113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 653 

AN ACT 

To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to 

Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in 

the Near East and South Central Asia. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

†S 653 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Near East and South 

3 Central Asia Religious Freedom Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SPECIAL ENVOY TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS FREE5 DOM OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE 

6 NEAR EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA. 

7 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The President may appoint a 

8 Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious 

9 Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia (in 

10 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’) within the 

11 Department of State. The Special Envoy shall have the 

12 rank of ambassador and shall hold the office at the pleas13 ure of the President. 

14 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Special Envoy should be 

15 a person of recognized distinction in the field of human 

16 rights and religious freedom and with expertise in the 

17 Near East and South Central Asia. 

18 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Special Envoy shall carry out 

20 the following duties: 

21 (1) Promote the right of religious freedom of 

22 religious minorities in the countries of the Near 

23 East and the countries of South Central Asia, de24 nounce the violation of such right, and recommend 

25 appropriate responses by the United States Govern26 ment when such right is violated. 
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1 (2) Monitor and combat acts of religious intol2 erance and incitement targeted against religious mi3 norities in the countries of the Near East and the 

4 countries of South Central Asia. 

5 (3) Work to ensure that the unique needs of re6 ligious minority communities in the countries of the 

7 Near East and the countries of South Central Asia 

8 are addressed, including the economic and security 

9 needs of such communities. 

10 (4) Work with foreign governments of the coun11 tries of the Near East and the countries of South 

12 Central Asia to address laws that are discriminatory 

13 toward religious minority communities in such coun14 tries. 

15 (5) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 

16 that portion of the report required by sections 

17 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 

18 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) and 2304(b)) relating 

19 to the nature and extent of religious freedom of reli20 gious minorities in the countries of the Near East 

21 and the countries of South Central Asia. 

22 (6) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 

23 that portion of the report required by section 102(b) 

24 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

25 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)) relating to the nature and ex-
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1 tent of religious freedom of religious minorities in 

2 the countries of the Near East and the countries of 

3 South Central Asia. 

4 (b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the duties 

5 under subsection (a), the Special Envoy shall, to the max6 imum extent practicable, coordinate with the Assistant 

7 Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migra8 tion, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious 

9 Freedom, the United States Commission on International 

10 Religious Freedom, and other relevant Federal agencies 

11 and officials. 

12 SEC. 4. DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION. 

13 Subject to the direction of the President and the Sec14 retary of State, the Special Envoy is authorized to rep15 resent the United States in matters and cases relevant to 

16 religious freedom in the countries of the Near East and 

17 the countries of South Central Asia in— 

18 (1) contacts with foreign governments, intergov19 ernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of 

20 the United Nations, the Organization of Security 

21 and Cooperation in Europe, and other international 

22 organizations of which the United States is a mem23 ber; and 
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1 (2) multilateral conferences and meetings rel2 evant to religious freedom in the countries of the 

3 Near East and the countries of South Central Asia. 

4 SEC. 5. CONSULTATIONS. 

5 The Special Envoy shall consult with domestic and 

6 international nongovernmental organizations and multilat7 eral organizations and institutions, as the Special Envoy 

8 considers appropriate to fulfill the purposes of this Act. 

9 SEC. 6. SUNSET. 

10 This Act shall cease to be effective beginning on Octo11 ber 1, 2019. 

12 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 

13 Of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made 

14 available to the Secretary of State for ‘‘Diplomatic and 

15 Consular Programs’’ for fiscal years 2015 through 2019, 

16 the Secretary of State is authorized to provide to the Spe17 cial Envoy $1,000,000 for each such fiscal year for the 

18 hiring of staff, the conduct of investigations, and nec19 essary travel to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

Passed the Senate July 10, 2014. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 653 

AN ACT 

To provide for the establishment of the Special 

Central Asia. gious Minorities in the Near East and South Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Reli-