119-s2611

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2611 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2611

To safeguard the integrity of the Department of State's annual Country 
 Reports on Human Rights Practices, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 July 31, 2025

 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Booker, Mr. 
Merkley, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Schatz, and Mr. Welch) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
 Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To safeguard the integrity of the Department of State's annual Country 
 Reports on Human Rights Practices, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Safeguarding the Integrity of the 
Human Rights Reports Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds the following:

    (1) Around the world, a rise in democratic backsliding, 
 authoritarian practices, and armed conflict threaten the 
 observance of internationally recognized human rights, 
 disproportionately impacting girls, women, youth, ethnic 
 minorities, indigenous communities, LGBTQI+ persons, 
 individuals with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.

    (2) Progress in advancing human rights must be grounded in 
 facts. The Department of State's annual Country Reports on 
 Human Rights Practices (``Human Rights Reports'') provides a 
 record of the state of human rights in the world. These reports 
 are an essential tool for activists who courageously struggle 
 to protect rights in communities around the world, for 
 journalists and scholars who document rights violations, and 
 for governments, including our own, as they work to craft 
 strategies to better protect victims of human rights 
 violations, encourage greater observance of human rights, and 
 protect United States taxpayer funding from flowing to 
 violators.

    (3) Any effort to reduce the scope or tailor the content of 
 the Human Rights Report based on political considerations 
 undermines its legitimacy and the credibility of the United 
 States as an honest promoter of human rights. Such actions also 
 embolden authoritarians and perpetrators of human rights 
 violations, threatening grave risks to the brave women and men 
 working tirelessly to advance these rights.

    (4) Maintaining the veracity and integrity of the Human 
 Rights Report through mandatory and comprehensive reporting on 
 the full scope of internationally recognized human rights is 
 critical to sustain the value and international legitimacy of 
 the reports and to hold human rights violators accountable.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

 It shall be the policy of the United States--

    (1) to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to 
 promote the observance of internationally recognized human 
 rights by all countries as a principal goal of our foreign 
 policy;

    (2) to regularly engage with human rights defenders, 
 journalists, democracy advocates, victims of human rights 
 violations, and other stakeholders to gather information and 
 accounts for inclusion in the Human Rights Reports; and

    (3) to publish credible, fact-based Human Rights Reports on 
 an annual basis that cover the full scope of internationally 
 recognized human rights, as required by law, and to ensure that 
 Human Rights Reports are devoid of political favoritism or 
 targeting.

SEC. 4. COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.

 

Section 116
            (d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2151n
            (d) ) is amended--

    (1) in paragraph

    (2) , by striking ``and involuntary 
 sterilization'' and inserting ``, involuntary or coercive 
 medical or psychological practices, and discrimination against 
 people in accessing maternal, sexual, and reproductive health 
 care, including obstetric violence, involuntary or coerced 
 abortion, involuntary or coerced pregnancy, and coerced 
 sterilization'';

    (2) in paragraph

    (5) , by inserting ``whether such country 
 has facilitated the return of persons to a country where they 
 would face torture or persecution

    (refoulement) and'' after 
 ``including'';

    (3) in paragraph

    (11)
            (C) , by striking ``Secretary; and'' 
 and inserting ``Secretary;'';

    (4) in paragraph

    (12) --
        (A) in subparagraph
        (A) --
            (i) by inserting ``and freedom of 
 expression'' after ``status of freedom of the 
 press''; and
            (ii) inserting ``or freedom of expression'' 
 after ``in favor of freedom of the press'';
        (B) in subparagraph
        (B) --
            (i) by inserting ``or freedom of 
 expression'' after ``violations of freedom of 
 the press''; and
            (ii) by striking ``and censorship'' and 
 inserting ``censorship and restrictions on 
 internet freedom or access to information''; 
 and
            (C) in subparagraph
            (C) --
            (i) by inserting ``or freedom of 
 expression'' after ``violations of freedom of 
 the press'';
            (ii) in clause
            (i) , by striking ``of the 
 freedom of the press''; and
            (iii) in clause
            (ii) , by striking 
 ``journalists.'' and inserting 
 ``journalists;'';

    (5) in paragraph

    (13) --
        (A) by striking ``Wherever'' and inserting 
 ``wherever'';
        (B) by redesignating subparagraphs
        (B) through
        (E) as subparagraphs
            (C) through
        (F) , respectively;
            (C) by inserting after subparagraph
        (A) the 
 following new subparagraph:
 ``
        (B) harassment or punishment of family members 
 residing in the country for alleged offenses by a 
 relative, including relatives forced into exile or 
 residing outside of the country for fear of political 
 persecution;''; and
            (D) in subparagraph
        (F) , as redesignated by 
 subparagraph
        (A) of this paragraph, by striking 
 ``occur.'' and inserting ``occur;''; and

    (6) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
 ``

    (14) wherever applicable, a description of restrictions 
 on freedom of movement and residence within and travel to and 
 from the country;
 ``

    (15) wherever applicable, whether a country facilitates 
 or maintains laws, policies, or practices that create or 
 perpetuate stateless persons or discriminate against internally 
 displaced persons in that country;
 ``

    (16) wherever applicable, arbitrary or unlawful 
 interference with privacy;
 ``

    (17) wherever applicable, a description of serious and 
 unreasonable restrictions on political participation or the 
 ability of citizens to elect public representatives through 
 free and fair elections and universal and equal suffrage, 
 including--
 ``
        (A) substantial interference with the freedom of 
 peaceful assembly or association; and
 ``
        (B) government efforts to restrict civic space 
 and the ability of civil society, including 
 nongovernmental organizations, academia, media, labor 
 unions, and social movements, to engage in public life;
 ``

    (18) wherever applicable, a description of serious 
 government corruption and its impact on human rights in the 
 country;
 ``

    (19) wherever applicable, a description of laws, 
 discrimination, violence, or threats of violence targeting 
 members of groups, including women and girls, persons with 
 disabilities, national, racial, ethnic groups, indigenous 
 peoples, LGBTQI+ individuals, or vulnerable migrant 
 populations; and
 ``

    (20) wherever applicable, a description of any factors 
 undermining due process or an independent and impartial 
 judiciary free of corruption and political influence and 
 whether trials are fair and public and afford criminal 
 defendants the minimum fair trial guarantees recognized 
 internationally as necessary for a criminal defense, 
 including--
 ``
        (A) whether persons have been convicted, 
 imprisoned, or detained essentially for political 
 beliefs or nonviolent acts of dissent or expression, 
 particularly based on overly broad and sweeping charges 
 intended to stifle the exercise of human rights and 
 fundamental freedoms; and
 ``
        (B) whether prison and detention center 
 conditions or mistreatment in such facilities has 
 resulted in deaths or forms of cruel, inhuman, or 
 degrading treatment and unusual punishment.''.
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