II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 356 

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 

FEBRUARY 9, 2023 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. RISCH) 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF COORDI2 NATOR FOR DETAINED ISIS MEMBERS AND 

3 RELEVANT POPULATIONS IN SYRIA. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON6 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con7 gress’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

9 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Com10 mittee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 

11 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Se12 lect Committee on Intelligence, the Committee 

13 on Appropriations, and the Committee on 

14 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

15 of the Senate; and 

16 (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

17 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 

18 on the Judiciary, the Committee on Financial 

19 Services, the Permanent Select Committee on 

20 Intelligence, the Committee on Appropriations, 

21 and the Committee on Homeland Security of 

22 the House of Representatives. 

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

24 means a person who was part of, or substantially 

25 supported, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. 


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

2 Coordinator’’ means the coordinator for detained 

3 ISIS members and relevant displaced populations in 

4 Syria designated under subsection (a) of section 

5 1224 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

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

7 1642), as amended by subsection (d). 

8 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 

9 It is the sense of Congress that— 

10 (A) ISIS detainees held by the Syrian 

11 Democratic Forces and ISIS-affiliated individ12 uals located within displaced persons camps in 

13 Syria pose a significant and growing humani14 tarian challenge and security threat to the re15 gion; 

16 (B) the vast majority of individuals held in 

17 displaced persons camps in Syria are women 

18 and children, approximately 50 percent of 

19 whom are under the age of 12 at the al-Hol 

20 camp, and they face significant threats of vio21 lence and radicalization, as well as lacking ac22 cess to adequate sanitation and health care fa23 cilities; 


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1 (C) there is an urgent need to seek a sus2 tainable solution to such camps through repa3 triation and reintegration of the inhabitants; 

4 (D) the United States should work closely 

5 with international allies and partners to facili6 tate the repatriation and reintegration efforts 

7 required to provide a long-term solution for 

8 such camps and prevent the resurgence of ISIS; 

9 and 

10 (E) if left unaddressed, such camps will 

11 continue to be drivers of instability that jeop12 ardize the long-term prospects for peace and 

13 stability in the region. 

14 (c) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

15 United States that— 

16 (1) ISIS-affiliated individuals located within 

17 displacement camps in Syria, and other inhabitants 

18 of displacement camps in Syria, be repatriated and, 

19 where appropriate, prosecuted, or where possible, re20 integrated into their country of origin, consistent 

21 with all relevant domestic laws and applicable inter22 national laws prohibiting refoulement; and 

23 (2) the camps will be closed as soon as is prac24 ticable. 


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1 (d) MODIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF COORDI2 NATOR FOR DETAINED ISIS MEMBERS AND RELEVANT

3 DISPLACED POPULATIONS IN SYRIA.—Section 1224 of the 

4 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 

5 (Public Law 116–92; 133 Stat. 1642) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking subsection (a); 

7 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President, in consulta11 tion with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of 

12 State, the Director of National Intelligence, the Sec13 retary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the 

14 United States Agency for International Develop15 ment, and the Attorney General, shall designate an 

16 existing official to serve within the executive branch 

17 as senior-level coordinator to coordinate, in conjunc18 tion with other relevant agencies, matters related to 

19 ISIS members who are in the custody of the Syrian 

20 Democratic Forces and other relevant displaced pop21 ulations in Syria, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) by engaging foreign partners to sup23 port the repatriation and disposition of such in24 dividuals, including by encouraging foreign 

25 partners to repatriate, transfer, investigate, and 


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1 prosecute such ISIS members, and share infor2 mation; 

3 ‘‘(B) coordination of all multilateral and 

4 international engagements led by the Depart5 ment of State and other agencies that are re6 lated to the current and future handling, deten7 tion, and prosecution of such ISIS members; 

8 ‘‘(C) the funding and coordination of the 

9 provision of technical and other assistance to 

10 foreign countries to aid in the successful inves11 tigation and prosecution of such ISIS members, 

12 as appropriate, in accordance with relevant do13 mestic laws, international humanitarian law, 

14 and other internationally recognized human 

15 rights and rule of law standards; 

16 ‘‘(D) coordination of all multilateral and 

17 international engagements related to humani18 tarian access and provision of basic services to, 

19 and freedom of movement and security and safe 

20 return of, displaced persons at camps or facili21 ties in Syria that hold family members of such 

22 ISIS members; 

23 ‘‘(E) coordination with relevant agencies 

24 on matters described in this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) any other matter the President con2 siders relevant. 

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

4 of the enactment of the Syria Detainee and Dis5 placed Persons Act, an individual has already been 

6 designated, consistent with the requirements and re7 sponsibilities described in paragraph (1), the re8 quirements under that paragraph shall be considered 

9 to be satisfied with respect to such individual until 

10 the date on which such individual no longer serves 

11 as the Senior Coordinator.’’; 

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

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

14 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘subsection 

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

16 (5) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘January 31, 

17 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘January 31, 2025’’; 

18 (6) in subsection (f)— 

19 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

20 paragraph (3); 

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

22 following new paragraph (2): 

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

24 Coordinator’ means the individual designated under 

25 subsection (a).’’; and 


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

2 paragraph: 

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

4 agencies’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Department of State; 

6 ‘‘(B) the Department of Defense; 

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

8 ‘‘(D) the Department of Justice; 

9 ‘‘(E) the United States Agency for Inter10 national Development; 

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

12 Intelligence; and 

13 ‘‘(G) any other agency the President con14 siders relevant.’’; and 

15 (7) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) 

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

17 (e) STRATEGY ON ISIS-RELATED DETAINEE AND

18 DISPLACEMENT CAMPS IN SYRIA.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of 

22 Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the 

23 Secretary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the 

24 United States Agency for International Develop25 ment, and the Attorney General, shall submit to the 


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1 appropriate committees of Congress an interagency 

2 strategy with respect to ISIS-affiliated individuals 

3 and ISIS-related detainee and other displaced per4 sons camps in Syria. 

5 (2) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by 

6 paragraph (1) shall include— 

7 (A) methods to address— 

8 (i) disengagement from and preven9 tion of recruitment into violence, violent 

10 extremism, and other illicit activity in such 

11 camps; 

12 (ii) efforts to encourage and facilitate 

13 repatriation and, as appropriate, investiga14 tion and prosecution of foreign nationals 

15 from such camps, consistent with all rel16 evant domestic and applicable international 

17 laws; 

18 (iii) the return and reintegration of 

19 displaced Syrian and Iraqi women and 

20 children into their communities of origin; 

21 (iv) international engagement to de22 velop processes for repatriation and re23 integration of foreign nationals from such 

24 camps; 


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1 (v) contingency plans for the reloca2 tion of detained and displaced persons who 

3 are not able to be repatriated from such 

4 camps; 

5 (vi) efforts to improve the humani6 tarian conditions in such camps, including 

7 through the delivery of medicine, psycho8 social support, clothing, education, and im9 proved housing; and 

10 (vii) assessed humanitarian and secu11 rity needs of all camps and detainment fa12 cilities based on prioritization of such 

13 camps and facilities most at risk of hu14 manitarian crises, external attacks, or in15 ternal violence; 

16 (B) an assessment of— 

17 (i) rehabilitation centers in northeast 

18 Syria, including humanitarian conditions 

19 and processes for admittance and efforts to 

20 improve both humanitarian conditions and 

21 admittance processes for such centers and 

22 camps, as well as on the prevention of 

23 youth radicalization; and 

24 (ii) processes for being sent to, and 

25 resources directed towards, rehabilitation 


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1 centers and programs in countries that re2 ceive returned ISIS affiliated individuals, 

3 with a focus on the prevention of 

4 radicalization of minor children; 

5 (C) a plan to improve, in such camps— 

6 (i) security conditions, including by 

7 training of personnel and through con8 struction; and 

9 (ii) humanitarian conditions; 

10 (D) a framework for measuring progress of 

11 humanitarian, security, and repatriation efforts 

12 with the goal of closing such camps; and 

13 (E) any other matter the Secretary of 

14 State considers appropriate. 

15 (3) FORM.—The strategy required by para16 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 

17 may include a classified annex that is transmitted 

18 separately. 

19 (f) ANNUAL INTERAGENCY REPORT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not 

22 less frequently than annually thereafter through 

23 January 31, 2025, the Senior Coordinator, in co24 ordination with the relevant agencies, shall submit to 


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1 the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed 

2 report that includes the following: 

3 (A) A detailed description of the facilities 

4 and camps where detained ISIS members, and 

5 families with perceived ISIS affiliation, are 

6 being held and housed, including— 

7 (i) a description of the security and 

8 management of such facilities and camps; 

9 (ii) an assessment of resources re10 quired for the security of such facilities 

11 and camps; 

12 (iii) an assessment of the adherence 

13 by the operators of such facilities and 

14 camps to international humanitarian law 

15 standards; and 

16 (iv) an assessment of children held 

17 within such facilities and camps that may 

18 be used as part of smuggling operations to 

19 evade security at the facilities and camps. 

20 (B) A description of all efforts undertaken 

21 by, and the resources needed for, the United 

22 States Government to address deficits in the 

23 humanitarian environment and security of such 

24 facilities and camps. 


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1 (C) A description of all multilateral and 

2 international engagements related to humani3 tarian access and provision of basic services to, 

4 and freedom of movement and security and safe 

5 return of, displaced persons at camps or facili6 ties in Iraq, Syria, and any other area affected 

7 by ISIS activity, including a description of— 

8 (i) support for efforts by the Syrian 

9 Democratic Forces to facilitate the return 

10 and reintegration of displaced people from 

11 Iraq and Syria; 

12 (ii) repatriation efforts with respect to 

13 displaced women and children and male 

14 children aging into adults while held in 

15 these facilities and camps; 

16 (iii) any current or future potential 

17 threat to United States national security 

18 interests posed by detained ISIS members 

19 or displaced families, including an analysis 

20 of the al-Hol camp and annexes; and 

21 (iv) United States Government plans 

22 and strategies to respond to any threat 

23 identified under clause (iii). 


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1 (D) The number of individuals repatriated 

2 from the custody of the Syrian Democratic 

3 Forces. 

4 (E) An analysis of factors on the ground 

5 in Syria and Iraq that may result in the unin6 tended release of detained or displaced ISIS 

7 members, and an assessment of any measures 

8 available to mitigate such releases. 

9 (F) A detailed description of efforts to en10 courage the final disposition and security of de11 tained or displaced ISIS members with other 

12 countries and international organizations. 

13 (G) A description of foreign repatriation 

14 and rehabilitation programs deemed successful 

15 systems to model, and an analysis of the long16 term results of such programs. 

17 (H) A description of the manner in which 

18 the United States Government communicates 

19 regarding repatriation and disposition efforts 

20 with the families of United States citizens be21 lieved to have been victims of a criminal act by 

22 a detained or displaced ISIS member, in ac23 cordance with section 503(c) of the Victims’ 

24 Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 


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1 20141(c)) and section 3771 of title 18, United 

2 States Code. 

3 (I) An analysis of all efforts between the 

4 United States and partner countries within the 

5 Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS or other coun6 tries to share related information that may aid 

7 in resolving the final disposition of ISIS mem8 bers, and any obstacles that may hinder such 

9 efforts. 

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

12 (2) FORM.—The report required by paragraph 

13 (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

14 include a classified annex that is transmitted sepa15 rately. 

16 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec17 tion, or an amendment made by this section, may be con18 strued— 

19 (1) to limit the authority of any Federal agency 

20 to independently carry out the authorized functions 

21 of such agency; or 

22 (2) to impair or otherwise affect the activities 

23 performed by that agency as granted by law. 

Æ 


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