Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§10605 Safeguards and accountability

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 113— - UNITED STATES FOUNDATION FOR INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION › § 10605

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Foundation must add safeguards, policies, and guidelines to any support it gives, and those must follow U.S. law and environmental and social standards. The Secretary must set up an independent, transparent accountability office to check compliance, resolve and remedy complaints between affected people and project implementers, and advise the Board. That office must report yearly to the Board and congressional committees, have permanent staff led by an independent official, keep a roster of experts, and hold at least a 60-day public comment period on its initial design. The Foundation must have a senior ombudsman for confidential, neutral help. The Secretary must review assistance under section 10602(b) at least once a year to ensure it matches section 2378d.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §10605

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Foundation shall develop, and incorporate into any agreement for support provided by the Foundation, appropriate safeguards, policies, and guidelines, consistent with United States law and best practices and standards for environmental and social safeguards.

(b)(1)The Secretary, or the Secretary’s designee, shall establish a transparent and independent accountability mechanism, consistent with best practices, which shall provide—

(A)a compliance review function that assesses whether Foundation-supported projects adhere to the requirements developed pursuant to subsection (a);

(B)a dispute resolution function for resolving and remedying concerns between complainants and project implementers regarding the impacts of specific Foundation-supported projects with respect to such standards; and

(C)an advisory function that reports to the Board on projects, policies, and practices.

(2)The accountability mechanism shall—

(A)report annually to the Board and the appropriate congressional committees regarding the Foundation’s compliance with best practices and standards in accordance with paragraph (1)(A) and the nature and resolution of any complaint;

(B)(i)have permanent staff, led by an independent accountability official, to conduct compliance reviews and dispute resolutions and perform advisory functions; and

(ii)maintain a roster of experts to serve such roles, to the extent needed; and

(C)hold a public comment period lasting not fewer than 60 days regarding the initial design of the accountability mechanism.

(c)The Foundation shall establish an ombudsman position at a senior level of executive staff as a confidential, neutral source of information and assistance to anyone affected by the activities of the Foundation.

(d)The Secretary shall, periodically, but not less frequent than annually, review assistance provided by the Foundation for the purpose of implementing section 10602(b) of this title to ensure consistency with the provisions under section 2378d of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 10605

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73