provisions; governments using the COVID–19 pandemic as a pretext for repression have undermined democratic institutions, debilitated institutions for transparency and public integrity, quashed legitimate dissent, and attacked journalists, civil society organizations, activists, independent voices, and vulnerable and marginalized populations, including refugees and migrants, with far-reaching consequences that will extend beyond the current crisis;
COVID–19 threatens to roll back decades of progress for women and girls, disproportionately affecting women economically, educationally, and with respect to health, while also leading to alarming rises in gender based violence; and during and after the pandemic, the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development should directly, and through nongovernmental organizations or international organizations, provide assistance and implement programs that support democratic institutions, civil society, free media, and the advancement of internationally recognized human rights.
Amounts made available for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out the purposes of sections 101 and 102 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 and 2151–1), including programs to support democratic institutions, human rights defenders, civil society, and freedom of the press, should be targeted, to the extent feasible, toward civil society organizations in countries in which emergency government measures taken in response to the COVID–19 pandemic have violated internationally recognized human rights.
Civil society organizations operating in countries in which emergency government measures taken in response to the COVID–19 pandemic violated internationally recognized human rights shall be eligible to receive funds made available to carry out the purposes of sections 101 and 102 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026, for— programs designed to strengthen and support civil society, human rights defenders, freedom of association, and the freedom of the press; programs to restore democratic institutions; and peacebuilding and conflict prevention to address the impacts of COVID–19 on social cohesion, public trust, and conflict dynamics by adapting existing programs or investing in new ones.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that— lists the countries whose emergency measures limiting internationally recognized human rights in a manner inconsistent with the principles of limitation and derogation remain in place; describes such countries’ emergency measures, including— how such procedures violate internationally recognized human rights; and an analysis of the impact of such measures on access to health and efforts to control the COVID–19 pandemic within the country; describes— security and intelligence surveillance measures implemented by countries during the COVID–19 pandemic; the extent to which such measures have been, or have not been, rolled back; and whether and how such measures impact internationally recognized human rights; and includes a strategic plan by the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development that addresses, through multilateral and bilateral diplomacy and foreign assistance, the persistent issues related to the restriction of internationally recognized human rights in the COVID–19 response.
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Sec. 107
Safeguarding democracy and human rights during the COVID–19 pandemic
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