IJnited States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520

APR S 2OI7

The Honorable
Bob Corker, Chairman
Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Mr. Chairman

This letter is to inform you that a determination has been made that funding for the
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is precluded pursuant to the third proviso under the
heading "Global Health Programs" ("the Kemp-Kasten Amendment") of the Department of
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,2016 (Div. K, P.L. LI4-113) (SFOAA), as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2017 (Div. C, P.L.
Il4-223), as amended , referred to as the Fiscal Year 2017 Continuing Resolution. Enclosed are
copies of the determination and an accompanying Memorandum of Justification, which explains
the basis for the determination.
As required by section 7082(b) of the SFOAA, as carried forward by the FY 2017 CR,
the Department of State will transfer to the "Global Health Programs" account any funds that are
"not made available for UNFPA because of the operation of any provision of law," to make them
available for other family planning, maternal and reproductive health activities.
Sincerely,

E. Macmanus
of Legislative Affairs

Enclosure:

As stated.

 Determination Regarding the'Kemp-Kasten Amendment"
Pursuant to the authority vested in me by the third proviso under the "Global Health
Programs" heading ("the KempKasten Amendment") ofthe Department of State, Foreign
Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act,2016, (Div. K, P.L. I l4-l 13) (SFOAA),
as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Ac! 2017 (Div. C, P.L. ll4-223)' as
amended, and by Executive Order 12163,as amended, and State Department Delegation of
Authority 413, I hereby determine that the United Nations Population Fund supports, or
participates in the rnanagement of, a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization.
This determination shall be deemed to apply to any provision of law that is the same, or
substantially the same, as the referenced proviso, to the extent applicable to the use of funds
appropriated in FY 2017.

This determination shall be reported to Congress, and published in the Federal Register.

lo lû"'.1
Date

2ot7
Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.
Under Secretary for Political

Affairs

 UNCLASSIFIED

Memorandum of Justification for the
Determination Regarding the "Kemp'Kasten Amendment"
The "Kemp-Kasten Amendment," set out in the third proviso under the heading "Global
Health Programs" of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 2016, (Div. K, P.L. 1I4-II3) (SFOAA), as carried forward by the
Cõntinuing Appropriations Act, 20Il (Div. C, P.L. Il4-223), as amended, referred to as the
Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Continuing Resolution (CR), provides that "none of the funds made
available in this Act nor any unobligated balances from prior appropriations acts may be made
available to any organization or program which, as determined by the President of the United
States, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or
involuntary sterilization." The law also requires that any such determination "be made no later
than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, and...be accompanied by the evidence
and criteria utilized to make the determination." This Memorandum of Justification provides the
explanation of the evidence and criteria supporting a determination under the Kemp-Kasten
Amendment with respect to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The Chinese Govemment employs measures such as coercive abortion and involuntary
sterilization to carry out its population-control policies. The Population and Family Planning Law
of the People' s Republic of China, first enacte d in 197 9 and revised in 2002, directs the central
Government to adopt comprehensive measures to "control the size of the population and improve
its quality." These measures, collectively known as the "one-child policy," include the
implementation of regulations that limit the number of children a woman may have, the provision
of ãbtigatory contraception services or termination of pregnancy, and the imposition of incentives
and penalties on individuals and couples to induce compliance. On December 27,2015, the
Stanãing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) amended the Population and
Family Þluntrlng Law to introduce a "two-child policy" countrywide, effective January 1,2016.
The revised statute raises the birth limit imposed on its citizens from one child to two children per
married couple, and further allows couples to apply for permission to have a third child if they meet
conditions siipulated in local and Provincial regulations. The National Health and Family Planning
Commissio.t iNUfpC) oversees the implementation of the law.r
Despite this partial liberalization of the previously restrictive "one-child policy," the
Chinese Governmenì, at both central and provincial levels, continues to place financial and
administrative penalties on individuals who exceed the birth limits, or otherwise violate regulations
promulgated under the amended law, as discussed in Section 6 ("Discrimination, Societal Abuses,
ãnd Trafficking in Persons") of the State Department's 2016 Report on Human Rights Practices fot
the People's Republic of China (the Reporf). Furthermore, according to the Report, the NHFPC has
announced it will continue to impose fines ("social-compensation fees") for violations, and require
each woman with an unauthorized pregnancy to abort her unbom child or pay a socialcompensation fee that can reach 10 times an average Chinese citizen's annual disposable incorne.
The Report notes that China's population-control policy relies on measures such as mandatory
pregnancy examinations and coercive abortions and sterilizations. Regulations enforced in a
number of Provinces, including Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Qinghai, Yunnan and Liaoning,
1

The NHFPC was created from a merger of the Ministry of Health and the National Population and Family Planning
Commission (NFPC) in November 2013.

LINCLASSIFIED

 UNCLASSIFIED
2

require women who violate the policy to terminate their pregnancies. For example, Hunan
Provincial regulations revised in March 2016 stipulate that "pregnancies that do not conform to the
conditions established by the law should promptly be terminated." Children born to single mothers
or unmarried couples are considered "outside the policy," and subject to the social-compensation
fee and the denial of legal documents, such as birth certificates and"hukou" residence permits,
which allow access to state-provided health care and public education'

Similarly, the 2016 Annual Report of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission
on China, published after the introduction of the "two-child policy," found the Chinese Government
approach to family planning abuses human rights. The analysis asserts, "Chinese authorities
continue to actively promote and implement coercive population-planning policies that violate
intemational standards," and details numerous examples. Echoing the State Department's Reporî,
the Commission concluded that Chinese officials "enforce compliance with population-planning
targets using methods including heavy fines, job termination, arbitrary detention and coerced
abortion."
Human-rights advocacy organizations, such as Amnesty Intemational and Human Rights
Watch, have also confirmed that the Chinese "two-child policy" continues to rely on forced
sterilizations and abortions, and Government control over birth permits. These groups judge that
restrictions on reproductive rights remain common throughout China.

UNFPA first began its program in China in 1978. All of the organization's programs in
China are subject to national laws and local regulations, including the Population and Family
Planning Law and the corresponding provincial implementing regulations that provide the
framework for the country's coercive birth policies. In June 2015, the UNFPA Executive Board
approved the 8th Country Program (CPS) for China, which covers the period 2016-2020, in "close
consultation with the [Chines"1 Gou"-*ent." As outlined in the Third Plenum of the 18th Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China in November 2013, the program aligns with Chinese
national priorities. Furthermore, like past UNFPA Country Programs for China, CP8 calls for
national execution models (i.e., implementation through government agencies). The NHFPC,
which is responsible for implementing and enforcing China's program of forced abortion and
involuntary sterilization, appears in CP8 as a UNFPA partner in anticipated family planning-related
outcomes. By implementing a portion of its family planning program in partnership with that
govemment entity, UNFPA provides support for the NHFPC's implementation of China's family
planning policies, which includes coercive elements.
The Chinese Govemment's Population and Family Planning Law, even as amended in 2015,
and related regulations and practices at the central and Provincial levels, clearly constitute a
"program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization," and are an integral part of the
comprehensive population-control program the Chinese Government advances. While there is no
evidence that UNFPA directly engages in coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations in China,
the agency continues to partner with the NHFPC on family planning, and thus can be found to
support, or participate in the management of China's coercive policies for purposes of the KempKasten Amendment.

I.]NCLASSIFIED