#aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  ,h4   
,r4 #cja  ,,an ,,act  ,to provide for   
the establishment of the ,special ,envoy
 to ,promote ,religious ,freedom of     
,religious ,minorities in the ,near     
,east and ,south ,central ,asia4  #a4   
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,more than #ejj ,baha'is in ,iran
 have been arbitrarily arrested since   
#bjje4 ,roughly #ajj ,baha'is are       
presently imprisoned because of their   
religious beliefs4  7#b7 ,in ,may #bjaj1
 suspected terrorists attacked two      
mosques in ,pakistan belonging to the   
,ahmaddiya minority ,muslim sect1       
killing at least #hj people4 ,ahmadis   
consider themselves ,muslim1 but        
,pakistani law does not recognize them  
as such4  7#c7 ,said ,musa1 an ,afghan  
,christian convert1 was arrested in ,may
 #bjaj on charges of apostasy1 a crime  
which can carry the death sentence1 and 
was released in ,february #bjaa only    
after sustained international pressure4 
7#d7 ,on ,october #ca1 #bjaj1 gunmen    

laid siege on ,our ,lady of ,salvation  
,church in ,baghdad1 ,iraq1 killing at  
least #eb police and worshipers1        
including two priests1 making it the    
worst massacre of ,iraqi ,christians    
since #bjjc4  7#e7 ,iraq's ancient and  
once vibrant ,christian population that 
numbered an estimated #a1ejj1jjj out of 
a total population in ,iraq of          
#cj1jjj1jjj in #bjjc has been reduced by
 at least one half1 due in significant  
part to ,christians fleeing the         
violence4  7#f7 ,in ,november #bjaj1 a  
,pakistani court sentenced ,aasia ,bibi1
 a ,christian mother of five1 to death  
under the country's blasphemy law for   
insulting the ,prophet ,muhammad4  7#g7 
,since early #bjaa1 violent sectarian   
attacks targeting ,coptic ,orthodox     
,christians and their property increased
 significantly1 resulting in nearly #ajj
 deaths1 mostly ,coptic ,christians1    
surpassing the death toll of the #aj    
previous years combined4  7#h7 ,in      
,egypt1 with the ascent of the ,muslim  

,brotherhood1 ,coptic ,christians1      
numbering #h to #aj million1 have been  
under increased threat and many are     
reported to have fled the country during
 former ,president ,mohamed ,morsi's    
rule4  7#i7 ,on ,march #b1 #bjaa1       
,pakistani ,federal ,minorities         
,minister ,shahbaz ,bhatti1 the only    
,christian member of the ,cabinet1 who  
was outspoken in his opposition to      
,pakistan's blasphemy laws was          
assassinated by extremists4  7#aj7 ,the 
former ,special ,envoy to ,monitor and  
,combat ,anti-,semitism1 ,hannah        
,rosenthal1 has noted that ,holocaust   
glorification is especially virulent in 
,middle ,eastern media1 some of which is
 state-owned and operated1 which calls  
for a new ,holocaust to finish the job4 
7#aa7 ,in the midst of a devastating    
civil war1 ,syrian ,christians and other
 religious minorities1 which comprise   
roughly #aj percent of the population1  
are particularly vulnerable lacking     
their own militias and regional         

protectors4  7#ab7 ,many of these       
ancient faith communities are being     
forced to flee the lands which they have
 inhabited for centuries4  7#ac7 ,the   
,united ,states ,commission on          
,international ,religious ,freedom has  
recommended that ,egypt1 ,tajikistan1   
,iran1 ,iraq1 ,pakistan1 ,saudi ,arabia1
 ,turkmenistan1 and ,uzbekistan be      
designated by the ,department of ,state 
as ,countries of ,particular ,concern in
 accordance with the ,international     
,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih4      
7#ad7 ,the situation on the ground in   
the region continues to develop rapidly 
and the ,united ,states ,government     
needs an individual who can respond in  
kind and focus on the critical situation
 of religious minorities in these       
countries4  7#ae7 ,there are historical 
precedents1 including the ,special      
,envoy to ,monitor and ,combat          
,anti-,semitism1 the ,special ,envoy for
 ,north ,korea ,human ,rights ,issues1  
and the ,south ,sudan and ,sudan        

,special ,envoy1 for the ,department of 
,state1 either as a result of           
legislative mandate or initiative of the
 ,secretary of ,state1 to create        
positions with a targeted focus on an   
area or issue of recognized import4  #b4
 ,special ,envoy to ,promote ,religious 
,freedom of ,religious ,minorities in   
the ,near ,east and ,south ,central     
,asia  7a7 ,appointment ,the ,president 
shall appoint a ,special ,envoy to      
,promote ,religious ,freedom of         
,religious ,minorities in the ,near     
,east and ,south ,central ,asia 7in this
 ,act referred to as the ,special       
,envoy7 within the ,department of       
,state4  7b7 ,qualifications ,the       
,special ,envoy should be a person of   
recognized distinction in the field of  
human rights and religious freedom and  
with expertise in the ,near ,east and   
,south ,central ,asia regions4 ,the     
,special ,envoy shall have the rank of  
ambassador and shall hold the office at 
the pleasure of the ,president4  7c7    

,prohibition ,the person appointed as   
,special ,envoy may not hold any other  
position of ,federal employment for the 
period of time during which the person  
holds the position of ,special ,envoy4  
#c4 ,duties  7a7 ,in general ,the       
,special ,envoy shall carry out the     
following duties3  7#a7 ,promote the    
right of religious freedom of religious 
minorities in the countries of the ,near
 ,east and the countries of ,south      
,central ,asia1 denounce the violation  
of such right1 and recommend appropriate
 responses by the ,united ,states       
,government when such right is violated4
  7#b7 ,monitor and combat acts of      
religious intolerance and incitement    
targeted against religious minorities in
 the countries of the ,near ,east and   
the countries of ,south ,central ,asia4 
7#c7 ,work to ensure that the unique    
needs of religious minority communities 
in the countries of the ,near ,east and 
the countries of ,south ,central ,asia  
are addressed1 including the economic   

and security needs of such communities  
to the extent that such needs are       
directly tied to religious-based        
discrimination and persecution4  7#d7   
,work with foreign governments of the   
countries of the ,near ,east and the    
countries of ,south ,central ,asia to   
address laws that are inherently        
discriminatory toward religious minority
 communities in such countries4  7#e7   
,coordinate and assist in the           
preparation of that portion of the      
report required by sections #aaf7;d7 and
 #ejb;,b7b7 of the ,foreign ,assistance 
,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #baean7d7  
and #bcjd7;b77 relating to the nature   
and extent of religious freedom of      
religious minorities in the countries of
 the ,near ,east and the countries of   
,south ,central ,asia4  7#f7 ,coordinate
 and assist in the preparation of that  
portion of the report required by       
section #ajb7;b7 of the ,international  
,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7#bb  
,u4,s4,c4 #fdab7;b77 relating to the    

nature and extent of religious freedom  
of religious minorities in the countries
 of the ,near ,east and the countries of
 ,south ,central ,asia4  7b7            
,coordination ,in carrying out the      
duties under subsection 7a71 the        
,special ,envoy shall1 to the maximum   
extent practicable1 coordinate with the 
,bureau of ,population1 ,refugees and   
,migration of the ,department of ,state1
 the ,ambassador at ,large for          
,international ,religious ,freedom1 the 
,united ,states ,commission on          
,international ,religious ,freedom1 and 
other relevant ,federal agencies and    
officials4  #d4 ,diplomatic             
representation ,subject to the direction
 of the ,president and the ,secretary of
 ,state1 the ,special ,envoy is         
authorized to represent the ,united     
,states in matters and cases relevant to
 religious freedom in the countries of  
the ,near ,east and the countries of    
,south ,central ,asia in--  7#a7        
contacts with foreign governments1      

intergovernmental organizations1 and    
specialized agencies of the ,united     
,nations1 the ,organization of ,security
 and ,cooperation in ,europe1 and other 
international organizations of which the
 ,united ,states is a member2 and  7#b7 
multilateral conferences and meetings   
relevant to religious freedom in the    
countries of the ,near ,east and the    
countries of ,south ,central ,asia4  #e4
 ,priority countries and consultation   
7a7 ,priority countries ,in carrying out
 this ,act1 the ,special ,envoy shall   
give priority to programs1 projects1 and
 activities for ,egypt1 ,iran1 ,iraq1   
,afghanistan1 and ,pakistan4  7b7       
,consultation ,the ,special ,envoy shall
 consult with domestic and international
 nongovernmental organizations and      
multilateral organizations and          
institutions1 as the ,special ,envoy    
considers appropriate to fulfill the    
purposes of this ,act4  #f4 ,funding    
7a7 ,in general ,of the amounts made    
available for ,diplomatic and ,consular 

,programs for fiscal years #bjad through
 #bjah1 #a1jjj1jjj is authorized to be  
appropriated for each such fiscal year  
to carry out the provisions of this     
,act4  7b7 ,funding offset ,to offset   
the costs to be incurred by the         
,department of ,state to carry out the  
provisions of this ,act for fiscal years
 #bjad through #bjah1 the ,secretary of 
,state shall eliminate such positions   
within the ,department of ,state1 unless
 otherwise authorized or required by    
law1 as the ,secretary determines to be 
necessary to fully offset such costs4   
7c7 ,limitation ,no additional funds are
 authorized to be appropriated for      
,diplomatic and ,consular ,programs to  
carry out the provisions of this ,act4  
#g4 ,sunset ,this ,act shall cease to be
 effective beginning on ,october #a1    
#bjah4  ,passed the ,house of           
,representatives ,september #ah1        
#bjac4;,clerk4