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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4078 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4078
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 to
modify the establishment of a coordinator for detained ISIS members and
relevant displaced populations in Syria, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2023
Mr. Phillips (for himself, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Moulton, and Mr.
Gallagher) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 to
modify the establishment of a coordinator for detained ISIS members and
relevant displaced populations in Syria, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Syria Detainee and Displaced Persons
Act''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF ESTABLISHMENT OF COORDINATOR FOR DETAINED ISIS
MEMBERS AND RELEVANT POPULATIONS IN SYRIA.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the Committee on the Judiciary,
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
the Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee
on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on the Judiciary, the
Committee on Financial Services, the Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives.
(2) ISIS member.--The term ``ISIS member'' means a person
who was part of, or substantially supported, the Islamic State
in Iraq and Syria.
(3) Senior coordinator.--The term ``Senior Coordinator''
means the coordinator for detained ISIS members and relevant
displaced populations in Syria designated under subsection (a)
of section 1224 of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92; 133 Stat. 1642), as
amended by subsection (d).
(b) Sense of Congress.--
It is the sense of Congress that--
(A) ISIS detainees held by the Syrian Democratic
Forces and ISIS-affiliated individuals located within
displaced persons camps in Syria pose a significant and
growing humanitarian challenge and security threat to
the region;
(B) the vast majority of individuals held in
displaced persons camps in Syria are women and
children, approximately 50 percent of whom are under
the age of 12 at the al-Hol camp, and they face
significant threats of violence and radicalization, as
well as lacking access to adequate sanitation and
health care facilities;
(C) there is an urgent need to seek a sustainable
solution to such camps through repatriation and
reintegration of the inhabitants;
(D) the United States should work closely with
international allies and partners to facilitate the
repatriation and reintegration efforts required to
provide a long-term solution for such camps and prevent
the resurgence of ISIS; and
(E) if left unaddressed, such camps will continue
to be drivers of instability that jeopardize the long-
term prospects for peace and stability in the region.
(c) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States
that--
(1) ISIS-affiliated individuals located within displacement
camps in Syria, and other inhabitants of displacement camps in
Syria, be repatriated and, where appropriate, prosecuted, or
where possible, reintegrated into their country of origin,
consistent with all relevant domestic laws and applicable
international laws prohibiting refoulement; and
(2) the camps will be closed as soon as is practicable.
(d) Modification of Establishment of Coordinator for Detained ISIS
Members and Relevant Displaced Populations in Syria.--Section 1224 of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law
116-92; 133 Stat. 1642) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a);
(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(a) Designation.--
``(1) In general.--The President, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, and the Attorney General, shall designate an
existing official in the Department of State to serve within
the executive branch as senior-level coordinator to coordinate,
in conjunction with other relevant agencies, matters related to
ISIS members who are in the custody of the Syrian Democratic
Forces and other relevant displaced populations in Syria,
including--
``(A) by engaging foreign partners to support the
repatriation and disposition of such individuals,
including by encouraging foreign partners to
repatriate, transfer, investigate, and prosecute such
ISIS members, and share information;
``(B) coordination of all multilateral and
international engagements led by the Department of
State and other agencies that are related to the
current and future handling, detention, and prosecution
of such ISIS members;
``(C) the funding and coordination of the provision
of technical and other assistance to foreign countries
to aid in the successful investigation and prosecution
of such ISIS members, as appropriate, in accordance
with relevant domestic laws, international humanitarian
law, and other internationally recognized human rights
and rule of law standards;
``(D) coordination of all multilateral and
international engagements related to humanitarian
access and provision of basic services to, and freedom
of movement and security and safe return of, displaced
persons at camps or facilities in Syria that hold
family members of such ISIS members;
``(E) coordination with relevant agencies on
matters described in this section; and
``(F) any other matter the President considers
relevant.
``(2) Rule of construction.--If, on the date of the
enactment of the Syria Detainee and Displaced Persons Act, an
individual has already been designated, consistent with the
requirements and responsibilities described in paragraph (1),
the requirements under that paragraph shall be considered to be
satisfied with respect to such individual until the date on
which such individual no longer serves as the Senior
Coordinator.'';
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and
inserting ``subsection (a)'';
(4) in subsection (d), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and
inserting ``subsection (a)'';
(5) in subsection (e), by striking ``January 31, 2021'' and
inserting ``January 31, 2028'';
(6) in subsection (f)--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph
(3);
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following
new paragraph (2):
``(2) Senior coordinator.--The term `Senior Coordinator'
means the individual designated under subsection (a).''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(4) Relevant agencies.--The term `relevant agencies'
means--
``(A) the Department of State;
``(B) the Department of Defense;
``(C) the Department of the Treasury;
``(D) the Department of Justice;
``(E) the United States Agency for International
Development;
``(F) the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence; and
``(G) any other agency the President considers
relevant.''; and
(7) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as
subsections (b) through (e), respectively.
(e) Strategy on ISIS-Related Detainee and Displacement Camps in
Syria.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Director of
National Intelligence, the Secretary of the Treasury, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, and the Attorney General, shall submit to the
appropriate committees of Congress an interagency strategy with
respect to ISIS-affiliated individuals and ISIS-related
detainee and other displaced persons camps in Syria.
(2) Elements.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) methods to address--
(i) disengagement from and prevention of
recruitment into violence, violent extremism,
and other illicit activity in such camps;
(ii) efforts to encourage and facilitate
repatriation and, as appropriate, investigation
and prosecution of foreign nationals from such
camps, consistent with all relevant domestic
and applicable international laws;
(iii) the return and reintegration of
displaced Syrian and Iraqi women and children
into their communities of origin;
(iv) international engagement to develop
processes for repatriation and reintegration of
foreign nationals from such camps;
(v) contingency plans for the relocation of
detained and displaced persons who are not able
to be repatriated from such camps;
(vi) efforts to improve the humanitarian
conditions in such camps, including through the
delivery of medicine, psychosocial support,
clothing, education, and improved housing; and
(vii) assessed humanitarian and security
needs of all camps and detainment facilities
based on prioritization of such camps and
facilities most at risk of humanitarian crises,
external attacks, or internal violence;
(B) an assessment of--
(i) rehabilitation centers in northeast
Syria, including humanitarian conditions and
processes for admittance and efforts to improve
both humanitarian conditions and admittance
processes for such centers and camps, as well
as on the prevention of youth radicalization;
and
(ii) processes for being sent to, and
resources directed towards, rehabilitation
centers and programs in countries that receive
returned ISIS affiliated individuals, with a
focus on the prevention of radicalization of
minor children;
(C) a plan to improve, in such camps--
(i) security conditions, including by
training of personnel and through construction;
and
(ii) humanitarian conditions;
(D) a framework for measuring progress of
humanitarian, security, and repatriation efforts with
the goal of closing such camps; and
(E) any other matter the Secretary of State
considers appropriate.
(3) Form.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex that is transmitted separately.
(f) Annual Interagency Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than
annually thereafter through January 31, 2028, the Senior
Coordinator, in coordination with the relevant agencies, shall
submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a detailed
report that includes the following:
(A) A detailed description of the facilities and
camps where detained ISIS members, and families with
perceived ISIS affiliation, are being held and housed,
including--
(i) a description of the security and
management of such facilities and camps;
(ii) an assessment of resources required
for the security of such facilities and camps;
(iii) an assessment of the adherence by the
operators of such facilities and camps to
international humanitarian law standards; and
(iv) an assessment of children held within
such facilities and camps that may be used as
part of smuggling operations to evade security
at the facilities and camps.
(B) A description of all efforts undertaken by, and
the resources needed for, the United States Government
to address deficits in the humanitarian environment and
security of such facilities and camps.
(C) A description of all multilateral and
international engagements related to humanitarian
access and provision of basic services to, and freedom
of movement and security and safe return of, displaced
persons at camps or facilities in Iraq, Syria, and any
other area affected by ISIS activity, including a
description of--
(i) support for efforts by the Syrian
Democratic Forces to facilitate the return and
reintegration of displaced people from Iraq and
Syria;
(ii) repatriation efforts with respect to
displaced women and children and male children
aging into adults while held in these
facilities and camps;
(iii) any current or future potential
threat to United States national security
interests posed by detained ISIS members or
displaced families, including an analysis of
the al-Hol camp and annexes; and
(iv) United States Government plans and
strategies to respond to any threat identified
under clause (iii).
(D) The number of individuals repatriated from the
custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
(E) An analysis of factors on the ground in Syria
and Iraq that may result in the unintended release of
detained or displaced ISIS members, and an assessment
of any measures available to mitigate such releases.
(F) A detailed description of efforts to encourage
the final disposition and security of detained or
displaced ISIS members with other countries and
international organizations.
(G) A description of foreign repatriation and
rehabilitation programs deemed successful systems to
model, and an analysis of the long-term results of such
programs.
(H) A description of the manner in which the United
States Government communicates regarding repatriation
and disposition efforts with the families of United
States citizens believed to have been victims of a
criminal act by a detained or displaced ISIS member, in
accordance with section 503(c) of the Victims' Rights
and Restitution Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 20141(c)) and
section 3771 of title 18, United States Code.
(I) An analysis of all efforts between the United
States and partner countries within the Global
Coalition to Defeat ISIS or other countries to share
related information that may aid in resolving the final
disposition of ISIS members, and any obstacles that may
hinder such efforts.
(J) Any other matter the Coordinator considers
appropriate.
(2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex that is transmitted separately.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section, or an amendment
made by this section, may be construed--
(1) to limit the authority of any Federal agency to
independently carry out the authorized functions of such
agency; or
(2) to impair or otherwise affect the activities performed
by that agency as granted by law.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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