H. R. 2431—6
(b) APPOINTMENT.—The Ambassador at Large shall be
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate.
(c) DUTIES.—The Ambassador at Large shall have the following
responsibilities:
(1) IN GENERAL.—The primary responsibility of the Ambas-
sador at Large shall be to advance the right to freedom of
religion abroad, to denounce the violation of that right, and
to recommend appropriate responses by the United States
Government when this right is violated.
(2) ADVISORY ROLE.—The Ambassador at Large shall be
a principal adviser to the President and the Secretary of State
regarding matters affecting religious freedom abroad and, with
advice from the Commission on International Religious Free-
dom, shall make recommendations regarding—
(A) the policies of the United States Government
toward governments that violate freedom of religion or
that fail to ensure the individual’s right to religious belief
and practice; and
(B) policies to advance the right to religious freedom
abroad.
(3) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.—Subject to the direction
of the President and the Secretary of State, the Ambassador
at Large is authorized to represent the United States in matters
and cases relevant to religious freedom abroad in—
(A) contacts with foreign governments, intergovern-
mental organizations, and specialized agencies of the
United Nations, the Organization on Security and Coopera-
tion in Europe, and other international organizations of
which the United States is a member; and
(B) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to
religious freedom abroad.
(4) REPORTING
RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Ambassador at
Large shall have the reporting responsibilities described in
section 102.
(d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of State shall provide the Ambas-
sador at Large with such funds as may be necessary for the hiring
of staff for the Office, for the conduct of investigations by the
Office, and for necessary travel to carry out the provisions of this
section.
SEC. 102. REPORTS.
(a) PORTIONS
OF
ANNUAL
HUMAN
RIGHTS
REPORTS.—The
Ambassador at Large shall assist the Secretary of State in preparing
those portions of the Human Rights Reports that relate to freedom
of religion and freedom from discrimination based on religion and
those portions of other information provided Congress under sec-
tions 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151m, 2304) that relate to the right to freedom of religion.
(b) ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—
(1) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—On September 1 of each
year or the first day thereafter on which the appropriate House
of Congress is in session, the Secretary of State, with the
assistance of the Ambassador at Large, and taking into consid-
eration the recommendations of the Commission, shall prepare
and transmit to Congress an Annual Report on International
Religious Freedom supplementing the most recent Human
H. R. 2431—7
Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information
with respect to matters involving international religious free-
dom. Each Annual Report shall contain the following:
(A) STATUS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—A description of
the status of religious freedom in each foreign country,
including—
(i) trends toward improvement in the respect and
protection of the right to religious freedom and trends
toward deterioration of such right;
(ii) violations of religious freedom engaged in or
tolerated by the government of that country; and
(iii) particularly severe violations of religious
freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government
of that country.
(B) VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—An assess-
ment and description of the nature and extent of violations
of religious freedom in each foreign country, including
persecution of one religious group by another religious
group, religious persecution by governmental and non-
governmental entities, persecution targeted at individuals
or particular denominations or entire religions, the exist-
ence of government policies violating religious freedom,
and the existence of government policies concerning—
(i) limitations or prohibitions on, or lack of
availability of, openly conducted, organized religious
services outside of the premises of foreign diplomatic
missions or consular posts; and
(ii) the forced religious conversion of minor United
States citizens who have been abducted or illegally
removed from the United States, and the refusal to
allow such citizens to be returned to the United States.
(C) UNITED STATES POLICIES.—A description of United
States actions and policies in support of religious freedom
in each foreign country engaging in or tolerating violations
of religious freedom, including a description of the meas-
ures and policies implemented during the preceding 12
months by the United States under titles I, IV, and V
of this Act in opposition to violations of religious freedom
and in support of international religious freedom.
(D) 
INTERNATIONAL
AGREEMENTS
IN
EFFECT.—A
description of any binding agreement with a foreign govern-
ment entered into by the United States under section 401(b)
or 402(c).
(E) 
TRAINING
AND
GUIDELINES
OF
GOVERNMENT
PERSONNEL.—A description of—
(i) the training described in section 602(a) and
(b) and section 603(b) and (c) on violations of religious
freedom provided to immigration judges and consular,
refugee, immigration, and asylum officers; and
(ii) the development and implementation of the
guidelines described in sections 602(c) and 603(a).
(F) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.—An Executive Summary to
the Annual Report highlighting the status of religious
freedom in certain foreign countries and including the
following:
H. R. 2431—8
(i) COUNTRIES
IN
WHICH
THE
UNITED
STATES
IS
ACTIVELY PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—An identi-
fication of foreign countries in which the United States
is actively promoting religious freedom. This section
of the report shall include a description of United
States actions taken to promote the internationally
recognized right to freedom of religion and oppose viola-
tions of such right under title IV and title V of this
Act during the period covered by the Annual Report.
Any country designated as a country of particular con-
cern for religious freedom under section 402(b)(1) shall
be included in this section of the report.
(ii) COUNTRIES OF SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—An identification of foreign coun-
tries the governments of which have demonstrated
significant improvement in the protection and pro-
motion of the internationally recognized right to free-
dom of religion during the period covered by the
Annual Report. This section of the report shall include
a description of the nature of the improvement and
an analysis of the factors contributing to such improve-
ment, including actions taken by the United States
under this Act.
(2) CLASSIFIED ADDENDUM.—If the Secretary of State deter-
mines that it is in the national security interests of the United
States or is necessary for the safety of individuals to be identi-
fied in the Annual Report or is necessary to further the pur-
poses of this Act, any information required by paragraph (1),
including measures or actions taken by the United States,
may be summarized in the Annual Report or the Executive
Summary and submitted in more detail in a classified adden-
dum to the Annual Report or the Executive Summary.
(c) PREPARATION
OF
REPORTS
REGARDING
VIOLATIONS
OF
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.—
(1) STANDARDS
AND
INVESTIGATIONS.—The Secretary of
State shall ensure that United States missions abroad maintain
a consistent reporting standard and thoroughly investigate
reports of violations of the internationally recognized right to
freedom of religion.
(2) CONTACTS WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.—
In compiling data and assessing the respect of the right to
religious freedom for the Human Rights Reports, the Annual
Report on International Religious Freedom, and the Executive
Summary, United States mission personnel shall, as appro-
priate, seek out and maintain contacts with religious and
human rights nongovernmental organizations, with the consent
of those organizations, including receiving reports and updates
from such organizations and, when appropriate, investigating
such reports.
(d) AMENDMENTS TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.—
(1) CONTENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS FOR COUNTRIES
RECEIVING ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE.—Section 116(d) of the For-
eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (4);
(B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph
(5) and inserting ‘‘; and ’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
H. R. 2431—9
‘‘(6) wherever applicable, violations of religious freedom,
including particularly severe violations of religious freedom
(as defined in section 3 of the International Religious Freedom
Act of 1998).’’.
(2) CONTENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTS FOR COUNTRIES
RECEIVING
SECURITY
ASSISTANCE.—Section 502B(b) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)) is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘and with the assistance of the Ambas-
sador at Large for International Religious Freedom’’ after
‘‘Labor’’; and
(B) by inserting after the second sentence the following
new sentence: ‘‘Such report shall also include, wherever
applicable, information on violations of religious freedom,
including particularly severe violations of religious freedom
(as defined in section 3 of the International Religious Free-
dom Act of 1998).’’.
SEC. 103. ESTABLISHMENT OF A RELIGIOUS FREEDOM INTERNET SITE.
In order to facilitate access by nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) and by the public around the world to international docu-
ments on the protection of religious freedom, the Secretary of State,
with the assistance of the Ambassador at Large, shall establish
and maintain an Internet site containing major international docu-
ments relating to religious freedom, the Annual Report, the Execu-
tive Summary, and any other documentation or references to other
sites as deemed appropriate or relevant by the Ambassador at
Large.
SEC. 104. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.
Chapter 2 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 708. TRAINING FOR FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.
‘‘The Secretary of State, with the assistance of other relevant
officials, such as the Ambassador at Large for International Reli-
gious Freedom appointed under section 101(b) of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and the director of the National
Foreign Affairs Training Center, shall establish as part of the
standard training provided after January 1, 1999, for officers of
the Service, including chiefs of mission, instruction in the field
of internationally recognized human rights. Such training shall
include—
‘‘(1) instruction on international documents and United
States policy in human rights, which shall be mandatory for
all members of the Service having reporting responsibilities
relating to human rights and for chiefs of mission; and
‘‘(2) instruction on the internationally recognized right to
freedom of religion, the nature, activities, and beliefs of different
religions, and the various aspects and manifestations of viola-
tions of religious freedom.’’.
SEC. 
105. 
HIGH-LEVEL 
CONTACTS 
WITH 
NONGOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATIONS.
United States chiefs of mission shall seek out and contact
religious nongovernmental organizations to provide high-level meet-
ings with religious nongovernmental organizations where appro-
priate and beneficial. United States chiefs of mission and Foreign