Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Chapter 52 — Foreign Service
§ 4028. Training for Foreign Service officers
Statutory text
Human rights, religious freedom, and human trafficking training
In general
The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other relevant officials, such as the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom appointed under section 6411(b) of this title, the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, and the director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center, shall establish as part of the standard training provided after , for officers of the Service, including chiefs of mission, instruction in the field of internationally recognized human rights. Such training shall include—
instruction on international documents and United States policy in human rights, which shall be mandatory for all members of the Service having reporting responsibilities relating to human rights and for chiefs of mission;
instruction on the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion, the nature, activities, and beliefs of different religions, and the various aspects and manifestations of violations of religious freedom;
instruction on international documents and United States policy on trafficking in persons, including provisions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (division A of Public Law 106–386; 22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) which may affect the United States bilateral relationships; and
for Foreign Service Officers who will be assigned to a country experiencing or at risk of mass atrocities, as determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and relevant civil society organizations, instruction on recognizing patterns of escalation and early warning signs of potential atrocities, and methods of preventing and responding to atrocities, including conflict assessment methods, peacebuilding, mediation for prevention, early action and response, and appropriate transitional justice measures to address atrocities.
Religious freedom training
In general
In carrying out the training required under paragraph (1)(B), the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center shall, not later than the one year after , conduct training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers, including all entry level officers, all officers prior to departure for posting outside the United States, and all outgoing deputy chiefs of mission and ambassadors. Such training shall be included in—
the A–100 course attended by all Foreign Service officers;
the courses required of every Foreign Service officer prior to a posting outside the United States, with segments tailored to the particular religious demography, religious freedom conditions, and United States strategies for advancing religious freedom, in each receiving country; and
the courses required of all outgoing deputy chiefs of mission and ambassadors.
Development of curriculum
In carrying out the training required under paragraph (1)(B), the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, in coordination with the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center and other Federal officials, as appropriate, and in consultation with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom established under section 6431(a) of this title, shall make recommendations to the Secretary of State regarding a curriculum for the training of United States Foreign Service officers under paragraph (1)(B) on the scope and strategic value of international religious freedom, how violations of international religious freedom harm fundamental United States interests, how the advancement of international religious freedom can advance such interests, how United States international religious freedom policy should be carried out in practice by United States diplomats and other Foreign Service officers, and the relevance and relationship of international religious freedom to United States defense, diplomacy, development, and public affairs efforts. The Secretary of State should ensure the availability of sufficient resources to develop and implement such curriculum.
Information sharing
The curriculum and training materials developed under this paragraph shall be shared with the United States Armed Forces and other Federal departments and agencies with personnel who are stationed overseas, as appropriate, to provide training on—
United States religious freedom policies;
religious traditions;
religious engagement strategies;
religious and cultural issues; and
efforts to counter violent religious extremism.
Refugees
The Secretary of State shall provide sessions on refugee law and adjudications and on religious persecution to each individual seeking a commission as a United States consular officer. The Secretary shall also ensure that any member of the Service who is assigned to a position that may be called upon to assess requests for consideration for refugee admissions, including any consular officer, has completed training on refugee law and refugee adjudications in addition to the training required in this section.
Child soldiers
The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the standard training provided for chiefs of mission, deputy chiefs of mission, and other officers of the Service who are or will be involved in the assessment of child soldier use or the drafting of the annual Human Rights Report instruction on matters related to child soldiers, and the substance of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008.
Economic and commercial diplomacy
The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other relevant officials and the private sector, shall establish as part of the standard training provided for economic and commercial officers of the Foreign Service, chiefs of mission, and deputy chiefs of mission, training on matters related to economic and commercial diplomacy, with particular attention to market access and other elements of an enabling framework for United States businesses, commercial advocacy, and United States foreign economic policy, in addition to awareness about the support of the United States Government available to United States businesses, including support provided by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Trade and Development Agency, the Department of the Treasury, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United States International Development Finance Corporation.
Training in multilateral diplomacy
In general
The Secretary, in consultation with other senior officials as appropriate, shall establish training courses on—
the conduct of diplomacy at international organizations and other multilateral institutions; and
broad-based multilateral negotiations of international instruments.
Required training
Members of the Service, including appropriate chiefs of mission and other officers who are assigned to United States missions representing the United States to international organizations and other multilateral institutions or who are assigned in other positions that have as their primary responsibility formulation of policy related to such organizations and institutions, or participation in negotiations of international instruments, shall receive specialized training in the areas described in paragraph (1) prior to the beginning of service for such assignment or, if receiving such training at that time is not practical, within the first year of beginning such assignment.
Legislative history
Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.
Pub. L. 96–465 title I § 708 · 94 Stat. 2071
Enacted · 22 U.S.C. § 4028
Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 708, as added and amended Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 104, title VI, § 602(b), Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2795, 2812
Source evidence
Code source credit
Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 708, as added and amended Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 104, title VI, § 602(b), Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2795, 2812International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
Pub. L. 105–292 § 602(b) · 112 Stat. 2787
Amended · 22 U.S.C. § 4028
Pub. L. 105–292, § 602(b), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a)
Added · 22 U.S.C. § 4028
Pub. L. 105–292, § 602(b), added subsec. (b)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Pub. L. 105–292, § 602(b), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).Enacted provision · exact public law section
(b) Training for Foreign Service Officers.— Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added by section 104 of this Act, is further amended— (1) by inserting “(a)” before “The Secretary of State”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(b) The Secretary of State shall provide sessions on refugee law and adjudications and on religious persecution to each individual seeking a commission as a United States consular officer. The Secretary shall also ensure that any member of the Service who is assigned to a position that may be called upon to assess requests for consideration for refugee admissions, including any consular officer, has completed training on refugee law and refugee adjudications in addition to the training required in this section.”.Pub. L. 107–132 § 2(b) · 115 Stat. 2412
Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 107–132 inserted “George P. Shultz” after “director of the” in introductory provisions
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–132 inserted “George P. Shultz” after “director of the” in introductory provisions.Enacted provision · exact public law section
SEC. 2. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. (a) Section 53 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2725) is amended— (1) in the section heading by inserting “george p. shultz” after “the”; and (2) by inserting “George P. Shultz” after “use of the”. (b) Section 708(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended by inserting “George P. Shultz” after “director of the”.Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005
Pub. L. 109–164 title I § 104(d) · 119 Stat. 3558
Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 109–164 inserted “, the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking,” after “section 6411(b) of this title” in introductory provisions
Added · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 109–164 added par. (3)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–164 inserted “, the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking,” after “section 6411(b) of this title” in introductory provisions and added par. (3).Enacted provision · exact public law section
(d) Foreign Service Officer Training.— Section 708(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028(a)) is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting “, the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking,” after “the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998”; (2) in paragraph (1), by striking “and” at the end; (3) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and (4) by adding at the end the following: “(3) instruction on international documents and United States policy on trafficking in persons, including provisions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (division A of Public Law 106–386; 22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) which may affect the United States bilateral relationships.” .Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008
Pub. L. 110–457 title IV § 406 · 122 Stat. 5044
Added · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(c)
Pub. L. 110–457 added subsec. (c)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–457 added subsec. (c).Enacted provision · exact public law section
SEC. 406. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS. Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(c) The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other relevant officials, shall establish as part of the standard training provided for chiefs of mission, deputy chiefs of mission, and other officers of the Service who are or will be involved in the assessment of child soldier use or the drafting of the annual Human Rights Report instruction on matters related to child soldiers, and the substance of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008.” .Effective date note
Amendment by Pub. L. 110–457 effective 180 days after Dec. 23, 2008, see section 407 of Pub. L. 110–457, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2370c of this title.Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act
Pub. L. 114–281 § 103(a)(1) · 130 Stat. 1426
Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(1), inserted subsec. heading
Amended · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(1), designated existing provisions as par. (1)
Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(1), inserted par. heading
Redesignated · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(1), redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively
Added · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)
Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(1), added par. (2)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(1), inserted subsec. heading, designated existing provisions as par. (1) and inserted par. heading, redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively, and added par. (2).Enacted provision · exact public law section
(1) in subsection (a)— (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively; (B) by striking “(a) The Secretary of State” and inserting the following: “(a) Human Rights, Religious Freedom, and Human Trafficking Training.— “(1) In general.— The Secretary of State” ; and (C) by adding at the end the following: “(2) Religious freedom training.— “(A) In general.— In carrying out the training required under paragraph (1)(B), the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center shall, not later than the one year after the date of the enactment of the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act, conduct training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers, including all entry level officers, all officers prior to departure for posting outside the United States, and all outgoing deputy chiefs of mission and ambassadors. Such training shall be included in— “(i) the A–100 course attended by all Foreign Service officers; “(ii) the courses required of every Foreign Service officer prior to a posting outside the United States, with segments tailored to the particular religious demography, religious freedom conditions, and United States strategies for advancing religious freedom, in each receiving country; and “(iii) the courses required of all outgoing deputy chiefs of mission and ambassadors. “(B) Development of curriculum.— In carrying out the training required under paragraph (1)(B), the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, in coordination with the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center and other Federal officials, as appropriate, and in consultation with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom established under section 201(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6431(a)), shall make recommendations to the Secretary of State regarding a curriculum for the training of United States Foreign Service officers under paragraph (1)(B) on the scope and strategic value of international religious freedom, how violations of international religious freedom harm fundamental United States interests, how the advancement of international religious freedom can advance such interests, how United States international religious freedom policy should be carried out in practice by United States diplomats and other Foreign Service officers, and the relevance and relationship of international religious freedom to United States defense, diplomacy, development, and public affairs efforts. The Secretary of State should ensure the availability of sufficient resources to develop and implement such curriculum. “(C) Information sharing.— The curriculum and training materials developed under this paragraph shall be shared with the United States Armed Forces and other Federal departments and agencies with personnel who are stationed overseas, as appropriate, to provide training on— “(i) United States religious freedom policies; “(ii) religious traditions; “(iii) religious engagement strategies; “(iv) religious and cultural issues; and “(v) efforts to counter violent religious extremism.” ;Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act
Pub. L. 114–281 § 103(a)(2) · 130 Stat. 1426
Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(b); 22 U.S.C. § 4028(c)
Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(2), (3), inserted headings
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(2), (3), inserted headings.Enacted provision · exact public law section
(2) in subsection (b), by striking “The Secretary of State” and inserting “Refugees.—The Secretary of State”; andElie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018
Pub. L. 115–441 § 4 · 132 Stat. 5586
Added · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(a)(1)(D)
Pub. L. 115–441 added subpar. (D)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (a)(1)(D). Pub. L. 115–441 added subpar. (D).Enacted provision · exact public law section
SEC. 4. TRAINING OF FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS IN CONFLICT AND ATROCITIES PREVENTION. Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is amended in subsection (a)(1)— (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” at the end; (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: “(D) for Foreign Service Officers who will be assigned to a country experiencing or at risk of mass atrocities, as determined by the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and relevant civil society organizations, instruction on recognizing patterns of escalation and early warning signs of potential atrocities, and methods of preventing and responding to atrocities, including conflict assessment methods, peacebuilding, mediation for prevention, early action and response, and appropriate transitional justice measures to address atrocities.” .Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020
Pub. L. 116–94 div. J title VII § 705 · 133 Stat. 2534
Added · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(d)
Pub. L. 116–94 added subsec. (d)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–94 added subsec. (d).Enacted provision · exact public law section
Sec. 705. Appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for the cost of direct and guaranteed loans made available in the current fiscal year shall remain available until expended to disburse obligations made in the current fiscal year for the following accounts: the Rural Development Loan Fund program account, the Rural Electrification and Telecommunication Loans program account, and the Rural Housing Insurance Fund program account.Department of State Authorization Act of 2023
Pub. L. 118–31 div. F title LXVII § 6702(a) · 137 Stat. 136
Added · 22 U.S.C. § 4028(e)
Pub. L. 118–31 added subsec. (e)
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 118–31 added subsec. (e).Enacted provision · exact public law section
(a) Training Programs.— Section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4028) is amended by adding at the end of the following new subsection: “(e) Training in Multilateral Diplomacy.— “(1) In general.— The Secretary, in consultation with other senior officials as appropriate, shall establish training courses on— “(A) the conduct of diplomacy at international organizations and other multilateral institutions; and “(B) broad-based multilateral negotiations of international instruments. “(2) Required training.— Members of the Service, including appropriate chiefs of mission and other officers who are assigned to United States missions representing the United States to international organizations and other multilateral institutions or who are assigned in other positions that have as their primary responsibility formulation of policy related to such organizations and institutions, or participation in negotiations of international instruments, shall receive specialized training in the areas described in paragraph (1) prior to the beginning of service for such assignment or, if receiving such training at that time is not practical, within the first year of beginning such assignment.” .
15 of 16 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(C), is div. A of Pub. L. 106–386, , 114 Stat. 1466, which is classified principally to chapter 78 (§ 7101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7101 of this title and Tables.
The Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (c), is title IV of Pub. L. 110–457, , 122 Stat. 5087, which is classified principally to sections 2370c to 2370c–2 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2008 Amendment note set out under section 2151 of this title and Tables.
Amendments1998–2023 · 7 rounds
2023
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 118–31 added subsec. (e).
2019
Subsec. (a)(1)(D). Pub. L. 115–441 added subpar. (D).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–94 added subsec. (d).
2016
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(1), inserted subsec. heading, designated existing provisions as par. (1) and inserted par. heading, redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as subpars. (A) to (C), respectively, and added par. (2).
Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 114–281, § 103(a)(2), (3), inserted headings.
2008
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 110–457 added subsec. (c).
2006
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–164 inserted “, the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking,” after “section 6411(b) of this title” in introductory provisions and added par. (3).
2002
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–132 inserted “George P. Shultz” after “director of the” in introductory provisions.
1998
Pub. L. 105–292, § 602(b), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2008 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 110–457 effective 180 days after , see section 407 of Pub. L. 110–457, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2370c of this title.
Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Training
Pub. L. 119–75, div. F, title VII, § 7028(b), , 140 Stat. 560, provided that: “In carrying out section 705 of title VII of division J of Public Law 116–94 [amending this section], the Secretary of State shall annually assess training needs across the economic and commercial diplomacy issue areas and ensure, after a review of course offerings, course attendance records, and course evaluation results, that current offerings meet training needs.”
Similar provisions were contained in the following prior appropriation act:
Pub. L. 118–47, div. F, title VII, § 7025(c), , 138 Stat. 775.
Training for Department Employees
Pub. L. 118–31, div. F, title LXVII, § 6702(b), , 137 Stat. 1015, provided that: “The Secretary of State shall ensure that employees of the Department of State who are assigned to positions described in paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of section 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 [22 U.S.C. 4028(e)(2)] (as added by subsection (a) of this section), including members of the civil service or general service, or who are seconded to international organizations for a period of at least one year, receive training described in such subsection and participate in other such courses as the Secretary may recommend to build or augment identifiable skills that would be useful for such Department officials representing United States interests at these institutions and organizations.”
Credits
1998–2023 · 8 acts
- 1998Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 708, as added and amended Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 104, title VI, § 602(b), , 112 Stat. 2795, 2812
- 2002Pub. L. 107–132, § 2(b), , 115 Stat. 2412
- 2006Pub. L. 109–164, title I, § 104(d), , 119 Stat. 3565
- 2008Pub. L. 110–457, title IV, § 406, , 122 Stat. 5091
- 2016Pub. L. 114–281, title I, § 103(a), , 130 Stat. 1430
- 2019Pub. L. 115–441, § 4, , 132 Stat. 5587
- 2019Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title VII, § 705, , 133 Stat. 3071
- 2023Pub. L. 118–31, div. F, title LXVII, § 6702(a), , 137 Stat. 1015.
Show as published
(Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 708, as added and amended Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 104, title VI, § 602(b), , 112 Stat. 2795, 2812; Pub. L. 107–132, § 2(b), , 115 Stat. 2412; Pub. L. 109–164, title I, § 104(d), , 119 Stat. 3565; Pub. L. 110–457, title IV, § 406, , 122 Stat. 5091; Pub. L. 114–281, title I, § 103(a), , 130 Stat. 1430; Pub. L. 115–441, § 4, , 132 Stat. 5587; Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title VII, § 705, , 133 Stat. 3071; Pub. L. 118–31, div. F, title LXVII, § 6702(a), , 137 Stat. 1015.)