Refugees and migration
United States membership in International Organization for Migration; contributions to Organization
The President is authorized to continue membership for the United States in the International Organization for Migration in accordance with the constitution of such organization approved in Venice, Italy, on
For the purpose of assisting in the movement of refugees and migrants, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President such amounts as may be necessary from time to time for payment by the United States of its contributions to the International Organization for Migration and all necessary salaries and expenses incidental to United States participation in such organization.
Appropriations for assistance to refugees
There are authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary from time to time—
for contributions to the activities of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for assistance to refugees under his mandate or persons on behalf of whom he is exercising his good offices, and for contributions to the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and to other relevant international organizations; and
for assistance to or on behalf of refugees who are outside the United States designated by the President (by class, group, or designation of their respective countries of origin or areas of residence) when the President determines that such assistance will contribute to the foreign policy interests of the United States.
United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; appropriations
Whenever the President determines it to be important to the national interest he is authorized to furnish on such terms and conditions as he may determine assistance under this chapter for the purpose of meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs.
There is established a United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund to carry out the purposes of this section. There is authorized to be appropriated to the President from time to time such amounts as may be necessary for the fund to carry out the purposes of this section, except that no amount of funds may be appropriated which, when added to amounts previously appropriated but not yet obligated, would cause such amounts to exceed $100,000,000. Amounts appropriated hereunder shall remain available until expended.
Whenever the President requests appropriations pursuant to this authorization he shall justify such requests to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as to the Committees on Appropriations.
Information to Congressional committees
Continued availability of certain funds
Restrictions on foreign assistance not applicable to migration and refugee assistance
Source
(Pub. L. 87–510, § 2,Notes
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Amendments
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Short Title
United States Policy Regarding Involuntary Return of Refugees
In General.—
None of the funds made available by this Act [see Short Title of 1999 Amendment note set out under section 2651 of this title] or by section 2(c) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601(c)) shall be available to effect the involuntary return by the United States of any person to a country in which the person has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, except on grounds recognized as precluding protection as a refugee under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of
Migration and Refugee Assistance.—
None of the funds made available by this Act or by section 2(c) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601(c)) shall be available to effect the involuntary return of any person to any country unless the Secretary of State first notifies the appropriate congressional committees [Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate], except that in the case of an emergency involving a threat to human life the Secretary of State shall notify the appropriate congressional committees as soon as practicable.
Involuntary Return Defined.—
As used in this section, the term ‘to effect the involuntary return’ means to require, by means of physical force or circumstances amounting to a threat thereof, a person to return to a country against the person’s will, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the United States and regardless of whether the United States acts directly or through an agent.”
United States Policy Concerning Overseas Assistance to Refugees and Displaced Persons
Standards for Refugee Women and Children.—
The United States Government, in providing for overseas assistance and protection of refugees and displaced persons, shall seek to address the protection and provision of basic needs of refugee women and children who represent 80 percent of the world’s refugee population. As called for in the 1991 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ‘Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women’, whether directly, or through international organizations and nongovernmental voluntary organizations, the Secretary of State shall seek to ensure—
specific attention on the part of the United Nations and relief organizations to recruit and employ female protection officers;
implementation of gender awareness training for field staff including, but not limited to, security personnel;
the protection of refugee women and children from violence and other abuses on the part of governments or insurgent groups;
full involvement of women refugees in the planning and implementation of (A) the delivery of services and assistance, and (B) the repatriation process;
incorporation of maternal and child health needs into refugee health services and education, specifically to include education on and access to services in reproductive health and birth spacing;
the provision of safe and secure access to sanitation facilities, with a special emphasis on women and children;
the availability of counseling and other services, grievance processes, and protective services to victims of violence and abuse, including but not limited to rape and domestic violence;
the provision of educational programs, particularly literacy and numeracy, vocational and income-generation skills training, and other training efforts promoting self-sufficiency for refugee women, with special emphasis on women heads of household;
education for all refugee children, ensuring equal access for girls, and special services and family tracing for unaccompanied refugee minors;
the collection of data that clearly enumerate age and gender so that appropriate health, education, and assistance programs can be planned;
the recruitment, hiring, and training of more women program professionals in the international humanitarian field; and
gender-awareness training for program staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and nongovernmental voluntary organizations on implementation of the 1991 UNHCR ‘Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women’.
Procedures.—
The Secretary of State should adopt specific procedures to ensure that all recipients of United States Government refugee and migration assistance funds implement the standards outlined in subsection (a).
Requirements for Refugee and Migration Assistance.—
The Secretary of State, in providing migration and refugee assistance, should support the protection efforts set forth under this section by raising at the highest levels of government the issue of abuses against refugee women and children by governments or insurgent groups that engage in, permit, or condone—
a pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, such as torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged detention without charges, or other flagrant denial to life, liberty, and the security of person;
the blockage of humanitarian relief assistance;
gender-specific persecution such as systematic individual or mass rape, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced prostitution, any form of indecent assault or act of violence against refugee women, girls, and children; or
continuing violations of the integrity of the person against refugee women and children on the part of armed insurgents, local security forces, or camp guards.
Investigation of Reports.—
Upon receipt of credible reports of abuses under subsection (c), the Secretary of State should immediately investigate such reports through emergency fact-finding missions or other means of investigating such reports and help identify appropriate remedial measures.
Multilateral Implementation of the 1991 UNHCR ‘Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women’.—
The Secretary of State should work to ensure that multilateral organizations fully incorporate the needs of refugee women and children into all elements of refugee assistance programs and work to encourage other governments that provide refugee assistance to adopt refugee assistance policies designed to encourage full implementation of the 1991 UNHCR’s ‘Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women’.”