22 U.S.C. § 6482

Current through P.L. 118-82 (published on www.congress.gov on 09/20/2024)

Section 6482 - Voluntary codes of conduct for United States institutions of higher education outside the United States

(a) Finding

Congress recognizes the enduring importance of United States institutions of higher education worldwide-

(1) for their potential for shaping positive leadership and new educational models in host countries; and

(2) for their emphasis on teaching universally recognized rights of free inquiry and academic freedom.

(b) Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that United States institutions of higher education operating campuses outside the United States or establishing any educational entities with foreign governments, particularly with or in countries the governments of which engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom as identified in the Annual Report, should seek to adopt a voluntary code of conduct for operating in such countries that should-

(1) uphold the right of freedom of religion of their employees and students, including the right to manifest that religion peacefully as protected in international law;

(2) ensure that the religious views and peaceful practice of religion in no way affect, or be allowed to affect, the status of a worker's or faculty member's employment or a student's enrollment; and

(3) make every effort in all negotiations, contracts, or memoranda of understanding engaged in or constructed with a foreign government to protect academic freedom and the rights enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

22 U.S.C. § 6482

Pub. L. 105-292, §702, as added Pub. L. 114-281, §601, 130 Stat. 1438.

Annual Report

The term "Annual Report" means the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom described in section 6412(b) of this title.

violations of religious freedom

The term "violations of religious freedom" means violations of the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion and religious belief and practice, as set forth in the international instruments referred to in section 6401(a)(2) of this title and as described in section 6401(a)(3) of this title, including violations such as-(A) arbitrary prohibitions on, restrictions of, or punishment for-(i) assembling for peaceful religious activities such as worship, preaching, and prayer, including arbitrary registration requirements;(ii) speaking freely about one's religious beliefs;(iii) changing one's religious beliefs and affiliation;(iv) not professing a particular religion, or any religion;(v) possession and distribution of religious literature, including Bibles; or(vi) raising one's children in the religious teachings and practices of one's choice; or(B) any of the following acts if committed on account of an individual's conscience, non-theistic views, or religious belief or practice: detention, interrogation, imposition of an onerous financial penalty, forced labor, forced mass resettlement, imprisonment, forced religious conversion, forcibly compelling non-believers or non-theists to recant their beliefs or to convert, beating, torture, mutilation, rape, enslavement, murder, and execution.1 So in original. Probably should be "Presidential".2 See References in Text note below.