II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1868

To express United States foreign policy with respect to, and to strengthen

United States advocacy on behalf of, individuals persecuted for their

faith worldwide; to authorize United States actions in response to religious persecution worldwide; to establish an Ambassador at Large on

International Religious Freedom within the Department of State, a Commission on International Religious Persecution, and a Special Adviser

on International Religious Freedom within the National Security Council;

and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 26, 1998

Mr. NICKLES (for himself, Mr. MACK, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. KEMPTHORNE,

Mr. CRAIG, Mr. HUTCHINSON, and Mr. DEWINE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign

Relations

A BILL

To express United States foreign policy with respect to,

and to strengthen United States advocacy on behalf of,

individuals persecuted for their faith worldwide; to authorize United States actions in response to religious

persecution worldwide; to establish an Ambassador at

Large on International Religious Freedom within the

Department of State, a Commission on International Religious Persecution, and a Special Adviser on International Religious Freedom within the National Security

Council; and for other purposes.
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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘International Religious Freedom Act of 1998’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings; policy.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIVITIES

Sec. 101. Office on International Religious Freedom; Ambassador at Large for

International Religious Freedom.

Sec. 102. Reports.

Sec. 103. Establishment of a religious freedom Internet site.

Sec. 104. Training for Foreign Service officers.

Sec. 105. High-level contacts with NGOs.

Sec. 106. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad.

Sec. 107. Equal access to United States missions abroad for conducting religious activities.

Sec. 108. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious persecution concerns.

TITLE II—COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS

PERSECUTION

Sec. 201. Establishment and composition.

Sec. 202. Duties of the Commission.

Sec. 203. Report of the Commission.

Sec. 204. Termination.

TITLE III—NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

Sec. 301. Special Adviser on Religious Persecution.

TITLE IV—SANCTIONS

Subtitle I—Targeted Responses to Religious Persecution Abroad

Sec. 401. Executive measures and sanctions in response to findings made in the

Annual Report on Religious Persecution.

Sec. 402. Presidential determinations of gross violations of the right to religious freedom.

Sec. 403. Consultations.

Sec. 404. Report to Congress.

Sec. 405. Description of Executive measures and sanctions.

Sec. 406. Contract sanctity.

Sec. 407. Presidential waiver.
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Sec. 408. Publication in Federal Register.

Sec. 409. Congressional review.

Sec. 410. Termination of sanctions.

Subtitle II—Strengthening Existing Law

Sec. 421. United States assistance.

Sec. 422. Multilateral assistance.

Sec. 423. Exports of items relating to religious persecution.

TITLE V—PROMOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Sec. 501. Assistance for promoting religious freedom.

Sec. 502. International broadcasting.

Sec. 503. International exchanges.

Sec. 504. Foreign Service awards.

TITLE VI—REFUGEE, ASYLUM, AND CONSULAR MATTERS

Sec. 601. Use of Annual Report.

Sec. 602. Reform of refugee policy.

Sec. 603. Reform of asylum policy.

Sec. 604. Inadmissibility of foreign government officials who have engaged in

gross violations of the right to religious freedom.

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 701. Business codes of conduct.

Sec. 702. International Criminal Court.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; POLICY.

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

4 (1) Freedom of religious belief and practice is

5 a fundamental human right articulated in numerous

6 international agreements and covenants, including

7 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the

8 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

9 the Helsinki Accords, the Declaration on the Elimi10 nation of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimina11 tion Based on Religion or Belief, the United Nations

12 Charter, and the European Convention for the Pro-
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1 tection of Human Rights and Fundamental Free2 doms.

3 (2) The right to freedom of religion undergirds

4 the very origin and existence of the United States.

5 Many of our Nation’s founders fled religious perse6 cution abroad, cherishing in their hearts and minds

7 the ideal of religious freedom. They established in

8 law, as a fundamental right and as a pillar of our

9 Nation, the right to freedom of religion. From its

10 birth to this day, the United States has prized this

11 legacy of religious freedom and honored this heritage

12 by standing for religious freedom and offering refuge

13 to those suffering religious persecution.

14 (3) Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of

15 Human Rights recognizes that ‘‘Everyone has the

16 right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

17 This right includes freedom to change his religion or

18 belief, and freedom, either alone or in community

19 with others and in public or private, to manifest his

20 religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and

21 observance.’’. Article 18(1) of the International Cov22 enant on Civil and Political Rights recognizes that

23 ‘‘Everyone shall have the right to freedom of

24 thought, conscience, and religion. This right shall in25 clude freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief
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1 of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in

2 community with others and in public or private, to

3 manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance,

4 practice, and teaching’’. Governments have the re5 sponsibility to protect the fundamental rights of

6 their citizens and to pursue justice for all. Religious

7 freedom is a fundamental right of every individual,

8 regardless of race, country, creed, or nationality, and

9 should never be arbitrarily abridged by any govern10 ment.

11 (4) The right to freedom of religion is under re12 newed and, in some cases, increasing assault in

13 many countries around the world. More than one14 half of the world’s population lives under regimes

15 that severely restrict or prohibit the freedom of their

16 citizens to study, believe, observe, and freely practice

17 the religious faith of their choice. Religious believers

18 and communities suffer both government-sponsored

19 and government-tolerated violations of their rights to

20 religious freedom. Among the many forms of such

21 violations are state-sponsored slander campaigns,

22 confiscations of property, surveillance by security po23 lice, including by special divisions of ‘‘religious po24 lice’’, severe prohibitions against construction and

25 repair of places of worship, denial of the right to as-
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1 semble and relegation of religious communities to il2 legal status through arbitrary registration laws, pro3 hibitions against the pursuit of education or public

4 office, and prohibitions against publishing, distribut5 ing, or possessing religious literature and materials.

6 (5) Even more abhorrent, religious believers in

7 many countries face such severe and violent forms of

8 religious persecution as detention, torture, beatings,

9 forced marriage, rape, imprisonment, enslavement,

10 mass resettlement, and death merely for the peaceful

11 belief in, change of or practice of their faith. In

12 many countries, religious believers are forced to

13 meet secretly, and religious leaders are targeted by

14 national security forces and hostile mobs.

15 (6) Though not confined to a particular region

16 or regime, religious persecution is often particularly

17 widespread, systematic, and heinous under totali18 tarian governments and in countries with militant,

19 politicized religious majorities.

20 (7) Congress has recognized and denounced

21 acts of religious persecution through the adoption of

22 the following resolutions:

23 (A) House Resolution 515 (104th), ex24 pressing the sense of the House of Representa-
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1 tives with respect to the persecution of Chris2 tians worldwide.

3 (B) Senate Concurrent Resolution 71

4 (104th), expressing the sense of the Senate re5 garding persecution of Christians worldwide.

6 (C) House Concurrent Resolution 102,

7 concerning the emancipation of the Iranian

8 Baha’i community.

9 (b) POLICY.—It shall be the policy of the United

10 States, as follows:

11 (1) To condemn religious persecution, and to

12 promote, and to assist other governments in the pro13 motion of, the fundamental right to religious free14 dom.

15 (2) To seek to channel United States security

16 and development assistance to governments other

17 than those found to be engaged in gross violations

18 of human rights, including the right to religious

19 freedom, as set forth in the Foreign Assistance Act

20 of 1961, in the International Financial Institutions

21 Act of 1977, and in other formulations of United

22 States human rights policy.

23 (3) To be vigorous and flexible, reflecting both

24 the unwavering commitment of the United States to

25 religious freedom and the desire of the United
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1 States for the most effective and principled response,

2 in light of the range of violations of religious free3 dom by a variety of persecuting regimes, and the

4 status of the relations of the United States with dif5 ferent nations.

6 (4) To work with foreign governments that af7 firm and protect religious freedom, in order to de8 velop multilateral documents and initiatives to com9 bat religious persecution and promote the right to

10 religious freedom abroad.

11 (5) Standing for liberty and standing with the

12 persecuted, to use and implement appropriate tools

13 in the United States foreign policy apparatus, in14 cluding diplomatic, political, commercial, charitable,

15 educational, and cultural channels, to promote re16 spect for religious freedom by all governments and

17 peoples.

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

19 In this Act:

20 (1) AMBASSADOR AT LARGE.—The term ‘‘Am21 bassador at Large’’ means the Ambassador at Large

22 on International Religious Freedom appointed under

23 section 101(b).

24 (2) ANNUAL REPORT ON RELIGIOUS PERSECU25 TION.—The term ‘‘Annual Report on Religious Per-
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1 secution’’ means the report described in section

2 102(b).

3 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

6 of the Senate and the Committee on International

7 Relations of the House of Representatives and, in

8 the case of any determination made with respect to

9 the imposition of a sanction under paragraphs (9)

10 through (16) of section 405, the term ‘‘appropriate

11 congressional committees’’ includes those commit12 tees, together with the Committee on Ways and

13 Means and the Committee on Banking and Finan14 cial Services of the House of Representatives and

15 the Committee on Finance of the Senate.

16 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

17 means the United States Commission on Inter18 national Religious Persecution established in section

19 201(a).

20 (5) GOVERNMENT OR FOREIGN GOVERN21 MENT.—The term ‘‘government’’ or ‘‘foreign govern22 ment’’ includes any agency or instrumentality of the

23 government.

24 (6) GROSS VIOLATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO

25 FREEDOM OF RELIGION.—The term ‘‘gross viola-
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1 tions of the right to freedom of religion’’ means a

2 consistent pattern of gross violations of the right to

3 freedom of religion that include torture or cruel, in4 human, or degrading treatment or punishment, pro5 longed detention without charges, causing the dis6 appearance of persons by the abduction or clandes7 tine detention of those persons, or other flagrant de8 nial of the right to life, liberty, or the security of

9 persons, within the meaning of section 116(a) of the

10 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.

11 2151n(a)).

12 (7) HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS.—The term

13 ‘‘Human Rights Reports’’ means the reports submit14 ted by the Department of State to Congress under

15 sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance

16 Act of 1961.

17 (8) OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of18 fice on International Religious Freedom established

19 in section 101(a).

20 (9) RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.—The term ‘‘reli21 gious persecution’’ means any violation of the inter22 nationally recognized right to freedom of religion, as

23 defined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of

24 Human Rights and Article 18 of the International
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1 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including

2 violations such as—

3 (A) arbitrary prohibitions on, restrictions

4 of, or punishment for—

5 (i) assembling for peaceful religious

6 activities such as worship, preaching, and

7 prayer, including arbitrary registration re8 quirements,

9 (ii) speaking freely about one’s reli10 gious beliefs,

11 (iii) changing one’s religious beliefs

12 and affiliation,

13 (iv) possession and distribution of reli14 gious literature, including Bibles, or

15 (v) raising one’s children in the reli16 gious teachings and practices of one’s

17 choice,

18 as well as arbitrary prohibitions or restrictions

19 on the grounds of religion on holding public of20 fice, or pursuing educational or professional op21 portunities; and

22 (B) any of the following acts if committed

23 on account of an individual’s religious belief or

24 practice: detention, interrogation, harassment,

25 imposition of an onerous financial penalty,
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1 forced labor, forced mass resettlement, impris2 onment, beating, torture, mutilation, rape, en3 slavement, murder, and execution.

4 (10) SPECIAL ADVISER.—The term ‘‘Special

5 Adviser’’ means the Special Adviser to the President

6 on Religious Persecution established in section

7 101(i) of the National Security Act of 1947, as

8 added by section 301 of this Act.

9 TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF

10 STATE ACTIVITIES

11 SEC. 101. OFFICE ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREE12 DOM; AMBASSADOR AT LARGE FOR INTER13 NATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is estab15 lished within the Department of State an Office on Inter16 national Religious Freedom that shall be headed by the

17 Ambassador at Large on International Religious Freedom

18 appointed under subsection (b).

19 (b) APPOINTMENT.—The Ambassador at Large shall

20 be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and

21 consent of the Senate.

22 (c) DUTIES.—The Ambassador at Large shall have

23 the following responsibilities:

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The primary responsibility

25 of the Ambassador at Large shall be to advance the
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1 right to freedom of religion abroad, to denounce the

2 violation of that right, and to recommend appro3 priate responses by the United States Government

4 when this right is violated.

5 (2) ADVISORY ROLE.—The Ambassador at

6 Large shall be the principal adviser to the President

7 and the Secretary of State regarding matters affect8 ing religious freedom abroad and, with advice from

9 the Commission on International Religious Persecu10 tion, shall make recommendations regarding the

11 policies of the United States Government toward

12 governments that violate the freedom of religion or

13 that fail to ensure the individual’s right to religious

14 belief and practice.

15 (3) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—The Am16 bassador at Large is authorized to represent the

17 United States in matters and cases relevant to reli18 gious persecution in—

19 (A) contacts with foreign governments,

20 international organizations, intergovernmental

21 organizations, and specialized agencies of the

22 United Nations, the Organization on Security

23 and Cooperation in Europe, and other organiza24 tions of which the United States is a member;

25 and
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1 (B) multilateral conferences and meetings

2 relevant to religious persecution.

3 (4) REPORTING RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Am4 bassador at Large shall have the reporting respon5 sibilities described in section 102.

6 (d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of State shall provide

7 the Ambassador at Large with such funds as may be nec8 essary for the hiring of staff for the Office, for the conduct

9 of investigations by the Office, and for necessary travel

10 to carry out the provisions of this section.

11 SEC. 102. REPORTS.

12 (a) PORTIONS OF ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS RE13 PORTS.—The Ambassador at Large shall assist the Sec14 retary of State in preparing those portions of the Human

15 Rights Reports that relate to freedom of religion and dis16 crimination based on religion and those portions of other

17 information provided Congress under sections 116 and

18 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.

19 2151m, 2304) that relate to the right to religious freedom.

20 (b) ANNUAL REPORT ON RELIGIOUS PERSECU21 TION.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—

23 (A) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—Not

24 later than May 1 of each year, the Ambassador

25 at Large shall submit to the appropriate con-
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1 gressional committees an Annual Report on Re2 ligious Persecution, expanding upon the most

3 recent Human Rights Reports. Each Annual

4 Report on Religious Persecution shall contain

5 the following:

6 (i) An identification of each foreign

7 country the government of which engages

8 in or tolerates acts of religious persecution.

9 (ii) An assessment and description of

10 the nature and extent of religious persecu11 tion, including persecution of one religious

12 group by another religious group, religious

13 persecution by governmental and non14 governmental entities, persecution targeted

15 at individuals or particular denominations

16 or entire religions, and the existence of

17 government policies violating religious free18 dom.

19 (iii) A description of United States

20 policies in support of religious freedom, in21 cluding a description of the measures and

22 policies implemented during the preceding

23 12 months by the United States under title

24 IV of this Act in opposition to religious
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1 persecution and in support of religious

2 freedom.

3 (iv) A description of any binding

4 agreement with a foreign government en5 tered into by the United States under sec6 tion 402(c).

7 (B) CLASSIFIED ADDENDUM.—If the Am8 bassador determines that it is in the national

9 security interests of the United States or is nec10 essary for the safety of individuals to be identi11 fied in the Annual Report, any information re12 quired by subparagraph (A), including meas13 ures taken by the United States, may be sum14 marized in the Annual Report and submitted in

15 more detail in a classified addendum to the An16 nual Report.

17 (C) DESIGNATION OF REPORT.—Each re18 port submitted under this subsection may be re19 ferred to as the ‘‘Annual Report on Religious

20 Persecution’’.

21 (2) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT INPUT.—Prior to

22 submission of each report under this subsection, the

23 Secretary of State may offer the government of any

24 country concerned an opportunity to respond to the

25 relevant portions of the report. If the Secretary of
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1 State determines that doing so would further the

2 purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall request the

3 Ambassador at Large to include the country’s re4 sponse as an addendum to the Annual Report on

5 Religious Persecution.

6 (c) PREPARATION OF REPORTS REGARDING RELI7 GIOUS PERSECUTION.—

8 (1) STANDARDS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—The

9 Secretary of State shall ensure that United States

10 missions abroad maintain a consistent reporting

11 standard and thoroughly investigate reports of reli12 gious persecution.

13 (2) CONTACTS WITH NGOs.—In compiling data

14 and assessing the respect of the right to religious

15 freedom for the Human Rights Reports and the An16 nual Report on Religious Persecution, United States

17 mission personnel shall seek out and maintain con18 tacts with religious and human rights nongovern19 mental organizations, with the consent of those or20 ganizations, including receiving reports and updates

21 from such organizations and, when appropriate, in22 vestigating such reports.

23 (d) AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

24 ACT.—
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1 (1) CONTENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS FOR

2 COUNTRIES RECEIVING ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—

3 Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of

4 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para6 graph (4);

7 (B) by striking the period at the end of

8 paragraph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and ’’; and

9 (C) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(6) wherever applicable, the practice of reli11 gious persecution, including gross violations of the

12 right to religious freedom.’’.

13 (2) CONTENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS

14 FOR COUNTRIES RECEIVING SECURITY ASSIST15 ANCE.—Section 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance

16 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) is amended—

17 (A) by inserting ‘‘and with the assistance

18 of the Ambassador at Large for Religious Free19 dom’’ after ‘‘Labor’’; and

20 (B) by inserting after the second sentence

21 the following new sentence: ‘‘Such report shall

22 also include, wherever applicable, information

23 on religious persecution, including gross viola24 tions of the right to religious freedom.’’.
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1 SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF A RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

2 INTERNET SITE.

3 In order to facilitate access by nongovernmental orga4 nizations (NGOs) and by the public around the world to

5 international documents on the protection of religious

6 freedom, the Ambassador at Large shall establish and

7 maintain an Internet site containing major international

8 documents relating to religious freedom, the Annual Re9 port on Religious Persecution, and any other documenta10 tion or references to other sites as deemed appropriate or

11 relevant by the Ambassador at Large.

12 SEC. 104. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.

13 Chapter 2 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of

14 1980 is amended by adding at the end the following new

15 section:

16 ‘‘SEC. 708. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.

17 ‘‘The Secretary of State and the Ambassador at

18 Large on International Religious Freedom, appointed

19 under section 101(b) of the International Religious Free20 dom Act of 1998, acting jointly, shall establish as part

21 of the standard training for officers of the Service, includ22 ing chiefs of mission, instruction in the field of inter23 nationally recognized human rights. Such instruction shall

24 include—

25 ‘‘(1) standards for proficiency in the knowledge

26 of international documents and United States policy
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1 in human rights, and shall be mandatory for all

2 members of the Service having reporting responsibil3 ities relating to human rights, and for chiefs of mis4 sion; and

5 ‘‘(2) instruction on the international right to

6 freedom of religion, the nature, activities, and beliefs

7 of different religions, and the various aspects and

8 manifestations of religious persecution.’’.

9 SEC. 105. HIGH-LEVEL CONTACTS WITH NGOS.

10 United States chiefs of mission shall seek out and

11 contact religious nongovernmental organizations to pro12 vide high-level meetings with religious nongovernmental

13 organizations where appropriate and beneficial. United

14 States chiefs of mission and Foreign Service officers

15 abroad shall seek to meet with imprisoned religious leaders

16 where appropriate and beneficial.

17 SEC. 106. PROGRAMS AND ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS BY

18 UNITED STATES MISSIONS ABROAD.

19 It is the sense of Congress that—

20 (1) United States diplomatic missions in coun21 tries the governments of which engage in or tolerate

22 religious persecution should develop, as part of an23 nual program planning, a strategy to promote the

24 respect of the internationally recognized right to

25 freedom of religion; and
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1 (2) in allocating or recommending the allocation

2 of funds or the recommendation of candidates for

3 programs and grants funded by the United States

4 Government, United States diplomatic missions

5 should give particular consideration to those pro6 grams and candidates deemed to assist in the pro7 motion of the right to religious freedom.

8 SEC. 107. EQUAL ACCESS TO UNITED STATES MISSIONS

9 ABROAD FOR CONDUCTING RELIGIOUS AC10 TIVITIES.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this section, the Sec12 retary of State shall permit, on terms no less favorable

13 than that accorded other nongovernmental activities, ac14 cess to the premises of any United States diplomatic mis15 sion or consular post by any United States citizen seeking

16 to conduct an activity for religious purposes.

17 (b) TIMING AND LOCATION.—The Secretary of State

18 shall make reasonable accommodations with respect to the

19 timing and location of such access in light of—

20 (1) the number of United States citizens re21 questing the access (including any particular reli22 gious concerns regarding the time of day, date, or

23 physical setting for services);

24 (2) conflicts with official activities and other

25 nonofficial United States citizen requests;
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1 (3) the availability of openly conducted, orga2 nized religious services outside the premises of the

3 mission or post; and

4 (4) necessary security precautions.

5 (c) DISCRETIONARY ACCESS FOR FOREIGN NATION6 ALS.—The Secretary of State may permit access to the

7 premises of a United States diplomatic mission or consular

8 post to foreign nationals for the purpose of attending or

9 participating in religious activities conducted pursuant to

10 this title.

11 SEC. 108. PRISONER LISTS AND ISSUE BRIEFS ON RELI12 GIOUS PERSECUTION CONCERNS.

13 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—To encourage involve14 ment with religious persecution concerns at every possible

15 opportunity and by all appropriate representatives of the

16 United States Government, it is the sense of Congress that

17 officials of the executive branch of Government should

18 promote increased advocacy on such issues during meet19 ings between executive branch and congressional leaders

20 and foreign dignitaries.

21 (b) RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION PRISONER LISTS AND

22 ISSUE BRIEFS.—The Secretary of State, in consultation

23 with United States chiefs of mission abroad, regional ex24 perts, the Ambassador at Large, and nongovernmental

25 human rights and religious groups, shall prepare, and
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1 maintain issue briefs on religious freedom, on a country2 by-country basis, consisting of lists of persons believed to

3 be imprisoned for their religious faith, together with brief

4 evaluations and critiques of policies of the respective coun5 try restricting religious freedom. The Secretary of State

6 shall exercise appropriate discretion regarding the safety

7 and security concerns of prisoners in considering the inclu8 sion of their names on the lists.

9 (c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary

10 shall provide these religious freedom issue briefs to execu11 tive branch and congressional officials and delegations in

12 anticipation of bilateral contacts with foreign leaders, both

13 in the United States and abroad.

14 TITLE II—COMMISSION ON

15 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS

16 PERSECUTION

17 SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT AND COMPOSITION.

18 (a) GENERALLY.—There is established the United

19 States Commission on International Religious Persecu20 tion.

21 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—

22 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall be

23 composed of—

24 (A) the Ambassador at Large, who shall

25 serve as Chair; and
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1 (B) 6 other members, who shall be ap2 pointed as follows:

3 (i) 2 members of the Commission

4 shall be appointed by the President.

5 (ii) 2 members of the Commission

6 shall be appointed by the President pro

7 tempore of the Senate, upon the rec8 ommendations of the Majority Leader and

9 the Minority Leader.

10 (iii) 2 members of the Commission

11 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the

12 House of Representatives upon the rec13 ommendations of the Majority Leader and

14 the Minority Leader.

15 (2) SELECTION.—Members of the Commission

16 shall be selected among distinguished individuals

17 noted for their knowledge and experience in fields

18 relevant to the issue of international religious perse19 cution, including foreign affairs, human rights, and

20 international law.

21 (3) TIME OF APPOINTMENT.—The appoint22 ments required by paragraph (1) shall be made not

23 later than 120 days after the date of enactment of

24 this Act.
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1 (c) TERMS.—The term of office of each member of

2 the Commission shall be 2 years, except that an individual

3 may not serve more than 2 terms.

4 (d) QUORUM.—Four members of the Commission

5 constitute a quorum of the Commission.

6 (e) MEETINGS.—No more than 15 days after the

7 issuance of the Annual Report on Religious Persecution,

8 the Commission shall convene.

9 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Ambassador at

10 Large shall provide to the Commission such staff and ad11 ministrative services of the Office as may be necessary for

12 the Commission to perform its functions. The Secretary

13 of State shall assist the Ambassador at Large and the

14 Commission by detailing staff resources as needed and as

15 appropriate.

16 (g) FUNDING.—

17 (1) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Com18 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including

19 per diem in lieu of subsistence at rates authorized

20 for employees of agencies under subchapter I of

21 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while

22 away from their homes or regular places of business

23 in the performance of services for the Commission.

24 (2) NO COMPENSATION FOR GOVERNMENT EM25 PLOYEES.—Any member of the Commission who is
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1 an officer or employee of the United States shall not

2 be paid compensation for services performed as a

3 member of the Commission.

4 SEC. 202. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall have as its

6 primary responsibility the consideration of the facts and

7 circumstances of religious persecution presented in the

8 Annual Report on Religious Persecution, as well as infor9 mation from other sources as appropriate, and to make

10 appropriate policy recommendations to the President, the

11 Secretary of State, and Congress.

12 (b) POLICY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN RE13 SPONSE TO VIOLATIONS.—The Commission, in evaluating

14 the United States Government policies in response to reli15 gious persecution, shall consider and recommend policy

16 options, including diplomatic inquiries, diplomatic protest,

17 official public protest, demarche of protest, condemnation

18 within multilateral fora, cancellation of cultural or sci19 entific exchanges, or both, cancellation of state visits, re20 duction of certain assistance funds, termination of certain

21 assistance funds, imposition of targeted trade sanctions,

22 imposition of broad trade sanctions, and withdrawal of the

23 chief of mission.

24 (c) POLICY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN RE25 SPONSE TO PROGRESS.—The Commission, in evaluating
27

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1 the United States Government policies with respect to

2 countries found to be taking deliberate steps and making

3 significant improvement in respect for religious freedom,

4 shall consider and recommend policy options, including

5 private commendation, diplomatic commendation, official

6 public commendation, commendation within multilateral

7 fora, an increase in cultural or scientific exchanges, or

8 both, termination or reduction of existing sanctions, an in9 crease in certain assistance funds, and invitations for offi10 cial state visits.

11 (d) EFFECTS ON RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES AND IN12 DIVIDUALS.—Together with specific policy recommenda13 tions provided under subsections (b) and (c), the Commis14 sion shall also indicate its evaluation of the potential ef15 fects of such policies, if implemented, on the religious com16 munities and individuals whose rights are found to be vio17 lated in the country in question.

18 (e) MONITORING.—The Commission shall, on an on19 going basis, monitor facts and circumstances of religious

20 persecution, in consultation with independent human

21 rights groups and nongovernmental organizations, includ22 ing churches and other religious communities, and make

23 such recommendations as may be necessary to the appro24 priate officials and offices in the United States Govern25 ment.
28

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1 SEC. 203. REPORT OF THE COMMISSION.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 1 of each

3 year, the Commission shall submit a report to the Presi4 dent and to Congress setting forth its recommendations

5 for changes in United States policy based on its evalua6 tions under section 202.

7 (b) CLASSIFIED FORM OF REPORT.—The report may

8 be submitted in classified form, together with a public

9 summary of recommendations.

10 (c) INDIVIDUAL OR DISSENTING VIEWS.—Each

11 member of the Commission may include the individual or

12 dissenting views of the member.

13 SEC. 204. TERMINATION.

14 The Commission shall terminate 4 years after the ini15 tial appointment of Commissioners.

16 TITLE III—NATIONAL SECURITY

17 COUNCIL

18 SEC. 301. SPECIAL ADVISER ON RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.

19 Section 101 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50

20 U.S.C. 402) is amended by adding at the end the following

21 new subsection:

22 ‘‘(i) It is the sense of the Congress that there should

23 be within the staff of the National Security Council a Spe24 cial Adviser to the President on Religious Persecution,

25 whose position should be comparable to that of a director

26 within the Executive Office of the President. The Special
29

•S 1868 IS

1 Adviser should serve as a resource for executive branch

2 officials, compiling and maintaining information on the

3 facts and circumstances of religious persecution and viola4 tions of religious freedom, and making policy rec5 ommendations. The Special Adviser should serve as liaison

6 with the Ambassador at Large on International Religious

7 Freedom, the United States Commission on International

8 Religious Persecution, Congress and, as advisable, reli9 gious nongovernmental organizations.’’.

10 TITLE IV—SANCTIONS

11 Subtitle I—Targeted Responses to

12 Religious Persecution Abroad

13 SEC. 401. EXECUTIVE MEASURES AND SANCTIONS IN RE14 SPONSE TO FINDINGS MADE IN THE ANNUAL

15 REPORT.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each foreign country the gov17 ernment of which engages in or tolerates religious persecu18 tion, as described in the Annual Report on Religious Per19 secution, the President shall oppose such persecution and

20 promote the right to freedom of religion in that country

21 through the actions described in subsection (b).

22 (b) PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS.—As expeditiously as

23 practicable, but not later than one year after the date of

24 submission of each Annual Report on Religious Persecu25 tion, the President, in consultation with the Ambassador
30

•S 1868 IS

1 at Large, the Special Advisor, and the Commission, shall

2 take one or more of the actions described in paragraphs

3 (1) through (16) of section 405(a) with respect to a for4 eign government described in subsection (a).

5 (c) EXECUTIVE MEASURES.—The President shall no6 tify the appropriate congressional committees and, as ap7 propriate, the Commission, of any measure or measures

8 taken by the President under paragraphs (1) through (8)

9 of section 405(a).

10 (d) SANCTIONS.—Any measure imposed under para11 graphs (9) through (16) of section 405(a) may only be

12 imposed in accordance with the procedures set forth in

13 section 409 after the requirements of sections 403 and

14 404 have been satisfied.

15 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection

17 (b), the President shall—

18 (A) take the action or actions that most

19 appropriately respond to the nature and sever20 ity of the religious persecution;

21 (B) seek to the fullest extent possible to

22 target action as narrowly as practicable with re23 spect to the agency or instrumentality of the

24 foreign government, or specific officials thereof,

25 that are responsible for such persecution; and
31

•S 1868 IS

1 (C) make every reasonable effort to con2 clude a binding agreement concerning the ces3 sation of such persecution.

4 (2) GUIDELINES FOR SANCTIONS.—In addition

5 to the guidelines under paragraph (1), the Presi6 dent, in determining whether to impose a sanction

7 under paragraphs (9) through (16) of section 405(a)

8 or commensurate action under section 405(b), shall

9 seek to minimize any adverse impact on—

10 (A) the population of the country whose

11 government is targeted by the sanction or sanc12 tions; and

13 (B) the humanitarian activities of United

14 States and foreign nongovernmental organiza15 tions in such country.

16 SEC. 402. PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATIONS OF GROSS VIO17 LATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREE18 DOM.

19 (a) DETERMINATION OF GROSS VIOLATIONS OF THE

20 RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—Not more than 30

21 days after transmittal of the Annual Report on Religious

22 Persecution to the appropriate congressional committees,

23 the President, in consultation with the Ambassador at

24 Large, the Special Advisor, and the Commission shall de25 termine whether any of the governments of the countries
32

•S 1868 IS

1 described in the Annual Report on Religious Persecution

2 have engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violations

3 of the right to religious freedom.

4 (b) DETERMINATION OF RESPONSIBLE PARTIES.—

5 The President shall at the same time as the determination

6 under subsection (a) identify, to the extent practicable for

7 each foreign government under that subsection, the re8 sponsible agency or instrumentality thereof and specific

9 officials thereof that are responsible for such gross viola10 tions, in order to appropriately target sanctions in re11 sponse.

12 (c) SANCTIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS ENGAGED

13 IN GROSS VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) of

15 this subsection, in the case of a determination under

16 subsection (a) with respect to a foreign government,

17 unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of dis18 approval in accordance with section 409, the Presi19 dent shall carry out one or more of the following ac20 tions after the requirements of sections 403 and 404

21 have been satisfied:

22 (A) SANCTIONS.—One or more of the sanc23 tions described in paragraphs (9) through (16)

24 of section 405(a), to be determined by the

25 President.
33

•S 1868 IS

1 (B) COMMENSURATE ACTIONS.—Commen2 surate action, as described in section 405(b).

3 (2) SUBSTITUTION OF BINDING AGREE4 MENTS.—In lieu of carrying out action under para5 graph (1), the President may conclude a binding

6 agreement with the respective foreign government

7 concerning the cessation of such violations. The ex8 istence of a binding agreement under this paragraph

9 with a foreign government shall be considered by the

10 President prior to making any determination under

11 section 401 or this section.

12 SEC. 403. CONSULTATIONS.

13 (a) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH FOREIGN GOVERN14 MENTS PRIOR TO IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall—

16 (A) as soon as practicable after a deter17 mination is made under section 402(a) or a

18 sanction is proposed to be taken under section

19 401(d), request consultation with each respec20 tive foreign government regarding the violations

21 determined under those sections; and

22 (B) if agreed to, enter into such consulta23 tions, privately or publicly.

24 (2) USE OF MULTILATERAL FORA.—If the

25 President determines it to be appropriate, such con-
34

•S 1868 IS

1 sultations may be sought and may occur in a multi2 lateral forum.

3 (3) ELECTION OF NONDISCLOSURE OF NEGO4 TIATIONS TO PUBLIC.—If negotiations are under5 taken or an agreement is reached with a foreign gov6 ernment regarding steps to alter the pattern of vio7 lations by that government, and if public disclosure

8 of such negotiations or agreement would jeopardize

9 the negotiations or the implementation of such

10 agreement, as the case may be, the President may

11 refrain from disclosing such negotiations and such

12 agreement to the public, except that the President

13 shall inform the appropriate congressional commit14 tees of the nature and extent of such negotiations

15 and any agreement reached.

16 (b) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH HUMANITARIAN ORGA17 NIZATIONS.—The President shall consult with appropriate

18 humanitarian and religious organizations concerning the

19 potential impact of the intended sanctions.

20 (c) DUTY TO CONSULT WITH UNITED STATES IN21 TERESTED PARTIES.—The President shall consult with

22 United States interested parties as to the potential impact

23 of the intended sanctions on the economic or other inter24 ests of the United States. The President shall provide the

25 opportunity for consultation with, and the submission of
35

•S 1868 IS

1 comments by, those United States interested parties likely

2 to be affected by intended United States measures.

3 SEC. 404. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), not

5 later than September 1 of any year in which a determina6 tion is made under section 402(a) with respect to a foreign

7 country, or not later than 90 days after the President may

8 determine to take action under section 401(d) with respect

9 to a foreign country, as the case may be, the President

10 shall submit a report to Congress containing the following:

11 (1) IDENTIFICATION OF SANCTIONS.—An iden12 tification of the sanction or sanctions described in

13 paragraphs (9) through (16) of section 405(a) pro14 posed to be taken against the foreign country.

15 (2) DESCRIPTION OF VIOLATIONS.—A descrip16 tion of the violations giving rise to the sanction or

17 sanctions proposed to be taken.

18 (3) PURPOSES OF SANCTIONS.—A description

19 of the purpose of the sanction.

20 (4) EVALUATION.—An evaluation, in consulta21 tion with the Ambassador at Large, the Commission,

22 the Special Advisor, and the parties described in sec23 tion 403 (b) and (c) of (A) the impact upon the for24 eign government, (B) the impact upon the popu25 lation of the country, and (C) the impact upon the
36

•S 1868 IS

1 United States economy and other interested parties.

2 The President may withhold part or all of such eval3 uation from the public but shall provide the entire

4 evaluation to the appropriate congressional commit5 tees.

6 (5) EXHAUSTION OF POLICY OPTIONS.—A

7 statement that other policy options designed to bring

8 about alteration of the gross violations of the right

9 to religious freedom have reasonably been exhausted,

10 including the consultations required in section 403.

11 (6) DESCRIPTION OF MULTILATERAL NEGOTIA12 TIONS.—A description of multilateral negotiations

13 sought or carried out, if appropriate and applicable.

14 (b) DELAY IN TRANSMITTAL OF REPORT FOR THE

15 PURPOSE OF CONTINUING NEGOTIATIONS.—If, on or be16 fore the date that the President would (but for this sub17 section) submit a proposal under subsection (a) to Con18 gress to impose any sanction under paragraphs (9)

19 through (16) of section 405(a) against a foreign country—

20 (1) negotiations are still taking place with the

21 government of that country, and

22 (2) the President determines and certifies to

23 Congress that a single, additional period of time not

24 to exceed 90 days is necessary for such negotiations

25 to continue, then the President shall not be required
37

•S 1868 IS

1 to submit the proposal to Congress until the expira2 tion of that period of time.

3 SEC. 405. DESCRIPTION OF EXECUTIVE MEASURES AND

4 SANCTIONS.

5 (a) DESCRIPTION OF MEASURES AND SANCTIONS.—

6 Except as provided in subsection (d), the Executive meas7 ures and sanctions referred to in this subsection are the

8 following:

9 (1) A private demarche.

10 (2) An official public demarche.

11 (3) A public condemnation.

12 (4) A public condemnation within one or more

13 multilateral fora.

14 (5) The cancellation of one or more scientific

15 exchanges.

16 (6) The cancellation of one or more cultural ex17 changes.

18 (7) The denial of one or more state visits.

19 (8) The cancellation of one or more state visits.

20 (9) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of

21 United States development assistance in accordance

22 with the provisions of section 116 of the Foreign As23 sistance Act of 1961.

24 (10) Directing the Export-Import Bank of the

25 United States, the Overseas Private Investment Cor-
38

•S 1868 IS

1 poration, or the Trade and Development Agency not

2 to approve the issuance of any (or a specified num3 ber of) guarantees, insurance, extensions of credit,

4 or participations in the extension of credit with re5 spect to the specific government, agency, instrumen6 tality, or official determined by the President to be

7 responsible for gross violations of the right to reli8 gious freedom.

9 (11) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension

10 of United States security assistance in accordance

11 with the provisions of section 502B of the Foreign

12 Assistance Act of 1961.

13 (12) The withdrawal, limitation, or suspension

14 of preferential tariff treatment accorded under—

15 (A) title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (relat16 ing to the Generalized System of Preferences);

17 (B) the Caribbean Basin Economic Recov18 ery Act;

19 (C) the Andean Trade Preference Act; or

20 (D) any other law providing preferential

21 tariff treatment.

22 (13) Consistent with section 701 of the Inter23 national Financial Institutions Act of 1977, direct24 ing the United States executive directors of inter25 national financial institutions to vote against loans
39

•S 1868 IS

1 primarily benefiting the specific foreign government,

2 agency, instrumentality, or official determined by the

3 President to be responsible for such persecution.

4 (14) Ordering the heads of the appropriate

5 United States agencies not to issue any (or a speci6 fied number of) specific licenses and not to grant

7 any other specific authority (or a specified number

8 of authorities) to export any goods or technology to

9 the specific foreign government, agency, instrumen10 tality, or official determined by the President to be

11 responsible for such persecution under—

12 (A) the Export Administration Act of

13 1979;

14 (B) the Arms Export Control Act;

15 (C) the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; or

16 (D) any other statute that requires the

17 prior review and approval of the United States

18 Government as a condition for the export or re19 export of goods or services.

20 (15) Prohibiting any United States financial in21 stitution from making loans or providing credits to22 taling more than $10,000,000 in any 12-month pe23 riod to the specific foreign government, agency, in24 strumentality, or official determined by the Presi25 dent to be responsible for the violations.
40

•S 1868 IS

1 (16) Prohibiting the United States Government

2 from procuring, or entering into any contract for the

3 procurement of, any goods or services from the for4 eign government, entities, or officials determined by

5 the President to be responsible for the violations.

6 (b) COMMENSURATE ACTION.—Except as provided in

7 subsection (d), the President may substitute any other ac8 tion authorized by law for any action described in para9 graphs (1) through (16) of subsection (a) if such action

10 is commensurate in effect to the action substituted and

11 if the action would further the policy of the United States

12 set forth in section 2 of this Act. The President shall seek

13 to take all appropriate and feasible actions authorized by

14 law to obtain the cessation of the violations. In the case

15 of the development of commensurate action as a substitute

16 for any sanction described in paragraphs (9) through (16)

17 of subsection (a), the President shall conduct all consulta18 tions described in section 403 prior to taking such action.

19 If commensurate action is taken, the President shall re20 port such action, together with an explanation for taking

21 such action, to the appropriate congressional committees.

22 (c) BINDING AGREEMENTS.—The President may ne23 gotiate and enter into a binding agreement with a foreign

24 government that obligates such government to cease, or

25 take substantial steps to address and phase out, the act,
41

•S 1868 IS

1 policy, or practice constituting the religious persecution.

2 The entry into force of a binding agreement for the ces3 sation of the violations shall be a primary objective for

4 the President in responding to a foreign government that

5 engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of the

6 right to religious freedom.

7 (d) EXCEPTIONS.—Any action taken pursuant to

8 subsection (a) or (b) may not—

9 (1) prohibit or restrict the provision of medi10 cine, medical equipment or supplies, food, or other

11 humanitarian assistance; or

12 (2) impede any action taken by the United

13 States Government to enforce the right to maintain

14 intellectual property rights.

15 SEC. 406. CONTRACT SANCTITY.

16 The President shall not be required to apply or main17 tain any sanction under this subtitle—

18 (1) in the case of procurement of defense arti19 cles or defense services—

20 (A) under existing contracts or sub21 contracts, including the exercise of options for

22 production quantities to satisfy requirements

23 essential to the national security of the United

24 States;
42

•S 1868 IS

1 (B) if the President determines in writing

2 that the person or other entity to which the

3 sanction would otherwise be applied is a sole

4 source supplier of the defense articles or serv5 ices, that the defense articles or services are es6 sential, and that alternative sources are not

7 readily or reasonably available; or

8 (C) if the President determines in writing

9 that such articles or services are essential to the

10 national security under defense coproduction

11 agreements; or

12 (2) to products or services provided under con13 tracts entered into before the date on which the

14 President publishes his intention to impose the sanc15 tion.

16 SEC. 407. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.

17 The President may waive the requirement to take an

18 action under this subtitle with respect to a country, if—

19 (1) the President determines and so reports to

20 the appropriate congressional committees that—

21 (A) the respective foreign government has

22 ceased or taken substantial steps to cease the

23 violations giving rise to the imposition of the

24 measure or sanction;
43

•S 1868 IS

1 (B) the exercise of such waiver authority

2 would better further the purposes of this Act;

3 or

4 (C) the national security of the United

5 States requires the exercise of such waiver au6 thority; and

7 (2) the requirements of congressional review

8 under section 409 have been satisfied.

9 SEC. 408. PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.

10 The President shall cause to be published in the Fed11 eral Register the following:

12 (1) DETERMINATIONS OF VIOLATOR GOVERN13 MENTS, OFFICIALS, AND ENTITIES.—Consistent with

14 section 654(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of

15 1961, any determination that a government has en16 gaged in gross violations of the right to religious

17 freedom, together with, when applicable and pos18 sible, the officials or entities determined to be re19 sponsible for the violations. Such a determination

20 shall include a notification to all interested parties

21 to provide consultation and submit comments con22 cerning sanctions that may be taken by the United

23 States in response to the violations.

24 (2) SANCTIONS.—A description of any sanction

25 that takes effect pursuant to section 409, and the
44

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1 effective date of the sanction. A description of the

2 sanction may be withheld if disclosure is deemed to

3 jeopardize national security.

4 (3) DELAYS IN TRANSMITTAL OF SANCTION RE5 PORTS.—Any delay in transmittal of a sanction re6 port, as described in section 404(b).

7 (4) WAIVERS.—Any waiver under section 407.

8 SEC. 409. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—

10 (1) PROPOSALS SUBJECT TO CONGRESSIONAL

11 REVIEW.—Each of the following proposals shall take

12 effect 30 session days of Congress after the Presi13 dent transmits the proposal to Congress unless,

14 within such period, Congress enacts a joint resolu15 tion disapproving the sanction, waiver, or termi16 nation of a sanction, as the case may be, in accord17 ance with subsection (b):

18 (A) Any sanction proposed under section

19 404(a).

20 (B) Any waiver proposed under section

21 407(2).

22 (C) Any proposed termination of a sanc23 tion under section 410(2).

24 (2) SUBMISSION OF REVISED PROPOSALS TO

25 CONGRESS.—In the event that Congress enacts a
45

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1 joint resolution of disapproval under paragraph (1),

2 the President shall, within 30 days of the date of

3 any override of the President’s veto of that resolu4 tion, revise the proposed sanction, waiver, or termi5 nation of sanction and submit the revised proposal

6 to Congress for consideration in accordance with

7 subsection (b).

8 (b) CONGRESSIONAL PRIORITY PROCEDURES.—

9 (1) JOINT RESOLUTION DEFINED.—

10 (A) DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTIONS FOR

11 SANCTION PROPOSALS.—For the purpose of

12 subsection (a)(1)(A), the term ‘‘joint resolu13 tion’’ means only a joint resolution introduced

14 after the date on which the report of the Presi15 dent under section 404 is received by Congress,

16 the matter after the resolving clause of which is

17 as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves the

18 sanction or sanctions proposed by the President

19 in the report transmitted under section 404(a)

20 of the International Religious Freedom Act of

21 1998 on .’’, with the blank filled in

22 with the appropriate date.

23 (B) DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTIONS FOR

24 PRESIDENTIAL WAIVERS.—For the purpose of

25 subsection (a)(1)(B), the term ‘‘joint resolu-
46

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1 tion’’ means only a joint resolution introduced

2 after the date on which the report of the Presi3 dent under section 407(1) is received by Con4 gress, the matter after the resolving clause of

5 which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress disapproves

6 the waiver proposed by the President in the re7 port transmitted under section 407(1) of the

8 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998

9 on .’’, with the blank filled in with the

10 appropriate date.

11 (C) DISAPPROVAL RESOLUTIONS FOR PRO12 POSALS TO TERMINATE SANCTIONS.—For the

13 purpose of subsection (a)(1)(C), the term ‘‘joint

14 resolution’’ means only a joint resolution intro15 duced after the date on which the certification

16 of the President under section 410(2) is re17 ceived by Congress, the matter after the resolv18 ing clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That Con19 gress disapproves the termination of sanction or

20 sanctions proposed by the President in the cer21 tification transmitted under section 410(2) of

22 the International Religious Freedom Act of

23 1998 on .’’, with the blank filled in

24 with the appropriate date.
47

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1 (2) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term

2 ‘‘session day’’ means a day on which either House

3 of Congress is in session.

4 (3) REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE.—A resolution

5 described in paragraph (1) introduced in the House

6 of Representatives shall be referred to the Commit7 tee on International Relations of the House of Rep8 resentatives. A resolution described in paragraph (1)

9 introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the

10 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. Such

11 a resolution may not be reported before the eighth

12 day after its introduction.

13 (4) DISCHARGE FROM COMMITTEE.—If the

14 committee to which is referred a resolution described

15 in paragraph (1) has not reported such resolution

16 (or an identical resolution) at the end of fifteen cal17 endar days after its introduction, such committee

18 shall be discharged from further consideration of

19 such resolution and such resolution shall be placed

20 on the appropriate calendar of the House involved.

21 (5) FLOOR CONSIDERATION.—

22 (A) MOTION TO PROCEED.—When the

23 committee to which a resolution is referred has

24 reported, or has been deemed to be discharged

25 (under paragraph (4)) from further consider-
48

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1 ation of, a resolution described in paragraph

2 (1), notwithstanding any rule or precedent of

3 the Senate, including Rule 22, it is at any time

4 thereafter in order (even though a previous mo5 tion to the same effect has been disagreed to)

6 for any Member of the respective House to

7 move to proceed to the consideration of the res8 olution, and all points of order against the reso9 lution (and against consideration of the resolu10 tion) are waived. The motion is highly privi11 leged in the House of Representatives and is

12 privileged in the Senate and is not debatable.

13 The motion is not subject to amendment, or to

14 a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed

15 to the consideration of other business. A motion

16 to reconsider the vote by which the motion is

17 agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order.

18 If a motion to proceed to the consideration of

19 the resolution is agreed to, the resolution shall

20 remain the unfinished business of the respective

21 House until disposed of.

22 (B) DEBATE ON THE RESOLUTION.—De23 bate on the resolution, and on all debatable mo24 tions and appeals in connection therewith, shall

25 be limited to not more than ten hours, which
49

•S 1868 IS

1 shall be divided equally between those favoring

2 and those opposing the resolution. A motion

3 further to limit debate is in order and not de4 batable. An amendment to, or a motion to post5 pone, or a motion to proceed to the consider6 ation of other business, or a motion to recom7 mit the resolution is not in order. A motion to

8 reconsider the vote by which the resolution is

9 agreed to or disagreed to is not in order.

10 (C) VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE.—Imme11 diately following the conclusion of the debate on

12 a resolution described in paragraph (1), and a

13 single quorum call at the conclusion of the de14 bate if requested in accordance with the rules of

15 the appropriate House, the vote on final pas16 sage of the resolution shall occur.

17 (D) APPEALS OF RULINGS.—Appeals from

18 the decisions of the Chair relating to the appli19 cation of the rules of the Senate or the House

20 of Representatives, as the case may be, to the

21 procedure relating to a resolution described in

22 paragraph (1) shall be decided without debate.

23 (6) TREATMENT OF OTHER HOUSE’S RESOLU24 TION.—If, before the passage by one House of Con25 gress of a resolution of that House described in
50

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1 paragraph (1), that House receives from the other

2 House a resolution described in paragraph (1), then

3 the following procedures shall apply:

4 (A) REFERRAL OF RESOLUTIONS OF SEND5 ING HOUSE.—The resolution of the sending

6 House shall not be referred to a committee in

7 the receiving House.

8 (B) PROCEDURES IN RECEIVING HOUSE.—

9 With respect to a resolution of the House re10 ceiving the resolution—

11 (i) the procedure in that House shall

12 be the same as if no resolution had been

13 received from the sending House; but

14 (ii) the vote on final passage shall be

15 on the resolution of the sending House.

16 (C) DISPOSITION OF RESOLUTIONS OF RE17 CEIVING HOUSE.—Upon disposition of the reso18 lution received from the other House, it shall no

19 longer be in order to consider the resolution

20 originated in the receiving House.

21 (7) PROCEDURES AFTER ACTION BY BOTH THE

22 HOUSE AND SENATE.—If the House receiving a reso23 lution from the other House after the receiving

24 House has disposed of a resolution originated in that

25 House, the action of the receiving House with regard
51

•S 1868 IS

1 to the disposition of the resolution originated in that

2 House shall be deemed to be the action of the receiv3 ing House with regard to the resolution originated

4 in the other House.

5 (8) RULES OF THE SENATE AND THE

6 HOUSE.—This subsection is enacted by Congress—

7 (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power

8 of the Senate and House of Representatives, re9 spectively, and as such it is deemed a part of

10 the rules of each House, respectively, but appli11 cable only with respect to the procedure to be

12 followed in that House in the case of a resolu13 tion described in paragraph (1), and it super14 sedes other rules only to the extent that it is in15 consistent with such rules; and

16 (B) with full recognition of the constitu17 tional right of either House to change the rules

18 (so far as relating to the procedure of that

19 House) at any time, in the same manner and

20 to the same extent as in the case of any other

21 rule of that House.

22 SEC. 410. TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.

23 Any sanction imposed under section 409 with respect

24 to a foreign country shall terminate on the earlier of the

25 following dates:
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1 (1) TERMINATION DATE.—Within 2 years of

2 the effective date of the sanction unless expressly re3 authorized by law.

4 (2) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT ACTIONS.—Upon

5 the determination by the President and certification

6 to Congress that the foreign government has ceased

7 or taken substantial steps to cease the gross viola8 tions of religious freedom, subject to the congres9 sional review procedures described in section 409.

10 Subtitle II—Strengthening Existing

11 Law

12 SEC. 421. UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.

13 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROHIBITION ON ECO14 NOMIC ASSISTANCE.—Section 116(c) of the Foreign As15 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(c)) is amended—

16 (1) in the text above paragraph (1), by insert17 ing ‘‘and in consultation with the Ambassador at

18 Large for Religious Freedom’’ after ‘‘Labor’’.

19 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

20 (1);

21 (3) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (4) by adding at the end the following new

24 paragraph:

25 ‘‘(3) whether the government—
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1 ‘‘(A) has engaged in gross violations of the

2 right to freedom of religion; or

3 ‘‘(B) has failed to undertake serious and

4 sustained efforts to combat gross violations of

5 the right to freedom of religion, when such ef6 forts could have been reasonably undertaken.’’.

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROHIBITION ON MILITARY

8 ASSISTANCE.—Section 502B(a) of the Foreign Assistance

9 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)) is amended by adding

10 at the end the following new paragraph:

11 ‘‘(4) In determining whether the government of a

12 country engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations

13 of internationally recognized rights, the President shall

14 give particular consideration to whether the government—

15 ‘‘(A) has engaged in gross violations of the

16 right to freedom of religion; or

17 ‘‘(B) has failed to undertake serious and sus18 tained efforts to combat gross violations of the right

19 to freedom of religion, when such efforts could have

20 been reasonably undertaken.’’.

21 SEC. 422. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE.

22 Section 701 of the International Financial Institu23 tions Act (22 U.S.C. 262d) is amended by adding at the

24 end the following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(g) In determining whether a country is in gross vio2 lation of internationally recognized human rights stand3 ards, as described in subsection (a), the President, in con4 sultation with the Ambassador at Large, shall give par5 ticular consideration to whether a foreign government—

6 ‘‘(1) has engaged in gross violations of the right

7 to freedom of religion; or

8 ‘‘(2) has failed to undertake serious and sus9 tained efforts to combat gross violations of the right

10 to freedom of religion, when such efforts could have

11 been reasonably undertaken.’’.

12 SEC. 423. EXPORTS OF ITEMS RELATING TO RELIGIOUS

13 PERSECUTION.

14 (a) MANDATORY LICENSING.—Notwithstanding any

15 other provision of law, the Secretary of Commerce, with

16 the concurrence of the Secretary of State, the Ambassador

17 at Large, and the Special Adviser, shall include on the

18 list of crime control and detection instruments or equip19 ment controlled for export and reexport under section 6(n)

20 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (22 U.S.C. App.

21 2405(n)), or under any other provision of law, items that

22 the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Ambas23 sador at Large and the Special Adviser, determines are

24 being used or are intended for use directly and in signifi-
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1 cant measure to carry out gross violations of the right to

2 freedom of religion.

3 (b) LICENSING BAN.—The prohibition on the

4 issuance of a license for export of crime control and detec5 tion instruments or equipment under section 502B(a)(2)

6 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.

7 2304(a)(2)) shall apply to the export and reexport of any

8 item included pursuant to subsection (a) on the list of

9 crime control instruments.

10 TITLE V—PROMOTION OF

11 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

12 SEC. 501. ASSISTANCE FOR PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FREE13 DOM.

14 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find15 ings:

16 (1) In many nations where severe violations of

17 religious freedom occur, there is not sufficient statu18 tory legal protection for religious minorities or there

19 is not sufficient cultural and social understanding of

20 international norms of religious freedom.

21 (2) Accordingly, in its foreign assistance al22 ready being disbursed, the United States should

23 make a priority of promoting and developing legal

24 protections and cultural respect for religious free25 dom.
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1 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR INCREASED PRO2 MOTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS.—Section 116(e) of

3 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended by insert4 ing ‘‘and the right to free religious belief and practice’’

5 after ‘‘adherence to civil and political rights’’.

6 SEC. 502. INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING.

7 (a) Section 302(1) of the International Broadcasting

8 Act of 1994 is amended by inserting ‘‘and of conscience

9 (including freedom of religion)’’ after ‘‘freedom of opinion

10 and expression’’.

11 (b) Section 303(a) of the International Broadcasting

12 Act of 1994 is amended—

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

14 (6);

15 (2) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

17 (3) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(8) promote respect for human rights, includ19 ing freedom of religion.’’.

20 SEC. 503. INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES.

21 Section 102(b) of the Mutual Educational and Cul22 tural Exchange Act of 1961 is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ after paragraph (10);

24 (2) by striking the period at the end of para25 graph (11) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(12) promoting respect for and guarantees of

3 religious freedom abroad by interchanges and visits

4 between the United States and other nations of reli5 gious leaders, scholars, and religious and legal ex6 perts in the field of religious freedom.’’.

7 SEC. 504. FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS.

8 (a) PERFORMANCE PAY.—Section 405(d) of the For9 eign Service Act of 1980 is amended by inserting after

10 the first sentence the following: ‘‘Such service in the pro11 motion of internationally recognized human rights, includ12 ing the right to religious freedom, shall serve as a basis

13 for granting awards under this section.’’.

14 (b) FOREIGN SERVICE AWARDS.—Section 614 of the

15 Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended by adding at the

16 end the following new sentence: ‘‘Distinguished, meritori17 ous service in the promotion of internationally recognized

18 human rights, including the right to religious freedom,

19 shall serve as a basis for granting awards under this sec20 tion.’’.

21 TITLE VI—REFUGEE, ASYLUM,

22 AND CONSULAR MATTERS

23 SEC. 601. USE OF ANNUAL REPORT.

24 (a) DESCRIPTION OF TRAINING.—The Annual Re25 port on Religious Persecution shall include a description
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1 of training described in subsection (b) on religious perse2 cution provided to immigration judges, consular, refugee,

3 and asylum officers.

4 (b) USE OF THE ANNUAL REPORT.—The Annual Re5 port on Religious Persecution, together with other relevant

6 documentation, shall serve as a resource for immigration

7 judges and consular, refugee, and asylum officers in cases

8 involving claims of persecution on the grounds of religion.

9 Absence of reference by the Annual Report on Religious

10 Persecution to conditions described by the alien shall not

11 constitute sole grounds for a denial of the alien’s claim.

12 SEC. 602. REFORM OF REFUGEE POLICY.

13 (a) TRAINING.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in

15 consultation with the Secretary of State, shall pro16 vide all United States officials adjudicating refugee

17 cases with the same training as that provided to offi18 cers adjudicating asylum cases.

19 (2) CONTENT OF TRAINING.—Such training

20 shall include country-specific conditions, instruction

21 on the right to religious freedom, methods of reli22 gious persecution, and applicable distinctions within

23 a country between the nature of and treatment of

24 various religious practices and believers.
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1 (b) TRAINING FOR CONSULAR OFFICERS.—(1) Sec2 tion 708 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as added

3 by section 104 of this Act, is further amended—

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘The Secretary of

5 State’’; and

6 (B) by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(b) The Secretary of State shall provide sessions on

8 refugee law and adjudications and on religious persecu9 tion, to each individual seeking a commission as a United

10 States consular officer.’’.

11 (2) Section 312(a) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980

12 is amended by inserting after the first sentence the follow13 ing: ‘‘In order to receive such a consular commission, a

14 member of the Service shall complete the training required

15 under section 708.’’.

16 (c) GUIDELINES FOR REFUGEE-PROCESSING

17 POSTS.—

18 (1) GUIDELINES FOR ADDRESSING HOSTILE BI19 ASES.—The Attorney General and the Secretary of

20 State shall develop and implement guidelines that

21 address potential hostile biases in personnel of the

22 Immigration and Naturalization Service that are

23 hired abroad and involved with duties which could

24 constitute an effective barrier to a refugee claim if

25 such personnel carries a hostile bias toward the
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1 claimant on the grounds of religion, race, national2 ity, membership in a particular social group or polit3 ical opinion.

4 (2) GUIDELINES FOR REFUGEE-PROCESSING

5 POSTS IN ESTABLISHING AGREEMENTS WITH JOINT

6 VOLUNTARY AGENCIES.—The Attorney General and

7 the Secretary of State shall develop guidelines to en8 sure uniform procedures to the extent possible with

9 Joint Voluntary Agencies, and to ensure that the

10 Joint Voluntary Agencies process is enhanced and

11 faulty preparation of claims does not result in the

12 failure of a genuine claim to refugee status.

13 (d) ANNUAL CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the

14 responsibilities of the Department of State under the ap15 propriate consultation requirement of section 207(e) of the

16 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1157(e)), the

17 Secretary of State shall specifically address religious per18 secution in the report provided by the Department of

19 State, and by providing testimony by the Ambassador at

20 Large. The Secretary of State shall also provide religious

21 nongovernmental organizations and human rights non22 governmental organizations the opportunity to testify.

23 SEC. 603. REFORM OF ASYLUM POLICY.

24 (a) GUIDELINES.—The Attorney General and the

25 Secretary of State shall develop guidelines to ensure that
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1 interpreters with hostile biases, including personnel of air2 lines owned by governments known to be involved in prac3 tices which would meet the definition of persecution under

4 international refugee law, shall not in any manner be used

5 to interpret conversations between aliens and inspection

6 or asylum officers.

7 (b) TRAINING FOR ASYLUM OFFICERS.—The Attor8 ney General, in consultation with the Ambassador-at9 Large, shall provide training to all officers adjudicating

10 asylum cases on the nature of religious persecution

11 abroad, including country-specific conditions, instruction

12 on the right to religious freedom, methods of religious per13 secution, and applicable distinctions within a country in

14 the treatment of various religious practices and believers.

15 (c) TRAINING FOR IMMIGRATION JUDGES.—The Ex16 ecutive Office of Immigration Review of the Department

17 of Justice shall incorporate into its initial and ongoing

18 training of immigration judges training on the extent and

19 nature of religious persecution internationally, including

20 country-specific conditions, and including use of the An21 nual Report on Religious Persecution. Such training shall

22 include governmental and nongovernmental methods of

23 persecution employed, and differences in the treatment of

24 religious groups by such persecuting entities.
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1 SEC. 604. INADMISSIBILITY OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OF2 FICIALS WHO HAVE ENGAGED IN GROSS VIO3 LATIONS OF THE RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREE4 DOM.

5 (a) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS OR ADMISSION.—Sec6 tion 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

7 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the

8 following new subparagraph:

9 ‘‘(G) FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

10 WHO HAVE ENGAGED IN GROSS VIOLATIONS OF

11 THE RIGHT TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any alien who,

13 while serving as a foreign government offi14 cial, directly engaged in gross violations of

15 the right to religious freedom, as defined

16 in section 3 of the International Religious

17 Freedom Act of 1998, and the spouse and

18 children, if any, of the alien, are inadmis19 sible.

20 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec22 retary of State may waive the applica23 tion of clause (i) if the Secretary de24 termines that the exclusion of the

25 alien would jeopardize a compelling

26 United States foreign policy interest.
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1 ‘‘(II) NONDELEGATION OF AU2 THORITY.—The Secretary of State

3 may not delegate the authority to

4 make a determination under subclause

5 (I).’’.

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

7 subsection (a) shall apply to aliens seeking to enter the

8 United States on or after the date of enactment of this

9 Act.

10 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS

11 PROVISIONS

12 SEC. 701. BUSINESS CODES OF CONDUCT.

13 (a) CONGRESSIONAL FINDING.—Congress recognizes

14 the increasing importance of transnational corporations as

15 global actors, and their potential for providing positive

16 leadership in their host countries in the area of human

17 rights.

18 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con19 gress that transnational corporations operating in coun20 tries the governments of which engage in gross violations

21 of the right to religious freedom, as identified in the An22 nual Report on Religious Persecution, should adopt codes

23 of conduct—

24 (1) upholding the right to religious freedom of

25 their employees; and
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1 (2) ensuring that a worker’s religious views and

2 peaceful practices of belief in no way affect, or be

3 allowed to affect, the status or terms of his or her

4 employment.

5 SEC. 702. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.

6 It is the sense of Congress that in negotiating the

7 definitions of crimes to be included in the subject matter

8 jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, the Presi9 dent should pursue the inclusion in such jurisdiction of

10 gross violations of the right to religious freedom to the

11 extent such violations fall within the meaning in inter12 national law of crimes against humanity or genocide.

Æ