Sec. 101. Office on International Religious Freedom; Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
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Section 101 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( 22 U.S.C. 6411 ) is amended— in subsection (b), by inserting , and shall report directly to the Secretary of State before the period at the end; in subsection (c)— in paragraph (1)— by striking responsibility and inserting responsibilities ; by striking shall be to advance and inserting the following: shall be to— advance ; in subparagraph
(A)(as so added), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: integrate United States international religious freedom policies and strategies into the foreign policy efforts of the United States. ; in paragraph (2), by inserting the principal adviser to before the Secretary of State ; in paragraph (3)— in subparagraph (A), by striking and at the end; in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: contacts with nongovernmental organizations that have an impact on the state of religious freedom in their respective societies or regions, or internationally. ; by redesignating paragraph
(4)as paragraph (5); and by inserting after paragraph
(3)the following: In order to promote religious freedom as an interest of United States foreign policy, the Ambassador at Large— shall coordinate international religious freedom policies across all programs, projects, and activities of the United States; and should participate in any interagency processes on issues in which the promotion of international religious freedom policy can advance United States national security interests, including in democracy promotion, stability, security, and development globally. ; and in subsection (d), by striking staff for the Office and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting individuals to fill at least 25 full-time equivalent staff positions, and any other temporary staff positions as needed to compile, edit, and manage the Annual Report under the direct supervision of the Ambassador at Large, and for the conduct of investigations by the Office and for necessary travel to carry out the provisions of this Act. The Secretary of State should also provide to the Ambassador at Large funds that are sufficient to carry out the duties described in this section, including as necessary representation funds, in amounts comparable to those provided to other Ambassadors at Large in the Department of State. . Because international religious freedom is a vital foreign policy interest and one that needs coordination across many regional bureaus and among Special Envoys and Special Representatives with overlapping mandates, the Secretary of State should consider elevating the office of International Religious Freedom and the position of the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to the Office of the Secretary, similar to other Ambassador at Large positions that now report directly to the Secretary. Providing the Office of International Religious Freedom with additional resources and status will demonstrate both the strategic importance of international religious freedom policy within the State Department bureaucracy and show persecuted religious groups globally that the U.S. gives priority to the protection and promotion of international religious freedom as mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
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Sec. 101
Office on International Religious Freedom; Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom
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