Title: Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Sanctioning Hizballah's Illicit Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act
This bill states that it shall be U.S. policy to condemn Hizballah's use of human shields as a gross violation of internationally recognized human rights.
The President is urged to use U.S. influence at the United Nations Security Council to secure support for a resolution imposing multilateral sanctions against Hizballah for its use of human shields.
The President shall:
The President may waive the application of such sanctions for up to 120 days if the President reports that such waiver is vital to national security interests.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3342 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3342

 To impose sanctions on foreign persons that are responsible for gross 
violations of internationally recognized human rights by reason of the 
use by Hizballah of civilians as human shields, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2017

 Mr. Gallagher (for himself, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Royce of California, Mr. 
    Roskam, and Mr. Engel) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, 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 impose sanctions on foreign persons that are responsible for gross 
violations of internationally recognized human rights by reason of the 
use by Hizballah of civilians as human shields, 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 ``Sanctioning Hizballah's Illicit Use 
of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Human shields are civilians, prisoners of war, and 
        other noncombatants whose presence is designed to protect 
        combatants and military objects from attack, and the use of 
        human shields violates international law.
            (2) Throughout the 2006 conflict with the State of Israel, 
        Hizballah forces utilized human shields to protect themselves 
        from counterattacks by Israeli forces, including storing 
        weapons inside civilian homes and firing rockets from inside 
        populated civilian areas.
            (3) Hizballah has rearmed to include an arsenal of over 
        150,000 missiles, and other destabilizing weapons provided by 
        the Syrian and Iranian governments, which are concealed in 
        Shiite villages in southern Lebanon, often beneath civilian 
        infrastructure.
            (4) Hizballah is legally required to disarm under both 
        United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) and the 
        Taif Agreement (1989).
            (5) Hizballah maintains an armed military force within 
        Lebanon's sovereign territory in direct violation of United 
        Nations Security Council Resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 
        (2006), thus preventing Lebanon from exerting its lawful 
        control over its internationally recognized borders.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States to consider the use of 
human shields by Hizballah as a gross violation of internationally 
recognized human rights, to officially and publicly condemn the use of 
innocent civilians as human shields by Hizballah, and to take effective 
action against those that engage in the grave breach of international 
law through the use of human shields.

SEC. 4. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL.

    The President should direct the United States Permanent 
Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and 
influence of the United States at the United Nations Security Council 
to secure support for a resolution that would impose multilateral 
sanctions against Hizballah for its use of civilians as human shields.

SEC. 5. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN PERSONS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 
              GROSS VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED HUMAN 
              RIGHTS BY REASON OF USE BY HIZBALLAH OF CIVILIANS AS 
              HUMAN SHIELDS.

    (a) In General.--The President shall impose sanctions described in 
subsection (c) with respect to each person on the list required under 
subsection (b).
    (b) List.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a list of the following:
                    (A) Each foreign person that the President 
                determines, based on credible evidence, is a member of 
                Hizballah, or acting on behalf of Hizballah, that is 
                responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for 
                ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the use 
                of civilians as human shields.
                    (B) Each foreign person, or agency or 
                instrumentality of a foreign state, that the President 
                determines has provided, attempted to provide, or 
                significantly facilitated the provision of, material 
                support to a person described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Updates.--The President shall transmit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees an update of the list 
        required under paragraph (1) as new information becomes 
        available.
    (c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions to be imposed on a foreign 
person or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state on the list 
required under subsection (b) are the following:
            (1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all 
        of the powers granted to the President under the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the 
        extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in 
        property and interests in property of the foreign person or of 
        such agency or instrumentality of a foreign state if such 
        property or 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.
            (2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
                    (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the 
                Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security (or a designee of one of such Secretaries) who 
                is a foreign person on the list required under 
                subsection (b) is--
                            (i) inadmissible to the United States;
                            (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
                        documentation to enter the United States; and
                            (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
                        or paroled into the United States or to receive 
                        any other benefit under the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
                    (B) Current visas revoked.--
                            (i) In general.--The issuing consular 
                        officer, the Secretary of State, or the 
                        Secretary of Homeland Security (or a designee 
                        of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any 
                        visa or other entry documentation issued to an 
                        alien who is a foreign person on the list 
                        required under subsection (b) regardless of 
                        when such visa or other entry documentation was 
                        issued.
                            (ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation 
                        under clause (i)--
                                    (I) shall take effect immediately; 
                                and
                                    (II) shall automatically cancel any 
                                other valid visa or entry documentation 
                                that is in the possession of the alien 
                                who is the subject of such revocation.
            (3) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections 
        (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency 
        Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person 
        that knowingly violates, attempts to violate, conspires to 
        violate, or causes a violation of regulations promulgated to 
        carry out this section to the same extent that such penalties 
        apply to a person that knowingly commits an unlawful act 
        described in section 206(a) of such Act.
            (4) Regulatory authority.--
                    (A) In general.--The President may exercise all 
                authorities provided to the President under sections 
                203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 
                Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for purposes of 
                carrying out this section.
                    (B) Issuance of regulations.--Not later than 180 
                days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
                President shall, promulgate regulations as necessary 
                for the implementation of this section and the 
                amendments made by this section.
                    (C) Notification to congress.--Not later than ten 
                days before the promulgation of regulations under 
                subparagraph (B), the President shall brief the 
                appropriate congressional committees on the proposed 
                regulations and the provisions of this section that the 
                regulations are implementing.
            (5) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
        construed to limit the authority of the President pursuant to 
        the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 
        et seq.) or any other relevant provision of law.
    (d) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions 
under this section for periods not to exceed 120 days with respect to a 
foreign person, or an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state, if 
the President reports to the appropriate congressional committees that 
such waiver is vital to the national security interests of the United 
States.
    (e) Exemptions.--Any activity subject to the reporting requirements 
under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et 
seq.), or to any authorized intelligence activities of the United 
States.

SEC. 6. REPORT.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report containing a determination on whether 
each person described in subsection (b) meets the criteria described in 
subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 5(b)(1).
    (b) Persons Described.--The persons described in this subsection 
are the following:
            (1) The Secretary General of Hizballah.
            (2) Members of the Hizballah Politburo.
            (3) Any other senior members of Hizballah or other 
        associated entities that the President determines to be 
        appropriate.
            (4) Any person, or agency or instrumentality of a foreign 
        state that the President determines provides material support 
        to Hizballah that supports its use of civilians as human 
        shields.
    (c) Form of Report; Public Availability.--
            (1) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
        be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified 
        annex.
            (2) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of such 
        report shall be made available to the public and posted on the 
        internet website of the Department of State--
                    (A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; and
                    (B) in pre-compressed, easily downloadable versions 
                that are made available in all appropriate formats.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
        have the meanings given such terms in section 101 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
            (2) Agency or instrumentality of a foreign state.--The term 
        ``agency or instrumentality of a foreign state'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 1603(b) of title 28, United 
        States Code.
            (3) Appropriate congressional committees.--In this section, 
        the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Financial Services and the 
                Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate.
            (4) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means any 
        citizen or national of a foreign country, or any entity not 
        organized solely under the laws of the United States or 
        existing solely in the United States.
            (5) Foreign state.--The term ``foreign state'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 1603(a) of title 28, United 
        States Code.
            (6) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means any United States citizen, permanent resident 
        alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States 
        (including foreign branches), or any person in the United 
        States.
            (7) Hizballah.--The term ``Hizballah'' means--
                    (A) the entity known as Hizballah and designated by 
                the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist 
                organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189); or
                    (B) any person--
                            (i) the property or interests in property 
                        of which are blocked pursuant to the 
                        International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
                        U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
                            (ii) who is identified on the list of 
                        specially designated nationals and blocked 
                        persons maintained by the Office of Foreign 
                        Assets Control of the Department of the 
                        Treasury as an agent, instrumentality, or 
                        affiliate of Hizballah.
                                 <all>