I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1714 
To promote human rights and democracy in Iran. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 4, 2011 
Mr. DOLD (for himself and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committees on Financial Services, the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To promote human rights and democracy in Iran. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Iran Human Rights and Democracy Promotion Act of 
2011’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Declaration of policy. 
Sec. 3. Definitions. 
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Sec. 4. Mandatory investigations to identify persons who are responsible for or 
complicit in human rights abuses committed against citizens of 
Iran or their family members after the June 12, 2009, elec-
tions in Iran. 
Sec. 5. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the transfer of goods or tech-
nologies to Iran that may be used to commit human rights 
abuses. 
Sec. 6. Iran freedom support act reauthorization. 
Sec. 7. Special representative on human rights and democracy in Iran. 
Sec. 8. Sense of Congress on political prisoners. 
Sec. 9. Comprehensive strategy to promote Internet freedom and access to in-
formation in Iran. 
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF POLICY. 
(a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the interests of 
the United States and international peace are threatened 
by the ongoing and destabilizing actions of the Govern-
ment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including its mas-
sive, systematic, and extraordinary violations of the 
human rights of its own citizens. 
(b) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—It shall be the policy 
of the United States— 
(1) to deny the Government of the Islamic Re-
public of Iran the ability to continue to oppress the 
people of Iran and to use violence and executions 
against pro-democracy protestors and regime oppo-
nents; 
(2) to fully and publicly support efforts made 
by the people of Iran to promote the establishment 
of basic freedom, which build the foundation for the 
emergence of a freely elected, open, and democratic 
political system; 
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(3) to help the Iranian people produce, access, 
and share information freely and safely via the 
Internet and through other media; and 
(4) to defeat all attempts by the Government of 
the Islamic Republic of Iran to jam or otherwise 
deny international satellite broadcast signals. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 
and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 
section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Finance, and the Committee 
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Ways and Means, and the Com-
mittee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives. 
(3) 
UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The 
term 
‘‘United States person’’ has the meaning given that 
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term in section 101(10) of the Comprehensive Iran 
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 
2010 (22 U.S.C. 8511(10)). 
SEC. 4. MANDATORY INVESTIGATIONS TO IDENTIFY PER-
SONS 
WHO 
ARE 
RESPONSIBLE 
FOR 
OR 
COMPLICIT IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES COM-
MITTED AGAINST CITIZENS OF IRAN OR 
THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AFTER THE JUNE 
12, 2009, ELECTIONS IN IRAN. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as 
the head of state, is responsible for ordering, controlling, 
and otherwise directing the commission of serious human 
rights abuses against citizens of Iran on or after June 12, 
2009. 
(b) MANDATORY INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 105 of 
the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 
Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘subsection 
(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(2)’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘LIST’’ and inserting ‘‘IDENTIFICATION’’; 
(B) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and 
(3) and inserting the following: 
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‘‘(1) INVESTIGATIONS; DETERMINATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving cred-
ible information that a person may be a person 
described in subparagraph (B), the President 
shall initiate an investigation and, not later 
than 180 days after initiating the investigation, 
make a determination with respect to whether 
the person is a person described in subpara-
graph (B). 
‘‘(B) PERSON DESCRIBED.—A person de-
scribed in this subparagraph is a person that— 
‘‘(i) is an official of the Government 
of Iran or is acting on behalf of that Gov-
ernment (including a member of a para-
military organization such as Ansar-e- 
Hezbollah and Basij-e Mostaz’afin); and 
‘‘(ii) is responsible for or complicit in, 
or responsible for ordering, controlling, or 
otherwise directing, the commission of seri-
ous human rights abuses against citizens 
of Iran or their family members on or after 
June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such 
abuses occurred in Iran. 
‘‘(2) LIST.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a list of each person the President de-
termines is a person described in paragraph 
(1)(B)— 
‘‘(i) not later than 210 days after the 
date of the enactment of the Iran Human 
Rights and Democracy Promotion Act of 
2011, and every 180 days thereafter; and 
‘‘(ii) as new information becomes 
available. 
‘‘(B) FORM
OF
REPORT; PUBLIC
AVAIL-
ABILITY.— 
‘‘(i) FORM.—The list required by sub-
paragraph (A) shall be submitted in un-
classified form but may contain a classified 
annex. 
‘‘(ii) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The un-
classified portion of the list required by 
subparagraph (A) shall be made available 
to the public and posted on the websites of 
the Department of the Treasury and the 
Department of State.’’; 
(C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 
paragraph (3); and 
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(D) in paragraph (3), as redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘In preparing the list required by para-
graph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘For purposes of initi-
ating investigations and making determinations 
under paragraph (1)’’. 
SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE 
TRANSFER OF GOODS OR TECHNOLOGIES TO 
IRAN THAT MAY BE USED TO COMMIT HUMAN 
RIGHTS ABUSES. 
(a) INVESTIGATIONS; DETERMINATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (3), upon receiving credible information that 
a person may have engaged in an activity described 
in paragraph (2), the President shall initiate an in-
vestigation and, not later than 180 days after initi-
ating the investigation, make a determination with 
respect to whether that person engaged in that activ-
ity. 
(2) ACTIVITY DESCRIBED.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A person engages in an 
activity described in this subparagraph if the 
person, on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act— 
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(i) transfers, or facilitates the transfer 
of, goods or technologies described in sub-
paragraph (C) to Iran; or 
(ii) provides services with respect to 
goods or technologies described in subpara-
graph (C) after such goods or technologies 
are transferred to Iran. 
(B) APPLICABILITY
TO
CONTRACTS
AND 
OTHER AGREEMENTS.—A person engages in an 
activity described in subparagraph (A) without 
regard to whether the activity is carried out 
pursuant to a contract or other agreement en-
tered into before, on, or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
(C) 
GOODS
OR
TECHNOLOGIES
DE-
SCRIBED.—Goods or technologies described in 
this subparagraph are— 
(i) firearms or ammunition (as those 
terms are defined in section 921 of title 
18, United States Code), accessories for 
firearms, rubber bullets, clubs, batons, po-
lice sticks, mace, stun grenades, tasers or 
other electroshock weapons, tear gas, water 
cannons, motorcycles, or surveillance tech-
nology; 
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(ii) sensitive technology (as defined in 
section 106(c) of the Comprehensive Iran 
Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment 
Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8515(c)); and 
(iii) other goods or technologies that 
the President determines may be used by 
the Government of Iran to commit human 
rights abuses against the people of Iran. 
(3) SPECIAL
RULE
TO
ALLOW
FOR
TERMI-
NATION
OF
SANCTIONABLE
ACTIVITY.—The Presi-
dent shall not be required to initiate an investiga-
tion, and may terminate an investigation, under this 
subsection if the President certifies in writing to the 
appropriate congressional committees that— 
(A) the person whose activity was the basis 
for the investigation is no longer engaging in 
the activity or has taken significant verifiable 
steps toward stopping the activity; and 
(B) the President has received reliable as-
surances that the person will not knowingly en-
gage in an activity described in paragraph (2) 
in the future. 
(b) LIST.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees a list of 
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each person the President determines has engaged in 
an activity described in subsection (a)(2)— 
(A) not later than 210 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 
days thereafter; and 
(B) as new information becomes available. 
(2) FORM OF LIST.—The list required by para-
graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 
may contain a classified annex. 
(c) ASSET FREEZE.—The President shall freeze and 
prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in 
property of a person on the list required by subsection (b) 
if such property and interests in property are in the 
United States, come within the United States, or are or 
come within the possession or control of a United States 
person. 
(d) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The President may waive 
the application of this section with respect to a person if 
the President— 
(1) determines that such a waiver is in the na-
tional interest of the United States; and 
(2) submits to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report describing the reasons for the 
waiver. 
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(e) TERMINATION.—The provisions of this section 
shall terminate on the date described in section 105(d) 
of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 
Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514(d)). 
SEC. 6. IRAN FREEDOM SUPPORT ACT REAUTHORIZATION. 
(a) ADDITIONAL FORMS OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 
302(a)(1) of the Iran Freedom Support Act (Public Law 
109–293; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: ‘‘Such assistance may also include 
the award of grants and the formation of public-private 
partnerships to facilitate or subsidize the enrollment in or 
directly provide Internet-based Farsi- or English-language 
higher education courses for people in Iran denied access 
to higher education solely on the basis of their race, reli-
gion, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, belief, or life-
style.’’. 
(b) USE
OF NEAR EAST REGIONAL DEMOCRACY 
FUNDS.—Section 302(c)(1) of such Act is amended by 
striking ‘‘and the Human Rights and Democracy Fund’’ 
and inserting ‘‘the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, 
and the Near East Regional Democracy program’’. 
(c) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 302(f) of such Act 
is amended by striking ‘‘2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2016’’. 
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SEC. 7. SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND 
DEMOCRACY IN IRAN. 
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The President shall appoint a 
Special Representative on Human Rights and Democracy 
in Iran (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Special Representa-
tive’’) within the Department of State. 
(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Special Representative 
should be a person of recognized distinction in the field 
of human rights and democracy promotion who shall have 
the rank of ambassador and shall hold the office at the 
pleasure of the President. 
(c) DUTIES.—The Special Representative shall carry 
out the following duties: 
(1) Coordinate United States Government-wide 
activities that promote human rights, democracy, po-
litical freedom, and religious freedom inside Iran. 
(2) Coordinate United States Government-wide 
activities that promote human rights, political free-
dom, and religious freedom for Iranian refugees and 
asylees living outside Iran. 
(3) Ensure the comprehensive investigation and 
designation of Iranian human rights abusers in ac-
cordance with section 105 of the Comprehensive 
Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act 
of 2011 (22 U.S.C. 8514). 
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(4) Coordinate the documentation and publicity 
of political dissidents and cases of human rights 
abuse inside Iran. 
(5) Coordinate multilateral efforts to build 
international support for the promotion of human 
rights, democracy, political freedom, and religious 
freedom in Iran, including broadcasting, Internet ac-
cess, and dissemination of information. 
(6) Encourage the United Nations, multilateral 
organizations, and human rights nongovernmental 
organizations to more robustly investigate and re-
port on human rights abuses in Iran. 
(7) Encourage foreign governments to down-
grade or sever diplomatic relations with the Govern-
ment of Iran, enact economic sanctions, and assist 
Iranian dissidents in response to the Government of 
Iran’s continued violations of human rights. 
(8) Encourage foreign governments to expel the 
Islamic Republic of Iran from international forums 
and organizations with a human rights component, 
including the United Nations Commission on the 
Status of Women, the United Nations Educational, 
Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Na-
tions Children’s Fund, and the International Labour 
Organisation. 
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