§5604 — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

Summary

The President must decide within 60 days whenever the executive branch gets convincing information that, on or after October 28, 1991, a foreign government may have prepared to use or actually used chemical or biological weapons. In making that decision, the President must look at all physical and circumstantial evidence, reports from victims, witnesses, and independent observers, how available the weapons were, official or unofficial statements, and whether the government will let a U.N. fact‑finding team or other legitimate outside parties visit. The President must tell Congress quickly what was decided. If the finding is that the government used such weapons, the report must say what sanctions under section 5605 will follow. The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (after talking with the top member of the other party) can ask the President to consider whether a government, on or after December 4, 1991, used chemical or biological weapons. The President must give those chairmen a written report within 60 days that includes the same kinds of evidence and analysis described above.

Title 22, §5604

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Whenever persuasive information becomes available to the executive branch indicating the substantial possibility that, on or after October 28, 1991, the government of a foreign country has made substantial preparation to use or has used chemical or biological weapons, the President shall, within 60 days after the receipt of such information by the executive branch, determine whether that government, on or after October 28, 1991, has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals. section 5605 of this title applies if the President determines that that government has so used chemical or biological weapons.

(2)In making the determination under paragraph (1), the President shall consider the following:

(A)All physical and circumstantial evidence available bearing on the possible use of such weapons.

(B)All information provided by alleged victims, witnesses, and independent observers.

(C)The extent of the availability of the weapons in question to the purported user.

(D)All official and unofficial statements bearing on the possible use of such weapons.

(E)Whether, and to what extent, the government in question is willing to honor a request from the Secretary General of the United Nations to grant timely access to a United Nations fact-finding team to investigate the possibility of chemical or biological weapons use or to grant such access to other legitimate outside parties.

(3)Upon making a determination under paragraph (1), the President shall promptly report that determination to the Congress. If the determination is that a foreign government had used chemical or biological weapons as described in that paragraph, the report shall specify the sanctions to be imposed pursuant to section 5605 of this title.

(b)(1)The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate (upon consultation with the ranking minority member of such committee) or the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives (upon consultation with the ranking minority member of such committee) may at any time request the President to consider whether a particular foreign government, on or after December 4, 1991, has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals.

(2)Not later than 60 days after receiving such a request, the President shall provide to the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a written report on the information held by the executive branch which is pertinent to the issue of whether the specified government, on or after December 4, 1991, has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals. This report shall contain an analysis of each of the items enumerated in subsection (a)(2).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1991—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 101–182, § 309(b)(3), substituted “

October 28, 1991” for reference to the “date of the enactment of this title”, meaning the date of the enactment of title V of Pub. L. 101–182 which was enacted Dec. 4, 1991. “

October 28, 1991”, the second time appearing, was substituted for “such date of enactment” for purposes of codification.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions Functions of President under this section delegated to Secretary of State, with certain exceptions, by section 1(b) of Ex. Ord. No. 12851, June 11, 1993, 58 F.R. 33181, set out as a note under section 2797 of this title.

§5604 Determinations regarding use of chemical or biological weapons