Congressman Castro’s PARTNER Act Passes Markup in House Foreign Affairs Committee with Bipartisan Support

Congressman Castro's PARTNER Act Passes Markup in House Foreign Affairs Committee with Bipartisan Support

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-TX) Young Kim (R-CA), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Ed Case (D-HI), Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Bill Foster (D-IL), and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL)'s Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment to Enhance Relations Act, or the PARTNER Act, which extends diplomatic privileges and immunities under the International Organizations Immunities Act to a group of international organizations critical to U.S. leadership and foreign policy priorities, passed markup in House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) with bipartisan support.

The bill amends the International Organizations Immunities Act to authorize the President to extend diplomatic privileges and immunities to officials of three important regional international organizations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

It additionally authorizes the President to extend such diplomatic privileges and immunities to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), an international organization that is engaged in cutting edge physics research. CERN is currently engaged in a major research project in the United States, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). This legislation would enable stronger scientific collaboration between U.S. researchers and CERN.

The PARTNER Act also authorizes the extension of diplomatic privileges and immunities to the African Union's Observer Mission to the United Nations, which addresses a gap in the current law that provides the African Union such privileges and immunities but not its Observer Mission to the United Nations.

"Diplomacy is about building trust and showing up," said Congressman Joaquin Castro. "If the United States wants to lead in the 21st century, we need to be present, engaged, and invested in the institutions that shape global cooperation. The PARTNER Act strengthens our ability to collaborate with organizations that are essential to solving global challenges-from scientific innovation at CERN to regional stability in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean."

This legislation builds on efforts by a bipartisan group of members of Congress through different legislative initiatives, including H.R.3865 - PARTNER with ASEAN Act of 2025, H.R. 4319 - Strengthening Science Through Diplomacy Act of 2025, H.R.3332 - Pacific Partnership Act, H.R.3678 - Strengthening US-Caribbean Partnership Act, and H.R.4196 - African Union Diplomatic Parity Act.

Similar legislation was introduced to extend diplomatic privileges and immunities to ASEAN, CERN, and PIF.

View the full text of the PARTNER Act here.