(1) The international law of armed conflict prohibits, during any armed conflict—

(A) the exploitation of the presence or movement of civilians in an effort to impede attack on or otherwise shield lawful targets;

(B) exposing prisoners of war, other detainees, the wounded and sick, or other individuals subject to special protection under international law, to unnecessary risks resulting from the conduct of hostilities;

(C) using such persons to impede attack on or otherwise shield lawful targets; and

(D) deliberately causing the injury or death of such persons.

(2) Violating these prohibitions regarding civilians and other specially protected persons is known as the use of “human shields” and is a serious violation of international law subjecting those responsible to individual criminal liability.

(3) The international law of armed conflict also prohibits exposing property subject to special protection under international law to unnecessary risks resulting from the conduct of hostilities, including a prohibition against using such property to impede attack on or otherwise shield lawful targets from attack or to deliberately cause destruction of such property. Such use of specially protected property is a serious violation of international law, subjecting those responsible to individual criminal responsibility.

(4) Every party to an armed conflict is prohibited under international law from using human shields in an attempt to cause law-abiding armed forces to forgo attacks on otherwise lawful targets.

(5) When law-abiding armed forces do attack in such situations, the party using human shields frequently hopes to discredit the law-abiding opponent by blaming the opponent for civilian casualties, which are in fact attributable to the unlawful use of human shields.

(6) Terrorist groups routinely use human shields to force law-abiding opponents to conduct attacks in circumstances where civilian casualties become unavoidable. While this unlawful tactic in no way absolves an attacking force from its obligations to do everything feasible to mitigate the risk of such casualties, such illegal tactics inevitably influence the efficacy of feasible precautions.

(7) In accordance with the proportionality rule, an assessment of the legality of attack indicates that these terrorist groups bear responsibility for such casualties when such attack is otherwise legally permissible.

(8) Hizballah, designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization, has repeatedly used human shields. Throughout its 2006 conflict with Israel, Hizballah forces purposefully used civilians in an effort to shield themselves against attacks by Israeli forces, including by storing weapons inside civilian homes and launching attacks from firing positions in areas of dense civilian population, often in or near homes, schools, mosques or hospitals, in order to shield such positions from attack.

(9) Hizballah has since rearmed and built up an arsenal of some 150,000 rockets and missiles, in addition to other destabilizing weapons, provided by the Iranian and Syrian governments. These weapons, as well as Hizballah command posts, logistics depots, and other vital military assets, are often concealed in Shiite villages in southern Lebanon, frequently within or near homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

(10) Hamas, also designated by the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization, has also repeatedly used human shields. Hamas routinely and purposefully uses civilians and the civilian population to shield military assets from attack, including by launching attacks from firing positions in areas of dense civilian population, often in or near schools, mosques, or hospitals, in order to shield such positions from attack.

(11) Other unlawful Hamas tactics include discouraging Palestinian civilians from heeding Israeli warnings, instructing Palestinian civilians to remain in their homes, and encouraging or forcing Palestinian civilians to gather on the roofs of their homes to act as human shields. In June 2017 and again in October 2017, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency announced that it had discovered Hamas tunnels under its schools in the Gaza Strip.

(12) On December 10, 2014, the 113th Congress unanimously adopted H. Con. Res. 107, a bicameral and bipartisan resolution in which Congress “strongly condemns the use of innocent civilians as human shields”, “calls on the international community to recognize and condemn Hamas’ use of human shields”, “places responsibility for the rocket attacks against Israel on Hamas and other terrorist organizations, such as Palestine Islamic Jihad”, and “supports the sovereign right of the Government of Israel to defend its territory and its citizens from Hamas’ rocket attacks, kidnapping attempts, and the use of tunnels and other means to carry out attacks against Israel”.

(13) In addition to Hizballah and Hamas, other groups designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and al Qai’da, have repeatedly used similar human shield tactics in violation of international law.

(14) The international community has routinely failed to hold terrorist organizations and their personnel accountable for the use of human shields. In addition, unlike many state actors, there is no indication that terrorist organizations possess the capability or the will to investigate and prosecute their members for the use of human shields (or indeed any other war crimes). Instead, many terrorist organizations routinely use human shields as a deliberate tactic during armed conflict, reflecting a complete disregard for the obligations established by international law to mitigate the risk to civilians.

(15) Absent appropriate and consistent international, national, and public condemnation and enforcement of the prohibitions against using human shields, terrorist organizations will likely continue to engage in such criminal exploitation of civilians during armed conflicts.

(1) officially and publicly condemn terrorist organizations and others that violate the international law of armed conflict by exploiting civilians, other persons specially protected by international law, or specially protected property, in order to impede attack on or otherwise shield lawful targets from attack, deliberately cause injury or death to civilians or other specially protected persons, or destroy specially protected property; and

(2) take effective action against those knowingly engaging in, encouraging, supporting, ordering, controlling, directing, facilitating, enabling, or otherwise being complicit in such violations of international law or attempts to commit such violations.

(1) emphasize that the law of armed conflict imposes an obligation on all parties to any armed conflict, including non-state organized armed groups, of compliance;

(2) condemn the use of human shields and reinforce that such use is a violation of international law;

(3) impose multilateral sanctions against terrorist organizations for the use of human shields;

(4) require member states of the United Nations to take specific steps to prevent the use of human shields and impose consequences on those who use, attempt to use, or encourage or support the use of human shields;

(5) require organizations and agencies of the United Nations to track and report the use of human shields in monitored conflicts; and

(6) specify steps to prevent, and consequences for, the use of United Nations personnel or facilities as human shields.

(1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms “admitted” and “alien” have the meanings given such terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).

(2) AGENCY OR INSTRUMENTALITY OF A FOREIGN STATE.—The term “agency or instrumentality of a foreign state” has the meaning given such term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United States Code.

(3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(A) the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and

(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

(4) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term “foreign person” has the meaning given such term in section 594.304 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

(5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term “United States person” has the meaning given such term in section 594.315 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.