[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 440 Engrossed in House (EH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 440
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote
Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South
Central Asia.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Seven Baha'i leaders in Iran have been wrongfully
imprisoned since 2008.
(2) In May 2010, suspected terrorists attacked two mosques
in Pakistan belonging to the Ahmaddiya minority Muslim sect,
killing at least 80 people. Ahmadis consider themselves Muslim,
but Pakistani law does not recognize them as such.
(3) Said Musa, an Afghan Christian convert, was arrested in
May 2010 on charges of apostasy, a crime which can carry the
death sentence, and was released in February 2011 only after
sustained international pressure.
(4) On October 31, 2010, gunmen laid siege on Our Lady of
Salvation Church in Baghdad, Iraq killing at least 52 police
and worshipers, including two priests, making it the worst
massacre of Iraqi Christians since 2003.
(5) Iraq's ancient and once vibrant Christian population
that numbered an estimated 1,500,000 out of a total population
in Iraq of 30,000,000 in 2003 has been reduced by at least one
half, due in significant part to Christians fleeing the
violence.
(6) In November 2010, a Pakistani court sentenced Aasia
Bibi, a Christian mother of five, to death under the country's
blashphemy law for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
(7) On New Year's Eve 2010, 23 people were killed when a
suicide bomber attacked a Coptic Christian church in
Alexandria, Egypt.
(8) On March 2, 2011, Pakistani Federal Minorities Minister
Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian member of the Cabinet, who
was outspoken in his opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy laws
was assassinated by extremists.
(9) The Department of State's 2010 International Religious
Freedom Report stated that many religious minority groups in
Uzbekistan ``faced heavy fines and/or short jail terms for
violations of restrictive religion laws''.
(10) The Special Envoy for Anti-Semitism, Hannah Rosenthal,
has noted that Holocaust glorification ``is especially virulent
in the Middle East media''.
(11) A number of countries in the Middle East have recently
undergone popular revolutions which in some countries have left
security vacuums making religious minorities especially
vulnerable to violent attacks, such as--
(A) in March 2011, the Shahedin Church in Helwan
province, Egypt, was torched, leading to protests which
spurred sectarian clashes in the streets of Cairo;
(B) on March 20, 2011, a group of Salafists in
Upper Egypt cut off a Christian man's ear and burned
his home and car; and
(C) news reports from April 2011 indicate that
Salafi organizations in Egypt have been implicated in
the destruction of Sufi shrines across the country
fueling violent conflict.
(12) Many of these ancient faith communities are being
forced to flee the lands which they have inhabited for
centuries.
(13) The United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom has recommended that Iran, Iraq, Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan be designated by the
Department of State as Countries of Particular Concern in
accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998.
(14) The situation on the ground in the region continues to
develop rapidly and the United States Government needs an
individual who can respond in kind and focus on the critical
situation of religious minorities in these countries.
SEC. 2. SPECIAL ENVOY TO PROMOTE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS
MINORITIES IN THE NEAR EAST AND SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA.
(a) Appointment.--The President shall appoint a Special Envoy to
Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and
South Central Asia (in this Act referred to as the ``Special Envoy'')
within the Department of State.
(b) Qualifications.--The Special Envoy should be a person of
recognized distinction in the field of human rights and religious
freedom and with expertise in the Near East and South Central Asia
regions. The Special Envoy shall have the rank of ambassador and shall
hold the office at the pleasure of the President.
(c) Prohibition.--The person appointed as Special Envoy may not
hold any other position of Federal employment for the period of time
during which the person holds the position of Special Envoy.
SEC. 3. DUTIES.
(a) In General.--The Special Envoy shall carry out the following
duties:
(1) Promote the right of religious freedom of religious
minorities in the countries of the Near East and the countries
of South Central Asia, denounce the violation of such right,
and recommend appropriate responses by the United States
Government when such right is violated.
(2) Monitor and combat acts of religious intolerance and
incitement targeted against religious minorities in the
countries of the Near East and the countries of South Central
Asia.
(3) Work to ensure that the unique needs of religious
minority communities in the countries of the Near East and the
countries of South Central Asia are addressed, including the
economic and security needs of such communities to the extent
that such needs are directly tied to religious-based
discrimination and persecution.
(4) Work with foreign governments of the countries of the
Near East and the countries of South Central Asia to address
laws that are inherently discriminatory toward religious
minority communities in such countries.
(5) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of that
portion of the report required by sections 116(d) and 502B(b)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d) and
2304(b)) relating to the nature and extent of religious freedom
of religious minorities in the countries of the Near East and
the countries of South Central Asia.
(6) Coordinate and assist in the preparation of that
portion of the report required by section 102(b) of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6412(b))
relating to the nature and extent of religious freedom of
religious minorities in the countries of the Near East and the
countries of South Central Asia.
(b) Coordination.--In carrying out the duties under subsection (a),
the Special Envoy shall, to the maximum extent practicable, coordinate
with the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the Department
of State, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom,
the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and
other relevant Federal agencies and officials.
SEC. 4. DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION.
Subject to the direction of the President and the Secretary of
State, the Special Envoy is authorized to represent the United States
in matters and cases relevant to religious freedom in the countries of
the Near East and the countries of South Central Asia in--
(1) contacts with foreign governments, intergovernmental
organizations, and specialized agencies of the United Nations,
the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and
other international organizations of which the United States is
a member; and
(2) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to
religious freedom in the countries of the Near East and the
countries of South Central Asia.
SEC. 5. PRIORITY COUNTRIES AND CONSULTATION.
(a) Priority Countries.--In carrying out this Act, the Special
Envoy shall give priority to programs, projects, and activities for
Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
(b) Consultation.--The Special Envoy shall consult with domestic
and international nongovernmental organizations and multilateral
organizations and institutions, as the Special Envoy considers
appropriate to fulfill the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 6. FUNDING.
(a) In General.--Of the amounts made available for ``Diplomatic and
Consular Programs'' for fiscal years 2011 through 2015, $1,000,000 is
authorized to be appropriated for each such fiscal year for the hiring
of staff, for the conduct of investigations, and for necessary travel
to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(b) Funding Offset.--To offset the costs to be incurred by the
Department of State for the hiring of staff, for the conduct of
investigations, and for necessary travel to carry out the provisions of
this Act for fiscal years 2011 through 2015, the Secretary of State
shall eliminate such positions within the Department of State, unless
otherwise authorized or required by law, as the Secretary determines to
be necessary to fully offset such costs.
(c) Limitation.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated for ``Diplomatic and Consular Programs'' to carry out this
Act.
SEC. 7. SUNSET.
This Act shall cease to be effective beginning on October 1, 2015.
Passed the House of Representatives July 29, 2011.
Attest:
Clerk.
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 440
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote
Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South
Central Asia.