Report Contents
What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s executive direction, program and policy implementation, resource management, and management controls.
What OIG Recommended
This report includes 10 recommendations. OIG made one recommendation to improve strategic planning, one recommendation to promote compliance with legislation mandating Department training on international religious freedom, and eight recommendations to improve Leahy vetting internal controls and operations, visa ineligibility processing, information management systems development, and contract management.
In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with all 10 recommendations. OIG considers the recommendations resolved. The Department’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department’s formal written response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.
What OIG Found
- Stakeholders from other Federal agencies and Department of State offices described the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor as effective in advancing human rights issues.
- Staffing shortfalls and the lack of an effective bureau strategic planning process increased internal controls risks for Leahy vetting, visa ineligibility determinations, and foreign assistance management—areas where the bureau faced an expanding workload.
- Insufficient staffing and oversight of information technology systems development increased risks of waste, fraud, and mismanagement and delays in modernizing the bureau’s information technology system used to conduct Leahy vetting.
- DRL did not dedicate sufficient staff, training resources, or strategic direction to prepare human rights assessments related to visa processing and sanctions functions.
- Spotlight on Success: The bureau’s Office of Policy Planning and Public Diplomacy effectively used social media tools to conduct outreach on human rights issues. The bureau’s Facebook page is the Department’s second most popular domestic page, with approximately 2.3 million followers.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor should institute a formal, periodic process to develop policy goals, monitor results, and align resources with priorities.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor should direct the Office of International Religious Freedom to complete development of curriculum for mandatory training on international religious freedom required by the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor should develop internal control procedures for the Leahy program and monitor compliance with the procedures.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor should develop performance and workload metrics to inform resource requirements for the Office of Security and Human Rights.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor should identify and train dedicated staff to fulfill its statutory responsibilities to provide timely human rights assessments in connection with visa processing.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in coordination with the Bureau of Consular Affairs and the Office of the Legal Adviser, should update and issue a standard operating procedure for processing human rights-related visa ineligibilities under Section 7031(c) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in coordination with the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, should monitor and document the performance of its labor-hours contracts in accordance with Department standards.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in coordination with the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, should develop a project plan for the INVESTc project to meet Department and Federal information technology budget planning standards.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in coordination with the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, should appoint a technically qualified direct-hire project manager to oversee the INVESTc project to ensure it meets Department information technology standards.
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in coordination with the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, should update the INVEST system’s authorization to operate, in accordance with Department standards.