Sec. 6406. Special Envoy for Belarus
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The President shall appoint a Special Envoy for Belarus within the Department (referred to in this section as the Special Envoy ). The Special Envoy should be a person of recognized distinction in the field of European security, geopolitics, democracy and human rights, and may be a career Foreign Service officer. The central objective of the Special Envoy is to coordinate and promote efforts— to improve respect for the fundamental human rights of the people of Belarus; to sustain focus on the national security implications of Belarus’s political and military alignment for the United States; and to respond to the political, economic, and security impacts of events in Belarus upon neighboring countries and the wider region.
The Special Envoy shall— engage in discussions with Belarusian officials regarding human rights, political, economic and security issues in Belarus; support international efforts to promote human rights and political freedoms in Belarus, including coordination and dialogue between the United States and the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Union, Belarus, and the other countries in Eastern Europe; consult with nongovernmental organizations that have attempted to address human rights and political and economic instability in Belarus; make recommendations regarding the funding of activities promoting human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and the development of a market economy in Belarus; review strategies for improving protection of human rights in Belarus, including technical training and exchange programs; develop an action plan for holding to account the perpetrators of the human rights violations documented in the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report on the situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath (Human Rights Council Resolution 49/36); engage with member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union with respect to the implications of Belarus’s political and security alignment for transatlantic security; and work within the Department and among partnering countries to sustain focus on the political situation in Belarus.
The position of Special Envoy— shall be a full-time position; may not be combined with any other position within the Department; shall only exist as long as United States diplomatic operations in Belarus at United States Embassy Minsk have been suspended; and shall oversee the operations and personnel of the Belarus Affairs Unit. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following 5 years, the Secretary, in consultation with the Special Envoy, shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees that describes the activities undertaken pursuant to subsection
(c)during the reporting period. The position of Special Envoy for Belarus Affairs and the authorities provided by this section shall terminate 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.