[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 190 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 190
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 16 (legislative day, March 15), 2006
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should
fully protect the freedoms of all religious communities without
distinction, whether registered and unregistered, as stipulated by the
Russian Constitution and international standards.
Whereas the Russian Federation is a participating State of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and has freely committed to
fully respect the rights of individuals, whether alone or in community
with others, to profess and practice religion or belief;
Whereas the Russian Federation specifically committed in the 1989 Vienna
Concluding Document to ``take effective measures to prevent and
eliminate discrimination against individuals or communities on the
grounds of religion or belief'' and to ``grant upon their request to
communities of believers, practicing or prepared to practice their faith
within the constitutional framework of their States, recognition of the
status provided for them in the respective countries'';
Whereas Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation declares
``everyone shall be guaranteed the right to freedom of conscience, to
freedom of religious worship, including the right to profess,
individually or jointly with others, any religion'' and Article 8 of the
1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations provides
for registration for religious communities as ``religious
organizations,'' if they have at least 10 members and have operated
within the Russian Federation with legal status for at least 15 years;
Whereas registration is critical for religious groups to fully enjoy their
religious freedoms, as many rights and privileges afforded to religious
communities in the Russian Federation are contingent on obtaining
registration;
Whereas many religious groups refuse to seek registration on theological or
other grounds, while other communities have been unjustly denied
registration or had their registration improperly terminated by local
authorities;
Whereas many of the unregistered communities in the Russian Federation today
were never registered under the Soviet system because they refused to
collaborate with that government's anti-religious policies and they are
now experiencing renewed discrimination and repression from the
authorities;
Whereas over the past 2 years there have been an estimated ten arson attacks on
unregistered Protestant churches, with little or no effective response
by law enforcement officials to bring the perpetrators to justice;
Whereas in some areas of the Russian Federation law enforcement personnel have
carried out violent actions against believers from unregistered
communities peacefully practicing their faith; and
Whereas the United States has sought to protect the fundamental and inalienable
human right to seek, know, and serve God according to the dictates of
one's own conscience, in accordance with the international agreements
committing nations to respect individual freedom of thought, conscience,
and belief: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of the Congress that the United States should--
(1) urge the Russian Federation to ensure full protection
of freedoms for all religious communities without distinction,
whether registered and unregistered, and end the harassment of
unregistered religious groups by the security apparatus and
other government agencies;
(2) urge the Russian Federation to ensure that law
enforcement officials vigorously investigate acts of violence
against unregistered religious communities, as well as make
certain that authorities are not complicit in such attacks;
(3) continue to raise concerns with the Government of the
Russian Federation over violations of religious freedom,
including those against unregistered religious communities,
especially indigenous denominations not well known in the
United States;
(4) ensure that United States Embassy officials engage
local officials throughout the Russian Federation, especially
when violations of freedom of religion occur, and undertake
outreach activities to educate local officials about the rights
of unregistered religious communities;
(5) urge both the Personal Representative of the OSCE
Chair-in-Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and
Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination
against Christians and Members of Other Religions, and the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or
Belief to visit the Russian Federation and raise with federal
and local officials concerns about the free practice of
unregistered religious communities; and
(6) urge the Council of Europe and its member countries to
raise with Russian Federation officials issues relating to
freedom of religion, especially in light of the Russian
Federation's responsibilities as President of the Council in
2006.
Passed the House of Representatives March 15, 2006.
Attest:
KAREN L. HAAS,
Clerk.