I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 301 
To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote Religious 
Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 15, 2013 
Mr. WOLF (for himself, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. HOLT, Mr. GRIFFITH of Virginia, 
Mr. PETERS of Michigan, Mr. PITTS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. DUN-
CAN of South Carolina, and Mr. SMITH of New Jersey) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to 
Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in 
the Near East and South Central Asia. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) More than 500 Baha’is in Iran have been 
arbitrarily arrested since 2005. Roughly 100 Baha’is 
are presently imprisoned because of their religious 
beliefs. 
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(2) In May 2010, suspected terrorists attacked 
two mosques in Pakistan belonging to the Ahmad-
diya minority Muslim sect, killing at least 80 people. 
Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim, but Pakistani 
law does not recognize them as such. 
(3) Said Musa, an Afghan Christian convert, 
was arrested in May 2010 on charges of apostasy, 
a crime which can carry the death sentence, and was 
released in February 2011 only after sustained 
international pressure. 
(4) On October 31, 2010, gunmen laid siege on 
Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, Iraq, 
killing at least 52 police and worshipers, including 
two priests, making it the worst massacre of Iraqi 
Christians since 2003. 
(5) Iraq’s ancient and once vibrant Christian 
population that numbered an estimated 1,500,000 
out of a total population in Iraq of 30,000,000 in 
2003 has been reduced by at least one half, due in 
significant part to Christians fleeing the violence. 
(6) In November 2010, a Pakistani court sen-
tenced Aasia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, to 
death under the country’s blasphemy law for insult-
ing the Prophet Muhammad. 
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(7) Since early 2011, violent sectarian attacks 
targeting Coptic Orthodox Christians and their prop-
erty increased significantly, resulting in nearly 100 
deaths, mostly Coptic Christians, surpassing the 
death toll of the 10 previous years combined. 
(8) In Egypt, with the ascent of the Muslim 
Brotherhood, Coptic Christians, numbering roughly 
8 to 10 million, are leaving in droves. 
(9) On March 2, 2011, Pakistani Federal Mi-
norities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian 
member of the Cabinet, who was outspoken in his 
opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws was assas-
sinated by extremists. 
(10) The Special Envoy for Anti-Semitism, 
Hannah Rosenthal, has noted that Holocaust glorifi-
cation ‘‘is especially virulent in Middle Eastern 
media, some of which is state-owned and operated, 
which calls for a new Holocaust to finish the job’’. 
(11) In the midst of a devastating civil war, 
Syrian Christians and other religious minorities, 
which comprise roughly 10 percent of the popu-
lation, are particularly vulnerable lacking their own 
militias and regional protectors. 
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(12) Many of these ancient faith communities 
are being forced to flee the lands which they have 
inhabited for centuries. 
(13) The United States Commission on Inter-
national Religious Freedom has recommended that 
Egypt, Tajikistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Ara-
bia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan be designated by 
the Department of State as Countries of Particular 
Concern in accordance with the International Reli-
gious Freedom Act of 1998. 
(14) The situation on the ground in the region 
continues to develop rapidly and the United States 
Government needs an individual who can respond in 
kind and focus on the critical situation of religious 
minorities in these countries. 
(15) There are historical precedents, including 
the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti- 
Semitism, the Special Envoy for North Korea 
Human Rights Issues, and the South Sudan and 
Sudan Special Envoy, for the Department of State, 
either as a result of legislative mandate or initiative 
of the Secretary of State, to create positions with a 
targeted focus on an area or issue of recognized im-
port. 
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SEC. 2. SPECIAL ENVOY TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS FREE-
DOM OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE 
NEAR EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA. 
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall appoint a 
Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious 
Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia (in 
this Act referred to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’) within the 
Department of State. 
(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Special Envoy should be 
a person of recognized distinction in the field of human 
rights and religious freedom and with expertise in the 
Near East and South Central Asia regions. The Special 
Envoy shall have the rank of ambassador and shall hold 
the office at the pleasure of the President. 
(c) PROHIBITION.—The person appointed as Special 
Envoy may not hold any other position of Federal employ-
ment for the period of time during which the person holds 
the position of Special Envoy. 
SEC. 3. DUTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Special Envoy shall carry out 
the following duties: 
(1) Promote the right of religious freedom of 
religious minorities in the countries of the Near 
East and the countries of South Central Asia, de-
nounce the violation of such right, and recommend 
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appropriate responses by the United States Govern-
ment when such right is violated. 
(2) Monitor and combat acts of religious intol-
erance and incitement targeted against religious mi-
norities in the countries of the Near East and the 
countries of South Central Asia. 
(3) Work to ensure that the unique needs of re-
ligious minority communities in the countries of the 
Near East and the countries of South Central Asia 
are addressed, including the economic and security 
needs of such communities to the extent that such 
needs are directly tied to religious-based discrimina-
tion and persecution. 
(4) Work with foreign governments of the coun-
tries of the Near East and the countries of South 
Central Asia to address laws that are inherently dis-
criminatory toward religious minority communities 
in such countries. 
(5) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 
that portion of the report required by sections 
116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) and 2304(b)) relating 
to the nature and extent of religious freedom of reli-
gious minorities in the countries of the Near East 
and the countries of South Central Asia. 
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(6) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of 
that portion of the report required by section 102(b) 
of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 
(22 U.S.C. 6412(b)) relating to the nature and ex-
tent of religious freedom of religious minorities in 
the countries of the Near East and the countries of 
South Central Asia. 
(b) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the duties 
under subsection (a), the Special Envoy shall, to the max-
imum extent practicable, coordinate with the Bureau of 
Population, Refugees and Migration of the Department of 
State, the Ambassador at Large for International Reli-
gious Freedom, the United States Commission on Inter-
national Religious Freedom, and other relevant Federal 
agencies and officials. 
SEC. 4. DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION. 
Subject to the direction of the President and the Sec-
retary of State, the Special Envoy is authorized to rep-
resent the United States in matters and cases relevant to 
religious freedom in the countries of the Near East and 
the countries of South Central Asia in— 
(1) contacts with foreign governments, intergov-
ernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of 
the United Nations, the Organization of Security 
and Cooperation in Europe, and other international 
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organizations of which the United States is a mem-
ber; and 
(2) multilateral conferences and meetings rel-
evant to religious freedom in the countries of the 
Near East and the countries of South Central Asia. 
SEC. 5. PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND CONSULTATION. 
(a) PRIORITY COUNTRIES.—In carrying out this Act, 
the Special Envoy shall give priority to programs, projects, 
and activities for Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and 
Pakistan. 
(b) CONSULTATION.—The Special Envoy shall con-
sult with domestic and international nongovernmental or-
ganizations and multilateral organizations and institu-
tions, as the Special Envoy considers appropriate to fulfill 
the purposes of this Act. 
SEC. 6. FUNDING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made available 
for ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Programs’’ for fiscal years 
2014 through 2018, $1,000,000 is authorized to be appro-
priated for each such fiscal year to carry out the provisions 
of this Act. 
(b) FUNDING OFFSET.—To offset the costs to be in-
curred by the Department of State to carry out the provi-
sions of this Act for fiscal years 2014 through 2018, the 
Secretary of State shall eliminate such positions within the 
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Department of State, unless otherwise authorized or re-
quired by law, as the Secretary determines to be necessary 
to fully offset such costs. 
(c) LIMITATION.—No additional funds are authorized 
to be appropriated for ‘‘Diplomatic and Consular Pro-
grams’’ to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 7. SUNSET. 
This Act shall cease to be effective beginning on Octo-
ber 1, 2018. 
Æ 
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