[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3184 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3184
To provide United States assistance for the purpose of eradicating
severe forms of trafficking in children in eligible countries through
the implementation of Child Protection Compacts, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 25, 2010
Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Cardin) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide United States assistance for the purpose of eradicating
severe forms of trafficking in children in eligible countries through
the implementation of Child Protection Compacts, 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 ``Child Protection Compact Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The sexual exploitation of minors is a global
phenomenon. The International Labour Organization estimates
that 1,800,000 children worldwide are exploited through
prostitution and pornography.
(2) Many countries with a high prevalence of trafficking in
children lack financial resources, legal expertise, technical
capacity, and other resources to appropriately protect and
rescue these children, despite a demonstrated political will to
do so.
(3) The Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons named 110 countries in its 2009 report
that fail to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking, as defined in section 108 of the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7106).
(4) As a States Party to the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children,
Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, the United States is
obligated pursuant to Article 10 to, among other things, take
all necessary steps to strengthen international cooperation by
multilateral, regional, and bilateral arrangements for the
prevention and detection of those responsible for acts
involving the sale of children, child prostitution, child
pornography, and child sex tourism. The United States also is
required to promote international cooperation and coordination
authorities of other States Parties to the Convention, national
and international nongovernmental organizations, and
international organizations to achieve these objectives.
(5) Article 10 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution and Child Pornography further mandates that the
United States and other States Parties in a position to do so
to provide financial, technical, or other assistance through
existing multilateral, regional, bilateral, or other programs.
(b) Declaration of Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide
incentives to Tier II countries and Tier II Watch List countries to
protect and rescue children subjected to severe forms of trafficking or
sexual exploitation by the establishment of Child Protection Compacts
between the United States and select, eligible countries with a
significant prevalence of trafficking in children, in order to--
(1) address institutional weaknesses within the government
that result in the failure to protect vulnerable children and
to rescue and properly rehabilitate victims;
(2) increase local government capacity to apprehend
perpetrators who engage in severe forms of trafficking in
children and bring them to justice in national courts of law;
and
(3) ensure transparency and accountability in achieving the
goals stipulated in the Compact over the course of its three-
year implementation.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Ambassador.--The term ``Ambassador'' means the
Ambassador-at-Large of the Department of State's Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--Except as
otherwise provided, the term ``appropriate congressional
committees'' means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate.
(3) Child protection.--The term ``child protection'' means
efforts to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, and
abuse against children.
(4) Compact.--The term ``Child Protection Compact'' or
``Compact'' means a Child Protection Compact described in
section 6.
(5) Minor.--The term ``minor'' means an individual who has
not attained the age of 18 years.
(6) National action plan for trafficking.--The term
``national action plan for trafficking'' means any strategy or
long-term plan created by a national government that defines
specific goals to--
(A) reduce the number of trafficking victims;
(B) increase the number of prosecutions of
traffickers; and
(C) ensure proper mechanisms to restore and
reintegrate survivors of human trafficking.
(7) National child protection strategy.--The term
``national child protection strategy'' means any plan developed
by a national government in consultation with multilateral
bodies or nongovernmental organizations, including a plan
derived from a preexisting process or created as part of a
Child Protection Compact, that outlines--
(A) short-term and long-term goals for improving
child protection and preventing child exploitation
within a country;
(B) the government ministries responsible for
implementation of the plan; and
(C) how coordination will take place between
implementing ministries.
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of State.
(9) Severe forms of trafficking.--The term ``severe forms
of trafficking in persons'' means--
(A) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act
is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which
the person induced to perform such act has not attained
18 years of age; or
(B) the recruitment, harboring, transportation,
provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or
services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion
for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude,
peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
(10) Tier ii countries and tier ii watch list countries.--
The terms ``Tier II countries'' and ``Tier II Watch List
countries'' mean those countries designated by the Department
of State as not meeting minimum standards for the elimination
of trafficking.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(a) Assistance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Ambassador, is authorized to provide assistance under this
section for each country that enters into a Compact with the
United States pursuant to section 6 to support policies and
programs that assist the country to eradicate severe forms of
trafficking of children and are in furtherance of the purposes
of this Act.
(2) Coordination of efforts.--The Secretary, acting through
the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, shall
provide assistance under this section in consultation with the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the Department of
Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other
relevant agencies to avoid duplication of efforts.
(b) Form of Assistance.--Assistance under this section may be
provided in the form of grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to
or with eligible entities described in subsection (c). Assistance under
this section may not be provided in the form of loans.
(c) Eligible Entities.--An eligible entity referred to in
subsection (b) is--
(1) the national government of the eligible country;
(2) regional or local governmental units of the country; or
(3) a nongovernmental organization or a private entity with
expertise in the protection of vulnerable children, the
investigation and prosecution of those who engage in or benefit
from child trafficking, or rescue of child victims of
trafficking.
(d) Number and Amount of Compacts.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Secretary shall determine the number of Compacts
based on the established need of the countries determined to be most
eligible based on the criteria described in section 5. The amount of
any single Compact shall not exceed a total of $15,000,000.
(e) Annual Disbursements.--Disbursements shall be made to the
eligible entities on an annual basis pursuant to the terms of the
respective Compacts.
SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES.
(a) Determination by the Secretary.--The Secretary, acting through
the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, shall work in
consultation with the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and
the Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs to
select a country for purposes of entering into a Compact based on
whether the country meets the initial criteria listed in subsection (b)
and the selection criteria listed in subsection (c). The determination
pursuant to subsection (c) shall be based, to the maximum extent
possible, upon objective, documented, and quantifiable indicators.
(b) Initial Criteria.--
(1) In general.--A country may be considered for a Compact
if--
(A) the country is eligible for assistance from the
International Development Association, and the per
capita income of the country is equal to or less than
the historical ceiling of the International Development
Association;
(B) subject to paragraph (2), the country is not
ineligible to receive United States economic assistance
under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) by reason of the application of
any provision of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or
any other provision of law; and
(C) the country is a Tier II country or Tier II
Watch List country.
(2) Rule of construction.--For the purposes of determining
whether a country is eligible for receiving assistance under
paragraph (1), the exercise by the President, the Secretary of
State, or any other officer or employee of the United States of
any waiver or suspension of any provision of law referred to in
such paragraph, and notification to the appropriate
congressional committees in accordance with such provision of
law, shall be construed as satisfying the requirement of such
paragraph.
(c) Selection Criteria.--A country should be selected for purposes
of entering into a Compact on the basis of--
(1) a documented high prevalence of trafficking of children
within the country; and
(2) demonstrated political will and sustained commitment by
the government to undertake meaningful measures to address
severe forms of trafficking of children, including--
(A) enactment and enforcement of laws criminalizing
trafficking in children with punishments commensurate
with the crime, including, when necessary, against
complicit government officials;
(B) cooperation with local and international non-
governmental organizations with demonstrated expertise
in combating the trafficking in children; and
(C) the treatment of child trafficking victims in
accordance with Article 6(3) of the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United
Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized
Crime.
SEC. 6. CHILD PROTECTION COMPACTS.
(a) Compact.--The Secretary, acting through the Ambassador, may
provide assistance for a country under this Act only if the country
enters into an agreement with the United States, to be known as a
``Child Protection Compact'', that establishes a 3-year plan for
achieving shared objectives in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.
(b) Elements.--The Compact should take into account, if applicable,
existing national child protection strategies and national action plans
for human trafficking of the country and shall contain--
(1) the specific objectives that the country and the United
States expect to achieve during the term of the Compact;
(2) the responsibilities of the country and the United
States in the achievement of such objectives;
(3) the particular programs or initiatives to be undertaken
in the achievement of such objectives and the amount of funding
to be allocated to each program or initiative;
(4) regular outcome indicators to monitor and measure
progress toward achieving such objectives, including indicators
for each program or initiative;
(5) a multi-year financial plan, including the estimated
amount of contributions by the United States and the country,
if any, and proposed mechanisms to implement the plan and
provide oversight, that describes how the requirements of
paragraphs (1) through (4) will be met, including identifying
the role of civil society in the achievement of such
requirements;
(6) where appropriate, a process or processes for
consideration of solicited proposals under the Compact as well
as a process for consideration of unsolicited proposals by the
Secretary and national, regional, or local units of government;
(7) the strategy of the country to sustain progress made
toward achieving such objectives after expiration of the
Compact; and
(8) a list of civil society and nonprofit organizations
that the government will partner or consult with to develop and
sustain the child protection and prosecution capacity in the
country.
(c) Assistance for Development of Compact.--Notwithstanding
subsection (a), the Secretary may enter into contracts or make grants
for any eligible country for the purpose of facilitating the
development and implementation of the Compact between the United States
and the country.
(d) Definition of Program or Initiative.--In this section, the term
``program or initiative'' may include the following:
(1) Evaluation of legal standards and practices and
recommendations for improvements that will increase the
likelihood of successful prosecutions.
(2) Training anti-trafficking police and investigators.
(3) Building the capacity of domestic non-governmental
organizations to educate vulnerable populations about the
danger of severe forms of trafficking and to work with law
enforcement to identify and rescue victims.
(4) Creation of victim-friendly courts.
(5) Development of appropriate after-care facilities for
rescued victims or other rehabilitation and reintegration
services for children, which may include education, vocational
training, and psychosocial counseling, as appropriate.
(6) Development and maintenance of data collection systems
to monitor victims.
(7) Development of regional cooperative plans with
neighboring countries to prevent cross-border trafficking of
children and child sex tourism.
(8) Development of programs and practices that address
demand, including educational curricula, social marketing
campaigns, and specific law enforcement activities targeting
demand.
SEC. 7. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.
(a) Suspension and Termination of Assistance.--The Secretary may
suspend or terminate assistance in whole or in part for a country or
entity under section 4 if the Secretary determines that--
(1) the country or entity is engaged in activities which
are contrary to the national security interests of the United
States;
(2) the country or entity has engaged in a pattern of
actions inconsistent with the criteria used to determine the
eligibility of the country or entity, as the case may be; or
(3) the country or entity has failed to adhere to its
responsibilities under the Compact.
(b) Reinstatement.--The Secretary may reinstate assistance for a
country or entity under section 4 only if the Secretary determines that
the country or entity has demonstrated a commitment to correcting each
condition for which assistance was suspended or terminated under
subsection (a).
(c) Congressional Notification.--Not later than 3 days after the
date on which the Secretary suspends or terminates assistance under
subsection (a) for a country or entity, or reinstates assistance under
subsection (b) for a country or entity, the Secretary shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the
determination of the Secretary under subsection (a) or subsection (b),
as the case may be.
(d) Rule of Construction.--The authority to suspend or terminate
assistance under this section includes the authority to suspend or
terminate obligations and sub-obligations.
SEC. 8. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND ANNUAL REPORT.
(a) Congressional Consultation Prior to Compact Negotiations.--Not
later than 15 days prior to the start of negotiations of a Compact with
a country, the Ambassador--
(1) shall consult with the appropriate congressional
committees with respect to the proposed Compact negotiation;
and
(2) shall identify the objectives and mechanisms to be used
for the negotiation of the Compact.
(b) Congressional Notification After Entering Into a Compact.--Not
later than 10 days after entering into a Compact with a country, the
Ambassador shall provide notification of the Compact to the appropriate
congressional committees, including a detailed summary of the Compact
and a copy of the text of the Compact.
(c) Annual Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on the assistance provided under section 4
during the prior fiscal year.
(2) Matters to be included.--The report shall include the
following:
(A) The amount of obligations and expenditures for
assistance provided to each eligible country during the
prior fiscal year.
(B) For each country, an assessment of--
(i) the progress made during each year by
the country toward achieving the objectives set
out in the Compact entered into by the country;
and
(ii) the extent to which assistance
provided under section 4 has been effective in
helping the country to achieve such objectives.
SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that, of the total amounts to be
appropriated for fiscal years 2011 through 2013 for the Department of
State and foreign operations, up to $30,000,000 should be used to carry
out the purposes of this Act.
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