[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 169 (Thursday, October 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6872-S6873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4055. Mr. McCONNELL (for Mr. Corker) proposed an amendment to the
bill H.R. 390, to provide relief for victims of genocide, crimes
against humanity, and war crimes who are members of religious and
ethnic minority groups in Iraq and Syria, for accountability for
perpetrators of these crimes, and for other purposes; as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Iraq and Syria Genocide
Relief and Accountability Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Secretary of State of State declared on March 17,
2016, and on August 15, 2017, that Daesh (also known as the
Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS) is responsible for
genocide, crimes against humanity, and other atrocity crimes
against religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq and
Syria, including Christians, Yezidis, and Shia, among other
religious and ethnic groups.
(2) According to the Department of State's annual reports
on international religious freedom--
(A) the number of Christians living in Iraq has dropped
from an estimated 800,000 to 1,400,000 in 2002 to fewer than
250,000 in 2017; and
(B) the number of Yezidis living in Iraq has fluctuated
from 500,000 in 2013, to between 350,000 and 400,000 in 2016,
and between 600,000 and 750,000 in 2017.
(3) The annual reports on international religious freedom
further suggest that--
(A) Christian communities living in Syria, which had
accounted for between 8 and 10 percent of Syria's total
population in 2010, are now ``considerably'' smaller as a
result of the civil war, and
(B) there was a population of approximately 80,000 Yezidis
before the commencement of the conflict in Syria.
(4) Local communities and entities have sought to mitigate
the impact of violence directed against religious and ethnic
minorities in Iraq and Syria, including the Chaldean Catholic
Archdiocese of Erbil (Kurdistan Region of Iraq), which has
used predominantly private funds to provide assistance to
internally displaced Christians, Yezidis, and Muslims
throughout the greater Erbil region, while significant needs
and diminishing resources have made it increasingly difficult
to continue these efforts.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(E) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate;
(F) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(G) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives;
(H) the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of
Representatives;
(I) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
(J) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the
House of Representatives.
(2) Foreign terrorist organization.--The term ``foreign
terrorist organization'' mean an organization designated by
the Secretary of State as a foreign terrorist organization
pursuant to section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1189(a)).
(3) Humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs.--The
term ``humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs'',
with respect to an individual, includes water, sanitation,
hygiene, food security and nutrition, shelter and housing,
reconstruction, medical, education, psychosocial needs, and
other assistance to address basic human needs, including
stabilization assistance (as defined by the Stabilization
Assistance Review in ``A Framework for Maximizing the
Effectiveness of U.S. Government Efforts to Stabilize
Conflict-Affected Areas, 2018).
(4) Hybrid court.--The term ``hybrid court'' means a court
with a combination of domestic and international lawyers,
judges, and personnel.
(5) Internationalized domestic court.--The term
``internationalized domestic court'' means a domestic court
with the support of international advisers.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to ensure that
assistance for humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery
needs of individuals who are or were nationals and residents
of Iraq or Syria, and of communities in and from those
countries, is directed toward those individuals and
communities with the greatest need, including those
individuals from communities of religious and ethnic
minorities, and communities of religious and ethnic
minorities, that the Secretary of State declared were
targeted for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war
crimes, and have been identified as being at risk of
persecution, forced migration, genocide, crimes against
humanity, or war crimes.
SEC. 5. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY IN IRAQ FOR
GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND WAR
CRIMES.
(a) Assistance.--The Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development are authorized to provide assistance, including
financial and technical assistance, as necessary and
appropriate, to support the efforts of entities, including
nongovernmental organizations with expertise in international
criminal investigations and law, to address genocide, crimes
against humanity, or war crimes, and their constituent crimes
by ISIS in Iraq by--
(1) conducting criminal investigations;
(2) developing indigenous investigative and judicial
skills, including by partnering, directly mentoring, and
providing necessary equipment and infrastructure to
effectively adjudicating cases consistent with due process
and respect for the rule of law; and
(3) collecting and preserving evidence and the chain of
evidence, including for use in prosecutions in domestic
courts, hybrid courts, and internationalized domestic courts,
consistent with the activities described in subsection (b).
(b) Actions by Foreign Governments.--The Secretary of
State, in consultation with the Attorney General, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National
Intelligence, and the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, shall encourage governments of foreign
countries--
[[Page S6873]]
(1) to include information in appropriate security
databases and security screening procedures of such countries
to identify suspected ISIS members for whom credible evidence
exists of having committed genocide, crimes against humanity,
or war crimes, and their constituent crimes, in Iraq; and
(2) to apprehend and prosecute such ISIS members for
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, as
appropriate.
(c) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary of State shall consult with and consider credible
information from entities described in such subsection.
SEC. 6. IDENTIFICATION OF AND ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS
HUMANITARIAN, STABILIZATION, AND RECOVERY NEEDS
OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN IRAQ AND SYRIA.
(a) Identification.--The Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development,
and Director of National Intelligence, shall seek to
identify--
(1) threats of persecution and other early-warning
indicators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war
crimes against individuals who are or were nationals and
residents of Iraq or Syria, are members of religious or
ethnic minority groups in such countries, and against whom
the Secretary of State has determined ISIS has committed
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes;
(2) the religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq or
Syria identified pursuant to paragraph (1) that are at risk
of forced migration, within or across the borders of Iraq,
Syria, or a country of first asylum, and the primary reasons
for such risk;
(3)(A) the humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs
of individuals described in paragraphs (1) and (2), including
the assistance provided by the United States and by the
United Nations, respectively--
(i) to address the humanitarian, stabilization, and
recovery needs of such individuals; and
(ii) to mitigate the risks of forced migration of such
individuals; and
(B) assistance provided through the Funding Facility for
Immediate Stabilization and Funding Facility for Expanded
Stabilization; and
(4) to the extent practicable and appropriate--
(A) the entities, including faith-based entities, that are
providing assistance to address the humanitarian,
stabilization, and recovery needs of individuals described in
paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(B) the extent to which the United States is providing
assistance to or through the entities referred to in
subparagraph (A).
(b) Additional Consultation.--In carrying out subsection
(a), the Secretary of State shall consult with, and consider
credible information from--
(1) individuals described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of such
subsection; and
(2) the entities described in paragraph (4)(A) of such
subsection.
(c) Assistance.--The Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development are authorized to provide assistance, including
financial and technical assistance as necessary and
appropriate, to support the entities described in subsection
(a)(4)(A).
SEC. 7. REPORT.
(a) Implementation Report.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees that includes--
(1) a detailed description of the efforts taken, and
efforts proposed to be taken, to implement the provisions of
this Act;
(2) an assessment of--
(A) the feasibility and advisability of prosecuting ISIS
members for whom credible evidence exists of having committed
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq,
including in domestic courts in Iraq, hybrid courts, and
internationalized domestic courts; and
(B) the measures needed--
(i) to ensure effective criminal investigations of such
individuals; and
(ii) to effectively collect and preserve evidence, and
preserve the chain of evidence, for prosecution; and
(3) recommendations for legislative remedies and
administrative actions to facilitate the implementation of
this Act.
(b) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a
classified annex, if necessary.
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