HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVITIES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.

SEC. 663. HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVITIES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE. (a) Increasing Resources and Importance of Human Rights.—It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the budget for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 should be substantially increased so that beginning in fiscal year 2005, and each fiscal year thereafter, not less than 1 percent of the amounts made available to the Department under the heading “Diplomatic and Consular Programs”, other than amounts made available for worldwide security upgrades and information resource management, should be made available for salaries and expenses of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; and (2) any assignment of an individual to a political officer position at a United States mission abroad that has the primary responsibility for monitoring human rights developments in a foreign country should be made upon the recommendation of the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in conjunction with the head of the Department’s regional bureau having primary responsibility for that country. (b) Plan Related to Human Rights Activities.— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing a plan for the Department designed to achieve the following objectives: 116 STAT. 1406 (1) Improving the integration of human rights policy into the Department’s overall policy formulation and implementation. (2) Achieving closer communication and policy coordination between the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the regional bureaus of the Department, both within the United States and at overseas posts. (3) Assigning individuals recommended by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in conjunction with the relevant Department regional bureau, to political officer positions at United States missions abroad that have the primary responsibility for monitoring human rights developments in foreign countries.