,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cdbj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #aj1 #bjbe,mr4 ,van ,hollen 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,merkley1 and ,mr4 ,sanders7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to establish a ,special ,envoy for ,humanitarian ,aid ,workers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,commitment to ,aid ,workers ,act4 #b4 ,special ,envoy for ,humanitarian ,aid ,workers ,section #a of the ,state ,department ,basic ,authorities ,act of #aief 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfea;a7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7p7 ,special ,envoy for ,humanitarian ,aid ,workers 7#a7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,aid worker ,the term aid worker means an individual who provides humanitarian assistance to people in need outside the ,united ,states4 7,b7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7i7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 7ii7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2 7iii7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7iv7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,establishment ,there shall be a ,special ,envoy for ,humanitarian ,aid ,workers 7referred to in this subsection as the ,special ,envoy71 who shall-- 7,a7 be appointed by the ,president2 and 7,b7 report to the ,secretary of ,state4 7#c7 ,rank and status of ambassador ,the ,special ,envoy shall have the rank and status of ambassador4 7#d7 ,duties ,the ,special ,envoy shall be responsible for-- 7,a7 inquiring into the death1 fatal injury1 or detention of any aid worker in the course of providing assistance as part of a humanitarian mission supported by the ,united ,states2 7,b7 advocating for the robust coordination and deconfliction between humanitarian missions supported by the ,united ,states1 international bodies1 and relevant foreign security forces2 7,c7 advocating for foreign countries to adopt best practices1 including security for aid workers1 to enable nongovernmental organizations to freely deliver humanitarian aid and assistance2 7,d7 developing and advocating1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,state1 best practices for foreign countries to work with humanitarian nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations2 and 7,e7 advocating for any other matter that supports the efforts of nongovernmental organizations to provide humanitarian assistance without the interference of the security of a foreign country4 7#e7 ,annual report to ,congress ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this subsection1 and annually thereafter1 the ,special ,envoy shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding the working environment of the conflict areas in which aid workers operate to provide humanitarian assistance as part of a humanitarian mission supported by the ,united ,states1 including-- 7,a7 any security challenges that nongovernmental organizations face in providing ,united ,states humanitarian assistance2 7,b7 the effectiveness of the ,united ,nations ,office for the ,coordination of ,humanitarian ,affairs in deconflicting between nongovernmental organizations providing humanitarian assistance and parties to conflict2 7,c7 how much humanitarian assistance the ,united ,states has distributed during the preceding #a-year period2 and 7,d7 any policy recommendations4 7#f7 ,report on united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this subsection1 the ,special ,envoy1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,state1 shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees regarding the effectiveness of the efforts of the ,united ,nations ,office for the ,coordination of ,humanitarian ,affairs with respect to coordination and deconfliction between humanitarian nongovernmental organizations and foreign countries as part of a humanitarian response supported by the ,united ,states4 4 #c4 ,investigations into any killing or fatal injury of humanitarian aid workers ,chapter #a of part ,,iii of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcea et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #fbj,n4 ,prohibition on assistance to countries that unlawfully kill or fatally injure humanitarian aid workers 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,active humanitarian aid mission ,the term active humanitarian aid mission means an ongoing1 organized effort outside the ,united ,states through which ,united ,states humanitarian assistance is being delivered or administered by the international community1 individual countries1 or international organizations-- 7,a7 to prevent and control nonpolitical and nonmilitary crises2 and 7,b7 to mitigate the effects of such crises4 7#b7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate2 7,c7 the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,d7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#c7 ,humanitarian aid worker ,the term humanitarian aid worker means an individual who is participating in an active humanitarian aid mission to provide assistance and resources to people in need4 7#d7 ,unlawful killing ,the term unlawful killing means the use of lethal force by a government or its agents that-- 7,a7 if in a state of armed conflict1 is inconsistent with the requirements of international humanitarian law that are enshrined as principles in the ,department of ,defense ,law of ,war ,manual2 or 7,b7 if outside of a state of armed conflict1 would constitute murder or manslaughter 7as such terms are defined in sections #aaaa and #aaab of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code74 7b7 ,prohibition on assistance to countries that unlawfully kill or fatally injure humanitarian aid workers 7#a7 ,in general ,no security assistance 7as defined in section #ejb;,b7d77#b77 and no defense article or defense service subject to the requirements under section #cf of the ,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bggf7 may be furnished to any foreign country if the ,secretary of ,state certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such foreign country has unlawfully killed or fatally injured humanitarian aid workers or refused reasonable requests to furnish relevant information to the ,secretary of the ,united ,states1 unless the ,secretary also certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that1 in the determination of the ,secretary1 such foreign country-- 7,a7 has taken sufficient action to investigate previous violations1 adopt corrective actions1 take effective steps to bring the responsible members of the security force unit to justice1 and coordinate active humanitarian aid missions2 and 7,b7 will enable humanitarian aid workers to participate in such missions without being unlawfully killed or fatally injured4 7#b7 ,applicability ,a certification described in paragraph 7#a7 shall be submitted not later than #ae days before such certification takes effect4 7c7 ,aid ,worker ,independent ,inquiry ,group 7#a7 ,establishment ,not later than #fj days after the appointment of the ,special ,envoy for ,humanitarian ,aid ,workers pursuant to section #a7;b77#b77;,a7 of the ,state ,department ,basic ,authorities ,act of #aief 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfea;a7b77#b77;,a77 7referred to in this subsection as the ,special ,envoy71 the ,president shall establish the ,aid ,worker ,independent ,inquiry ,group 7referred to in this section as the ,group7 to assess and analyze the death or detention of any individual participating in an active humanitarian aid mission after the date of the enactment of this section4 7#b7 ,membership ,the ,group shall be led by the ,special ,envoy and consist of such number of representatives as the ,special ,envoy may determine appropriate from-- 7,a7 the ,department of ,justice2 7,b7 the ,department of ,state1 including-- 7i7 relevant embassies2 7ii7 the ,office of ,foreign ,assistance2 and 7iii7 relevant offices under the ,undersecretary for ,political ,affairs2 7,c7 the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation2 7,d7 the ,office of the ,director of ,national ,intelligence2 and 7,e7 any other ,federal department or agency the ,special ,envoy determines appropriate4 7#c7 ,incident reports to congress ,not later than #ij days after a death or detention described in paragraph 7#a7 7or not later than #de days after such death or detention if the victim is a ,united ,states citizen71 the ,special ,envoy1 in coordination with the ,group1 shall submit a report to ,congress that includes-- 7,a7 the cause of such death or detention2 7,b7 with respect to a death-- 7i7 a description of the events leading up to such death2 7ii7 if the military of a foreign country is responsible for causing the death of any such aid worker2 7iii7 an assessment of the circumstances surrounding such death1 including the information available to and intentions of the unit of such military involved2 7iv7 information on the source of such death1 including the type of munitions used in connection with such death1 if any2 7v7 whether it is more likely than not that any defense article used was transferred from the ,united ,states or purchased by the perpetrator from ,united ,states assistance2 and 7vi7 any other detail that the ,special ,envoy determines relevant to the circumstances of the death2 7,c7 with respect to a detention1 information on the grounds for such detention1 including any criminal charges and evidence against the detainee2 7,d7 an assessment of the degree of cooperation with the investigation of the death or detention by the relevant foreign country1 including whether such country has furnished all requested information2 and 7,e7 a final assessment as to whether such death or detention was consistent with the laws of the international community1 of the host country1 and the ,department of ,defense ,law of ,war ,manual4 4