§ 6442. Presidential actions in response to particularly severe violations of religious freedom

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1. 1998

   International Religious Freedom Act of 1998

   Pub. L. 105–292 title IV § 402 · 112 Stat. 2787

   Enacted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442

   Pub. L. 105–292, title IV, § 402, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2802

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Pub. L. 105–292, title IV, § 402, Oct. 27, 1998, 112 Stat. 2802

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   SEC. 402. PRESIDENTIAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PARTICULARLY SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. (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 violations of religious freedom that are or have been engaged in or tolerated by the governments of foreign countries; and (B) to promote the right to freedom of religion 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 oppose 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 Concern for Religious Freedom.— (1) Annual review.— (A) In general.— Not later than September 1 of each year, the President shall 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 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 violations described in this subparagraph as a country of particular concern for religious freedom. (B) Basis of review.— Each review conducted under subparagraph (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 recommendations by the Commission with respect 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 countries and may take place at any time prior to September 1 of the respective year. (2) Determinations of responsible parties.— For the government of each country designated 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 officials thereof that are responsible for the particularly severe violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by that government in order to appropriately target Presidential actions under this section in response. (3) Congressional notification.— 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 parties determined under paragraph (2). (c) Presidential Actions With Respect to Countries of Particular Concern for Religious Freedom.— (1) In general.— Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) with respect to each country of particular concern for religious freedom designated under subsection (b)(1)(A), the President shall, after the requirements of sections 403 and 404 have been satisfied, but not later than 90 days (or 180 days in case of a delay under paragraph (3)) after the date of designation 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 described in paragraphs (9) through (15) of section 405(a), 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 paragraph (1), the President may conclude a binding agreement with the respective foreign government as described in section 405(c). The existence of a binding agreement under this paragraph with a foreign government may be considered by the President prior to making any determination or taking any action under this title. (B) Statutory construction.— Nothing in this paragraph may be construed 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 action under paragraph (1), the President determines 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 negotiations into which the United States has entered to bring about a cessation of the violations by the foreign country; (C) (i) for a review of corrective action taken by the foreign country after designation of such country as a country of particular concern; or (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.— 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 pursuant to this Act in a preceding year; (B) such action is in effect at the time the country is designated as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under this section; (C) the President reports to Congress the information described in section 404(a)(1), (2), (3), and (4) regarding the actions in effect with respect to the country; and (D) 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 subsection. In a report to Congress pursuant to section 404(a)(1), (2), (3), and (4), and, as applicable, to section 408, the President must designate the specific sanction or sanctions which he determines satisfy the requirements of this subsection. The sanctions so designated shall remain in effect subject to section 409 of this Act. (d) Statutory Construction.— A determination under this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, that a foreign country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom shall not be construed to require the termination of assistance or other activities with respect to that country under any other provision of law, including section 116 or 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n, 2304).

2. 1999

   Pub. L. 106–55 § 2(a)(1) · 113 Stat. 401

   Substituted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(1)

   Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(1), substituted “(4), and (5)” for “and (4)” in introductory provisions

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(1), substituted “(4), and (5)” for “and (4)” in introductory provisions.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (1) in paragraph (1), in the text above subparagraph (A), by striking “and (4)”; and inserting “(4), and (5)”; and

3. 1999

   Pub. L. 106–55 § 2(a)(2)(A) · 113 Stat. 401

   Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(4)

   Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(A), inserted “under this chapter” after “Exception for ongoing Presidential action” in heading

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(A), inserted “under this chapter” after “Exception for ongoing Presidential action” in heading.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (A) by inserting “under this act” after “Exception for ongoing presidential action”;

4. 1999

   Pub. L. 106–55 § 2(a)(2)(B) · 113 Stat. 401

   1. Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(4)(B)(D)(5)

      Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(B)–(D), inserted “and” at end of subpar. (B)

   2. Substituted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(4)(B)(D)(5)

      Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(B)–(D), substituted period for “; and” at end of subpar. (C)

   3. Redesignated · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(4)(B)(D)(5)

      Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(B)–(D), redesignated subpar. (D) as par. (5)

   4. Inserted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(4)(B)(D)(5)

      Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(B)–(D), inserted par. heading

   5. Substituted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(4)(B)(D)(5)

      Pub. L. 106–55, § 2(a)(2)(B)–(D), substituted “At the time” for “at the time”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   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), redesignated subpar. (D) as par. (5), inserted par. heading, and substituted “At the time” for “at the time”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (B) by inserting “and” at the end of subparagraph (B);

5. 2016

   Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

   Pub. L. 114–281 § 302(1)(A)(i) · 130 Stat. 1426

   Amended · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(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 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 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 violations described in this subparagraph as a country of particular concern for religious freedom.”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   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 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 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 violations described in this subparagraph as a country of particular concern for religious freedom.”

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows: “(A) In general.— Not later than 90 days after the date on which each Annual Report is submitted under section 102(b), the President 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; “(ii) designate each country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated violations described in clause (i) as a country of particular concern for religious freedom; and “(iii) designate each country that engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious 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 described in section 3(15) for designation under clause (ii) as being placed on a ‘Special Watch List’.” ; and

6. 2016

   Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

   Pub. L. 114–281 § 302(1)(A)(ii) · 130 Stat. 1426

   Substituted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(b)(1)(C)

   Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(A)(ii), substituted “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”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(A)(ii), substituted “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”.

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking “prior to September 1 of the respective year” and inserting “before the date on which each Annual Report is submitted under section 102(b)”;

7. 2016

   Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

   Pub. L. 114–281 § 302(1)(B) · 130 Stat. 1426

   Amended · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(b)(3)

   Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(B), amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “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—

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(B), amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “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 parties determined under paragraph (2).”

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows: “(3) Congressional notification.— “(A) In general.— Whenever the President designates a country as a country of particular concern for religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A)(ii), the President, not later than 90 days after such designation, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees— “(i) the designation of the country, signed by the President; “(ii) the identification, if any, of responsible 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.” ; and

8. 2016

   Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

   Pub. L. 114–281 § 302(1)(C) · 130 Stat. 1426

   Added · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(b)(4)

   Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(C), added par. (4)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(1)(C), added par. (4).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (C) by adding at the end the following: “(4) Effect on designation as country of particular 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 religious freedom under paragraph (1)(A)(ii) in any such year.” ; and

9. 2016

   Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act

   Pub. L. 114–281 § 302(2) · 130 Stat. 1426

   Substituted · 22 U.S.C. § 6442(c)(5)

   Pub. L. 114–281, § 302(2), substituted “the President shall designate the specific sanction or sanctions that the President determines satisfy the requirements under this subsection and include a description of the impact of such sanction or sanctions on each country.” for “the President must designate the specific sanction or sanctions which he determines satisfy the requirements of this subsection.”

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   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 requirements under this subsection and include a description of the impact of such sanction or sanctions on each country.” for “the President must designate the specific sanction or sanctions which he determines satisfy the requirements of this subsection.”

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (2) in subsection (c)(5), by striking “the President must designate the specific sanction or sanctions which he determines satisfy the requirements of this subsection.” and inserting “the President shall designate the specific sanction or sanctions that the President determines satisfy the requirements under this subsection and include a description of the impact of such sanction or sanctions on each country.”.

13 of 13 references resolved to an enrolled provision