
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 22USC2152]

 
               TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE
 
                     CHAPTER 32--FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
 
                 SUBCHAPTER I--INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 
  Part I--Declaration of Policy; Development Assistance Authorizations
 
Sec. 2152. Assistance for victims of torture


(a) In general

    The President is authorized to provide assistance for the 
rehabilitation of victims of torture.

(b) Eligibility for grants

    Such assistance shall be provided in the form of grants to treatment 
centers and programs in foreign countries that are carrying out projects 
or activities specifically designed to treat victims of torture for the 
physical and psychological effects of the torture.

(c) Use of funds

    Such assistance shall be available--
        (1) for direct services to victims of torture; and
        (2) to provide research and training to health care providers 
    outside of treatment centers or programs described in subsection (b) 
    of this section, for the purpose of enabling such providers to 
    provide the services described in paragraph (1).

(Pub. L. 87-195, pt. I, Sec. 130, formerly Sec. 129, as added Pub. L. 
105-320, Sec. 4(a), Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3017; renumbered Sec. 130, 
Pub. L. 106-87, Sec. 6(a), Nov. 3, 1999, 113 Stat. 1302.)

                         Delegation of Functions

    For delegation of functions of President under this section, see Ex. 
Ord. No. 12163, Sept. 29, 1979, 44 F.R. 56673, as amended, set out as a 
note under section 2381 of this title.


                 Torture Victims Relief; Effective Date

    Pub. L. 105-320, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 3016, as amended by Pub. 
L. 106-87, Sec. 6(b), Nov. 3, 1999, 113 Stat. 1302, provided that:
``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    ``This Act may be cited as the `Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998'.
``SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    ``Congress makes the following findings:
        ``(1) The American people abhor torture by any government or 
    person. The existence of torture creates a climate of fear and 
    international insecurity that affects all people.
        ``(2) Torture is the deliberate mental and physical damage 
    caused by governments to individuals to destroy individual 
    personality and terrorize society. The effects of torture are long 
    term. Those effects can last a lifetime for the survivors and affect 
    future generations.
        ``(3) By eliminating the leadership of their opposition and 
    frightening the general public, repressive governments often use 
    torture as a weapon against democracy.
        ``(4) Torture survivors remain under physical and psychological 
    threats, especially in communities where the perpetrators are not 
    brought to justice. In many nations, even those who treat torture 
    survivors are threatened with reprisals, including torture, for 
    carrying out their ethical duty to provide care. Both the survivors 
    of torture and their treatment providers should be accorded 
    protection from further repression.
        ``(5) A significant number of refugees and asylees entering the 
    United States have been victims of torture. Those claiming asylum 
    deserve prompt consideration of their applications for political 
    asylum to minimize their insecurity and sense of danger. Many 
    torture survivors now live in the United States. They should be 
    provided with the rehabilitation services which would enable them to 
    become productive members of our communities.
        ``(6) The development of a treatment movement for torture 
    survivors has created new opportunities for action by the United 
    States and other nations to oppose state-sponsored and other acts of 
    torture.
        ``(7) There is a need for a comprehensive strategy to protect 
    and support torture victims and their treatment providers, together 
    with overall efforts to eliminate torture.
        ``(8) By acting to heal the survivors of torture and protect 
    their families, the United States can help to heal the effects of 
    torture and prevent its use around the world.
``SEC. 3. DEFINITION.
    ``As used in this Act, the term `torture' has the meaning given the 
term in section 2340(1) of title 18, United States Code, and includes 
the use of rape and other forms of sexual violence by a person acting 
under the color of law upon another person under his custody or physical 
control.
``SEC. 4. FOREIGN TREATMENT CENTERS.
    ``(a) Amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.--[Enacted 
this section.]
    ``(b) Funding.--
        ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts 
    authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1999 and 2000 
    pursuant to chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
    1961 [22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.], there are authorized to be 
    appropriated to the President $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and 
    $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2000 to carry out section 130 of the 
    Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [this section] (as redesignated by 
    section 6(a) of the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 
    1999).
        ``(2) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
    this subsection shall remain available until expended.
    ``(c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect October 1, 1998.
``SEC. 5. DOMESTIC TREATMENT CENTERS.
    ``(a) Assistance for Treatment of Torture Victims.--The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services may provide grants to programs in the United 
States to cover the cost of the following services:
        ``(1) Services for the rehabilitation of victims of torture, 
    including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of 
    torture.
        ``(2) Social and legal services for victims of torture.
        ``(3) Research and training for health care providers outside of 
    treatment centers, or programs for the purpose of enabling such 
    providers to provide the services described in paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Funding.--
        ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--Of the amounts 
    authorized to be appropriated for the Department of Health and Human 
    Services for fiscal years 1999 and 2000, there are authorized to be 
    appropriated to carry out subsection (a) (relating to assistance for 
    domestic centers and programs for the treatment of victims of 
    torture) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, and $7,500,000 for fiscal 
    year 2000.
        ``(2) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
    this subsection shall remain available until expended.
``SEC. 6. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.
    ``(a) Funding.--Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for 
fiscal years 1999 and 2000 pursuant to chapter 3 of part I of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [22 U.S.C. 2221 et seq.], there are 
authorized to be appropriated to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for 
Victims of Torture (in this section referred to as the `Fund') the 
following amounts for the following fiscal years:
        ``(1) Fiscal year 1999.--For fiscal year 1999, $3,000,000.
        ``(2) Fiscal year 2000.--For fiscal year 2000, $3,000,000.
    ``(b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
    ``(c) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that 
the President, acting through the United States Permanent Representative 
to the United Nations, should--
        ``(1) request the Fund--
            ``(A) to find new ways to support and protect treatment 
        centers and programs that are carrying out rehabilitative 
        services for victims of torture; and
            ``(B) to encourage the development of new such centers and 
        programs;
        ``(2) use the voice and vote of the United States to support the 
    work of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Committee Against 
    Torture established under the Convention Against Torture and Other 
    Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and
        ``(3) use the voice and vote of the United States to establish a 
    country rapporteur or similar procedural mechanism to investigate 
    human rights violations in a country if either the Special 
    Rapporteur or the Committee Against Torture indicates that a 
    systematic practice of torture is prevalent in that country.
``SEC. 7. SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall provide training for 
foreign service officers with respect to--
        ``(1) the identification of torture;
        ``(2) the identification of the surrounding circumstances in 
    which torture is most often practiced;
        ``(3) the long-term effects of torture upon a victim;
        ``(4) the identification of the physical, cognitive, and 
    emotional effects of torture, and the manner in which these effects 
    can affect the interview or hearing process; and
        ``(5) the manner of interviewing victims of torture so as not to 
    retraumatize them, eliciting the necessary information to document 
    the torture experience, and understanding the difficulties victims 
    often have in recounting their torture experience.
    ``(b) Gender-Related Considerations.--In conducting training under 
subsection (a)(4) or (5), gender-specific training shall be provided on 
the subject of interacting with women and men who are victims of torture 
by rape or any other form of sexual violence.''
