I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 440 
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 25, 2011 
Mr. WOLF (for himself, Mr. PITTS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. HOLT, Ms. 
ESHOO, 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. SPECIAL ENVOY TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS 
FREEDOM 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 
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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 who shall have the rank of 
ambassador and shall hold the office at the pleasure of 
the President. 
SEC. 2. 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 
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. 
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(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. 
(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-
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national Religious Freedom, and other relevant Federal 
agencies and officials. 
SEC. 3. 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 
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. 4. CONSULTATIONS. 
The Special Envoy shall consult with domestic and 
international nongovernmental organizations and multilat-
eral organizations and institutions, as the Special Envoy 
considers appropriate to fulfill the purposes of this Act. 
SEC. 5. FUNDING. 
Of the amounts made available for ‘‘Diplomatic and 
Consular Programs’’ for fiscal years 2011 through 2015, 
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the Secretary of State shall provide to the Special Envoy 
$1,000,000 for each such fiscal year for the hiring of staff, 
for the conduct of investigations, and for necessary travel 
to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘Near East’’ or ‘‘countries of the 
Near East’’— 
(A) means Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, 
Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, 
Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, 
Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen; 
and 
(B) includes the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip; and 
(2) the term ‘‘South Central Asia’’ or ‘‘coun-
tries of South Central Asia’’ means Afghanistan, 
Bangladesh, 
Bhutan, 
India, 
Kyrgyzstan, 
Kazakhstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, 
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. 
Æ 
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