22 USC 6414 - High-level contacts with nongovernmental organizations

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§ 6411. Office on International Religious Freedom; Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
§ 6412. Reports
§ 6413. Establishment of religious freedom Internet site
§ 6414. High-level contacts with nongovernmental organizations
§ 6415. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad
§ 6416. Equal access to United States missions abroad for conducting religious activities
§ 6417. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious freedom concerns

§ 6411. Office on International Religious Freedom; Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom

(a) Establishment of Office

(b) Appointment

The Ambassador at Large shall have the following responsibilities:

(1) In general

The primary responsibilities of the Ambassador at Large shall be to—

(A) advance the right to freedom of religion abroad, to denounce the violation of that right, and to recommend appropriate responses by the United States Government when this right is violated; and

(B) integrate United States international religious freedom policies and strategies into the foreign policy efforts of the United States.

(2) Advisory role

The Ambassador at Large shall be a principal adviser to the President and the principal adviser to the Secretary of State regarding matters affecting religious freedom abroad and, with advice from the Commission on International Religious Freedom, shall make recommendations regarding—

(A) the policies of the United States Government toward governments that violate freedom of religion or that fail to ensure the individual’s right to religious belief and practice; and

(B) policies to advance the right to religious freedom abroad.

(3) Diplomatic representation

Subject to the direction of the President and the Secretary of State, the Ambassador at Large is authorized to represent the United States in matters and cases relevant to religious freedom abroad in—

(A) contacts with foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of the United Nations, the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations of which the United States is a member;

(B) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to religious freedom abroad; and

(C) contacts with nongovernmental organizations that have an impact on the state of religious freedom in their respective societies or regions, or internationally.

(4) Coordination responsibilities

In order to promote religious freedom as an interest of United States foreign policy, the Ambassador at Large—

(A) shall coordinate international religious freedom policies across all programs, projects, and activities of the United States; and

(B) should participate in any interagency processes on issues in which the promotion of international religious freedom policy can advance United States national security interests, including in democracy promotion, stability, security, and development globally.

(5) Reporting responsibilities

(d) Funding

(Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 101, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2791; Pub. L. 114–281, title I, § 101(a), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1428.)

§ 6412. Reports

(a) Portions of annual Human Rights Reports

(b) Annual Report on International Religious Freedom

(1) Deadline for submissionOn May 1 of each year or the first day thereafter on which the appropriate House of Congress is in session, the Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Ambassador at Large, and taking into consideration the recommendations of the Commission, shall prepare and transmit to Congress an Annual Report on International Religious Freedom supplementing the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. Each Annual Report shall contain the following:

(A) Status of religious freedomA description of the status of religious freedom in each foreign country, including—

(i) trends toward improvement in the respect and protection of the right to religious freedom and trends toward deterioration of such right;

(ii) violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government of that country;

(iii) particularly severe violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government of that country as well as the routine denial of visa applications for religious workers;

(iv) particularly severe violations of religious freedom in that country if such country does not have a functioning government or the government of such country does not control its territory;

(v) the identification of prisoners, to the extent possible, in that country pursuant to section 6417(d) of this title;

(vi) any action taken by the government of that country to censor religious span, communications, or worship activities online, including descriptions of the targeted religious group, the span, communication, or activities censored, and the means used; and

(vii) wherever applicable, an assessment and description of the nature and extent of acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incitement that occur in that country during the preceding year, including—(I) acts of physical violence against, or harassment of, Jewish people, acts of violence against, or vandalism of, Jewish community institutions, and instances of propaganda in government and nongovernment media that incite such acts; and(II) the actions taken by the government of that country to respond to such violence and attacks or to eliminate such propaganda or incitement, to enact and enforce laws relating to the protection of the right to religious freedom of Jewish people, and to promote anti-bias and tolerance education.

(B) Violations of religious freedomAn assessment and description of the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom in each foreign country, including persecution of one religious group by another religious group, religious persecution by governmental and nongovernmental entities, persecution targeted at individuals or particular denominations or entire religions, persecution of lawyers, politicians, or other human rights advocates seeking to defend the rights of members of religious groups or highlight religious freedom violations, prohibitions on ritual animal slaughter or male infant circumcision, the existence of government policies violating religious freedom, including policies that discriminate against particular religious groups or members of such groups, policies that ban or restrict the public manifestation of religious belief and the peaceful involvement of religious groups or their members in the political life of each such foreign country, and the existence of government policies concerning—

(i) limitations or prohibitions on, or lack of availability of, openly conducted, organized religious services outside of the premises of foreign diplomatic missions or consular posts; and

(ii) the forced religious conversion of minor United States citizens who have been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, and the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the United States.

(D) International agreements in effect

(E) Training and guidelines of Government personnelA description of—

(i) the training described in section 6472(a) and (b) of this title and section 6473(b) and (c) of this title on violations of religious freedom provided to immigration judges and consular, refugee, immigration, and asylum officers; and

(ii) the development and implementation of the guidelines described in sections 6472(c) and 6473(a) of this title.

(F) Executive SummaryAn Executive Summary to the Annual Report highlighting the status of religious freedom in certain foreign countries and including the following:

(i) Countries in which the United States is actively promoting religious freedom

(ii) Countries of significant improvement in religious freedom

(G) Anti-Semitism in EuropeIn addition to the information required under clause (vii) of subparagraph (A), with respect to each European country in which verbal or physical threats or attacks are particularly significant against Jewish persons, places of worship, schools, cemeteries, and other religious institutions, a description of—

(i) the security challenges and needs of European Jewish communities and European law enforcement agencies in such countries to better protect such communities;

(ii) to the extent practicable, the efforts of the United States Government over the reporting period to partner with European law enforcement agencies and civil society groups regarding the sharing of information and best practices to combat anti-Semitic incidents in Europe;

(iii) European educational programming and public awareness initiatives that aim to collaborate on educational curricula and campaigns that impart shared values of pluralism and tolerance, and showcase the positive contributions of Jews in culture, scholarship, science, and art, with special attention to those segments of the population that exhibit a high degree of anti-Semitic animus; and

(iv) efforts by European governments to adopt and apply a working definition of anti-Semitism.

(2) Classified addendum

(1) Standards and investigations

(2) Contacts with nongovernmental organizations

(Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 102, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2792; Pub. L. 107–228, div. A, title VI, § 681(a), Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1408; Pub. L. 108–332, § 6(b), Oct. 16, 2004, 118 Stat. 1285; Pub. L. 114–281, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1429; Pub. L. 115–434, § 4, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5528.)

§ 6413. Establishment of religious freedom Internet site

In order to facilitate access by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and by the public around the world to international documents on the protection of religious freedom, the Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Ambassador at Large, shall establish and maintain an Internet site containing major international documents relating to religious freedom, the Annual Report, the Executive Summary, and any other documentation or references to other sites as deemed appropriate or relevant by the Ambassador at Large.

(Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 103, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2795.)

§ 6414. High-level contacts with nongovernmental organizations

United States chiefs of mission shall seek out and contact religious nongovernmental organizations to provide high-level meetings with religious nongovernmental organizations where appropriate and beneficial. United States chiefs of mission and Foreign Service officers abroad shall seek to meet with imprisoned religious leaders where appropriate and beneficial.

(Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 105, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2795.)

§ 6415. Programs and allocations of funds by United States missions abroad

It is the sense of the Congress that—

(1) United States diplomatic missions in countries the governments of which engage in or tolerate violations of the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion should develop, as part of annual program planning, a strategy to promote respect for the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion; and

(2) in allocating or recommending the allocation of funds or the recommendation of candidates for programs and grants funded by the United States Government, United States diplomatic missions should give particular consideration to those programs and candidates deemed to assist in the promotion of the right to religious freedom.

(Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 106, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2796.)

§ 6416. Equal access to United States missions abroad for conducting religious activities

(a) In general

(b) Timing and location

The Secretary of State shall make reasonable accommodations with respect to the timing and location of such access in light of—

(1) the number of United States citizens requesting the access (including any particular religious concerns regarding the time of day, date, or physical setting for services);

(2) conflicts with official activities and other nonofficial United States citizen requests;

(3) the availability of openly conducted, organized religious services outside the premises of the mission or post;

(4) availability of space and resources; and

(5) necessary security precautions.

(Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 107, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2796.)

§ 6417. Prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious freedom concerns

(a) Sense of Congress

(b) Prisoner lists and issue briefs on religious freedom concerns

(d) Victims list maintained by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

(1) In general

(2) Discretion

(Pub. L. 105–292, title I, § 108, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2796; Pub. L. 114–281, title I, § 104, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1432.)