II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4996 

To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 

to modify the establishment of a coordinator for detained ISIS members 

and relevant displaced populations in Syria, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

Year 2020 to modify the establishment of a coordinator 

for detained ISIS members and relevant displaced populations in Syria, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Syria Detainee and 

5 Displaced Persons Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con3 gress’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

5 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Com6 mittee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 

7 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Se8 lect Committee on Intelligence, and the Com9 mittee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

10 (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

11 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 

12 on the Judiciary, the Committee on Financial 

13 Services, the Permanent Select Committee on 

14 Intelligence, and the Committee on Appropria15 tions of the House of Representatives. 

16 (2) ISIS MEMBER.—The term ‘‘ISIS member’’ 

17 means a person who was part of, or substantially 

18 supported, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. 

19 (3) SENIOR COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Senior 

20 Coordinator’’ means the coordinator for detained 

21 ISIS members and relevant displaced populations in 

22 Syria designated under subsection (a) of section 

23 1224 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

24 Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 

25 1642), as amended by section 5. 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings: 

4 (1) The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) 

5 rose to power in 2013 and reached its territorial 

6 peak in December 2014. 

7 (2) After the territorial defeat of ISIS in 2019, 

8 displacement camps began to house detained alleged 

9 ISIS members and families with perceived ISIS af10 filiation. 

11 (3) The al-Hol and Roj displacement camps, lo12 cated in Syria near the Syria-Iraq border, now house 

13 a significant number of individuals affiliated with 

14 ISIS who live alongside other displaced persons. 

15 (4) The al-Hol camp currently contains ap16 proximately 56,000 residents— 

17 (A) an estimated 80 percent of whom are 

18 women and children; and 

19 (B) an estimated 50 percent of whom are 

20 under 12 years of age. 

21 (5) The al-Hol camp is severely underdeveloped, 

22 with ragged tents, primitive water and sewage facili23 ties, and few healthcare facilities or safe spaces for 

24 education. 

25 (6) International organizations working in the 

26 al-Hol and Roj camps, including Save the Children, 


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1 Doctors Without Borders, and the Norwegian Ref2 ugee Council, have all expressed concerns about poor 

3 living conditions, criminal behavior, and death 

4 threats against volunteers at the camps. 

5 (7) The Syrian Democratic Forces, essential 

6 partners in the ongoing fight to achieve an enduring 

7 defeat of ISIS, and who are responsible for guarding 

8 the al-Hol camp and other similar camps, assert 

9 that they lack the resources to properly secure such 

10 camps. 

11 (8) The United States currently has troops de12 ployed in Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of 

13 ISIS and support the Syrian Democratic Forces. 

14 (9) In 2021, 90 incidents of violence were re15 ported inside the al-Hol camp. Syrian and Iraqi 

16 camp residents and at least 2 aid workers were 

17 killed during such incidents. 

18 (10) Nearly 8,000 of the residents of the al-Hol 

19 camp come from roughly 55 countries other than 

20 Syria or Iraq, but such other countries have been 

21 slow to acknowledge repatriation requests. 

22 (11) Learning centers in the camps have closed 

23 because of COVID–19. Lacking formal education, 

24 some of the roughly 28,000 children inside the alVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Oct 12, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4996.IS S4996

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1 Hol camp are being taught by their mothers and are 

2 potentially being indoctrinated with ISIS ideology. 

3 (12) The Syrian Democratic Forces operate 28 

4 prisons that house approximately 12,000 captured 

5 ISIS fighters and supporters. 

6 (13) In January 2022, 10 ISIS fighters entered 

7 the Hasakah prison and sought to liberate the ap8 proximately 5,000 ISIS prisoners. After a 10-day 

9 battle, hundreds of ISIS fighters were able to es10 cape, and their whereabouts are still unknown. 

11 (14) Beginning approximately on August 25, 

12 2022, and ending approximately on September 18, 

13 2022, Syrian Democratic Forces, supported by 

14 United States troops, conducted an extensive secu15 rity sweep of the al-Hol displaced persons camp, ar16 resting 300 ISIS operatives, confiscating explosives, 

17 and liberating 6 women who had been enslaved by 

18 ISIS, at least 1 of whom had been so enslaved since 

19 she was a child. 

20 (15) In April 2022, General Michael ‘‘Erik’’ 

21 Kurilla, Commander of the United States Central 

22 Command, became the first senior official of United 

23 States Armed Forces to inspect the al-Hol camp and 

24 Hasakah prison. General Kurilla has described the 

25 ISIS detainees as ‘‘an ISIS army-in-waiting’’ that 


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1 ‘‘requires a whole-of-government approach focused 

2 on engagement with allies and partners.’’. 

3 (16) The first trial on United States soil of a 

4 major ISIS figure occurred in April 2022. The ISIS 

5 terrorist was sentenced to life in prison for his role 

6 in the kidnapping and murder of James Foley, Peter 

7 Kassig, Steven Sotloff, and Kayla Mueller. 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con9 gress that— 

10 (1) ISIS detainees held by the Syrian Demo11 cratic Forces and ISIS-affiliated individuals located 

12 within displaced persons camps in Syria pose a sig13 nificant and growing humanitarian challenge and se14 curity threat to the region; 

15 (2) there is an urgent need to seek a sustain16 able solution to such camps through repatriation and 

17 reintegration of the inhabitants; 

18 (3) the United States should work closely with 

19 international allies and partners to facilitate the re20 patriation and reintegration efforts required to pro21 vide a long-term solution for such camps and pre22 vent the resurgence of ISIS; and 

23 (4) if left unaddressed, such camps will con24 tinue to be drivers of instability that jeopardize the 


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1 long-term prospects for peace and stability in the re2 gion. 

3 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States that— 

5 (1) ISIS-affiliated individuals located within 

6 displacement camps in Syria, and other inhabitants 

7 of displacement camps in Syria, be repatriated or, 

8 where appropriate, prosecuted, and where possible, 

9 reintegrated into their country of origin, consistent 

10 with all applicable international laws prohibiting 

11 refoulement; and 

12 (2) the camps will be closed as soon as is prac13 ticable. 

14 SEC. 5. MODIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF COORDI15 NATOR FOR DETAINED ISIS MEMBERS AND 

16 RELEVANT DISPLACED POPULATIONS IN 

17 SYRIA. 

18 Section 1224 of the National Defense Authorization 

19 Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 

20 1642) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking subsection (a); 

22 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol23 lows: 

24 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President, in consulta2 tion with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

3 State, the Director of National Intelligence, the Sec4 retary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the 

5 United States Agency for International Develop6 ment, and the Attorney General, shall designate an 

7 existing official to serve within the executive branch 

8 as senior-level coordinator to coordinate, in conjunc9 tion with other relevant agencies, all matters related 

10 to ISIS members who are in the custody of the Syr11 ian Democratic Forces and other relevant displaced 

12 populations in Syria, including— 

13 ‘‘(A) the disposition of such individuals, in14 cluding in all matters related to— 

15 ‘‘(i) repatriation, transfer, prosecu16 tion, and intelligence gathering; 

17 ‘‘(ii) all multilateral and international 

18 engagements led by the Department of 

19 State and other agencies that are related 

20 to the current and future handling, deten21 tion, and prosecution of such ISIS mem22 bers, including such engagements with the 

23 International Criminal Police Organization; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the coordination of the provision 

2 of technical and evidentiary assistance to 

3 foreign countries to aid in the successful 

4 prosecution of such ISIS members, as ap5 propriate, in accordance with international 

6 humanitarian law and other internationally 

7 recognized human rights and rule of law 

8 standards; 

9 ‘‘(B) all multilateral and international en10 gagements related to humanitarian access and 

11 provision of basic services to, and freedom of 

12 movement and security and safe return of, dis13 placed persons at camps or facilities in Syria 

14 that hold family members of such ISIS mem15 bers; 

16 ‘‘(C) coordination with relevant agencies 

17 on matters described in this section; and 

18 ‘‘(D) any other matter the Secretary of 

19 State considers relevant. 

20 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If, on the date 

21 of the enactment of the Syria Detainee and Dis22 placed Persons Act, an individual has already been 

23 designated, consistent with the requirements and re24 sponsibilities described in paragraph (1), the re25 quirements under that paragraph shall be considered 


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1 to be satisfied with respect to such individual until 

2 the date on which such individual no longer serves 

3 as the Senior Coordinator.’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘subsection 

5 (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘January 31, 

7 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘January 31, 2025’’; 

8 (5) in subsection (f)— 

9 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

10 paragraph (3); 

11 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

12 following new paragraph (2): 

13 ‘‘(2) SENIOR COORDINATOR.—The term ‘Senior 

14 Coordinator’ means the individual designated under 

15 subsection (a).’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(4) RELEVANT AGENCIES.—The term ‘relevant 

19 agencies’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Department of State; 

21 ‘‘(B) the Department of Defense; 

22 ‘‘(C) the Department of the Treasury; 

23 ‘‘(D) the Department of Justice; 

24 ‘‘(E) the United States Agency for Inter25 national Development; 


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1 ‘‘(F) the Office of the Director of National 

2 Intelligence; and 

3 ‘‘(G) any other agency the President con4 siders relevant.’’; and 

5 (6) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 

6 as subsections (b) through (e), respectively. 

7 SEC. 6. STRATEGY ON ISIS-RELATED DETAINEE AND DIS8 PLACEMENT CAMPS IN SYRIA. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

11 in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Director 

12 of National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the 

13 Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter14 national Development, and the Attorney General, shall 

15 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress an 

16 interagency strategy with respect to ISIS-affiliated indi17 viduals and ISIS-related detainee and other displaced per18 sons camps in Syria. 

19 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

20 (a) shall include— 

21 (1) methods to address— 

22 (A) disengagement from and prevention of 

23 recruitment into violence, violent extremism, 

24 and other illicit activity in such camps; 


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1 (B) repatriation and, where appropriate, 

2 prosecution of foreign nationals from such 

3 camps, consistent with all applicable inter4 national laws; 

5 (C) the return and reintegration of dis6 placed Syrian and Iraqi women and children 

7 into their communities of origin; 

8 (D) international engagement to develop 

9 processes for repatriation and reintegration of 

10 foreign nationals from such camps; 

11 (E) contingency plans for the relocation of 

12 detained and displaced persons who are not able 

13 to be repatriated from such camps; 

14 (F) efforts to improve the humanitarian 

15 conditions in such camps, including through the 

16 delivery of medicine, psychosocial support, 

17 clothing, education, and improved housing; and 

18 (G) assessed humanitarian and security 

19 needs of all camps and detainment facilities 

20 based on prioritization of such camps and facili21 ties most at risk of humanitarian crises, exter22 nal attacks, or internal violence; and 

23 (2) a plan to improve, in such camps— 

24 (A) security conditions, including by train25 ing of personnel and through construction; and 


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1 (B) humanitarian conditions; 

2 (3) a framework for measuring progress of hu3 manitarian, security, and repatriation efforts with 

4 the goal of closing such camps; and 

5 (4) any other matter the Secretary of State 

6 considers appropriate. 

7 SEC. 7. ANNUAL INTERAGENCY REPORT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently 

10 than annually thereafter through January 31, 2025, the 

11 Senior Coordinator, in coordination with the relevant 

12 agencies, shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

13 Congress a detailed report that includes the following: 

14 (1) A detailed description of the facilities and 

15 camps where detained ISIS members, and families 

16 with perceived ISIS affiliation, are being held and 

17 housed, including— 

18 (A) a description of the security and man19 agement of such facilities and camps 

20 (B) an assessment of resources required 

21 for the security of such facilities and camps; 

22 and 

23 (C) an assessment of the adherence by the 

24 operators of such facilities and camps to inter25 national humanitarian law standards. 


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1 (2) A description of all efforts undertaken by 

2 the United States Government to address deficits in 

3 the humanitarian environment and security of such 

4 facilities and camps. 

5 (3) A description of all multilateral and inter6 national engagements related to humanitarian access 

7 and provision of basic services to, and freedom of 

8 movement and security and safe return of, displaced 

9 persons at camps or facilities in Iraq, Syria, and any 

10 other area affected by ISIS activity, including a de11 scription of— 

12 (A) support for efforts by the Syrian 

13 Democratic Forces to facilitate the return and 

14 reintegration of displaced people from Iraq and 

15 Syria; 

16 (B) repatriation efforts with respect to dis17 placed women and children; 

18 (C) any current or future potential threat 

19 to United States national security interests 

20 posed by detained ISIS members or displaced 

21 families, including an analysis of the al-Hol 

22 camp and annexes; and 

23 (D) United States Government plans and 

24 strategies to respond to any threat identified 

25 under subparagraph (C). 


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1 (4) To the greatest extent practicable under the 

2 law and consistent with Department of Justice pol3 icy, an analysis of— 

4 (A) United States efforts to prosecute de5 tained or displaced ISIS members; and 

6 (B) the outcomes of such efforts. 

7 (5) A detailed description of any option to expe8 dite prosecution of any detained ISIS member, in9 cluding in a court of competent jurisdiction outside 

10 of the United States. 

11 (6) An analysis of factors on the ground in 

12 Syria and Iraq that may result in the unintended re13 lease of detained or displaced ISIS members, and an 

14 assessment of any measures available to mitigate 

15 such releases. 

16 (7) A detailed description of efforts to coordi17 nate the disposition and security of detained or dis18 placed ISIS members with other countries and inter19 national organizations, including the International 

20 Criminal Police Organization, to ensure secure 

21 chains of custody and locations of such ISIS mem22 bers. 

23 (8) An analysis of the manner in which the 

24 United States Government communicates on such 

25 proposals and efforts with the families of United 


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1 States citizens believed to have been victims of a 

2 criminal act by a detained or displaced ISIS mem3 ber. 

4 (9) An analysis of all efforts between the 

5 United States and partner countries within the 

6 Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS or other countries to 

7 share intelligence or evidence that may aid in the 

8 prosecution of ISIS members, and any legal obsta9 cles that may hinder such efforts. 

10 (10) Any other matter the Coordinator con11 siders appropriate. 

12 (b) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 

13 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 

14 a classified annex. 

Æ 


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