Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009

by the 111th Congress of the United States

111^TH UNITED STATES CONGRESS
2^ND SESSION

An Act
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices information about freedom of the press in foreign countries, and for other purposes.

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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as the “Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009”.

Sec. 2. Inclusion of additional information relating to freedom of the press worldwide in Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended—

(1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)), as amended by section 333(c) of this division—

(A) in paragraph (10), by striking “and” at the end;

(B) in paragraph (11)—

(i) in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” at the end; and

(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(12) wherever applicable—

“(A) a description of the status of freedom of the press, including initiatives in favor of freedom of the press and efforts to improve or preserve, as appropriate, the independence of the media, together with an assessment of progress made as a result of those efforts;

“(B) an identification of countries in which there were violations of freedom of the press, including direct physical attacks, imprisonment, indirect sources of pressure, and censorship by governments, military, intelligence, or police forces, criminal groups, or armed extremist or rebel groups; and

“(C) in countries where there are particularly severe violations of freedom of the press—

“(i) whether government authorities of each such country participate in, facilitate, or condone such violations of the freedom of the press; and

“(ii) what steps the government of each such country has taken to preserve the safety and independence of the media, and to ensure the prosecution of those individuals who attack or murder journalists.”; and

(2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304), by adding at the end the following new subsection:

“(i) The report required by subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable—

“(1) a description of the status of freedom of the press, including initiatives in favor of freedom of the press and efforts to improve or preserve, as appropriate, the independence of the media, together with an assessment of progress made as a result of those efforts;

“(2) an identification of countries in which there were violations of freedom of the press, including direct physical attacks, imprisonment, indirect sources of pressure, and censorship by governments, military, intelligence, or police forces, criminal groups, or armed extremist or rebel groups; and

“(3) in countries where there are particularly severe violations of freedom of the press—

“(A) whether government authorities of each such country participate in, facilitate, or condone such violations of the freedom of the press; and

“(B) what steps the government of each such country has taken to preserve the safety and independence of the media, and to ensure the prosecution of those individuals who attack or murder journalists.”.

Approved May 17, 2010

Legislative History

• H.R. 3714

• CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 155 (2009):
  • Dec. 15, 16, considered and passed House.
• CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 156 (2010):
  • Apr. 29, considered and passed Senate.