IIB 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 301 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

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

4 arbitrarily arrested since 2005. Roughly 100 Baha’is 

5 are presently imprisoned because of their religious 

6 beliefs. 

7 (2) In May 2010, suspected terrorists attacked 

8 two mosques in Pakistan belonging to the Ahmad9 diya minority Muslim sect, killing at least 80 people. 

10 Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim, but Pakistani 

11 law does not recognize them as such. 

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

13 was arrested in May 2010 on charges of apostasy, 

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

15 released in February 2011 only after sustained 

16 international pressure. 

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

18 Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, Iraq, 

19 killing at least 52 police and worshipers, including 

20 two priests, making it the worst massacre of Iraqi 

21 Christians since 2003. 

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

23 population that numbered an estimated 1,500,000 

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

25 2003 has been reduced by at least one half, due in 

26 significant part to Christians fleeing the violence. 


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1 (6) In November 2010, a Pakistani court sen2 tenced Aasia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, to 

3 death under the country’s blasphemy law for insult4 ing the Prophet Muhammad. 

5 (7) Since early 2011, violent sectarian attacks 

6 targeting Coptic Orthodox Christians and their prop7 erty increased significantly, resulting in nearly 100 

8 deaths, mostly Coptic Christians, surpassing the 

9 death toll of the 10 previous years combined. 

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

11 Brotherhood, Coptic Christians, numbering 8 to 10 

12 million, have been under increased threat and many 

13 are reported to have fled the country during former 

14 President Mohamed Morsi’s rule. 

15 (9) On March 2, 2011, Pakistani Federal Mi16 norities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian 

17 member of the Cabinet, who was outspoken in his 

18 opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws was assas19 sinated by extremists. 

20 (10) The former Special Envoy to Monitor and 

21 Combat Anti-Semitism, Hannah Rosenthal, has 

22 noted that Holocaust glorification ‘‘is especially viru23 lent in Middle Eastern media, some of which is 

24 state-owned and operated, which calls for a new Hol25 ocaust to finish the job’’. 


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

2 Syrian Christians and other religious minorities, 

3 which comprise roughly 10 percent of the popu4 lation, are particularly vulnerable lacking their own 

5 militias and regional protectors. 

6 (12) Many of these ancient faith communities 

7 are being forced to flee the lands which they have 

8 inhabited for centuries. 

9 (13) The United States Commission on Inter10 national Religious Freedom has recommended that 

11 Egypt, Tajikistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Ara12 bia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan be designated by 

13 the Department of State as Countries of Particular 

14 Concern in accordance with the International Reli15 gious Freedom Act of 1998. 

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

17 continues to develop rapidly and the United States 

18 Government needs an individual who can respond in 

19 kind and focus on the critical situation of religious 

20 minorities in these countries. 

21 (15) There are historical precedents, including 

22 the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti23 Semitism, the Special Envoy for North Korea 

24 Human Rights Issues, and the South Sudan and 

25 Sudan Special Envoy, for the Department of State, 


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1 either as a result of legislative mandate or initiative 

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

3 targeted focus on an area or issue of recognized im4 port. 

5 SEC. 2. SPECIAL ENVOY TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS FREE6 DOM OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE 

7 NEAR EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA. 

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

9 Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious 

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

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

12 Department of State. 

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

14 a person of recognized distinction in the field of human 

15 rights and religious freedom and with expertise in the 

16 Near East and South Central Asia regions. The Special 

17 Envoy shall have the rank of ambassador and shall hold 

18 the office at the pleasure of the President. 

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

20 Envoy may not hold any other position of Federal employ21 ment for the period of time during which the person holds 

22 the position of Special Envoy. 

23 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

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

25 the following duties: 


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1 (1) Promote the right of religious freedom of 

2 religious minorities in the countries of the Near 

3 East and the countries of South Central Asia, de4 nounce the violation of such right, and recommend 

5 appropriate responses by the United States Govern6 ment when such right is violated. 

7 (2) Monitor and combat acts of religious intol8 erance and incitement targeted against religious mi9 norities in the countries of the Near East and the 

10 countries of South Central Asia. 

11 (3) Work to ensure that the unique needs of re12 ligious minority communities in the countries of the 

13 Near East and the countries of South Central Asia 

14 are addressed, including the economic and security 

15 needs of such communities to the extent that such 

16 needs are directly tied to religious-based discrimina17 tion and persecution. 

18 (4) Work with foreign governments of the coun19 tries of the Near East and the countries of South 

20 Central Asia to address laws that are inherently dis21 criminatory toward religious minority communities 

22 in such countries. 

23 (5) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 

24 that portion of the report required by sections 

25 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 


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

2 to the nature and extent of religious freedom of reli3 gious minorities in the countries of the Near East 

4 and the countries of South Central Asia. 

5 (6) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 

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

7 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

8 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b)) relating to the nature and ex9 tent of religious freedom of religious minorities in 

10 the countries of the Near East and the countries of 

11 South Central Asia. 

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

13 under subsection (a), the Special Envoy shall, to the max14 imum extent practicable, coordinate with the Bureau of 

15 Population, Refugees and Migration of the Department of 

16 State, the Ambassador at Large for International Reli17 gious Freedom, the United States Commission on Inter18 national Religious Freedom, and other relevant Federal 

19 agencies and officials. 

20 SEC. 4. DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION. 

21 Subject to the direction of the President and the Sec22 retary of State, the Special Envoy is authorized to rep23 resent the United States in matters and cases relevant to 

24 religious freedom in the countries of the Near East and 

25 the countries of South Central Asia in— 


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1 (1) contacts with foreign governments, intergov2 ernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of 

3 the United Nations, the Organization of Security 

4 and Cooperation in Europe, and other international 

5 organizations of which the United States is a mem6 ber; and 

7 (2) multilateral conferences and meetings rel8 evant to religious freedom in the countries of the 

9 Near East and the countries of South Central Asia. 

10 SEC. 5. PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND CONSULTATION. 

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

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

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

14 Pakistan. 

15 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Special Envoy shall con16 sult with domestic and international nongovernmental or17 ganizations and multilateral organizations and institu18 tions, as the Special Envoy considers appropriate to fulfill 

19 the purposes of this Act. 

20 SEC. 6. FUNDING. 

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

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

23 2014 through 2018, $1,000,000 is authorized to be appro24 priated for each such fiscal year to carry out the provisions 

25 of this Act. 


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1 (b) FUNDING OFFSET.—To offset the costs to be in2 curred by the Department of State to carry out the provi3 sions of this Act for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the 

4 Secretary of State shall eliminate such positions within the 

5 Department of State, unless otherwise authorized or re6 quired by law, as the Secretary determines to be necessary 

7 to fully offset such costs. 

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

9 to be appropriated for ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Pro10 grams’’ to carry out the provisions of this Act. 

11 SEC. 7. SUNSET. 

12 This Act shall cease to be effective beginning on Octo13 ber 1, 2018. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 18, 

2013. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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