Library / Laws / 113th / hr / H.R. 4074 / Introduced in House
I
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4074
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 21, 2014
Mr. Israel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
A BILL
To hold war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals accountable by encouraging foreign governments
to more efficiently prosecute, extradite, deport, or accept for
deportation such war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals, and for other
purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the War Crimes Accountability Act of 2014.
2.
Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1) the United States should actively encourage prosecution of war crimes suspects and Nazi war
criminals;
(2) the Simon Wiesenthal Center should be commended for its historic work in bringing to light the
atrocities of the Holocaust and in advancing justice for Nazi war
criminals through Operation: Last Chance;
(3) the pursuit and prosecution of war crimes suspects and Nazi war criminals—from the crimes of the
Nazi era to the most recent conflicts in Sudan—is critical to maintenance
of the rule of law globally; and
(4) pursuit of war crimes suspects includes enforcement of an arrest warrant issued by an international
tribunal against war crimes suspects indicted by such international
tribunal, including war crimes suspects visiting a foreign country.
3.
Identification of countries failing to cooperate satisfactorily with relevant jurisdictions in
extraditing or deporting war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals
(a)
Report
The President shall submit to Congress for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2019 a report that
identifies each country that is failing to—
(1) cooperate satisfactorily with relevant jurisdictions in extraditing or deporting war crimes
suspects or Nazi war criminals to the jurisdiction in which such war
crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals, as the case may be, have been
indicted or convicted;
(2) enforce arrest warrants issued by an international tribunal against war crimes suspects indicted by
such international tribunal, including war crimes suspects visiting a
foreign country;
(3) accept Nazi war criminals deported from the United States; or
(4) effectively prosecute war crimes suspects or Nazi war criminals within such country’s jurisdiction,
including Nazi war criminals who resided in the United States and were
deported from or extradited by the United States or left the United States
voluntarily.
(b)
Matters To be included
Each such report shall include detailed information regarding the war crimes suspects and Nazi war
criminals described in subsection (a).
(c)
Form
Each such report, and the identification of each country in such report, shall be submitted in an
unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex if necessary.
4.
Prohibition on government-to-government sales of defense articles under the Arms Export Control Act
to countries identified under section 3
(a)
Prohibition
For each country identified in the report under section 3 for a fiscal year, the President may not
issue a letter of offer to sell defense articles under the Arms Export
Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) for $7,000,000 or more to such
country for the subsequent fiscal year pursuant to section 36(b) of such
Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b)).
(b)
Waiver
The President may waive the prohibition in subsection (a) for any fiscal year in which a letter of
offer may be issued by the United States Government if the President
determines and certifies to Congress that it is in the national security
interest of the United States to do so.
5.
Definitions
In this Act:
(1)
Nazi war criminal
The term Nazi war criminal means any person accused of or indicted for ordering, inciting, assisting, or otherwise
participating in the persecution of any person because of race, religion,
national origin, or political opinion during the period beginning on March
23, 1933, and ending on May 8, 1945, under the direction of, or in
association with—
(A) the Nazi government of Germany;
(B) any government in any area occupied by the military forces of the Nazi government of Germany;
(C) any government established with the assistance or cooperation of the Nazi government of Germany; or
(D) any government which was an ally of the Nazi government of Germany.
(2)
War crimes suspect
The term war crimes suspect means any person accused by an international tribunal of planning, ordering, assisting, aiding and
abetting, committing, or otherwise participating in, including through
command responsibility, war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide or
other serious violations of human rights, or who attempted or conspired to
do so.
6.
Effective date
This Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.