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113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 301 

To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote Religious 

Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2013 

Mr. WOLF (for himself, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. HOLT, Mr. GRIFFITH of Virginia, 

Mr. PETERS of Michigan, Mr. PITTS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) More than 500 Baha’is in Iran have been 

6 arbitrarily arrested since 2005. Roughly 100 Baha’is 

7 are presently imprisoned because of their religious 

8 beliefs. 

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1 (2) In May 2010, suspected terrorists attacked 

2 two mosques in Pakistan belonging to the Ahmad3 diya minority Muslim sect, killing at least 80 people. 

4 Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim, but Pakistani 

5 law does not recognize them as such. 

6 (3) Said Musa, an Afghan Christian convert, 

7 was arrested in May 2010 on charges of apostasy, 

8 a crime which can carry the death sentence, and was 

9 released in February 2011 only after sustained 

10 international pressure. 

11 (4) On October 31, 2010, gunmen laid siege on 

12 Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, Iraq, 

13 killing at least 52 police and worshipers, including 

14 two priests, making it the worst massacre of Iraqi 

15 Christians since 2003. 

16 (5) Iraq’s ancient and once vibrant Christian 

17 population that numbered an estimated 1,500,000 

18 out of a total population in Iraq of 30,000,000 in 

19 2003 has been reduced by at least one half, due in 

20 significant part to Christians fleeing the violence. 

21 (6) In November 2010, a Pakistani court sen22 tenced Aasia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, to 

23 death under the country’s blasphemy law for insult24 ing the Prophet Muhammad. 

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1 (7) Since early 2011, violent sectarian attacks 

2 targeting Coptic Orthodox Christians and their prop3 erty increased significantly, resulting in nearly 100 

4 deaths, mostly Coptic Christians, surpassing the 

5 death toll of the 10 previous years combined. 

6 (8) In Egypt, with the ascent of the Muslim 

7 Brotherhood, Coptic Christians, numbering roughly 

8 8 to 10 million, are leaving in droves. 

9 (9) On March 2, 2011, Pakistani Federal Mi10 norities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian 

11 member of the Cabinet, who was outspoken in his 

12 opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws was assas13 sinated by extremists. 

14 (10) The Special Envoy for Anti-Semitism, 

15 Hannah Rosenthal, has noted that Holocaust glorifi16 cation ‘‘is especially virulent in Middle Eastern 

17 media, some of which is state-owned and operated, 

18 which calls for a new Holocaust to finish the job’’. 

19 (11) In the midst of a devastating civil war, 

20 Syrian Christians and other religious minorities, 

21 which comprise roughly 10 percent of the popu22 lation, are particularly vulnerable lacking their own 

23 militias and regional protectors. 

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1 (12) Many of these ancient faith communities 

2 are being forced to flee the lands which they have 

3 inhabited for centuries. 

4 (13) The United States Commission on Inter5 national Religious Freedom has recommended that 

6 Egypt, Tajikistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Ara7 bia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan be designated by 

8 the Department of State as Countries of Particular 

9 Concern in accordance with the International Reli10 gious Freedom Act of 1998. 

11 (14) The situation on the ground in the region 

12 continues to develop rapidly and the United States 

13 Government needs an individual who can respond in 

14 kind and focus on the critical situation of religious 

15 minorities in these countries. 

16 (15) There are historical precedents, including 

17 the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti18 Semitism, the Special Envoy for North Korea 

19 Human Rights Issues, and the South Sudan and 

20 Sudan Special Envoy, for the Department of State, 

21 either as a result of legislative mandate or initiative 

22 of the Secretary of State, to create positions with a 

23 targeted focus on an area or issue of recognized im24 port. 

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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL ENVOY TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS FREE2 DOM OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE 

3 NEAR EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA. 

4 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall appoint a 

5 Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious 

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

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

8 Department of State. 

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

10 a person of recognized distinction in the field of human 

11 rights and religious freedom and with expertise in the 

12 Near East and South Central Asia regions. The Special 

13 Envoy shall have the rank of ambassador and shall hold 

14 the office at the pleasure of the President. 

15 (c) PROHIBITION.—The person appointed as Special 

16 Envoy may not hold any other position of Federal employ17 ment for the period of time during which the person holds 

18 the position of Special Envoy. 

19 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

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

21 the following duties: 

22 (1) Promote the right of religious freedom of 

23 religious minorities in the countries of the Near 

24 East and the countries of South Central Asia, de25 nounce the violation of such right, and recommend 

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1 appropriate responses by the United States Govern2 ment when such right is violated. 

3 (2) Monitor and combat acts of religious intol4 erance and incitement targeted against religious mi5 norities in the countries of the Near East and the 

6 countries of South Central Asia. 

7 (3) Work to ensure that the unique needs of re8 ligious minority communities in the countries of the 

9 Near East and the countries of South Central Asia 

10 are addressed, including the economic and security 

11 needs of such communities to the extent that such 

12 needs are directly tied to religious-based discrimina13 tion and persecution. 

14 (4) Work with foreign governments of the coun15 tries of the Near East and the countries of South 

16 Central Asia to address laws that are inherently dis17 criminatory toward religious minority communities 

18 in such countries. 

19 (5) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 

20 that portion of the report required by sections 

21 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 

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

23 to the nature and extent of religious freedom of reli24 gious minorities in the countries of the Near East 

25 and the countries of South Central Asia. 

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1 (6) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 

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

3 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

4 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)) relating to the nature and ex5 tent of religious freedom of religious minorities in 

6 the countries of the Near East and the countries of 

7 South Central Asia. 

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

9 under subsection (a), the Special Envoy shall, to the max10 imum extent practicable, coordinate with the Bureau of 

11 Population, Refugees and Migration of the Department of 

12 State, the Ambassador at Large for International Reli13 gious Freedom, the United States Commission on Inter14 national Religious Freedom, and other relevant Federal 

15 agencies and officials. 

16 SEC. 4. DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION. 

17 Subject to the direction of the President and the Sec18 retary of State, the Special Envoy is authorized to rep19 resent the United States in matters and cases relevant to 

20 religious freedom in the countries of the Near East and 

21 the countries of South Central Asia in— 

22 (1) contacts with foreign governments, intergov23 ernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of 

24 the United Nations, the Organization of Security 

25 and Cooperation in Europe, and other international 

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1 organizations of which the United States is a mem2 ber; and 

3 (2) multilateral conferences and meetings rel4 evant to religious freedom in the countries of the 

5 Near East and the countries of South Central Asia. 

6 SEC. 5. PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND CONSULTATION. 

7 (a) PRIORITY COUNTRIES.—In carrying out this Act, 

8 the Special Envoy shall give priority to programs, projects, 

9 and activities for Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and 

10 Pakistan. 

11 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Special Envoy shall con12 sult with domestic and international nongovernmental or13 ganizations and multilateral organizations and institu14 tions, as the Special Envoy considers appropriate to fulfill 

15 the purposes of this Act. 

16 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available 

18 for ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Programs’’ for fiscal years 

19 2014 through 2018, $1,000,000 is authorized to be appro20 priated for each such fiscal year to carry out the provisions 

21 of this Act. 

22 (b) FUNDING OFFSET.—To offset the costs to be in23 curred by the Department of State to carry out the provi24 sions of this Act for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the 

25 Secretary of State shall eliminate such positions within the 

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1 Department of State, unless otherwise authorized or re2 quired by law, as the Secretary determines to be necessary 

3 to fully offset such costs. 

4 (c) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized 

5 to be appropriated for ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Pro6 grams’’ to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

7 SEC. 7. SUNSET. 

8 This Act shall cease to be effective beginning on Octo9 ber 1, 2018. 

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