Presidential Document2022-26604
Promoting Accountability for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 6, 2022
Signed
November 28, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 233 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 74485-74487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26604]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 233 / Tuesday, December 6, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 74485]]
Memorandum of November 28, 2022
Promoting Accountability for Conflict-Related
Sexual Violence
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to enhance United States policy
and approach to prevent and respond to conflict-related
sexual violence worldwide, it is hereby ordered as
follows:
Section 1. Policy. Conflict-related sexual violence
(CRSV) has devastating effects on individuals and
communities, undermines peace and security, and
prevents inclusive and sustainable development. Yet
wherever conflicts or crises occur, sexual violence
continues to be wielded as a tool or is a byproduct of
armed conflict. Impunity for CRSV remains widespread,
with accountability and justice the rare exception. For
each rape reported in connection with a conflict, the
United Nations estimates that 10 to 20 cases go
undocumented, in part due to the impunity of
perpetrators. Among the best ways to prevent CRSV
worldwide are to advance global gender equity and
equality and change harmful societal gender norms;
prioritize prevention measures and locally-driven
responses to all forms of gender-based violence,
including through respect for human rights and
international humanitarian law and equal protection
under the law; and address impunity related to these
brutal, yet often unreported, acts.
The United States does not accept CRSV as an inevitable
cost of armed conflict and is committed to supporting
survivors of this scourge by invoking all tools
available, including legal, policy, diplomatic, and
financial tools, to deter such violence, break the
vicious cycle of impunity, and provide the necessary
services to survivors. The United States has numerous
frameworks, including laws and policies, through which
to respond to and address CRSV, but more action is
required to use them fully and in a manner that
responds to the full scale of this problem. These
efforts to address impunity and increase accountability
for CRSV will complement a broader, holistic approach
to preventing and responding to this scourge, which
includes advancing gender equity and equality;
prioritizing the immediate needs of survivors; and
amplifying survivor voices in transitional justice, the
provision of services, and peace and political
processes.
It is the policy of the United States to fully exercise
existing authorities to impose economic sanctions and
implement visa restrictions in order to promote justice
and accountability for acts of CRSV; devote the
necessary resources to ensure regular coordination and
reporting on CRSV incidents and to conduct training on
CRSV issues more broadly, including to support the
designation of sanctions targets; strengthen the
implementation of other existing tools and authorities
to promote accountability for CRSV, including the
provision of United States security assistance; and
broaden engagement with foreign partner governments to
encourage the establishment and use of their own tools
to promote justice and accountability.
Sec. 2. Advancing Accountability for Acts of CRSV
through Existing Sanctions Authorities. (a) Executive
Order 13818 of December 20, 2017 (Blocking the Property
of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or
Corruption), builds on and implements the Global
Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, Public Law
114-328 (the ``Act''), and authorizes the imposition
[[Page 74486]]
of sanctions on persons, including both individuals and
entities, responsible for or complicit in, or who have
directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights
abuse, as well as individuals who are or have been
leaders or officials of an entity, including any
government entity, that has engaged in, or which has
members who have engaged in, serious human rights
abuses relating to their tenure, among other things. It
is the policy of the United States that an act of CRSV,
committed by either state or non-state actors, may
constitute a ``serious human rights abuse'' for
purposes of designation under Executive Order 13818, as
well as other similar authorities, and in furtherance
of the policy reflected in the Act.
(b) In addition to the authorities described in
subsection (a) of this section, many country-specific
sanctions programs also contain criteria for the
imposition of sanctions on persons engaged in or
otherwise connected to activities that may include
CRSV. For example, numerous sanctions programs,
including country-specific programs related to Belarus,
Burma, the Central African Republic, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Iran, Libya, Mali, Nicaragua,
Somalia, North Korea, the Russian Federation, South
Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, the Western Balkans, and
Zimbabwe, include criteria for targeting certain abuses
or violations of human rights, which may include CRSV
depending on specific facts and circumstances. It is
the policy of the United States to promote
accountability for perpetrators of acts of CRSV through
relevant existing sanctions authorities, where
applicable, and to ensure that these authorities are
used to the fullest extent possible to target
perpetrators of acts of CRSV and their enablers.
(c) I hereby direct the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, and
the Director of National Intelligence to undertake the
following actions, including by issuing guidance or
regulations as appropriate:
(i) ensure equal consideration of and attention to acts of CRSV as the
conduct supporting designation when identifying appropriate targets and
compiling information necessary for the preparation of sanctions packages
under applicable authorities, including those identified in this section;
and
(ii) strengthen the capacity of executive departments and agencies
(agencies) to collect, identify, assess, and share information on CRSV as
appropriate, including by consulting with local civil society
organizations, taking into account the importance of safely gathering
information from survivors to support potential designations under existing
sanctions authorities.
Sec. 3. Advancing Accountability for Acts of CRSV
Through Additional Measures and Authorities. The United
States is committed to using all available tools,
including those pertaining to security assistance and
visa eligibility, to prevent and respond to CRSV and
promote accountability for perpetrators. Heads of
agencies, including the Secretary of State and the
Secretary of the Treasury, are directed to use existing
authorities to the fullest extent possible to promote
accountability for acts of CRSV, including considering
acts of CRSV when assessing the potential application
of existing laws and regulations, including, where
appropriate, the laws known as the ``Leahy Laws'' (22
U.S.C. 2378d and 10 U.S.C. 362) and sections 7031(c)
and 7048(g) of the Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,
2022 (Div. K, Public Law 117-103, as carried forward by
the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 (Div. A, Public
Law 117-180)), as well as similar provisions in future
acts.
Sec. 4. Building Coalitions of Like-Minded Nations and
Engaging International Organizations in Promoting
Accountability for Acts of CRSV. Bilateral
relationships with allies and partners, as well as
engagement in multilateral fora and our relationships
with international organizations, are critical to
promote justice and accountability for acts of CRSV and
bring global attention to this issue. Agencies engaged
abroad shall reinforce the work they have done and
amplify efforts with other nations--bilaterally and
within multilateral fora--and with international
organizations to broaden the number
[[Page 74487]]
of countries willing to support accountability for acts
of CRSV and to strengthen policies and locally-driven
programming in multilateral institutions, including
efforts to address the immediate and long-term needs of
survivors, to promote accountability and justice for
acts of CRSV.
Sec. 5. Definition. For the purposes of this
memorandum, the term ``conflict-related sexual
violence'' (CRSV) refers to incidents or patterns of
sexual violence that occur in conflict or post-conflict
situations with a direct or indirect link to conflict.
CRSV may include rape, sexual slavery, sex trafficking,
forced pregnancy, forced sterilization, and any other
form of sexual violence of comparable gravity, against
individuals of all gender identities. Depending on the
circumstances, acts of CRSV can constitute war crimes,
crimes against humanity, or acts of genocide, and
therefore may constitute crimes that are punishable
under international law.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
with applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
(d) The Secretary of State is authorized and
directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal
Register.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
Washington, November 28, 2022
[FR Doc. 2022-26604
Filed 12-5-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 4710-10-P
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