Federal119Active
HR10827
Protection of Syrian Religious and Ethnic Minorities Act
Last scannedOct 19, 2026, 2:45 AM
In one sentence
This bill requires the Secretary of State to report to Congress on senior Syrian officials accused of human rights abuses and determine if existing U.S. laws should be used to sanction them.
What it does
- Requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence, to submit a report to Congress within 90 days of the bill becoming law.
- The report must identify senior Syrian officials and affiliated persons credibly alleged to have participated in, directed, facilitated, or concealed serious human rights abuses or acts of persecution against religious or ethnic minorities.
- Requires the Secretary of State to determine whether existing U.S. sanctions authorities should be used to impose targeted measures on the identified individuals.
- States that it is the policy of the United States that the President should utilize existing authorities to impose targeted sanctions on specific Syrian officials and others responsible for abuses.
- Clarifies that the bill does not authorize the prohibition or regulation of the importation of goods into the United States.
- Clarifies that the bill does not require the imposition of any specific measures and does not create any new sanctions authority not already authorized under Federal law.
Who it affects
- The Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, who must prepare and submit the report.
- Senior Syrian officials, security personnel, affiliated militia leaders, and other foreign persons connected to the interim Syrian government who are determined to be responsible for or complicit in abuses.
- U.S. congressional committees, which will receive the report.
Limits and unknowns
- The bill does not force the government to impose sanctions; it only requires a report and a determination on whether to use existing authorities.
- The bill does not create new legal powers for sanctions; it relies on laws that already exist.
- The bill does not specify which specific individuals will be named in the report, only that they must be credibly alleged to have participated in abuses.
Plain language
Terms to know
- Targeted sanctions
- Specific penalties, such as freezing assets or denying visas, applied to specific individuals rather than a whole country.
- Interim Syrian authorities
- The current temporary government officials and security forces in Syria.
- International Emergency Economic Powers Act
- A U.S. law that allows the government to block or freeze property of foreign persons during national emergencies.
Official record
Sources
Official activity
Bill history
- Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.House floor actions
- Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.House floor actions
- Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.House floor actions
- Introduced in HouseLibrary of Congress
- Introduced in HouseLibrary of Congress