1.Short
title; table of contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Iran Human Rights and Democracy
Promotion Act of 2011
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of
contents.
Sec. 2. Declaration of policy.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Mandatory investigations to identify persons who are
responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses committed against citizens
of Iran or their family members after the June 12, 2009, elections in
Iran.
Sec. 5. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the transfer of
goods or technologies to Iran that may be used to commit human rights
abuses.
Sec. 6. Iran Freedom Support Act reauthorization.
Sec. 7. Special representative on human rights and democracy in
Iran.
Sec. 8. Sense of Congress on political prisoners.
Sec. 9. Comprehensive strategy to promote Internet freedom and
access to information in Iran.
2.
(a)Congress
finds that the interests of the United States and international peace are
threatened by the ongoing and destabilizing actions of the Government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran, including its massive, systematic, and extraordinary
violations of the human rights of its own citizens.
(b)It shall be the policy of the United States—
(1)to deny the
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran the ability to continue to oppress
the people of Iran and to use violence and executions against pro-democracy
protestors and regime opponents;
(2)to fully and
publicly support efforts made by the people of Iran to promote the
establishment of basic freedom, which build the foundation for the emergence of
a freely elected, open, and democratic political system;
(3)to help the
Iranian people produce, access, and share information freely and safely via the
Internet and through other media; and
(4)to defeat all
attempts by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to jam or otherwise
deny international satellite broadcast signals.
3.In this Act:
(1)The terms
admitted and alien have the meanings given those
terms in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)).
(2)Appropriate
congressional committeesThe term appropriate congressional
committees means—
(A)the Committee on
Foreign Relations, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and
(B)the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
(3)The term United States person has the meaning
given that term in section 101(10) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8511(10)).
4.Mandatory
investigations to identify persons who are responsible for or complicit in
human rights abuses committed against citizens of Iran or their family members
after the June 12, 2009, elections in Iran
(a)It is the sense of
Congress that President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as the head of state, is
responsible for ordering, controlling, and otherwise directing the commission
of serious human rights abuses against citizens of Iran on or after June 12,
2009.
(b)Section 105 of
the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010
(22 U.S.C. 8514) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a), by striking subsection (b)
and inserting subsection
(b)(2)
; and
(2)in subsection
(b)—
(A)in the subsection heading, by striking
List
and inserting Identification
;
(B)by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)
and inserting the following:
(1)Investigations; determinations
(A)Upon receiving
credible information that a person may be a person described in subparagraph
(B), the President shall initiate an investigation and, not later than 180 days
after initiating the investigation, make a determination with respect to
whether the person is a person described in subparagraph (B).
(B)A person described
in this subparagraph is a person that—
(i)is an official of the Government of Iran or
is acting on behalf of that Government (including a member of a paramilitary
organization such as Ansar-e-Hezbollah and Basij-e Mostaz'afin); and
(ii)is responsible for or complicit in, or
responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission
of serious human rights abuses against citizens of Iran or their family members
on or after June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in
Iran.
(2)
(A)The President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of each person the
President determines is a person described in paragraph (1)(B)—
(i)not later than 210 days after the date of
the enactment of the Iran Human Rights and
Democracy Promotion Act of 2011, and every 180 days thereafter;
and
(ii)as new
information becomes available.
(B)Form of report; public
availability
(i)The
list required by subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified form but
may contain a classified annex.
(ii)The unclassified portion of the list required by
subparagraph (A) shall be made available to the public and posted on the Web
sites of the Department of the Treasury and the Department of
State.
;
(C)by redesignating
paragraph (4) as paragraph (3); and
(D)in paragraph (3),
as redesignated, by striking In preparing the list required by paragraph
(1)
and inserting For purposes of initiating investigations and
making determinations under paragraph (1)
.
5.Imposition of
sanctions with respect to the transfer of goods or technologies to Iran that
may be used to commit human rights abuses
(a)Investigations; determinations
(1)Except as provided in
paragraph (3), upon receiving credible information that a person may have
engaged in an activity described in paragraph (2), the President shall initiate
an investigation and, not later than 180 days after initiating the
investigation, make a determination with respect to whether that person engaged
in that activity.
(2)
(A)A person engages in an activity described in this
subparagraph if the person, on or after the date of the enactment of this
Act—
(i)transfers, or
facilitates the transfer of, goods or technologies described in subparagraph
(C) to Iran; or
(ii)provides
services with respect to goods or technologies described in subparagraph (C)
after such goods or technologies are transferred to Iran.
(B)Applicability
to contracts and other agreementsA person engages in an activity
described in subparagraph (A) without regard to whether the activity is carried
out pursuant to a contract or other agreement entered into before, on, or after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(C)Goods or
technologies describedGoods or technologies described in this
subparagraph are—
(i)firearms or
ammunition (as those terms are defined in section 921 of title 18, United
States Code), accessories for firearms, rubber bullets, clubs, batons, police
sticks, mace, stun grenades, tasers or other electroshock weapons, tear gas,
water cannons, motorcycles, or surveillance technology;
(ii)sensitive
technology (as defined in section 106(c) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8515(c)); and
(iii)other goods or
technologies that the President determines may be used by the Government of
Iran to commit human rights abuses against the people of Iran.
(3)Special rule to
allow for termination of sanctionable activityThe President shall not be required to
initiate an investigation, and may terminate an investigation, under this
subsection if the President certifies in writing to the appropriate
congressional committees that—
(A)the person whose
activity was the basis for the investigation is no longer engaging in the
activity or has taken significant verifiable steps toward stopping the
activity; and
(B)the President has
received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in an
activity described in paragraph (2) in the future.
(b)
(1)The President shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of each person the
President determines has engaged in an activity described in subsection
(a)(2)—
(A)not later than 210 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter; and
(B)as new
information becomes available.
(2)The list required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in
unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
(c)The President shall
freeze and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property
of a person on the list required by subsection (b) if such property and
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.
(d)The President may
waive the application of this section with respect to a person if the
President—
(1)determines that such a waiver is in the
national interest of the United States; and
(2)submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a report describing the reasons for the
waiver.
(e)The
provisions of this section shall terminate on the date described in section
105(d) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act
of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514(d)).
6.Iran Freedom
Support Act reauthorization
(a)Additional
forms of assistanceSection 302(a)(1) of the Iran Freedom Support
Act (Public Law 109–293; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended by adding at the end
the following: Such assistance may also include the award of grants and
the formation of public-private partnerships to facilitate or subsidize the
enrollment in or directly provide Internet-based Farsi- or English-language
higher education courses for people in Iran denied access to higher education
solely on the basis of their race, religion, ethnicity, language, sexual
orientation, belief, or lifestyle.
.
(b)Use of near
east regional democracy fundsSection 302(c)(1) of such Act is
amended by striking and the Human Rights and Democracy Fund
and
inserting the Human Rights and Democracy Fund, and the Near East
Regional Democracy program
.
(c)Section
302(f) of such Act is amended by striking 2011
and inserting
2016
.
7.Special
representative on human rights and democracy in Iran
(a)The
President shall appoint a Special Representative on Human Rights and Democracy
in Iran (in this Act referred to as the Special Representative)
within the Department of State.
(b)The
Special Representative should be a person of recognized distinction in the
field of human rights and democracy promotion who shall have the rank of
ambassador and shall hold the office at the pleasure of the President.
(c)The
Special Representative shall carry out the following duties:
(1)Coordinate United
States Government-wide activities that promote human rights, democracy,
political freedom, and religious freedom inside Iran.
(2)Coordinate United
States Government-wide activities that promote human rights, political freedom,
and religious freedom for Iranian refugees and asylees living outside
Iran.
(3)Ensure the
comprehensive investigation and designation of Iranian human rights abusers in
accordance with section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2011 (22 U.S.C. 8514).
(4)Coordinate the
documentation and publicity of political dissidents and cases of human rights
abuse inside Iran.
(5)Coordinate
multilateral efforts to build international support for the promotion of human
rights, democracy, political freedom, and religious freedom in Iran, including
broadcasting, Internet access, and dissemination of information.
(6)Encourage the
United Nations, multilateral organizations, and human rights nongovernmental
organizations to more robustly investigate and report on human rights abuses in
Iran.
(7)Encourage foreign
governments to downgrade or sever diplomatic relations with the Government of
Iran, enact economic sanctions, and assist Iranian dissidents in response to
the Government of Iran's continued violations of human rights.
(8)Encourage foreign
governments to expel the Islamic Republic of Iran from international forums and
organizations with a human rights component, including the United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, and the
International Labour Organisation.
(9)Coordinate all
programs funded under the Iran Freedom Support Act (Public Law 109–293; 22
U.S.C. 2151 note).
(d)
(1)Coordination of
activitiesThe Special Representative shall coordinate all
activities related to Iran carried out by the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs,
the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and the Bureau of Population,
Refugees and Migration of the Department of State, the Ambassador at Large for
International Religious Freedom, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat
Anti-Semitism, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom,
the National Endowment for Democracy, and the Broadcasting Board of
Governors.
(2)Coordination of
Use of fundsThe Special Representative shall coordinate and
oversee the obligation and expenditure of funds related to human rights,
democracy, Internet freedom, and broadcasting activities in Iran, including
funds made available for such purposes to the Middle East Partnership
Initiative (MEPI), the Broader Middle East, and North Africa Initiative, the
Human Rights and Democracy Fund, and Near Eastern Regional Democracy.
(e)Diplomatic
representationSubject to the direction of the President and the
Secretary of State, the Special Representative is authorized to represent the
United States in matters and cases relevant to the promotion of human rights,
democracy, political freedom, and religious freedom in Iran 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 the promotion of human rights, democracy,
political freedom, and religious freedom in Iran.
(f)The
Special Representative shall consult with domestic and international
nongovernmental organizations, unions, multilateral organizations and
institutions as the Special Representative considers appropriate to fulfill the
purposes of this Act.
(g)Of
prior year funds made available for Near East Regional Democracy,
the Secretary of State shall provide to the Special Representative such sums as
may be necessary for fiscal year 2012 for the hiring of staff, for the conduct
of investigations, and for necessary travel to carry out the provisions of this
Act.
8.Sense of
Congress on political prisonersIt is the sense of Congress that—
(1)the Secretary of
State should support efforts to research and catalogue prisoners of conscience
and cases of human rights abuses inside Iran;
(2)the United States
Government should offer political asylum in the United States to such political
prisoners if requested, and offer to assist, through the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, with the relocation of such political prisoners to
other countries if requested, as appropriate and with due consideration for
United States national security interests;
(3)the Special
Representative for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran and all representatives
of the United States Government should publicly call for the release of Iranian
dissidents by name and raise individual cases of Iranian dissidents and
prisoners of conscience as appropriate; and
(4)the Special
Representative for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran should be included in all
diplomatic meetings conducted with representatives of the Government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran.
9.Comprehensive
strategy to promote Internet freedom and access to information in
IranNot later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, in coordination
with the Special Representative on Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, shall
submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of
the Senate a comprehensive strategy developed in consultation with the
Department of State, other Federal agencies, the National Endowment for
Democracy, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, and nongovernmental
organizations, including current implementers and unions, as appropriate,
to—
(1)help the people
of Iran produce, access, and share information freely and safely via the
Internet, including in Farsi and regional languages;
(2)support the
development of counter-censorship technologies that enable the citizens of Iran
to undertake Internet activities without interference from their
government;
(3)increase the
capabilities and availability of secure mobile communications among human
rights and democracy activists in Iran;
(4)provide resources
for digital safety training for media, unions, and academic and civil society
organizations in Iran;
(5)increase the
amount of accurate Internet content in local languages in Iran;
(6)increase
emergency resources for the most vulnerable human rights advocates seeking to
organize, share information, and support human rights in Iran;
(7)expand surrogate
radio, television, live stream, and social network communications inside Iran
and improve Voice of America's Persian News Network and Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty's Radio Farda to provide 24/7 hourly live news update and breaking news
coverage capability;
(8)expand activities
to safely assist and train human rights, civil society, and union activists in
Iran to operate effectively and securely;
(9)defeat all
attempts by the Government of Iran to jam or otherwise deny international
satellite broadcasting signals; and
(10)expand worldwide
United States embassy and consulate programming for and outreach to Iranian
dissident communities.