United States of America

House of RepresentativesSenate

House of Representatives

Specialized body - Gender equality

Committee on Foreign Affairs, sub-committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights & International Organizations
(January 1981)

About

Nature
Permanent

Members

Number of members
All MembersBelow 45 years of age
Total143
Men91
Women52
See historical data for this field.
Political affiliation of members
Majority parties
8
See historical data for this field.
Opposition parties
6
See historical data for this field.

Chairperson(s)

Chair 1
Karen Bass
Chairperson: Sex
Female
Date of birth
03 Oct 1953
Political affiliation
Majority
Chair 2
Christopher Smith
Chairperson: Sex
Male
Date of birth
04 Mar 1953
Political affiliation
Opposition

Chairperson

Chairperson: Sex
Female
Age: Chairperson is below 45 years of age
No

Committee functions

Scrutinise the Executive’s policy for compatibility with human rights
Yes
Scrutinise State compliance with existing UN human rights treaties
Yes
Initiate inquiries of its own choosing
Yes
Scrutinise proposed human rights treaties, and other international treaties with implications for human rights, and report to Parliament thereon, prior to ratification
Yes
Ascertain and review the Executive’s reasons for not acceding to or ratifying existing international human rights treaties
Yes
Scrutinise the Executive’s response to judgments of national, regional and international courts with implications for human rights
Yes
Review the allocation and expenditure of funds in the State budget to support measures to promote and protect human rights
Yes

Committee powers

The Committee has the power to:
Propose amendments to legislation
Yes
Introduce bills into Parliament
Yes
Carry out inquiries
Yes
Hold oral evidence hearings
Yes
Compel witnesses to attend
Yes
Compel the production of documents and papers
Yes
Conduct visits, including visits abroad
Yes

Committee working methods

The Committee:
Adopts an annual or longer-term work plan
Yes
Reports regularly to Parliament on its activities
Yes
Number of specialised staff to service committee
3

Cooperation and coordination

The Committee regularly cooperates and coordinates (e.g. through sharing of reports; meetings; joint follow-up action) with:
Other parliamentary committees
Often
Civil society organisations
Often
Academic institutions, including research institutes on human rights and the rule of law
Often
The media
Often