H.R. 1677 — what changed

international actions to protect vulnerable populations from attack by uniformed and irregular forces associated with the Assad regime, including Hezbollah, on land and by air, including through the use of barrel bombs, chemical weapons, mass starvation, industrial-scale torture and execution of political dissidents, sniper attacks against pregnant women, and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities, schools, residential areas, and community gathering places, including markets, have been insufficient to date;

Assad’s use of chemical weapons, including chlorine, against the Syrian people violates the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Syria is a party;

Assad’s abhorrent use of chemical weapons, most recently on April 4, 2017, in an attack on the town of Khan Shakhyn in which more than 90 people died, including women and children, and more than 600 hundred people were injured, is condemned in the strongest terms;

violent attacks resulting in death, injury, imprisonment or threat of prosecution against humanitarian aid workers and diplomatic personnel, as well as attacks on humanitarian supplies, facilities, transports, and assets, and acts to impede the access and secure movement of all humanitarian personnel are in violation of international humanitarian law and impede the lifesaving work of humanitarian organizations and diplomatic institutions; and

Assad’s continued claim of leadership and war crimes in Syria have served as a rallying point for the extremist ideology of the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other terrorist organizations.

In general— Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a detailed report with respect to whether each person described in subsection (c) meets the requirements described in section 702(b) of the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791(b)) for purposes of inclusion on the list of persons who are responsible for or complicit in certain human rights abuses under such section.

Justification— The President shall include in the report required by subsection (a) a description of the reasons why any of the persons described in subsection (c) do not meet the requirements described in section 702(b) of the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791(b)), including information on whether sufficient credible evidence of responsibility for such abuses was found or whether any of the persons described in subsection (c) have been designated pursuant to—

Persons described— The persons described in this subsection are the following:

Bashar Al-Assad.

Asma Al-Assad.

Rami Makhlouf.

Bouthayna Shaaban.

Walid Moallem.

Ali Al-Salim.

Wael Nader Al-Halqi.

Jamil Hassan.

Suhail Hassan.

Ali Mamluk.

Muhammed Khadour, Deir Ez Zor Military and Security.

Jamal Razzouq, Security Branch 243.

Munzer Ghanam, Air Force Intelligence.

Daas Hasan Ali, Branch 327.

Jassem Ali Jassem Hamad, Political Security.

Samir Muhammad Youssef, Military Intelligence.

Ali Ahmad Dayoub, Air Force Intelligence.

Khaled Muhsen Al-Halabi, Security Branch 335.

Mahmoud Kahila, Political Security.

Zuhair Ahmad Hamad, Provincial Security.

Wafiq Nasser, Security Branch 245.

Qussay Mayoub, Air Force Intelligence.

Muhammad Ammar Sardini, Political Security.

Fouad Hammouda, Military Security.

Hasan Daaboul, Branch 261.

Yahia Wahbi, Air Force Intelligence.

Okab Saqer, Security Branch 318.

Husam Luqa, Political Security.

Sami Al-Hasan, Security Branch 219.

Yassir Deeb, Political Security.

Ibrahim Darwish, Security Branch 220.

Nasser Deeb, Political Security.

Abdullatif Al-Fahed, Security Branch 290.

Adeeb Namer Salamah, Air Force Intelligence.

Akram Muhammed, State Security.

Reyad Abbas, Political Security.

Ali Abdullah Ayoub, Syrian Armed Forces.

Fahd Jassem Al-Freij, Defense Ministry.

Issam Halaq, Air Force.

Ghassan Al-Abdullah, General Intelligence Directorate.

Maher Al-Assad, Republican Guard.

Fahad Al-Farouch.

Rafiq Shahada, Military Intelligence.

Loay Al-Ali, Military Intelligence.

Nawfal Al-Husayn, Military Intelligence.

Muhammad Zamrini, Military Intelligence.

Muhammad Mahallah, Military Intelligence.

Form— The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex if necessary.

Definition— In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means—

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and

the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.

In general— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of State, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, is authorized to provide assistance to support entities that are conducting criminal investigations, building Syrian investigative capacity, supporting prosecutions in national courts, collecting evidence and preserving the chain of evidence for eventual prosecution against those who have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity in Syria, including the aiding and abetting of such crimes by foreign governments and organizations supporting the Government of Syria, since March 2011.

Exemptions— The following activities and transactions shall be exempt from sanctions authorized under this Act or any amendment made by this Act:

Any activity subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.), or to any authorized intelligence activities of the United States.

Any transaction necessary to comply with United States obligations under—

the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947;

the Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967; or

any other international agreement to which the United States is a party.

Statement of policy— It shall be the policy of the United States to fully utilize the waiver authority under this subsection to ensure that adequate humanitarian relief or support for stabilization and democracy promotion is provided to the Syrian people.

Content of written determination— A written determination submitted under paragraph (2) with respect to a waiver shall include a description of all notification and accountability controls that have been employed in order to ensure that the activities covered by the waiver are humanitarian or stabilization assistance or support for democracy promotion and do not entail any activities in Syria or dealings with the Government of Syria not reasonably related to humanitarian or stabilization assistance or support for democracy promotion.

Clarification of permitted activities under waiver— The President may not impose sanctions authorized under this Act against a humanitarian organization for—

engaging in a financial transaction relating to humanitarian assistance or for humanitarian purposes pursuant to a waiver issued under paragraph (2);

transporting goods or services that are necessary to carry out operations relating to humanitarian assistance or humanitarian purposes pursuant to such a waiver; or

having incidental contact, in the course of providing humanitarian assistance or aid for humanitarian purposes pursuant to such a waiver, with individuals who are under the control of a foreign person subject to sanctions under this Act or any amendment made by this Act unless the organization or its officers, members, representatives or employees have engaged in (or the President knows or has reasonable ground to believe is engaged in or is likely to engage in) conduct described in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)).

Exception to waiver authority— The President may not exercise the waiver authority under paragraph (2) with respect to a foreign person who has (or whose officers, members, representatives or employees have) engaged in (or the President knows or has reasonable ground to believe is engaged in or is likely to engage in) conduct described in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)).

In general— The President may, for periods not to exceed 120 days, waive the application of sanctions under this Act with respect to a foreign person if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is vital to the national security interests of the United States.

Before waiver issued— Not later than 5 days before the issuance of a waiver under paragraph (1) is to take effect, the President shall notify and brief the appropriate congressional committees on the status of the foreign person’s involvement in activities described in this Act.

After waiver issued— Not later than 90 days after the issuance of a waiver under paragraph (1), and every 120 days thereafter if the waiver remains in effect, the President shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the status of the foreign person’s involvement in activities described in this Act.

Definition— In this subsection, the term appropriate congressional committees means—

the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and

the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.

In general— Except as provided in paragraph (2), section 542.516 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations (relating to certain services in support of nongovernmental organizations’ activities authorized), as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall—

remain in effect on and after such date of enactment; and

in the case of a nongovernmental organization that is authorized to export or reexport services to Syria under such section on the day before such date of enactment, shall apply to such organization on and after such date of enactment to the same extent and in the same manner as such section applied to such organization on the day before such date of enactment.

Exception— Section 542.516 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as codified under paragraph (1), shall not apply with respect to a foreign person who has (or whose officers, members, representatives or employees have) engaged in (or the President knows or has reasonable ground to believe is engaged in or is likely to engage in) conduct described in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)).

In general— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report containing a strategy to ensure that humanitarian organizations can access financial services to ensure the safe and timely delivery of assistance to communities in need in Syria.

Consideration of data from other countries and nongovernmental organizations— In preparing the strategy required by paragraph (1), the President shall consider credible data already obtained by other countries and nongovernmental organizations, including organizations operating in Syria.

Form— The strategy required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.