ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT ENTITIES TAKING ACTIONS RELATING TO GATHERING EVIDENCE FOR INVESTIGATIONS INTO WAR CRIMES OR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN SYRIA SINCE MARCH 2011.

SEC. 7424. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT ENTITIES TAKING ACTIONS RELATING TO GATHERING EVIDENCE FOR INVESTIGATIONS INTO WAR CRIMES OR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN SYRIA SINCE MARCH 2011.(a) In General.—Except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of State, after consultation with the Attorney General and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, is authorized, consistent with the national interest, to provide assistance to support entities that are conducting criminal investigations, supporting prosecutions, or collecting evidence and preserving the chain of custody for such evidence for eventual prosecution, against those who have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity in Syria, including the aiding and abetting of such crimes by foreign governments and organizations supporting the Government of Syria, since March 2011.(b) Limitation.—No assistance may be provided under subsection (a) while President Bashar al-Assad remains in power—(1) to build the investigative or judicial capacities of the Government of Syria; or133 STAT. 2296(2) to support prosecutions in the domestic courts in Syria.(c) Briefing.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall brief the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on assistance provided under subsection (a).