Stop the Killing in Syria Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8931 To impose additional sanctions with respect to Syria, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 10, 2020 Mr. WILSON of South Carolina introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Commit- tees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To impose additional sanctions with respect to Syria, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Stop the Killing in Syria Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8931 IH Sec. 101. Sanctions with respect to certain government officials of countries as- sisting or normalizing relations with Syria. Sec. 102. Sanctions with respect to financial institutions operating in Syria and certain foreign persons supporting the Government of Syria. Sec. 103. Sanctions with respect to certain individuals serving in the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces. Sec. 104. Sanctions with respect to directors, officers, and other officials em- ployed in Syrian prisons and detention facilities determined to be engaged in the use of torture. Sec. 105. Mandatory application of sanctions under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019. Sec. 106. Limitation on waiver authorities under the Caesar Civilian Protection Act of 2019. Sec. 107. Measures with respect to areas of Syria controlled by the Government of Syria. TITLE II—OTHER PROVISIONS Sec. 201. Determination and report relating to crimes against humanity, geno- cide, and war crimes in Syria. Sec. 202. Assessment of potential effectiveness of and requirements for the es- tablishment of a no-fly zone, safe zones, or a no-bombing zone in Syria. Sec. 203. Report on net worth of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Sec. 204. Strategy and report for removing the al-Assad regime from power and achieving a transition to a free and democratic Syria. Sec. 205. Statement of policy. Sec. 206. Prohibition against United States recognition of the al-Assad regime in Syria. Sec. 207. Report on effect of lifting Iran sanctions on war crimes in Syria. Sec. 208. Certification regarding humanitarian aid provided to areas in Syria held by the al-Assad regime. Sec. 209. Proclamation authority regarding free Syria economic zones. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 3 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees’’ means— 5 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 6 the Committee on Financial Services of the 7 House of Representatives; and 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8931 IH (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 1 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 2 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 3 (2) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 4 son’’ has the meaning given that term in section 5 1262 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac- 6 countability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 7 TITLE I—ADDITIONAL SANC- 8 TIONS WITH RESPECT TO 9 SYRIA 10 SEC. 101. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN GOVERN- 11 MENT OFFICIALS OF COUNTRIES ASSISTING 12 OR NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH SYRIA. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 14 sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to senior 15 foreign political figures and other senior government offi- 16 cials of countries on the lists required by subsection (b)(1). 17 (b) LISTS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an- 20 nually thereafter, the President shall submit to the 21 appropriate congressional committees— 22 (A) a list of countries that— 23 (i) expressly consent to, or with 24 knowledge allow, the use of their territory 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8931 IH or financial institutions by the Government 1 of Syria to assist such government’s war 2 crimes, including through financing; or 3 (ii) have a history of facilitating sanc- 4 tions evasion by the Government of Syria; 5 (B) a list of countries, including countries 6 that are members of the League of Arab States, 7 that have diplomatic relations with Syria, or 8 that continue to have extensive economic rela- 9 tions with Syria; and 10 (C) a list of countries that are considering 11 and taking steps towards establishing diplo- 12 matic relations with Syria. 13 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—The Presi- 14 dent shall include the following countries that have 15 established diplomatic relations with Syria as part of 16 the lists required by paragraph (1) until such time 17 as those countries have ceased having diplomatic re- 18 lations with the Government of Syria: Egypt, Jor- 19 dan, Lebanon, Iraq, Oman, and the United Arab 20 Emirates. 21 (3) FORM.—The lists required by paragraph (1) 22 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 23 contain a classified annex if necessary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8931 IH (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 1 scribed in this subsection are— 2 (1) sanctions applicable with respect to a for- 3 eign person pursuant to section 7412(b) of the Cae- 4 sar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 5 8791 note); and 6 (2) sanctions applicable with respect to a for- 7 eign person pursuant to the Hezbollah International 8 Financing Prevention Act of 2015 (50 U.S.C. 1701 9 note). 10 (d) SENIOR FOREIGN POLITICAL FIGURE DE- 11 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘senior foreign political 12 figure’’ has the meaning given that term in section 13 1010.605 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations. 14 SEC. 102. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FINANCIAL INSTI- 15 TUTIONS OPERATING IN SYRIA AND CERTAIN 16 FOREIGN PERSONS SUPPORTING THE GOV- 17 ERNMENT OF SYRIA. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 19 sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each 20 financial institution on the list required by subsection 21 (b)(1)(A) and each person on the list required by sub- 22 section (b)(1)(B). 23 (b) LISTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8931 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and bi- 2 annually thereafter, the President shall submit to 3 the appropriate congressional committees— 4 (A) a list of financial institutions operating 5 in Syria; and 6 (B) a list of foreign persons of China, Leb- 7 anon, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Oman, Turkey, 8 Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates 9 that are involved in business activities with re- 10 gard to the infrastructure, construction, finan- 11 cial services, telecommunications, or petroleum 12 sectors of the Syrian economy. 13 (2) FORM.—The list required by this subsection 14 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 15 contain a classified annex if necessary. 16 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 17 scribed in this subsection are sanctions applicable with re- 18 spect to a foreign person pursuant to section 7412(b) of 19 the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22 20 U.S.C. 8791 note). 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8931 IH SEC. 103. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN INDIVID- 1 UALS SERVING IN THE LEBANESE INTERNAL 2 SECURITY FORCES AND THE LEBANESE 3 ARMED FORCES. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 5 sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each 6 individual on the list required by subsection (b)(3). 7 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 8 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 9 to the appropriate congressional committees a report 10 that— 11 (1) describes efforts by the Government of Leb- 12 anon to prevent sanctions evasion activities, includ- 13 ing smuggling efforts to support the Government of 14 Syria, including an identification of the extent to 15 which the Government of Lebanon, the Lebanese In- 16 ternal Security Forces (ISF), and the Lebanese 17 Armed Forces (LAF) have knowingly permitted, fa- 18 cilitated, or assisted such efforts; 19 (2) describes efforts by the Government of Leb- 20 anon, the ISF, and the LAF have taken to prevent 21 the forced repatriation of Syrian refugees back to 22 Syria; and 23 (3) contains a list of those individuals serving 24 in the ISF and the LAF that have participated in, 25 knowingly permitted, facilitated, or assisted the Gov- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8931 IH ernment of Syria in sanctions evasion activities or 1 smuggling efforts to support the Government of 2 Syria. 3 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 4 scribed in this subsection are sanctions applicable with re- 5 spect to a foreign person pursuant to section 1263(b) of 6 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 7 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 8 SEC. 104. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO DIRECTORS, OFFI- 9 CERS, AND OTHER OFFICIALS EMPLOYED IN 10 SYRIAN PRISONS AND DETENTION FACILI- 11 TIES DETERMINED TO BE ENGAGED IN THE 12 USE OF TORTURE. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 14 sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each 15 individual on the list required by subsection (b)(2). 16 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days after the date 17 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 18 to the appropriate congressional committees a report 19 that— 20 (1) describes the extent to which torture is used 21 against detainees in Syrian prisons and detention fa- 22 cilities; and 23 (2) contains a list of directors, officers, and 24 other officials employed in such prisons and deten- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8931 IH tion facilities and who have been determined to be 1 engaged in the use of torture. 2 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 3 scribed in this subsection are sanctions applicable with re- 4 spect to a foreign person pursuant to section 1263(b) of 5 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 6 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note). 7 SEC. 105. MANDATORY APPLICATION OF SANCTIONS 8 UNDER THE CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN PRO- 9 TECTION ACT OF 2019. 10 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con- 11 gress that— 12 (1) the Syrian financial and construction sec- 13 tors are sectors of Syria’s economy which provide fi- 14 nancial support to the Syrian regime’s malign activi- 15 ties and crimes against its own people; and 16 (2) the President should continue to vigorously 17 enforce the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 18 2019 to deny the al-Assad regime avenues to fund 19 its malign activities. 20 (b) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose the 21 sanctions described in subsection (d) with respect to each 22 individual and organization described in subsection (c). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8931 IH (c) INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS DE- 1 SCRIBED.—The individuals and organizations described in 2 this subsection are the following: 3 (1) The Badr Organization. 4 (2) Hadi Al-Ameri, leader of the Badr Organi- 5 zation. 6 (3) The Wagner Group. 7 (4) Major General Abbas Ibrahim of the Leba- 8 nese General Security Directorate. 9 (5) The Damascus Securities Exchange. 10 (6) The Imam Ali Brigades. 11 (7) The al-Baraka Bank Syria. 12 (8) The al-Badia Cement Plant. 13 (9) The Bank Audi Syria. 14 (10) The International Bank for Trade and Fi- 15 nance Syria. 16 (11) The Bank of Syria and Overseas. 17 (12) The Byblos Bank Syria. 18 (13) The Real Estate Bank Syria. 19 (14) The Banque Bemo Saudi Fransi. 20 (15) The Basy Bank Syria. 21 (16) The Arab Bank Syria. 22 (17) The Qatar National Bank–Syria. 23 (18) The Syria Gulf Bank. 24 (19) The Fransabank Syria. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8931 IH (20) The Parliament of Syria and every mem- 1 ber of the Parliament of Syria. 2 (21) EmmaTel Syria. 3 (22) Daman Sham. 4 (23) The Central Financial Company for Fi- 5 nancial Services and Brokerage Syria (IFC). 6 (24) Cham Capital. 7 (25) First Global Investments Financial Com- 8 pany Syria (G1–SY). 9 (26) Al Aula Company for Financial Investment 10 Syria. 11 (27) Alpha Capital for Financial Services. 12 (28) Asiria Finance. 13 (d) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de- 14 scribed in this subsection are sanctions applicable with re- 15 spect to a foreign person pursuant to section 7412(b) of 16 the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22 17 U.S.C. 8791 note). 18 SEC. 106. LIMITATION ON WAIVER AUTHORITIES UNDER 19 THE CAESAR CIVILIAN PROTECTION ACT OF 20 2019. 21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 22 gress that sanctions relief for the Government of Syria or 23 a withdrawal of United States military forces in Syria 24 should not be exchanged as ransom for the release of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:35 Dec 26, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8931.IH H8931 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8931 IH American hostages in Syria because such ransom would 1 only incentivize hostile regimes around the world to take 2 American hostages. 3 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 7432 of the Caesar Syria 4 Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note) is 5 amended— 6 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘, for re- 7 newable periods not to exceed 180 days,’’ and ins [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]