II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2585 

To impose additional sanctions with respect to Iran to protect against human 

rights abuses in Iran, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 10, 2014 

Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To impose additional sanctions with respect to Iran to protect against human rights abuses in Iran, and for other 

purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Iran Human Rights Accountability Act of 2014’’. 

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. 

Sec. 3. Expansion of list of persons involved in human rights abuses in Iran. 

Sec. 4. Identification of, and imposition of sanctions with respect to, certain 

Iranian individuals. 


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Sec. 5. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who conduct transactions with or on behalf of certain Iranian individuals. 

Sec. 6. United States support for the people of Iran. 

Sec. 7. United States Special Coordinator on Human Rights and Democracy in 

Iran. 

Sec. 8. Broadcasting to Iran. 

Sec. 9. Sense of Congress on establishment of multilateral mechanism to promote human rights in Iran. 

Sec. 10. Sense of Congress on role of the United Nations in promoting human 

rights in Iran. 

Sec. 11. Rule of construction with respect to the use of force. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) On February 21, 2014, the Office of the 

4 High Commissioner on Human Rights of the United 

5 Nations stated, with respect to Iran, ‘‘We regret 

6 that the new government has not changed its ap7 proach to the death penalty and continues to impose 

8 capital punishment for a wide range of offences. We 

9 urge the government to immediately halt executions 

10 and to institute a moratorium.’’. 

11 (2) Iran was rated as ‘‘not free’’ in the 2014 

12 Freedom of the Press Report of the international or13 ganization Freedom House, for a lack of flow of 

14 independent information and the inability of print, 

15 broadcast, and Internet-based news outlets to oper16 ate freely and without fear of repercussions. 

17 (3) On March 11, 2014, the Secretary General 

18 of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, stated that 

19 ‘‘the new administration [in Iran] has not made any 

20 significant improvement in the promotion and proVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:29 Jul 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2585.IS S2585

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1 tection of freedom of expression and opinion, despite 

2 pledges made by the President during his campaign 

3 and after is swearing-in’’. 

4 (4) According to Freedom House, none of the 

5 elections held in Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolu6 tion have been regarded as free or fair. 

7 (5) According to the Committee to Protect 

8 Journalists, as of December 1, 2013, Iran was the 

9 second worst jailer of journalists worldwide after 

10 Turkey. Additionally, research of the Committee to 

11 Protect Journalists ranks Iran as first among coun12 tries where journalists have fled into exile between 

13 2009 and 2014. 

14 (6) According to the international human rights 

15 organization, Iran Human Rights, executions in Iran 

16 soared to record-breaking levels in 2014. As of June 

17 2014, more than 2 people were executed every day, 

18 and more than 320 executions took place in the first 

19 5 months of 2014. 

20 (7) In August 2011, Amir Hekmati, a United 

21 States veteran, was unjustly detained while visiting 

22 his family in Iran and, as of June 2014, has re23 mained in a prison in Iran for almost 3 years on 

24 false espionage charges. 


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1 (8) On January 27, 2013, Saeed Abedini, a 

2 pastor from the United States, was sentenced to an 

3 8-year prison term in Iran because of his Christian 

4 faith and has been incarcerated since September 26, 

5 2012, despite serious health issues. 

6 (9) In March 2007, Robert Levinson, a former 

7 agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, dis8 appeared in Iran during a business trip. Mr. 

9 Levinson is one of the longest held United States 

10 citizens in history. 

11 (10) The United States has designated Iran as 

12 a country of particular concern for religious freedom 

13 pursuant to section 402(b)(1) of the International 

14 Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

15 6442(b)(1)) for severe violations of religious freedom 

16 in every year from 1999 through 2014. 

17 (11) Members of the Baha’i Faith in Iran, esti18 mated to number between 300,000 and 350,000, are 

19 not recognized as a religious minority in the Con20 stitution of Iran, enjoy virtually no rights under the 

21 law, and are banned from practicing their faith. 

22 (12) On December 20, 2013, the United States 

23 Senate agreed to Senate Resolution 75, 113th Con24 gress, condemning the Government of Iran for its 

25 state-sponsored persecution of its Baha’i minority 


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1 and its continued violation of the International Cov2 enants on Human Rights. 

3 (13) The United States is engaged in negotia4 tions with the Government of Iran and the Russian 

5 Federation, the People’s Republic of China, the 

6 United Kingdom, France, and Germany regarding 

7 Iran’s nuclear program, but the Government of Iran 

8 continues to systematically deny citizens of Iran 

9 basic fundamental freedoms. 

10 (14) Officials of the United States have stated 

11 that the human rights record of Iran is ‘‘abysmal’’ 

12 and the Department of State has reported that there 

13 has been ‘‘little meaningful improvement in human 

14 rights in Iran under the new government, including 

15 torture, political imprisonment, harassment of reli16 gious and ethnic minorities’’. 

17 (15) The Government of Iran is party to the 

18 International Covenant on Economic, Social and 

19 Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on 

20 Civil and Political Rights and is in violation of its 

21 obligations under those Covenants. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXPANSION OF LIST OF PERSONS INVOLVED IN 

2 HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN IRAN. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 105 of the Comprehensive 

4 Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 

5 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514) is amended— 

6 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘CER7 TAIN PERSONS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR

8 OR COMPLICIT’’ and inserting ‘‘PERSONS IN9 VOLVED’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘INVOLVED’’; 

14 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert15 ing the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of the Iran Human 

18 Rights Accountability Act of 2014, the President 

19 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com20 mittees a list of persons the President determines 

21 have committed or facilitated, directly or indirectly, 

22 human rights abuses or other acts of violence, in23 timidation, or harassment, on behalf of the Govern24 ment of Iran on or after June 12, 2009, regardless 

25 of whether such abuses or acts occurred in Iran.’’; 

26 and 


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1 (C) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘this 

2 Act’’ and inserting ‘‘the Iran Human Rights 

3 Accountability Act of 2014’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(e) INCLUSION OF ACTIONS THAT VIOLATE UNI6 VERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.—For pur7 poses of subsection (b)(1), the term ‘human rights abuses’ 

8 includes actions that violate the rights listed in the United 

9 Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 

10 at Paris December 10, 1948.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

12 for the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 

13 Divestment Act of 2010 is amended by striking the item 

14 relating to section 105 and inserting the following: 

‘‘Sec. 105. Imposition of sanctions on persons involved in human rights abuses 

committed against citizens of Iran or their family members 

after the June 12, 2009, elections in Iran.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF, AND IMPOSITION OF SANC16 TIONS WITH RESPECT TO, CERTAIN IRANIAN 

17 INDIVIDUALS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 221 of the Iran Threat 

19 Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (22 

20 U.S.C. 8727) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 221. IDENTIFICATION OF, AND IMPOSITION OF SANC2 TIONS WITH RESPECT TO, CERTAIN IRANIAN 

3 INDIVIDUALS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUALS.—Not later 

5 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Iran 

6 Human Rights Accountability Act of 2014, and every 180 

7 days thereafter, the President shall submit to the appro8 priate congressional committees a list of all individuals the 

9 President determines are described in subsection (b). 

10 ‘‘(b) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An individual de11 scribed in this subsection is— 

12 ‘‘(1) the Supreme Leader of Iran; 

13 ‘‘(2) the President of Iran; 

14 ‘‘(3) a current or former key official, manager, 

15 or director of an entity that may be owned or con16 trolled by— 

17 ‘‘(A) the Supreme Leader of Iran; 

18 ‘‘(B) the Office of the Supreme Leader of 

19 Iran; 

20 ‘‘(C) the President of Iran; 

21 ‘‘(D) the Office of the President of Iran; 

22 ‘‘(E) Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps; 

23 ‘‘(F) the Basij-e Motaz’afin; 

24 ‘‘(G) the Guardian Council; 

25 ‘‘(H) the Ministry of Intelligence and Se26 curity of Iran; 


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1 ‘‘(I) the Atomic Energy Organization of 

2 Iran; 

3 ‘‘(J) the Islamic Consultative Assembly of 

4 Iran; 

5 ‘‘(K) the Assembly of Experts of Iran; 

6 ‘‘(L) the Ministry of Defense and Armed 

7 Forces Logistics of Iran; 

8 ‘‘(M) the Ministry of Justice of Iran; 

9 ‘‘(N) the Ministry of Interior of Iran; 

10 ‘‘(O) the prison system of Iran; 

11 ‘‘(P) the judicial system of Iran, including 

12 the Islamic Revolutionary Courts; or 

13 ‘‘(Q) any citizen of Iran included on the 

14 list of specially designated nationals and 

15 blocked persons maintained by the Office of 

16 Foreign Assets Control of the Department of 

17 the Treasury; 

18 ‘‘(4) or senior adviser to an official or entity 

19 specified in any of subparagraphs (A) through (Q) 

20 of paragraph (3); 

21 ‘‘(5) a citizen of Iran indicted in a foreign coun22 try for, or otherwise suspected of, participation in a 

23 terrorist attack; or 


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1 ‘‘(6) a family member of an individual described 

2 in any of paragraphs (1) through (4) who is not a 

3 United States person. 

4 ‘‘(c) EXCLUSION FROM UNITED STATES.—Except as 

5 provided in subsection (f), the Secretary of State shall 

6 deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

7 shall exclude from the United States, any alien who is on 

8 the list required by subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(d) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—Except as provided 

10 in subsection (f), the President shall block and prohibit 

11 all transactions in all property and interests in property 

12 of any individual who is on the list required by subsection 

13 (a) if such property and interests in property are in the 

14 United States, come within the United States, or are or 

15 come within the possession or control of a United States 

16 person. 

17 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

18 of the enactment of the Iran Human Rights Account19 ability Act of 2014, and every 90 days thereafter, the 

20 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

21 committees a report that describes the efforts the Presi22 dent has taken during the 90 days preceding the submis23 sion of the report to locate and block all property and in24 terests in property of any individual who is on the list re25 quired by subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(f) EXCEPTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may not in3 clude an individual on the list required by subsection 

4 (a) if the President determines that, during the 10- 

5 year period preceding the determination, the indi6 vidual has not in any way engaged in, facilitated, or 

7 otherwise supported— 

8 ‘‘(A) human rights abuses; 

9 ‘‘(B) acts of international terrorism; or 

10 ‘‘(C) the proliferation of weapons of mass 

11 destruction. 

12 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE WITH UNITED NATIONS

13 HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Subsection (c) shall 

14 not apply to the head of state of Iran, or necessary 

15 staff of that head of state, if admission to the 

16 United States is necessary to permit the United 

17 States to comply with the Agreement regarding the 

18 Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake 

19 Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force No20 vember 21, 1947, between the United Nations and 

21 the United States. 

22 ‘‘(g) WAIVER.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

24 the application of subsection (a), (c), or (d) with re25 spect to an individual for a period of 180 days, and 


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1 may renew that waiver for additional periods of 180 

2 days, if the President— 

3 ‘‘(A) determines that the waiver is vital to 

4 the national security of the United States; and 

5 ‘‘(B) not less than 7 days before the waiv6 er or the renewal of the waiver, as the case may 

7 be, takes effect, submits a report to the appro8 priate congressional committees on the waiver 

9 and the reason for the waiver. 

10 ‘‘(2) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report sub11 mitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall be submitted in 

12 unclassified form, but may include a classified 

13 annex.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights 

16 Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) is amended by strik17 ing the item relating to section 221 and inserting the fol18 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 221. Identification of, and imposition of sanctions with respect to, certain 

Iranian individuals.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PER20 SONS WHO CONDUCT TRANSACTIONS WITH 

21 OR ON BEHALF OF CERTAIN IRANIAN INDI22 VIDUALS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title II of the Iran 

24 Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 


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1 (22 U.S.C. 8721 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

2 section 221 the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 221A. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

4 PERSONS WHO CONDUCT TRANSACTIONS 

5 WITH OR ON BEHALF OF CERTAIN IRANIAN 

6 INDIVIDUALS. 

7 ‘‘(a) SALE, SUPPLY, OR TRANSFER OF GOODS AND

8 SERVICES.—The President shall impose 5 or more of the 

9 sanctions described in section 6(a) of the Iran Sanctions 

10 Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) 

11 with respect to a person if the President determines that 

12 the person knowingly, on or after the date that is 120 

13 days after the date of the enactment of the Iran Human 

14 Rights Accountability Act of 2014, sells, supplies, or 

15 transfers goods or services to an individual who is on the 

16 list required by section 221(a). 

17 ‘‘(b) FACILITATION OF CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS.— 

18 The President shall prohibit the opening, and prohibit or 

19 impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in the United 

20 States of a correspondent account or a payable-through 

21 account by any foreign financial institution that the Presi22 dent determines has knowingly conducted or facilitated a 

23 significant financial transaction on behalf of an individual 

24 who is on the list required by section 221(a). 

25 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

2 the application of subsection (a) or (b) with respect 

3 to a person for a period of 180 days, and may renew 

4 that waiver for additional periods of 180 days, if the 

5 President— 

6 ‘‘(A) determines that the waiver is vital to 

7 the national security of the United States; and 

8 ‘‘(B) not less than 7 days before the waiv9 er or the renewal of the waiver, as the case may 

10 be, takes effect, submits a report to the appro11 priate congressional committees on the waiver 

12 and the reason for the waiver. 

13 ‘‘(2) FORM OF REPORT.—Each report sub14 mitted under paragraph (1)(B) shall be submitted in 

15 unclassified form, but may include a classified 

16 annex. 

17 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE

18 IRAN SANCTIONS ACT OF 1996.—The following provisions 

19 of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 

20 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) shall apply with respect to the impo21 sition of sanctions under subsection (a) to the same extent 

22 that such provisions apply with respect to the imposition 

23 of sanctions under section 5(a) of the Iran Sanctions Act 

24 of 1996: 

25 ‘‘(1) Subsections (c), (d), and (f) of section 5. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Section 8. 

2 ‘‘(3) Section 11. 

3 ‘‘(4) Section 12. 

4 ‘‘(5) Section 13(b). 

5 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

6 ‘‘(1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; 

7 PAYABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘ac8 count’, ‘correspondent account’, and ‘payable9 through account’ have the meanings given those 

10 terms in section 5318A of title 31, United States 

11 Code. 

12 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 

13 term ‘foreign financial institution’ has the meaning 

14 given that term in section 561.308 of title 31, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations (or any corresponding similar 

16 regulation or ruling).’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

18 for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights 

19 Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) is amended by in20 serting after the item relating to section 221 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 221A. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who conduct transactions with or on behalf of certain Iranian individuals.’’. 

21 SEC. 6. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF 

22 IRAN. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title IV of the Iran 

24 Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 


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1 (22 U.S.C. 8751 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 416. UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR THE PEOPLE OF 

4 IRAN. 

5 ‘‘(a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the pol6 icy of the United States— 

7 ‘‘(1) to support the efforts of the people of Iran 

8 to promote the establishment of basic freedoms in 

9 Iran; 

10 ‘‘(2) to lay the foundation for the emergence of 

11 a freely elected, open, and democratic political sys12 tem in Iran that is not a threat to its neighbors or 

13 to the United States and to work with all citizens of 

14 Iran who seek to establish such a political system; 

15 ‘‘(3) to support the emergence of a government 

16 in Iran that does not oppress the people of Iran and 

17 does not persecute, intimidate, arrest, imprison, or 

18 execute dissidents or minorities; 

19 ‘‘(4) to advocate on behalf of those in Iran per20 secuted for their religion or belief; 

21 ‘‘(5) to assist the people of Iran to produce, ac22 cess, and share information freely and safely 

23 through the Internet and other media; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) to defeat all attempts by the Government 

2 of Iran to jam or otherwise obstruct international 

3 satellite broadcast signals. 

4 ‘‘(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that— 

6 ‘‘(1) the United States should support citizens 

7 of Iran that actively work to advance political, eco8 nomic, and social reforms, including freedom of the 

9 press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and 

10 representative government; 

11 ‘‘(2) the President should use all available non12 violent means to support citizens of Iran that advo13 cate for pluralistic, prosperous, and participatory so14 cieties; 

15 ‘‘(3) programs of the Department of State to 

16 support reform in Iran have not resulted in a more 

17 democratic Iran; 

18 ‘‘(4) the Government of Iran continues to play 

19 a pernicious role in the Middle East, undermining 

20 democratic consolidation in Iraq, supporting inter21 national terrorism through Hezbollah, and aiding 

22 the autocratic regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria; 

23 ‘‘(5) the Secretary of State should make every 

24 effort to deliver support directly to people working 

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1 sistance provided by the Department of State when 

2 possible and all possible means of delivering such as3 sistance should be used; and 

4 ‘‘(6) oversight, management, and implementa5 tion of programs of the Department of State to sup6 port reform in Iran should be under the direction of 

7 the Special Coordinator on Human Rights and De8 mocracy in Iran established under section 7 of the 

9 Iran Human Rights Accountability Act of 2014, in 

10 consultation with the Assistant Secretary of State 

11 for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 

12 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT REFORM IN IRAN.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—Notwith14 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary of 

15 State may provide assistance (including through the 

16 award of grants) to individuals and entities working 

17 in Iran for the purpose of supporting and promoting 

18 the rule of law, good governance, civil society, and 

19 economic opportunity in Iran. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—Assist21 ance authorized under this subsection should be pro22 vided only to an individual or entity that— 

23 ‘‘(A) officially opposes the use of violence 

24 and terrorism and has not been designated as 

25 a foreign terrorist organization under section 


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1 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

2 U.S.C. 1189) at any time during the 4-year pe3 riod ending on the date of the enactment of the 

4 Iran Human Rights Accountability Act of 2014; 

5 ‘‘(B) advocates the adherence by Iran to 

6 nonproliferation regimes for nuclear, chemical, 

7 and biological weapons and materiel; 

8 ‘‘(C) is dedicated to democratic values and 

9 supports the adoption of a democratic form of 

10 government in Iran; 

11 ‘‘(D) is dedicated to respect for human 

12 rights, including the fundamental equality of 

13 women; and 

14 ‘‘(E) supports freedom of the press, free15 dom of speech, freedom of association, and free16 dom of religion. 

17 ‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

18 than 15 days before each obligation of assistance 

19 under this subsection, the Secretary of State shall 

20 notify the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

21 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 

22 Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 

23 Appropriations of the House of Representatives in 

24 accordance with the procedures applicable to re25 programming notifications under section 634A of 


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

2 2394–1). 

3 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of 

4 the amounts made available to carry out chapter 4 

5 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

6 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to the Economic Sup7 port Fund) for fiscal year 2015, not less than 

8 $32,000,000 shall be made available to the Sec9 retary of State to carry out this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(5) TERMINATION.—The authority to provide 

11 assistance under this subsection shall expire on De12 cember 31, 2018. 

13 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of the Iran Human Rights Account15 ability Act of 2014, and every 180 days thereafter, the 

16 Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congres17 sional committees a report on the implementation of this 

18 section that includes the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) An identification of the actions the Presi20 dent has taken during the 180-day period preceding 

21 the submission of the report to advance each of the 

22 policies described in subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(2) A clear strategy for advancing political, 

24 economic, and social reform in Iran that includes 


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1 benchmarks for success that lead to a set of identi2 fied discrete goals and objectives. 

3 ‘‘(3) A plan to monitor and evaluate the effec4 tiveness of the provision of assistance authorized 

5 under subsection (c), including measures of effective6 ness. 

7 ‘‘(4) The status of the programming of assist8 ance under subsection (c). 

9 ‘‘(5) An analysis of any past programming of 

10 assistance under subsection (c) and its effectiveness 

11 with respect to supporting and promoting the rule of 

12 law, good governance, civil society, and economic op13 portunity in Iran.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 for the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights 

16 Act of 2012 is amended by inserting after the item relat17 ing to section 415 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 416. United States support for the people of Iran.’’. 

18 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES SPECIAL COORDINATOR ON 

19 HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN IRAN. 

20 (a) DESIGNATION.—The President shall designate 

21 within the Department of State a Special Coordinator on 

22 Human Rights and Democracy in Iran (in this section re23 ferred to as the ‘‘Special Coordinator’’). 

24 (b) CONSULTATION AND QUALIFICATIONS.—The 

25 Secretary shall consult with the chairmen and ranking 


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1 members of the appropriate congressional committees be2 fore the designation of the Special Coordinator. The role 

3 of Special Coordinator should be filled by an official of 

4 the Department of State appointed by and serving at the 

5 pleasure of the President in a position not lower than 

6 Under Secretary on the day before the date of the enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Special Coordinator shall carry out 

9 the following duties: 

10 (1) Coordinate the activities of the United 

11 States Government that promote human rights, de12 mocracy, political freedom, and religious freedom in13 side Iran. 

14 (2) Coordinate the activities of the United 

15 States Government that promote human rights, po16 litical freedom, and religious freedom for Iranian 

17 refugees and asylees living outside Iran. 

18 (3) Ensure the comprehensive investigation and 

19 designation of Iranian human rights abusers in ac20 cordance with section 105 of the Comprehensive 

21 Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act 

22 of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514). 

23 (4) Coordinate the documentation and publi24 cizing of political dissidents and cases of human 

25 rights abuse inside Iran. 


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1 (5) Coordinate multilateral efforts to build 

2 international support for the promotion of human 

3 rights, democracy, political freedom, and religious 

4 freedom in Iran, including broadcasting, Internet ac5 cess, and dissemination of information. 

6 (6) Encourage the United Nations, multilateral 

7 organizations, and human rights nongovernmental 

8 organizations to more robustly investigate and re9 port on human rights abuses in Iran. 

10 (7) Encourage foreign governments to down11 grade or sever diplomatic relations with the Govern12 ment of Iran, enact economic sanctions, and assist 

13 Iranian dissidents in response to the continued viola14 tions of human rights by the Government of Iran. 

15 (8) Encourage foreign governments to expel 

16 Iran from international fora and organizations with 

17 a human rights component, including the United 

18 Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the 

19 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 

20 Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, 

21 and the International Labour Organization. 

22 (9) Coordinate all programs funded under the 

23 Iran Freedom Support Act (Public Law 109–293; 

24 22 U.S.C. 2151 note). 

25 (d) AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES.—The Spe2 cial Coordinator shall coordinate all activities related 

3 to Iran carried out by the Bureau of Near Eastern 

4 Affairs, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights 

5 and Labor, and the Bureau of Population, Refugees 

6 and Migration of the Department of State, the Am7 bassador-at-Large for International Religious Free8 dom, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat 

9 Anti-Semitism, the United States Commission on 

10 International Religious Freedom, the National En11 dowment for Democracy, and the Broadcasting 

12 Board of Governors. 

13 (2) COORDINATION OF USE OF FUNDS.—The 

14 Special Coordinator shall coordinate and oversee the 

15 obligation and expenditure of funds related to 

16 human rights, democracy, Internet freedom, and 

17 broadcasting activities in Iran, including funds made 

18 available for such purposes to the Middle East Part19 nership Initiative, the United States Commission on 

20 International Religious Freedom, the Broader Mid21 dle East and North Africa Initiative, the Human 

22 Rights and Democracy Fund, and the Near Eastern 

23 Regional Democracy Fund. 

24 (e) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—Subject to the 

25 direction of the President and the Secretary of State, the 


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1 Special Coordinator shall represent the United States in 

2 matters and cases relevant to the promotion of human 

3 rights, democracy, political freedom, and religious freedom 

4 in Iran in— 

5 (1) contacts with foreign governments, intergov6 ernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of 

7 the United Nations, the Organization for Security 

8 and Co-operation in Europe, and other international 

9 organizations of which the United States is a mem10 ber; and 

11 (2) multilateral conferences and meetings rel12 evant to the promotion of human rights, democracy, 

13 political freedom, and religious freedom in Iran. 

14 (f) CONSULTATIONS.—The Special Coordinator shall 

15 consult with Congress, domestic and international non16 governmental organizations, labor organizations, and mul17 tilateral organizations and institutions as the Special Co18 ordinator considers appropriate to fulfill the purposes of 

19 this section. 

20 (g) FUNDING.—From amounts made available for 

21 the Department of State for Near East Affairs in fiscal 

22 years before fiscal year 2015, the Secretary of State shall 

23 provide to the Special Coordinator such sums as may be 

24 necessary for fiscal year 2015 for the hiring of staff, for 


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•S 2585 IS

1 the conduct of investigations, and for necessary travel to 

2 carry out this section. 

3 (h) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

4 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con5 gressional committees’’ means 

6 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

7 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

8 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

9 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep10 resentatives. 

11 SEC. 8. BROADCASTING TO IRAN. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty 

13 and the Voice of America services broadcasting to Iran 

14 shall— 

15 (1) provide news and information that is acces16 sible, credible, comprehensive, and accurate; 

17 (2) emphasize investigative and analytical jour18 nalism provided by Iranian or pro-Iranian media 

19 outlets; and 

20 (3) strengthen civil society by promoting demo21 cratic processes, respect for human rights, and free22 dom of the press and expression. 

23 (b) PROGRAMMING SURGE.—Radio Free Europe/ 

24 Radio Liberty and Voice of America programming to Iran 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) provide programming content 24 hours a 

2 day and 7 days a week to target populations using 

3 all available and effective distribution outlets, includ4 ing at least 12 hours a day of original television and 

5 video content, not including live video streaming of 

6 breaking news; 

7 (2) create mobile platforms with an embedded 

8 proxy to offer the people of Iran the opportunity to 

9 securely listen to programming; 

10 (3) increase number of staffers based in the re11 gion to allow for more direct contact with the people 

12 of Iran; 

13 (4) expand the use, audience, and audience en14 gagement of mobile news and multimedia platforms 

15 by the Voice of America and the Radio Farda serv16 ice of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, including 

17 through Internet-based social networking platforms; 

18 and 

19 (5) establish fellowships for Iranian journalists 

20 who have fled the country to learn about free, com21 petitive media and be trained in surrogate reporting. 

22 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2015, in 

24 addition to funds otherwise made available for such pur25 poses, $10,000,000 to carry out Iran-focused programVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:29 Jul 14, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2585.IS S2585

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1 ming by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Voice 

2 of America, for the purpose of bolstering existing United 

3 States programming to the people of Iran and increasing 

4 programming capacity and jamming circumvention tech5 nology to overcome any disruptions to service. 

6 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ESTABLISHMENT OF MUL7 TILATERAL MECHANISM TO PROMOTE 

8 HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that the United States 

10 should work with the European Union and other countries 

11 with a common commitment to fundamental rights and 

12 freedoms to explore the possibility of establishing a formal 

13 multilateral mechanism to advocate for the promotion of 

14 human rights, democracy, political freedom, and religious 

15 freedom in Iran. 

16 SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ROLE OF THE UNITED 

17 NATIONS IN PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN 

18 IRAN. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that— 

20 (1) the United Nations has a significant role to 

21 play in promoting and improving human rights in 

22 Iran; 

23 (2) the United States should continue to sup24 port the work of the United Nations Special 


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1 Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the 

2 Islamic Republic of Iran; and 

3 (3) the egregious human rights violations in 

4 Iran warrant country-specific attention and contin5 ued reporting by the Special Rapporteur on the situ6 ation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of 

7 Iran, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other 

8 cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punish9 ment, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, 

10 the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, 

11 or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on 

12 the promotion and protection of the right to freedom 

13 of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on 

14 freedom of religion or belief, and the Special 

15 Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes, 

16 and consequences, of the United Nations. 

17 SEC. 11. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION WITH RESPECT TO THE 

18 USE OF FORCE. 

19 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

20 Act shall be construed as a declaration of war or an au21 thorization of the use of force. 

Æ 


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