Public Law 113–154: To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to include the desecration of cemeteries among the many forms of violations of the right to religious freedom.Public Law154Public Law 113–154128 Stat. 18272014-08-082014-08-08United States Government Publishing OfficeNational Archives and Records AdministrationOffice of the Federal Registertext/xmlENPursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.GPO Locator to USLM Converter 4.15.31;Stage2.202507022026-01-03113publicPUBLIC LAW 113–154—AUG. 8, 2014128 STAT. 1827Public Law113–154113th CongressAn ActTo amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to include the desecration of cemeteries among the many forms of violations of the right to religious freedom.
Aug. 8, 2014
[H.R. 4028]
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,SECTION 1.
22 USC 6401 note.
FINDINGS. Congress finds the following:(1) Cemeteries are sacred sites that are of great spiritual, cultural, and historical significance to many religious and ethnic groups.(2) Congress is committed to protecting and preserving the heritage and sacred sites of national, religious, and ethnic groups, which includes cemeteries in the United States and abroad.(3) Cemeteries around the world have and continue to be defaced or destroyed as a direct result of their affiliation with a particular religious or spiritual group.(4) Such attacks constitute an assault on the fundamental right to freedom of religion, and are especially egregious when sponsored or tolerated by the local or national governments in the countries in which such offenses occur.SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998. Section 2(a)(4) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401(a)(4)) is amended in the fourth sentence by inserting “desecration of cemeteries,” after “confiscations of property,”.ApprovedAugust 8, 2014.LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4028:SENATE REPORTS: ┐No. 113–214 (Comm. on Foreign Relations).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 160 (2014):