22 U.S.C. § 7706 — Eligible countries

(a) Determination by the Board — The Board decides whether a candidate country counts as an "eligible country" under this section. It must base that decision, as much as possible, on objective, measurable signs of the country's commitment to the standards in subsection (b), and where it makes sense, it must also look at the role of women and girls. If a country is up for a second, non-back-to-back Compact, the Board must also look at whether the country's performance on the subsection (b) standards that mattered for its earlier Compact has meaningfully improved since then. (b) Criteria — A candidate country counts as eligible if the Board finds it has shown commitment to three things: (1) Just and democratic governance — including promoting political pluralism, equality, and the rule of law; respecting human and civil rights, including the rights of people with disabilities; protecting private property rights; encouraging government transparency and accountability; fighting corruption; and supporting a healthy environment for civil society. (2) Economic freedom — including economic policies that encourage people and businesses to take part in global trade and international capital markets, promote growth of the private sector, strengthen market forces in the economy, and respect workers' rights, including the right to form labor unions. (3) Investing in the country's people, especially women and children — including programs that promote broad access to primary education, build the capacity to provide good public health care and lower child deaths, and protect biodiversity along with the transparent, sustainable management of natural resources. (c) Selection by the Board (1) In general — When the Board determines which countries are eligible for a fiscal year, it also picks which of those countries the United States will first try to make a Millennium Challenge Compact with, under section 7708. (2) Factors — In picking which eligible countries to select, the Board must weigh: (A) how clearly the country meets or beats the eligibility standards; (B) the chance to cut poverty and grow the economy there; and (C) how much money is available to carry out this chapter. (d) Reporting on treatment of civil society — For the seven years starting April 23, 2018, before the Board picks an eligible country for a Compact, the Millennium Challenge Corporation must give the Board information — including classified information where appropriate — about how that country treats civil society. This must assess: (1) laws governing how civil society groups can form, especially laws meant to limit foreign civil society groups; (2) laws governing how civil society groups operate, especially ones that target foreign groups; (3) laws on the legal status of civil society groups, including any that treat foreign groups worse than similar domestic ones; (4) laws regulating free speech and peaceful assembly; and (5) laws regulating internet use, especially by foreign civil society groups. (e) Establishing the criteria and methodology — The standards and methods that the Board sends to Congress and publishes in the Federal Register under section 7707(b)(2) for a given fiscal year stay fixed for deciding eligibility that year; they cannot change mid-year. (f) Yearly review — Each year, the Board, acting through the Chief Executive Officer, must review the eligibility standards and methods and may update them for future years, consistent with section 7707(b).