(1) Religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and 
Syria are persecuted groups, and the Secretary of 
State of State declared on March 17, 2016, that 
Daesh, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and 
Syria (ISIS), was responsible for genocide, crimes 
against humanity, and other atrocity crimes against 
several of these groups, including Christians and 
Yezidis. 
(2) According to the Department of State’s an-
nual reports on international religious freedom, the 
number of Christians living in Iraq has dropped 
from an estimated 800,000 to 1.4 million in 2002 to 
fewer than 250,000 in 2015, and the number of 
Yezidis living in Iraq has dropped from 500,000 in 
2013 to 350,000 to 400,000 in 2015. 
(3) The annual reports on international reli-
gious freedom further suggest that Christian com-
munities living in Syria, which had accounted for be-
tween 8 and 10 percent of Syria’s total population 
in 2010, are now ‘‘considerably’’ smaller as a result 
of the civil war, and that the population of approxi-
mately 80,000 Yezidis in 2010 may now be larger 
because of refugees from Iraq. 
(4) Local communities and entities have sought 
to mitigate the impact of violence directed against 
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religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria, in-
cluding the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil 
(Kurdistan Region of Iraq), which has used private 
funds to provide assistance to internally displaced 
Christians, Yezidis, and Muslims throughout the 
greater Erbil region, while growing needs and dimin-
ishing resources have made it increasingly difficult 
to continue these efforts. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1)
APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 
Homeland Security, and the Permanent Select 
Committee on Intelligence of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee 
on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-
fairs, and the Select Committee on Intelligence 
of the Senate. 
(2) FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘‘foreign terrorist organization’’ mean an orga-
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nization designated by the Secretary of State as a 
foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 
219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1189(a)). 
(3) HUMANITARIAN, STABILIZATION, AND RE-
COVERY
NEEDS.—The
term
‘‘humanitarian,
sta-
bilization, and recovery needs’’, with respect to an 
individual, includes water, sanitation, hygiene, food 
security and nutrition, shelter and housing, recon-
struction,
medical,
education,
and
psychosocial 
needs. 
(4) HYBRID COURT.—The term ‘‘hybrid court’’ 
means a court with a combination of domestic and 
international lawyers, judges, and personnel. 
(5) INTERNATIONALIZED DOMESTIC COURT.— 
The term ‘‘internationalized domestic court’’ means 
a domestic court with the support of international 
advisers. 
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to ensure that 
assistance for humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery 
needs of individuals who are or were nationals and resi-
dents of Iraq or Syria, and of communities from those 
countries, is directed toward those individuals and commu-
nities with the greatest need, including those individuals 
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from communities of religious and ethnic minorities, and 
communities of religious and ethnic minorities, that have 
been identified as being at risk of persecution, forced mi-
gration, acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war 
crimes. 
SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY IN IRAQ 
AND SYRIA FOR ACTS OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES 
AGAINST HUMANITY, AND WAR CRIMES. 
(a) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of State and the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development are authorized to provide assist-
ance, including financial and technical assistance, as nec-
essary and appropriate to support the efforts of entities, 
including nongovernmental organizations with expertise in 
international criminal investigations and law, to undertake 
the following activities to address crimes of genocide, 
crimes against humanity, or war crimes, and their con-
stituent crimes, in Iraq since January 2014: 
(1) The conduct of criminal investigations. 
(2) The development of indigenous investigative 
and judicial skills, including by partnering, directly 
mentoring, and providing equipment and infrastruc-
ture where necessary, for the purpose of effectively 
adjudicating cases consistent with due process and 
respect for the rule of law. 
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(3) The collection and preservation of evidence 
and the chain of evidence, including for use in pros-
ecutions in domestic courts, hybrid courts, and inter-
nationalized domestic courts, consistent with the ac-
tivities described in subsection (b). 
(b) ACTIONS BY FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.—The Sec-
retary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of Na-
tional Intelligence, and the Director of the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation, shall encourage governments of foreign 
countries— 
(1) to include in appropriate security databases 
and security screening procedures of such countries 
information to identify individuals who are suspected 
to
have
committed
crimes
of
genocide,
crimes 
against humanity, or war crimes, and their con-
stituent crimes, in Iraq or Syria, including individ-
uals who are suspected to be members of foreign ter-
rorist organizations operating in Iraq or Syria; and 
(2) to prosecute such individuals for acts of 
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, as 
appropriate. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 
the Secretary of State shall consult with and consider 
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credible information from entities described in such sub-
section. 
SEC. 6. IDENTIFICATION OF AND ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS 
HUMANITARIAN,
STABILIZATION,
AND
RE-
COVERY
NEEDS
OF
CERTAIN
PERSONS
IN 
IRAQ AND SYRIA. 
(a) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary of State, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International De-
velopment, and Director of National Intelligence, shall 
seek to identify the following: 
(1) The threats of persecution and other early- 
warning indicators of genocide, crimes against hu-
manity, and war crimes against individuals— 
(A) who are or were nationals and resi-
dents of Iraq or Syria, are members of religious 
or ethnic minority groups in such countries, 
and with respect to which the Secretary of 
State has determined ISIS has committed acts 
of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war 
crimes since January 2014; or 
(B) who are members of other religious or 
ethnic minority groups in Iraq or Syria and are 
identified by the Secretary of State as per-
secuted groups. 
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(2) The religious and ethnic minority groups in 
Iraq or Syria identified pursuant to paragraph (1) 
that are at risk of forced migration, within or across 
the borders of Iraq, Syria, or a country of first asy-
lum, and the primary reasons for such risk. 
(3) The humanitarian, stabilization, and recov-
ery needs of individuals described in paragraphs (1) 
and (2), including the assistance provided by the 
United States and by the United Nations, respec-
tively, to address the humanitarian, stabilization, 
and recovery needs, and mitigate the risks of forced 
migration, of individuals described in paragraphs (1) 
and (2) and assistance provided through the Fund-
ing Facility for Immediate Stabilization and Fund-
ing Facility for Expanded Stabilization. 
(4) To the extent practicable and appropriate, 
the entities, including faith-based entities, that are 
providing assistance to address the humanitarian, 
stabilization, and recovery needs of individuals de-
scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) and the extent to 
which the United States is providing assistance to or 
through such entities. 
(b) ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION.—In carrying out 
subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall consult with, 
and consider credible information from, individuals de-
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scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) of such subsection and 
entities described in paragraph (4) of such subsection. 
(c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of State and the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development are authorized to provide assist-
ance, including financial and technical assistance as nec-
essary and appropriate, to support entities described in 
subsection (a)(4) that the Secretary and Administrator de-
termine have access, and are capable of effectively man-
aging and delivering such assistance, to the individuals de-
scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) of such subsection. 
SEC. 7. REPORTS. 
(a) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State shall submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report on the following: 
(1) A detailed description of the efforts taken, 
and efforts proposed to be taken, to implement the 
provisions of this Act. 
(2) An assessment of the feasibility and advis-
ability of prosecuting individuals for whom credible 
evidence exists of having committed acts of genocide, 
crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq since 
January 2014 or Syria since March 2011 in domes-
tic courts in Iraq, hybrid courts, and international-
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ized domestic courts, and of the measures needed to 
ensure effective criminal investigations of such indi-
viduals, and to effectively collect and preserve evi-
dence, and preserve the chain of evidence, for pros-
ecution. 
(3) Recommendations for legislative remedies 
and administrative actions to facilitate implementa-
tion of this Act. 
(b) FORM.—The report required under this section 
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 
a classified annex if necessary. 
SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL FUNDING. 
No additional funds are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act. This Act shall be carried 
out using amounts otherwise authorized. 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iraq 
and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability 
Act of 2017’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress. 
Sec. 3. Sense of Congress on the urgent need for a political solution to the crisis 
in Syria. 
Sec. 4. Definitions. 
Sec. 5. Statement of policy. 
Sec. 6. Actions to promote accountability in Iraq and Syria for acts of genocide, 
crimes against humanity, and war crimes. 
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Sec. 7. Identification of and assistance to address humanitarian, stabilization, 
and recovery needs of certain persons in Iraq and Syria. 
Sec. 8. Reports. 
Sec. 9. Technical assistance authorized. 
Sec. 10. Department of State Rewards for Justice Program. 
Sec. 11. Syria Study Group. 
Sec. 12. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab 
Republic. 
Sec. 13. Prohibition on additional funding. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and 
Syria are persecuted groups. The Secretary of State 
of State declared on March 17, 2016, and August 15, 
2017, that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria 
(ISIS), is responsible for genocide, crimes against hu-
manity, and other atrocity crimes against several of 
these groups, including Christians and Yezidis. 
(2) The Independent International Commission 
of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic stated in its 
February 3, 2016, report, ‘‘The Government has com-
mitted the crimes against humanity of extermination, 
murder, rape or other forms of sexual violence, tor-
ture, imprisonment, enforced disappearance and other 
inhuman acts. Based on the same conduct, war 
crimes have also been committed. Both Jabhat Al- 
Nusra and some anti-Government armed groups have 
committed the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, 
and torture.’’. 
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(3) The International Criminal Investigative 
Training Assistance Program and the Office of Over-
seas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Train-
ing of the Department of Justice have provided tech-
nical assistance to governmental judicial and law en-
forcement entities in Iraq, including with funding 
support from the Department of State. 
(4) According to the Department of State’s an-
nual reports on international religious freedom— 
(A) the number of Christians living in Iraq 
has dropped from an estimated 800,000 to 
1,400,000 in 2002 to fewer than 250,000 in 
2016; and 
(B) the number of Yezidis living in Iraq has 
dropped from 500,000 in 2013 to between 
350,000 and 400,000 in 2016. 
(5) The annual reports on international religious 
freedom also suggest that— 
(A) Christian communities living in Syria, 
which had accounted for between 8 and 10 per-
cent of Syria’s total population in 2010, are now 
considerably smaller as a result of the civil war; 
and 
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(B) the population of approximately 80,000 
Yezidis in 2010 may now be larger because of 
refugees from Iraq. 
(6) On December 21, 2016, the United Nations 
General Assembly adopted a resolution to establish the 
International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism 
to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of 
Those Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under 
International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab 
Republic since March 2011. 
(7) Local communities and entities have sought 
to mitigate the impact of violence directed against re-
ligious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria, in-
cluding the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil 
(Kurdistan Region of Iraq), which has used private 
funds to provide assistance to internally displaced 
Christians, Yezidis, and Muslims throughout the 
greater Erbil region, while growing needs and dimin-
ishing resources have made it increasingly difficult to 
continue these efforts. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—Congress— 
(1) strongly condemns— 
(A) the ongoing violence, the use of chemical 
weapons, targeting of civilian populations with 
barrel, incendiary, and cluster bombs and SCUD 
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missiles, and the systematic gross human rights 
violations carried out by the Government of 
Syria and pro-government forces under the di-
rection of President Bashar al-Assad; and 
(B) all abuses committed by violent extrem-
ist groups and other combatants involved in the 
civil war in Syria; 
(2) expresses its support for the people of Syria 
seeking democratic change; 
(3) urges all parties to the conflict— 
(A) to immediately halt indiscriminate at-
tacks on civilians; 
(B) to allow for the delivery of humani-
tarian and medical assistance; and 
(C) to end sieges of civilian populations; 
(4) calls on the President to support efforts in 
Syria, and on the part of the international commu-
nity, to ensure accountability for war crimes, crimes 
against humanity, and genocide committed during 
the conflict; and 
(5) supports the request in United Nations Secu-
rity Council Resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 
and 2191 (2014) for the Secretary-General to regu-
larly report to the Security Council on the implemen-
tation of the resolutions, including paragraph 2 of 
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Resolution 2139, which ‘‘demands that all parties im-
mediately put an end to all forms of violence [and] 
cease and desist from all violations of international 
humanitarian law and violations and abuses of 
human rights’’. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE URGENT NEED FOR A 
POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS IN 
SYRIA. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The transnational Salafi-jihadi organiza-
tions Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al 
Qaeda are utilizing the conflict in Syria and the ac-
tions of the Assad regime to recruit and mobilize 
fighter and popular support. 
(2) The crisis in Syria has led to the creation of 
terrorist safe havens controlled by ISIS and al Qaeda, 
along with other extremist groups, which have become 
bases from which to plan, direct, and inspire attacks 
against the United States and its allies and partners. 
(3) The spread of violence perpetuated by the 
civil war in Syria and the flow of refugees is a threat 
to the security of our allies in the Middle East and 
Europe, placing immense domestic and humanitarian 
burdens on Syria’s neighbors, most notably Lebanon, 
Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. 
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(4) The Syrian conflict has allowed Iran’s Is-
lamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its proxies to 
increase their influence in parts of Syria and poten-
tially threaten Israel’s borders. 
(5) The United Nations Security Council resolu-
tions 2332 (2016), 2268 (2016), and 2139 (2014) call 
for the implementation of a cessation of hostilities in 
Syria and reaffirm the international community’s 
support for the immediate, direct, and uninhibited 
access of humanitarian workers throughout the Syr-
ian Arab Republic. 
(6) The United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees estimates that the Syrian conflict has cre-
ated over 5,000,000 refugees and 6,300,000 internally 
displaced persons. 
(7) Widespread and systematic attacks on civil-
ians, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastruc-
ture, in violation of international humanitarian law, 
continue in Syria, in particular as result of the ac-
tions of the Assad regime and its Russian and Ira-
nian supporters. 
(8) Amnesty International has documented evi-
dence of mass human rights abuses of detainees at the 
Assad Regime’s Saydnaya Military Prison, including 
the summary execution by hanging of an estimated 
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