S.Amdt. 854

SA 854. Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. Cardin) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2810, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2018 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end title XII of division A, add the following:

Subtitle H--Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability

SEC. 1291. SHORT TITLE.

This subtitle may be cited as the ``Iraq and Syria Genocide
Emergency Relief and Accountability Act of 2017''.

SEC. 1292. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) On March 17, 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry
stated, ``in my judgment, Daesh is responsible for genocide
against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis,
Christians, and Shia Muslims . . . the United States will
strongly support efforts to collect, document, preserve, and
analyze the evidence of atrocities, and we will do all we can
to see that the perpetrators are held accountable''.
(2) Secretary of State Kerry stated in the ``Atrocities
Prevention Report'', transmitted to Congress on March 17,
2016, ``The Department of State has a longstanding commitment
to providing support for the urgent humanitarian needs of
conflict-affected populations in Iraq, Syria, and across the
world, including but not limited to members of ethnic and
religious minorities.''.
(3) The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on
the Syrian Arab Republic stated in its February 3, 2016,
report, ``The Government has committed the crimes against
humanity of extermination, murder, rape or other forms of
sexual violence, torture, imprisonment, enforced
disappearance and other inhuman acts. Based on the same
conduct, war crimes have also been committed. Both Jabhat Al-
Nusra and some anti-Government armed groups have committed
the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, and torture.''.
(4) The International Criminal Investigative Training
Assistance Program and the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial
Development Assistance and Training of the Department of
Justice have provided technical assistance to governmental
judicial and law enforcement entities in Iraq, including with
funding support from the Department of State.
(5) There were an estimated 800,000 to 1,400,000 Christians
in Iraq in 2002, 500,000 in 2013, and less than 250,000 in
2015, according to the annual International Religious Freedom
Reports of the Department of State.
(6) Although Christians were an estimated 8 to 10 percent
of the 21,000,000 person population of Syria in 2010, ``media
and other reports of Christians fleeing the country as a
result of the civil war suggest the Christian population is
now considerably lower'' as of 2015, according to the annual
International Religious Freedom Reports of the Department of
State.
(7) The Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil (Iraq) is an
example of an entity that has not received funding from any
government and has been providing assistance to internally
displaced families of Yezidis, Muslims, and Christians,
including food, resettlement from tents to permanent housing,
and rent for Yezidis, medical care and education for Yezidis
and Muslims through clinics, schools, and a university that
are open to all, and some form of these types of assistance
to all of the estimated 10,500 internally displaced Christian
families, more than 70,000 people, in the greater Erbil
region.
(8) Through the United States Refugee Admissions Program,
the United States Government--
(A) admitted 12,676 Iraqi refugees in fiscal year 2015,
including at least 2,113 Christians and 213 Yezidis;
(B) admitted 9,880 Iraqi refugees in fiscal year 2016,
including at least 1,524 Christians and 393 Yezidis;
(C) admitted 1,682 Syrian refugees in fiscal year 2015,
including at least 30 Christians; and
(D) admitted 12,587 Syrian refugees in fiscal year 2016,
including at least 64 Christians and 24 Yezidis.
(b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--
(1) strongly condemns--
(A) the ongoing violence, use of chemical weapons,
targeting of civilian populations with barrel, incendiary,
and cluster bombs and SCUD missiles, and systematic gross
human rights violations carried out by the Government of
Syria and pro-government forces under the direction of
President Bashar al-Assad; and
(B) all abuses committed by violent extremist groups and
other combatants involved in the civil war in Syria;
(2) expresses its support for the people of Syria seeking
democratic change;
(3) urges all parties to the conflict--
(A) to immediately halt indiscriminate attacks on
civilians;
(B) to allow for the delivery of humanitarian and medical
assistance; and
(C) to end sieges of civilian populations;
(4) calls on the President to support efforts in Syria, and
on the part of the international community, to ensure
accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and
genocide committed during the conflict; and
(5) supports the request in United Nations Security Council
Resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), and 2191 (2014) for the
Secretary-General to regularly report to the Security Council
on implementation on the resolutions, including of paragraph
2 of Resolution 2139, which ``demands that all parties
immediately put an end to all forms of violence [and] cease
and desist from all violations of international humanitarian
law and violations and abuses of human rights''.

SEC. 1293. DEFINITIONS.

In this subtitle:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(E) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives; and
(F) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Capacity-building.--The term ``capacity-building'',
with respect to cases of genocide, crimes against humanity,
war crimes, and terrorism in Iraq or Syria, means developing
domestic skills to efficiently adjudicate such cases,
consistent with due process and respect for the rule of law,
through the use of experts in international criminal
investigations and experts in international criminal law to
partner with, mentor, provide technical advice for, formally
train, and provide equipment and infrastructure where
necessary and appropriate to, investigators and judicial
personnel in Iraq, including the Kurdistan region of Iraq,
and domestic investigators and lawyers in Syria.
(3) 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)).
(4) Genocide.--The term ``genocide'' means any offense
described in section 1091(a) of title 18, United States Code.
(5) Humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs.--The
term ``humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs'',
with respect to an individual, includes water, sanitation,
hygiene, food security, nutrition, shelter, housing, medical,
education, and psychosocial needs.
(6) Hybrid tribunal.--The term ``hybrid tribunal'' means a
temporary criminal tribunal that involves a combination of
domestic and international lawyers, judges, and other
professionals to prosecute individuals suspected of
committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.
(7) Internationalized domestic court.--The term
``internationalized domestic court'' means a domestic court
with the support of international advisers.
(8) Transitional justice.--The term ``transitional
justice'' means the range of judicial, nonjudicial, formal,
informal, retributive, and restorative measures employed by
countries transitioning out of armed conflict or repressive
regimes--
(A) to redress legacies of atrocities; and
(B) to promote long-term, sustainable peace.
(9) War crime.--The term ``war crime'' has the meaning
given the term in section 2441(c) of title 18, United States
Code.

SEC. 1294. ACTIONS TO PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY IN IRAQ FOR ACTS
OF GENOCIDE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND WAR
CRIMES.

(a) Assistance To Support Certain Entities.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through the
Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs, and Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall provide
assistance, including financial assistance, to support the
efforts of entities, including nongovernmental organizations
with expertise in international criminal investigations and
law, to undertake the activities described in paragraph (2)
to address genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes
in Iraq since January 2014.
(2) Activities described.--The activities described in this
paragraph are--
(A) conducting criminal investigations;
(B) developing indigenous investigative and judicial
skills, including by partnering directly, mentoring, and
providing equipment and infrastructure for effectively
adjudicating cases consistent with the due process of law;
(C) collecting and preserving evidence;
(D) preserving the chain of evidence for prosecution in
domestic courts, hybrid tribunals, and internationalized
domestic courts; and
(E) capacity building.
(3) Availability of amounts.--Amounts authorized to be
appropriated or otherwise made available for programs,
projects, and

[[Page S5075]]

activities carried out by the Assistant Secretary for
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Assistant
Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs are authorized to be made available to carry out this
subsection.
(b) Actions by Foreign Governments.--The Secretary of
State, in consultation with the Attorney General, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall encourage governments
of foreign countries--
(1) to include information in appropriate security
databases and security screening procedures of such countries
to identify individuals who are suspected to have committed
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq
since January 2014 or in Syria since March 2011, including
individuals who are suspected to be members of foreign
terrorist organizations operating within Iraq or Syria; and
(2) to prosecute individuals described in paragraph (1) for
genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, as
appropriate.
(c) Review of Certain Criminal Statutes.--The Attorney
General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall
conduct a review of existing criminal statutes concerning
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes to
determine--
(1) the extent to which United States courts are currently
authorized by statute to exercise jurisdiction over such
crimes where the direct perpetrators, accomplices, or victims
are United States nationals, United States residents, or
persons physically present in the territory of the United
States either during the commission of the crime or
subsequent to the commission of the crime;
(2) the statutes currently in effect that would apply to
conduct constituting war crimes or crimes against humanity,
including--
(A) whether such statutes provide for extraterritorial
jurisdiction;
(B) the statute of limitations for offenses under such
statutes;
(C) the applicable penalties under such statutes; and
(D) whether offenders would be subject to extradition or
mutual legal assistance treaties;
(3) the extent to which the absence of criminal statutes
defining the crimes, or granting jurisdiction, would impede
the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war
crimes in United States courts, including when United States
military forces capture persons outside the United States who
are known to have committed such crimes in a third country
that is either unable or unwilling to prosecute the crimes;
and
(4) whether additional statutory authorities are necessary
to prosecute a United States person or a foreign person
within the territory of the United States for genocide,
crimes against humanity, or war crimes.
(d) Consultation.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary of State shall consult with, and consider credible
information from, entities described in subsection (a)(1).
(e) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that an
appropriate amount of the additional amount made available
under the heading ``Economic Support Fund'' in title II of
division B of the Further Continuing and Security Assistance
Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 114-254) should be made
available to carry out subsection (a).

SEC. 1295. 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 Ambassador at
Large for International Religious Freedom, the Special
Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South/
Central Asia, the Assistant Secretary for Population,
Refugees, and Migration, the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development, and the Director
of National Intelligence, shall identify--
(1) the threats of persecution and other warning signs of
genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against
individuals--
(A) who--
(i) are or were nationals and residents of Iraq or of
Syria; and
(ii) are members of a religious, ethnic, or other minority
group in Iraq or in Syria against which the Secretary of
State has determined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
(ISIS) has committed genocide, crimes against humanity, or
war crimes in Iraq or in Syria since January 2014; or
(B) who are members of another religious, ethnic, or other
minority group in Iraq or in Syria that has been identified
by the Secretary of State (or the Secretary's designee) as a
persecuted group;
(2) the humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of
individuals described in paragraph (1);
(3) the religious, ethnic, and other minority groups in
Iraq and in Syria--
(A) against which the Secretary of State has determined
ISIS has committed genocide, crimes against humanity, or war
crimes in Iraq or in Syria since January 2014; or
(B) that the Secretary of State (or the Secretary's
designee) has identified as a persecuted group 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;
(4) the assistance provided by the United States to address
humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs of
individuals described in paragraph (1) and groups described
in paragraph (3), including assistance to mitigate the risks
of forced migration of such persons and groups from Iraq or
from Syria;
(5) the mechanisms used by the United States Government to
identify, assess, and respond to humanitarian, stabilization,
and recovery needs, and risks of forced migration, of
individuals described in paragraph (1) and groups described
in paragraph (3);
(6) the assistance provided by or through the United
Nations, including the Funding Facility for Immediate
Stabilization and the Funding Facility for Expanded
Stabilization, to address humanitarian, stabilization, and
recovery needs of individuals described in paragraph (1) and
groups described in paragraph (3), including assistance to
mitigate the risks of forced migration of such individuals
and groups within or across the borders of Iraq, Syria, or a
country of first asylum from Iraq or from Syria;
(7) the entities, including faith-based entities, that are
providing assistance to address humanitarian, stabilization,
and recovery needs of individuals described in paragraph (1)
and groups described in paragraph (3); and
(8) if the United States Government is funding entities
described in paragraph (7) for purposes of providing
assistance described in such paragraph, the sources of such
funding; and
(9) if the United States Government is not funding entities
described in paragraph (7) for purposes of providing
assistance described in such paragraph, a justification for
not funding such entities, including whether funding such
entities is prohibited under United States law.
(b) Additional Consultation.--In carrying out subsection
(a), the Secretary of State shall consult with, and consider
credible information from, individuals described in
subsection (a)(1) and entities described in subsection
(a)(7).
(c) Assistance.--The Secretary of State and Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development
shall provide assistance, including cash assistance, to
support entities described in subsection (a)(7) that the
Secretary and the Administrator determine are effectively
providing assistance described in subsection (a)(7),
including entities that received funding from the United
States Government for such purposes before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that an
appropriate amount of the additional amount made available
under the heading ``Economic Support Fund'' in title II of
division B of the Further Continuing and Security Assistance
Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 114-254) should be made
available to carry out subsection (c).

SEC. 1296. REPORTS.

(a) Assistance for Persecuted Minorities in Iraq or in
Syria.--Not later than 30 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 a detailed description of--
(1) the efforts taken, and proposed to be taken, by the
Secretary of State to implement section 1295; and
(2) the matters identified under section 1295(a).
(b) Support for the Investigation and Prosecution of War
Crimes.--Not later than 120 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, by the Secretary of State to
implement subsections (a) and (b) of section 1294; and
(2) an assessment of--
(A) the feasibility and advisability of prosecuting
individuals who are suspected to have committed genocide,
crimes against humanity, or war crimes in Iraq since January
2014, or in Syria since March 2011, in domestic courts in
Iraq, hybrid tribunals, and internationalized domestic
courts; and
(B) the capacity building, and other measures, needed to
ensure effective criminal investigations of such individuals.
(c) Criminal Statute Review.--Not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional
committees that includes--
(1) the results of the review conducted under section
1294(c); and
(2) such recommendations for legislative and administrative
actions to implement the results of such review as the
Attorney General determines appropriate.
(d) Report on Accountability for War Crimes, Crimes Against
Humanity, and Genocide in Syria.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall submit a
report on war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide
in Syria to the appropriate congressional committees not
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act and another such report not later than 180 days after the
Secretary of State determines that the violence in Syria has
ceased.
(2) Elements.--The reports submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) a description of alleged war crimes, crimes against
humanity, and genocide perpetrated during the civil war in
Syria, including--

[[Page S5076]]

(i) incidents that may constitute war crimes, crimes
against humanity, or genocide committed by the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad and all forces fighting on its
behalf;
(ii) incidents that may constitute war crimes, crimes
against humanity, or genocide committed by violent extremist
groups, anti-government forces, and any other combatants in
the conflict;
(iii) any incidents that may violate the principle of
medical neutrality and, if possible, the identification of
the individual or individuals who engaged in or organized
such incidents; and
(iv) if possible, a description of the conventional and
unconventional weapons used for such crimes and the origins
of such weapons; and
(B) a description and assessment by the Department of State
Office of Global Criminal Justice, the United States Agency
for International Development, the Department of Justice, and
other appropriate agencies of programs that the United States
Government has undertaken to ensure accountability for war
crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide perpetrated
against the people of Syria by the regime of President Bashar
al-Assad, violent extremist groups, and other combatants
involved in the conflict, including programs--
(i) to train investigators within and outside of Syria on
how to document, investigate, develop findings of, and
identify and locate alleged perpetrators of war crimes,
crimes against humanity, or genocide, including--

(I) the number of United States Government or contract
personnel currently designated to work full-time on these
issues; and
(II) the identification of the authorities and
appropriations being used to support such training efforts;

(ii) to promote and prepare for a transitional justice
process or processes for the perpetrators of war crimes,
crimes against humanity, and genocide in Syria beginning in
March 2011;
(iii) to document, collect, preserve, and protect evidence
of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in
Syria, including support for Syrian, foreign, and
international nongovernmental organizations, and other
entities, including the International, Impartial and
Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and
Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious
Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab
Republic since March 2011 and the Independent International
Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic; and
(iv) to assess the influence of accountability measures on
efforts to reach a negotiated settlement to the Syrian
conflict during the reporting period.
(3) Form.--The reports required under paragraph (1) may be
submitted in unclassified or classified form, but shall
include a publicly available annex.
(e) Transitional Justice Study.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
State (acting through appropriate officials and offices,
which may include the Office of Global Criminal Justice),
after consultation with the Department of Justice, the United
States Agency for International Development, and other
appropriate Federal agencies, shall--
(1) complete a study of the feasibility and desirability of
potential transitional justice mechanisms for Syria,
including a hybrid tribunal, to address war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide perpetrated in Syria beginning
in March 2011; and
(2) submit a detailed report of the results of the study
conducted under paragraph (1), including recommendations on
which transitional justice mechanisms the United States
Government should support, why such mechanisms should be
supported, and what type of support should be offered, to--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives;
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(f) Form.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (d)(3),
each report required under this section shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex, if
necessary.
(2) Protection of witnesses and evidence.--In carrying out
this section, the Secretary of State shall take due care to
ensure that the identification of witnesses and physical
evidence are not publicly disclosed in a manner that might
place such persons at risk of harm or encourage the
destruction of evidence by the Government of Syria, violent
extremist groups, anti-government forces, or any other
combatants or participants in the conflict.

SEC. 1297. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of State (acting through
appropriate officials and offices, which may include the
Office of Global Criminal Justice), after consultation with
the Department of Justice and other appropriate Federal
agencies, is authorized to provide appropriate assistance to
support entities that, with respect to war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide perpetrated by the regime of
President Bashar al-Assad, all forces fighting on its behalf,
and all non-state armed groups fighting in the country,
including violent extremist groups in Syria beginning in
March 2011--
(1) identify suspected perpetrators of war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide;
(2) collect, document, and protect evidence of crimes and
preserve the chain of custody for such evidence;
(3) conduct criminal investigations;
(4) build Syria's investigative and judicial capacities and
support prosecutions in the domestic courts of Syria,
provided that President Bashar al-Assad is no longer in
power;
(5) support investigations by third-party states, as
appropriate; or
(6) protect witnesses that may be helpful to prosecutions
or other transitional justice mechanisms.
(b) Additional Assistance.--The Secretary of State, after
consultation with appropriate Federal agencies and the
appropriate congressional committees, and taking into account
the findings of the transitional justice study required under
section 1296(e), is authorized to provide assistance to
support the creation and operation of transitional justice
mechanisms, including a potential hybrid tribunal, to
prosecute individuals suspected of committing war crimes,
crimes against humanity, or genocide in Syria beginning in
March 2011.
(c) Briefing.--The Secretary of State shall provide
detailed, biannual briefings to the appropriate congressional
committees describing the assistance provided to entities
described in subsection (a).

SEC. 1298. STATE DEPARTMENT REWARDS FOR JUSTICE PROGRAM.

Section 36(b)(10) of the State Department Basic Authorities
Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2708(b)(10)) is amended by inserting
``(including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide
committed in Syria beginning in March 2011)'' after
``genocide''.

SEC. 1299. INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ON
THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC.

The Secretary of State, acting through the United States
Permanent Representative to the United Nations, should use
the voice, vote, and influence of the United States at the
United Nations to advocate that the United Nations Human
Rights Council, while the United States remains a member,
annually extend the mandate of the Independent International
Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic until the
Commission has completed its investigation of all alleged
violations of international human rights laws beginning in
March 2011 in the Syrian Arab Republic.

____________________