- § 8791. Imposition of sanctions with respect to certain persons who are responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses committed against citizens of Syria or their family members
- § 8792. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the transfer of goods or technologies to Syria that are likely to be used to commit human rights abuses
- § 8793. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who engage in censorship or other forms of repression in Syria
- § 8794. Waiver
- § 8795. Termination
§ 8791. Imposition of sanctions with respect to certain persons who are responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses committed against citizens of Syria or their family members
(a) In general
(b) List of persons who are responsible for or complicit in certain human rights abuses
(1) In general
(2) Updates of list
The President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an updated list under paragraph (1)—
(A) not later than 300 days after August 10, 2012, and every 180 days thereafter; and
(B) as new information becomes available.
(3) Form of report; public availability
(A) Form
(B) Public availability
(4) Consideration of data from other countries and nongovernmental organizations
(c) Sanctions described
(Pub. L. 112–158, title VII, § 702, Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1265.)
§ 8792. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the transfer of goods or technologies to Syria that are likely to be used to commit human rights abuses
(a) In generalThe President shall impose sanctions described in section 8791(c) of this title with respect to—
(1) each person on the list required by subsection (b); and
(2) any person that—
(A) is a successor entity to a person on the list;
(B) owns or controls a person on the list, if the person that owns or controls the person on the list had actual knowledge or should have known that the person on the list engaged in the activity described in subsection (b)(2) for which the person was included in the list; or
(C) is owned or controlled by, or under common ownership or control with, the person on the list, if the person owned or controlled by, or under common ownership or control with (as the case may be), the person on the list knowingly engaged in the activity described in subsection (b)(2) for which the person was included in the list.
(b) List
(1) In general
(2) Activity described
(A) In generalA person engages in an activity described in this paragraph if the person—
(i) transfers, or facilitates the transfer of, goods or technologies described in subparagraph (C) to Syria; or
(ii) provides services with respect to goods or technologies described in subparagraph (C) after such goods or technologies are transferred to Syria.
(B) Applicability to contracts and other agreements
(C) Goods or technologies describedGoods or technologies described in this subparagraph are goods or technologies that the President determines are likely to be used by the Government of Syria or any of its agencies or instrumentalities to commit human rights abuses against the people of Syria, including—
(i) firearms or ammunition (as those terms are defined in section 921 of title 18), rubber bullets, police batons, pepper or chemical sprays, stun grenades, electroshock weapons, tear gas, water cannons, or surveillance technology; or
(ii) sensitive technology.
(D) Sensitive technology defined
(i) In generalFor purposes of subparagraph (C), the term “sensitive technology” means hardware, software, telecommunications equipment, or any other technology, that the President determines is to be used specifically—(I) to restrict the free flow of unbiased information in Syria; or(II) to disrupt, monitor, or otherwise restrict speech of the people of Syria.
(ii) Exception
(3) Special rule to allow for termination of sanctionable activityThe President shall not be required to include a person on the list required by paragraph (1) if the President certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional committees that—
(A) the person is no longer engaging in, or has taken significant verifiable steps toward stopping, the activity described in paragraph (2) for which the President would otherwise have included the person on the list; and
(B) the President has received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in any activity described in paragraph (2) in the future.
(4) Updates of listThe President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an updated list under paragraph (1)—
(A) not later than 300 days after August 10, 2012, and every 180 days thereafter; and
(B) as new information becomes available.
(5) Form of report; public availability
(A) Form
(B) Public availability
(Pub. L. 112–158, title VII, § 703, Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1266.)
§ 8793. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who engage in censorship or other forms of repression in Syria
(a) In general
(b) List of persons who engage in censorship
(1) In general
(2) Updates of list
The President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an updated list under paragraph (1)—
(A) not later than 300 days after August 10, 2012, and every 180 days thereafter; and
(B) as new information becomes available.
(3) Form of report; public availability
(A) Form
(B) Public availability
(Pub. L. 112–158, title VII, § 704, Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1268.)
§ 8794. Waiver
The President may waive the requirement to include a person on a list required by section 8791, 8792, or 8793 of this title or to impose sanctions pursuant to any such section if the President—
(1) determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States; and
(2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the reasons for that determination.
(Pub. L. 112–158, title VII, § 705, Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1268.)
§ 8795. Termination
(a) In generalThe provisions of this subchapter and any sanctions imposed pursuant to this subchapter shall terminate on the date on which the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees—
(1) the certification described in subsection (b); and
(2) a certification that—
(A) the Government of Syria is democratically elected and representative of the people of Syria; or
(B) a legitimate transitional government of Syria is in place.
(b) Certification describedA certification described in this subsection is a certification by the President that the Government of Syria—
(1) has unconditionally released all political prisoners;
(2) has ceased its practices of violence, unlawful detention, torture, and abuse of citizens of Syria engaged in peaceful political activity;
(3) has ceased its practice of procuring sensitive technology designed to restrict the free flow of unbiased information in Syria, or to disrupt, monitor, or otherwise restrict the right of citizens of Syria to freedom of expression;
(4) has ceased providing support for foreign terrorist organizations and no longer allows such organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, to maintain facilities in territory under the control of the Government of Syria; and
(5) has ceased the development and deployment of medium- and long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles;
(6) is not pursuing or engaged in the research, development, acquisition, production, transfer, or deployment of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons, and has provided credible assurances that it will not engage in such activities in the future; and
(7) has agreed to allow the United Nations and other international observers to verify that the Government of Syria is not engaging in such activities and to assess the credibility of the assurances provided by that Government.
(c) Suspension of sanctions after election of democratic government
(Pub. L. 112–158, title VII, § 706, Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1268.)