22 U.S.C. § 6402 — Definitions

(1) “Ambassador at Large” means the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom appointed under section 6411(b). (2) “Annual Report” means the report described in section 6412(b). (3) “Appropriate congressional committees” means the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House International Relations Committee, and, for a presidential action under section 6445(a)(9)–(15), also, when appropriate, the House Banking and Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. (4) “Commensurate action” means presidential action under section 6445(b). (5) “Commission” means the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom under section 6431(a). (6) “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” means the annual State Department reports required by sections 2151n(d) and 2304(b). (7) “Executive Summary” means the Annual Report summary described in section 6412(b)(1)(F). (8) “Government” or “foreign government” includes its agencies and instrumentalities. (9) “Human Rights Reports” means all State Department reports to Congress under sections 2151n and 2304. (10) “Institution of higher education” has the meaning in section 1001 of title 20. (11) “Non-state actor” means a nonsovereign entity that exercises significant political power and territorial control, is outside sovereign-government control, and often uses violence to pursue its goals. (12) “Office” means the Office on International Religious Freedom under section 6411(a). (13) “Particularly severe violations of religious freedom” means systematic, ongoing, egregious violations, including (A) torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, (B) prolonged detention without charges, (C) making people disappear through abduction or secret detention, and (D) other flagrant denials of life, liberty, or personal security. (14) “Special Adviser” means the Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom described in section 3021(i) of title 50. (15) “Special Watch List” means the list described in section 6442(b)(1)(A)(iii). (16) “Violations of religious freedom” means violations of the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion and religious belief and practice described in the international instruments and sections 6401(a)(2) and (3). They include (A) arbitrary bans, restrictions, or punishment for (i) peaceful worship, preaching, prayer, or assembly, including arbitrary registration, (ii) speaking freely about belief, (iii) changing belief or affiliation, (iv) not professing a religion, (v) possessing or distributing religious literature including Bibles, or (vi) raising children in chosen religious teachings and practices; and (B) detention, interrogation, onerous financial penalties, forced labor, forced mass resettlement, imprisonment, forced conversion, forcing nonbelievers or nontheists to recant or convert, beating, torture, mutilation, rape, enslavement, murder, or execution when done because of conscience, nontheistic views, or religious belief or practice.