Title: Iraq Human Rights and Accountability Act of 2019
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Iraq Human Rights and Accountability Act of 2019
This bill requires the Department of State to submit a report to Congress that includes (1) a statement of whether specified persons meet certain criteria to be sanctioned for violating human rights in Iraq; (2) a list of any Iraqi Security Forces units that have committed human rights violations in Iraq; and (3) a certification that such units will not receive training, equipment, or assistance from the United States.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5276 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5276

    To require a report describing whether certain persons meet the 
criteria to be sanctioned pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
Accountability Act for violating the human rights of Iraqi protestors, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 26, 2019

     Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. Malinowski) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To require a report describing whether certain persons meet the 
criteria to be sanctioned pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
Accountability Act for violating the human rights of Iraqi protestors, 
                        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 ``Iraq Human Rights and Accountability 
Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Government of Iraq responded to the protests in 
        Baghdad, Babil, Basra, Maysan, Nasiriya, Karbala, and Najaf 
        from October 1 through November 2019, by using unprecedented 
        repressive measures against protestors that included shootings, 
        sniper fire, illegal and unlawful detention, mass arrests, and 
        weaponizing public services such as electricity and the 
        internet.
            (2) The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, under 
        United Nations Security Council Resolution 2470 (2019), states 
        that 149 people were killed in early October and another 97 
        between October 25 and November 6, 2019, while over 6,100 
        civilians have been wounded during the suppression of these 
        protests. These human rights violations and abuses resulted due 
        to excessive force against protestors by Iraqi Security Forces.
            (3) Since 2017, Iraqi Security Forces aligned with the 
        Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), predominantly Shi'ite 
        militias frequently backed by Iran, have committed unlawful and 
        arbitrary killings according to the United States Department of 
        State. Some reports indicate that PMF-aligned fighters were 
        behind the roof-top sniper attacks in Baghdad in early October 
        2019 targeting protestors. Iraqi police also fired military 
        grade tear gas grenades which lodged in protestors bodies. On 
        October 8, 2019, the Iraqi military acknowledged the excessive 
        use of force.
            (4) The Iraqi government also suppressed freedom of 
        expression during the protests through the detention of 
        journalists, blocking internet access from October 3 through 9, 
        2019, and again since late October, and attacking media 
        outlets. These attacks included intimidation, harassment, and 
        preparing journalist watchlists while also raiding satellite 
        television stations in Baghdad.
            (5) The Commander of the Iranian Quds Force traveled to 
        Iraq in October 2019 and met with militia leaders from the PMF. 
        The PMF report to the Iraqi Prime Minister but many units 
        maintain a command structure outside the formal military chain 
        of command linked directly to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard 
        Corps. The PMF and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps 
        established a joint operational cell in Baghdad on October 3, 
        2019, that may have directly contributed to the use of 
        excessive force and snipers.
            (6) The 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices of 
        the Department of State found that ``civilian authorities did 
        not maintain effective control over some elements of the 
        security forces, particularly certain units of the Popular 
        Mobilization Forces (PMF) that were aligned with Iran''.
            (7) The Government of Iran continues to intervene and 
        maintain influence with the militia leaders and Commanders of 
        the PMF. This undermines the formal Iraqi chain of command and 
        contributes to actions by the PMF that use repressive actions 
        against Iraqi protestors to maintain Iranian proxy power.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States to--
            (1) support democracy and human rights in Iraq, including 
        the robust exercise by Iraqis of the rights to free speech and 
        assembly as guaranteed to them by the Iraqi constitution;
            (2) support calls for meaningful government reform to 
        combat corruption and strengthen rule of law and transparency;
            (3) condemn any and all attacks on peaceful protesters by 
        Iraqi authorities, militias, or others;
            (4) encourage a rapid and full restoration of internet 
        services and publicly verifiable measures by the Government of 
        Iraq to protect media workers and medical personnel;
            (5) demand accountability for individuals and entities 
        involved directly and indirectly in attacks and other human 
        rights violations against peaceful Iraqi protestors; and
            (6) maintain a robust diplomatic presence across Iraq as a 
        sign and tool of the commitment and influence of the United 
        States in countering malign influences in the region, helping 
        Iraq maintain its full sovereignty, and contributing to the 
        development of a healthy and corruption-free economy that 
        serves the Iraqi people.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 
              AGAINST IRAQI PROTESTORS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress 
a report that includes--
            (1) a statement whether each person listed in subsection 
        (b) meets the criteria to be designated for the imposition of 
        sanctions under section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human 
        Rights Accountability Act (title XII of the National Defense 
        Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) 
        because such person--
                    (A) is responsible for extrajudicial killings, 
                torture, or other gross violations of internationally 
                recognized human rights in Iraq with respect to Iraqi 
                protestors seeking to exercise their internationally 
                recognized rights and freedoms since October 2019; or
                    (B) acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign 
                person that committed such violations;
            (2) a list of units of the Iraqi Security Forces with 
        respect to which the Secretary of State has credible 
        information that such units have committed gross violations of 
        human rights in Iraq since October 2019; and
            (3) a certification that such units will not receive 
        training, equipment, or other assistance from the United 
        States, consistent with section 620M of the Foreign Assistance 
        Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2378d) and section 362 of title 10, 
        United States Code.
    (b) Persons Listed.--The persons listed in this subsection are the 
following:
            (1) Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) leader Abu Mahdi al-
        Muhandis (birth name Jamal Jaafar Ibrahim).
            (2) Chief of staff to Prime Minister Adil Abdulmahdi, Abu 
        Jihad (birth name Mohammed al-Hashimi).
            (3) Head of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Qais al-Khazali.
            (4) Head of the PMF Central Security Directorate, Abu 
        Zainab al-Lami (birth name Hussein Falah al-Lami).
            (5) Adviser for PMF Affairs to Prime Minister Abdulmahdi, 
        Abu Muntadher al-Husseini (birth name Tahseen Abid Mutar al-
        Abboudi).
            (6) Head of the Interior Ministry's Rapid Response 
        Division, Abu Turab al-Husseini (birth name Thamir Mohammad 
        Ismail).
            (7) Commander of Saraya Talia al-Kurasani (PMF Brigade 18), 
        Hamid al-Jazayeri.
            (8) Commander of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada (PMF Brigade 14), 
        Abu Ala al-Walai (birth name Hashim Bunyan al-Siraji).
            (9) Head of the PMF Intelligence Directorate, Abu Iman al-
        Bahali.
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