PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The President can punish foreign people or groups who, based on believable evidence, are tied to serious human rights abuse (like killings or torture) against people who try to expose government wrongs or defend rights, people who act for them, high-level officials or their close associates involved in major corruption, or anyone who helped or funded that corruption. The punishments can stop an individual from getting a U.S. visa or cancel their visa, and can block their property and transactions in the United States or by U.S. persons. The President cannot use the blocking power to stop the import of goods. The President must consider information from the bipartisan leaders of the listed congressional committees and credible reports from other countries and human-rights groups. People who violate blocking rules face penalties under existing U.S. economic-sanctions law. If the bipartisan committee leaders ask, the President must decide and report back within 120 days whether a person did the bad acts and whether sanctions were or will be imposed, describing them. Visa bans don’t apply if admitting someone helps law enforcement or is required by the U.N. Headquarters Agreement or other international duties. The President can lift sanctions with 15 days’ notice to the committees if one of four conditions is met (new evidence, prosecution, clear change and penalty paid, or national security reasons). The President must issue rules and can accept names for review from the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Appropriate congressional committees: Senate — Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Committee on Foreign Relations. House — Committee on Financial Services; Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Title 22, §10102

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

The President may impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person the President determines, based on credible evidence—

(1)is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country who seek—

(A)to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials; or

(B)to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, expression, association, and assembly, and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections;

(2)acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in a matter relating to an activity described in paragraph (1);

(3)is a government official, or a senior associate of such an official, that is responsible for, or complicit in, ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, acts of significant corruption, including the expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or

(4)has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, an activity described in paragraph (3).

(b)Sanctions described

The sanctions described in this subsection are the following:

(1)Inadmissibility to United States

In the case of a foreign person who is an individual—

(A)ineligibility to receive a visa to enter the United States or to be admitted to the United States; or

(B)if the individual has been issued a visa or other documentation, revocation, in accordance with section 1201(i) of title 8, of the visa or other documentation.

(2)Blocking of property

(A)In general

The blocking, in accordance with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all transactions in all property and interests in property of a foreign person if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.

(B)Inapplicability of national emergency requirement

The requirements of section 202 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall not apply for purposes of this section.

(C)Exception relating to importation of goods

(i)In general

The authority to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property under subparagraph (A) shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.

(ii)Good

In this subparagraph, the term “good” has the meaning given that term in section 16 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. 4618) (as continued in effect pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)).

(c)Consideration of certain information in imposing sanctions

In determining whether to impose sanctions under subsection (a), the President shall consider—

(1)information provided jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of each of the appropriate congressional committees; and

(2)credible information obtained by other countries and nongovernmental organizations that monitor violations of human rights.

(d)Requests by appropriate congressional committees

(1)In general

Not later than 120 days after receiving a request that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in subsection (a), the President shall—

(A)determine if that person has engaged in such an activity; and

(B)submit a classified or unclassified report to the chairperson and ranking member of the committee or committees that submitted the request with respect to that determination that includes—

(i)a statement of whether or not the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions with respect to the person; and

(ii)if the President imposed or intends to impose sanctions, a description of those sanctions.

(2)Requirements

(A)Requests relating to human rights violations

A request under paragraph (1) with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) shall be submitted to the President in writing jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of one of the appropriate congressional committees.

(B)Requests relating to corruption

A request under paragraph (1) with respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an activity described in paragraph (3) or (4) of subsection (a) shall be submitted to the President in writing jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of— (i)

(ii)one of the appropriate congressional committees of the House of Representatives.

(e)Exception to comply with United Nations Headquarters Agreement and law enforcement objectives

Sanctions under subsection (b)(1) shall not apply to an individual if admitting the individual into the United States would further important law enforcement objectives or is necessary to permit the United States to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United States, or other applicable international obligations of the United States.

(f)Enforcement of blocking of property

A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of a sanction described in subsection (b)(2) that is imposed by the President or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out such a sanction shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section.

(g)Termination of sanctions

The President may terminate the application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if the President determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees not later than 15 days before the termination of the sanctions that—

(1)credible information exists that the person did not engage in the activity for which sanctions were imposed;

(2)the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the activity for which sanctions were imposed;

(3)the person has credibly demonstrated a significant change in behavior, has paid an appropriate consequence for the activity for which sanctions were imposed, and has credibly committed to not engage in an activity described in subsection (a) in the future; or

(4)the termination of the sanctions is in the national security interests of the United States.

(h)Regulatory authority

The President shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out this section.

(i)Identification of sanctionable foreign persons

The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs and other bureaus of the Department of State, as appropriate, is authorized to submit to the Secretary of State, for review and consideration, the names of foreign persons who may meet the criteria described in subsection (a).

(j)Appropriate congressional committees defined

In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(1)the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and

(2)the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(A), (C)(ii), is title II of Pub. L. 95–223, Dec. 28, 1977, 91 Stat. 1626, which is classified generally to chapter 35 (§ 1701 et seq.) of Title 50, War and National Defense. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1701 of Title 50 and Tables. section 16 of the Export Administration Act of 1979, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(C)(ii), is section 16 of Pub. L. 96–72, Sept. 29, 1979, 93 Stat. 533, which was classified to section 4618 of Title 50, War and National Defense, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title XVII, § 1766(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2232. Codification Section was formerly set out in a note under section 2656 of this title.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Authority Under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act Memorandum of President of the United States, Sept. 8, 2017, 82 F.R. 45411, provided: Memorandum for the Secretary of State [and] the Secretary of the Treasury By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby make the following delegations: I delegate to the Secretary of the Treasury the authority to administer financial sanctions under section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Public Law 114–328) (the “Act”) [22 U.S.C. 10102]. In exercising the authority delegated by this memorandum, the Secretary of the Treasury will coordinate with the Secretary of State. I also delegate to the Secretary of State the authority to administer visa sanctions under section 1263 of the Act. The delegations in this memorandum shall apply to any provision of any future public law that is the same or substantially the same as section 1263 of the Act. The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. Donald J. Trump.

§10102 Authorization of Imposition of Sanctions