HR-4078 : Still Just a Bill

The Syria Detainee and Displaced Persons Act, also known as H.R. 4078, amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. Its primary goal is to modify and enhance the coordination of efforts related to ISIS members detained in Syria and the displaced populations associated with them. Key provisions include:

• Designation of Senior Coordinator: Mandates the President to designate a senior-level coordinator within the Department of State to oversee and coordinate matters related to detained ISIS members and displaced populations in Syria.
• Responsibilities of the Coordinator: The coordinator will engage with foreign partners to support repatriation and prosecution efforts, coordinate international engagements, provide technical assistance to foreign countries, and manage humanitarian access and security for displaced persons in camps in Syria.
• Strategy Development: Requires the Secretary of State to develop an interagency strategy to address disengagement from violence, repatriation, reintegration, humanitarian conditions, and security in ISIS-related detainee and displacement camps.
• Annual Reporting: Mandates the Senior Coordinator to submit an annual report to Congress detailing the conditions in the facilities and camps, the efforts to address humanitarian and security deficits, and the progress on repatriation and reintegration.
• Policy Statement: States it is US policy that ISIS-affiliated individuals in displacement camps in Syria, and other inhabitants of those camps, be repatriated and, where appropriate, prosecuted, or where possible, reintegrated into their country of origin, consistent with all relevant domestic laws and applicable international laws prohibiting refoulement, and that these camps will be closed as soon as is practicable.

In essence, the bill aims to streamline and strengthen the U.S. approach to managing the complex challenges posed by ISIS detainees and displaced persons in Syria, with a focus on repatriation, reintegration, and security.