Iran Human Rights and Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2117 | Sponsor: Rep. Wilson, Joe (R-SC)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Iran Human Rights and Accountability Act of 2021
This bill requires certain reports and determinations with respect to actions by Iran (and designated Iranian officials) that violate human rights.
Specifically, the President must determine whether specified Iranian officials meet certain criteria for the application of sanctions based on their responsibility for, or complicity in, human rights abuses.
The Department of State must report on human rights abuses in relation to protests in Iran since 2017 and determine whether certain actions by Iran, Hezbollah, and Iranian-backed militias constitute genocide or war crimes. Further, the State Department must report on the estimated net worth and known sources of income (including from corrupt or illicit activities) of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members.

To require the President to make a determination with respect to the 
   application of sanctions with respect to certain officials of the 
              Government of Iran, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Iran Human Rights and Accountability 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In response to protests that broke out on November 15, 
        2019, the Government of Iran blocked almost all internet 
        traffic in Iran and used deadly force against nonviolent 
        protesters, killing approximately 1,500 persons, according to 
        the Department of State's 2019 Human Rights Report.
            (2) The Government of Iran is regularly engaged in 
        widespread torture, extrajudicial killings, the prosecution of 
        journalists, the taking of political prisoners, severe 
        restrictions on the freedom of religion, and the severe 
        repression of women and religious minorities.
            (3) The Government of Iran is involved in the unlawful 
        recruitment of child soldiers by government actors to support 
        the brutal Assad regime in Syria, according to the Department 
        of State's 2019 Human Rights Report. The Government of Iran is 
        also altering the demographic composition of Syria.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States to--
            (1) support democracy and human rights in Iran, including 
        the robust exercise by Iranians of the rights to free speech 
        and assembly and where possible to support the free flow of 
        information into Iran and make it easier for Iranian citizens 
        to communicate with one another and with the outside world;
            (2) hold the Government of Iran accountable for severe 
        human rights abuses against its own people and the peoples of 
        the Middle East, including the people of Syria, Iraq, Yemen, 
        and Lebanon; and
            (3) condemn any and all attacks on protesters by the 
        Government of Iran or its sponsored militias.

SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS WITH 
              RESPECT TO CERTAIN OFFICIALS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN.

    (a) Determination With Respect to the Imposition of Sanctions.--Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
determination, including a detailed justification, of whether any 
person listed in subsection (b) meets the criteria for--
            (1) the application of sanctions with respect to a person 
        pursuant to section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, 
        Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514); or
            (2) the application of sanctions pursuant to Executive 
        Order 13553 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property 
        of certain persons with respect to serious human rights abuses 
        by the Government of Iran).
    (b) Persons Listed.--The persons described in this subsection are 
the following:
            (1) Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader of Iran.
            (2) Asghar Jahangir, the head of Iran's Prisons 
        Organization.
            (3) Seyyed Alireza Avaie, Iran's Minister of Justice.
            (4) Mansour Gholami, Iran's Minister of Science.
            (5) Abbas Salehi, Iran's Minister of Culture.
            (6) Hassan Hassanzadeh, Commander of the Tehran Mohammad 
        Rasoolallah Corps of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 
        (IRGC).
            (7) Mohammad Reza Yazdi, Commander of the Tehran Mohammad 
        Rasoolallah Corps of the IRGC.
            (8) Amin Vaziri, Deputy Prosecutor of Tehran and assistant 
        supervisor of political prisoners in Evin prison.
            (9) Heshmatollah Hayat Al-Ghayb, Tehran's Director-General 
        of Prisons.
            (10) Allahkaram Azizi, Head of the Rajaie-Shahr prison in 
        Karaj, Iran.
            (11) Mohammadmehdi Hajmohammadi, Head of Iran's prisons and 
        guidance prosecutor's office.
            (12) Ali Hemmatian, IRGC interrogator.
            (13) Masoud Safdari, IRGC interrogator.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON THE ESTIMATED NET WORTH AND KNOWN SOURCES OF INCOME 
              OF IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMANEI.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of National Intelligence, 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on 
the estimated net worth and known sources of income, including income 
from corrupt or illicit activities, of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah 
Ali Khamanei and his family members (including spouse, children, 
siblings, and paternal and maternal cousins), including--
            (1) assets, investments, other business interests, and 
        relevant beneficial ownership information; and
            (2) shares in and ties to Iranian parastatal institutions 
        or bonyads, such as the Mostazafan Foundation and the Astan 
        Quds Razavi, and the total estimated value of the Mostazafan 
        Foundation and the Astan Quds Razavi.
    (b) Form.--
            (1) In general.--The report required by subsection (a) 
        shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a 
        classified annex if necessary.
            (2) Public availability of information.--The unclassified 
        portion of such report shall be made available on a publicly 
        available internet website of the Federal Government.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN IRAN IN RESPONSE TO THE 
              PROTESTS IN IRAN SINCE 2017.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that it is 
imperative the United States Government should hold local Iranian law 
enforcement forces, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 
officials, and other Iranian security officials accountable for the 
violent crackdown on protests in Iran since 2017, especially since 
protests in Iran have become geographically widespread and not limited 
solely to major urban centers.
    (b) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report that includes the following:
            (1) A list, by province and city, of local Iranian law 
        enforcement forces, IRGC officials, and other Iranian security 
        officials responsible for the violent crackdown on protests in 
        Iran since 2017.
            (2) A list of judges and judicial officials, by province 
        and city, responsible for gross violations of human rights in 
        Iran, including facilitating the unjust detainment of 
        protesters and depriving them of their right to free speech.
            (3) A description of efforts by the United States to assist 
        Iranians to access the internet during periods in which the 
        Government of Iran has severely limited such access.
    (c) Form.--
            (1) In general.--The report required by subsection (b) 
        shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a 
        classified annex if necessary.
            (2) Public availability of information.--The unclassified 
        portion of such report shall be made available on a publicly 
        available internet website of the Federal Government.

SEC. 7. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY COMMITTED 
              BY THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN AND ITS SPONSORED MILITIAS IN 
              SYRIA AND IRAQ.

    (a) Determination.--The Secretary of State shall make a 
determination with respect to each of the following:
            (1) Whether Iran, Hezbollah, and Iranian-backed militias' 
        sectarian cleansing campaigns, especially in the Damascus 
        suburbs and particularly against the Sunni Muslim population of 
        Syria, can be considered systematic and widespread and 
        therefore constitute an offense described in section 1091(a) of 
        title 18, United States Code.
            (2) Whether Iran and Iranian backed militias' use of 
        violence against peaceful protesters in Iraq in November 2019 
        and December 2019 constitutes a war crime (as such term is 
        defined in section 2441(c) of title 18, United States Code).
            (3) Whether excessive use of violence by forces of the 
        Government of Iran against protesters in Iran in November 2019 
        constitutes an offense described in section 1091(a) of title 
        18, United States Code.
    (b) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit 
        to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 
        contains each determination made under subsection (a).
            (2) Form.--
                    (A) In general.--The report required by paragraph 
                (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
                contain a classified annex if necessary.
                    (B) Public availability of information.--The 
                unclassified portion of such report shall be made 
                available on a publicly available internet website of 
                the Federal Government.

SEC. 8. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
                                 <all>