22 U.S.C. § 6442 — Presidential actions in response to par-

Page 1815 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 6442 State, the Ambassador at Large, the Special Adviser, and the Commission, shall, as expedi- tiously as practicable in response to the viola- tions described in subsection (a) by the gov- ernment of a foreign country— (A) take one or more of the actions de- scribed in paragraphs (1) through (15) of sec- tion 6445(a) of this title (or commensurate action in substitution thereto) with respect to such country; or (B) negotiate and enter into a binding agreement with the government of such country, as described in section 6445(c) of this title. (2) Deadline for actions Not later than September 1 of each year, the President shall take action under any of para- graphs (1) through (15) of section 6445(a) of this title (or commensurate action in substitution thereto) with respect to each foreign country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated violations of religious freedom at any time since September 1 of the preceding year, except that in the case of action under any of paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 6445(a) of this title (or commensurate action in substitution thereto)— (A) the action may only be taken after the requirements of sections 6443 and 6444 of this title have been satisfied; and (B) the September 1 limitation shall not apply. (3) Authority for delay of Presidential actions The President may delay action under para- graph (2) described in any of paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 6445(a) of this title (or commensurate action in substitution thereto) if he determines and certifies to Congress that a single, additional period of time, not to ex- ceed 90 days, is necessary pursuant to the same provisions applying to countries of par- ticular concern for religious freedom under section 6442(c)(3) of this title. (c) Implementation (1) In general In carrying out subsection (b), the President shall— (A) take the action or actions that most appropriately respond to the nature and se- verity of the violations of religious freedom; (B) seek to the fullest extent possible to target action as narrowly as practicable with respect to the agency or instrumen- tality of the foreign government, or specific officials thereof, that are responsible for such violations; and (C) when appropriate, make every reason- able effort to conclude a binding agreement concerning the cessation of such violations in countries with which the United States has diplomatic relations. (2) Guidelines for Presidential actions In addition to the guidelines under para- graph (1), the President, in determining whether to take a Presidential action under paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 6445(a) of this title (or commensurate action in substi- tution thereto), shall seek to minimize any ad- verse impact on— (A) the population of the country whose government is targeted by the Presidential action or actions; and (B) the humanitarian activities of United States and foreign nongovernmental organi- zations in such country. (Pub. L. 105–292, title IV, § 401, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2800.) Executive Documents DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998 Memorandum of President of the United States, Aug. 17, 1999, 64 F.R. 47345, provided: Memorandum for the Secretary of State By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State the functions and authorities vested in the President by title IV, subtitle I (sections 401–409) of the International Religious Free- dom Act of 1998 [22 U.S.C. 6441 et seq.] (Public Law 105–292) (the ‘‘Act’’). Any reference in this memorandum to any act shall be deemed to be a reference to such act as amended from time to time. The functions delegated by this memorandum may be delegated within the Department of State. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. WILLIAM J. CLINTON. § 6442. Presidential actions in response to par- ticularly severe violations of religious free- dom (a) Response to particularly severe violations of religious freedom (1) United States policy It shall be the policy of the United States— (A) to oppose particularly severe viola- tions of religious freedom that are or have been engaged in or tolerated by the govern- ments of foreign countries; and (B) to promote the right to freedom of reli- gion in those countries through the actions described in subsection (c). (2) Requirement of Presidential action Whenever the President determines that the government of a foreign country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom, the President shall op- pose such violations and promote the right to religious freedom through one or more of the actions described in subsection (c). (b) Designations of countries of particular con- cern for religious freedom (1) Annual review (A) In general Not later than 90 days after the date on which each Annual Report is submitted under section 6412(b) of this title, the Presi- dent shall— (i) review the status of religious freedom in each foreign country to determine whether the government of that country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom in each such country during the preceding 12 months or longer; Page 1816 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 6442 (ii) designate each country the govern- ment of which has engaged in or tolerated violations described in clause (i) as a coun- try of particular concern for religious free- dom; and (iii) designate each country that engaged in or tolerated severe violations of reli- gious freedom during the previous year, but does not meet, in the opinion of the President at the time of publication of the Annual Report, all of the criteria de- scribed in section 6402(15) of this title for designation under clause (ii) as being placed on a ‘‘Special Watch List’’. (B) Basis of review Each review conducted under subpara- graph (A) shall be based upon information contained in the latest Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the Annual Report, and on any other evidence available and shall take into account any findings or rec- ommendations by the Commission with re- spect to the foreign country. (C) Implementation Any review under subparagraph (A) of a foreign country may take place singly or jointly with the review of one or more coun- tries and may take place at any time before the date on which each Annual Report is submitted under section 6412(b) of this title. (2) Determinations of responsible parties For the government of each country des- ignated as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall seek to determine the agency or instrumentality thereof and the specific of- ficials thereof that are responsible for the par- ticularly severe violations of religious free- dom engaged in or tolerated by that govern- ment in order to appropriately target Presi- dential actions under this section in response. (3) Congressional notification (A) In general Whenever the President designates a coun- try as a country of particular concern for re- ligious freedom under paragraph (1)(A)(ii), the President, not later than 90 days after such designation, shall submit to the appro- priate congressional committees— (i) the designation of the country, signed by the President; (ii) the identification, if any, of respon- sible parties determined under paragraph (2); and (iii) a description of the actions taken under subsection (c), the purposes of the actions taken, and the effectiveness of the actions taken. (B) Removal of designation A country that is designated as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) shall retain such designation until the President determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the country should no longer be so designated. (4) Effect on designation as country of par- ticular concern The presence or absence of a country from the Special Watch List in any given year shall not preclude the designation of such country as a country of particular concern for reli- gious freedom under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) in any such year. (c) Presidential actions with respect to countries of particular concern for religious freedom (1) In general Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (5) with respect to each country of particular con- cern for religious freedom designated under subsection (b)(1)(A), the President shall, after the requirements of sections 6443 and 6444 of this title have been satisfied, but not later than 90 days (or 180 days in case of a delay under paragraph (3)) after the date of designa- tion of the country under that subsection, carry out one or more of the following actions under subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B): (A) Presidential actions One or more of the Presidential actions de- scribed in paragraphs (9) through (15) of sec- tion 6445(a) of this title, as determined by the President. (B) Commensurate actions Commensurate action in substitution to any action described in subparagraph (A). (2) Substitution of binding agreements (A) In general In lieu of carrying out action under para- graph (1), the President may conclude a binding agreement with the respective for- eign government as described in section 6445(c) of this title. The existence of a bind- ing agreement under this paragraph with a foreign government may be considered by the President prior to making any deter- mination or taking any action under this subchapter. (B) Statutory construction Nothing in this paragraph may be con- strued to authorize the entry of the United States into an agreement covering matters outside the scope of violations of religious freedom. (3) Authority for delay of Presidential actions If, on or before the date that the President is required (but for this paragraph) to take ac- tion under paragraph (1), the President deter- mines and certifies to Congress that a single, additional period of time not to exceed 90 days is necessary— (A) for a continuation of negotiations that have been commenced with the government of that country to bring about a cessation of the violations by the foreign country; (B) for a continuation of multilateral ne- gotiations into which the United States has entered to bring about a cessation of the vio- lations by the foreign country; (C)(i) for a review of corrective action taken by the foreign country after designa- tion of such country as a country of par- ticular concern; or Page 1817 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 6442a (ii) in anticipation that corrective action will be taken by the foreign country during the 90-day period, then the President shall not be required to take action until the expiration of that period of time. (4) Exception for ongoing Presidential action under this chapter The President shall not be required to take action pursuant to this subsection in the case of a country of particular concern for religious freedom, if with respect to such country— (A) the President has taken action pursu- ant to this chapter in a preceding year; (B) such action is in effect at the time the country is designated as a country of par- ticular concern for religious freedom under this section; and (C) the President reports to Congress the information described in section 6444(a)(1), (2), (3), and (4) of this title regarding the ac- tions in effect with respect to the country. (5) Exception for ongoing, multiple, broad- based sanctions in response to human rights violations At the time the President determines a country to be a country of particular concern, if that country is already subject to multiple, broad-based sanctions imposed in significant part in response to human rights abuses, and such sanctions are ongoing, the President may determine that one or more of these sanctions also satisfies the requirements of this sub- section. In a report to Congress pursuant to section 6444(a)(1), (2), (3), and (4) of this title, and, as applicable, to section 6448 of this title, the President shall designate the specific sanc- tion or sanctions that the President deter- mines satisfy the requirements under this sub- section and include a description of the impact of such sanction or sanctions on each country. The sanctions so designated shall remain in ef- fect subject to section 6449 of this title. (d) Statutory construction A determination under this chapter, or any amendment made by this chapter, that a foreign country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom shall not be construed to require the termination of as- sistance or other activities with respect to that country under any other provision of law, in- cluding section 2151n or 2304 of this title. (Pub. L. 105–292, title IV, § 402, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2802; Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a), Aug. 17, 1999, 113 Stat. 405; Pub. L. 114–281, title III, § 302, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1434.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This subchapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(A), was in the original ‘‘this title’’, meaning title IV of Pub. L. 105–292, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2800, which is classified principally to this subchapter. For complete classifica- tion of title IV to the Code, see Tables. This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (c)(4) and (d), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 105–292, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2787, known as the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which is classified prin- cipally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6401 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2016—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(A)(i), amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘Not later than September 1 of each year, the President shall review the status of reli- gious freedom in each foreign country to determine whether the government of that country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom in that country during the preceding 12 months or since the date of the last review of that country under this subparagraph, whichever period is longer. The President shall designate each country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated viola- tions described in this subparagraph as a country of particular concern for religious freedom.’’ Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(A)(ii), sub- stituted ‘‘before the date on which each Annual Report is submitted under section 6412(b) of this title’’ for ‘‘prior to September 1 of the respective year’’. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(B), amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘Whenever the President designates a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A), the President shall, as soon as practicable after the designation is made, transmit to the appropriate congressional committees— ‘‘(A) the designation of the country, signed by the President; and ‘‘(B) the identification, if any, of responsible par- ties determined under paragraph (2).’’ Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(C), added par. (4). Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(2), substituted ‘‘the President shall designate the specific sanction or sanctions that the President determines satisfy the re- quirements under this subsection and include a descrip- tion of the impact of such sanction or sanctions on each country.’’ for ‘‘the President must designate the specific sanction or sanctions which he determines sat- isfy the requirements of this subsection.’’ 1999—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘(4), and (5)’’ for ‘‘and (4)’’ in introductory pro- visions. Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(A), inserted ‘‘under this chapter’’ after ‘‘Exception for ongoing Presidential action’’ in heading. Subsec. (c)(4)(B) to (D), (5). Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(B)–(D), inserted ‘‘and’’ at end of subpar. (B), substituted period for ‘‘; and’’ at end of subpar. (C), re- designated subpar. (D) as par. (5), inserted par. heading, and substituted ‘‘At the time’’ for ‘‘at the time’’. § 6442a. Non-state actor designations (a) In general The President, concurrent with the annual for- eign country review required under section 402(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Free- dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)), shall— (1) review and identify any non-state actors operating in any such reviewed country or sur- rounding region that have engaged in particu- larly severe violations of religious freedom; and (2) designate, in a manner consistent with such Act [22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.], each such non-state actor as an entity of particular con- cern for religious freedom. (b) Report Whenever the President designates a non-state actor under subsection (a) as an entity of par- ticular concern for religious freedom, the Presi- dent, as soon as practicable after the designa-