[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 515 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 515

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
                the persecution of Christians worldwide.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 1996

Mr. Wolf (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Ramstad, Mr. Towns, 
and Mr. Hefley) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
              to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to 
                the persecution of Christians worldwide.

Whereas the worldwide persecution and martyrdom of Christians has increased and 
        intensified to such an extent that more Christians have died for their 
        faith in the 20th century than in all prior 19 centuries combined;
Whereas in many places throughout the world, Christians are restricted in or 
        forbidden from practicing their faith, victimized by a ``religious 
        apartheid'' that subjects them to inhumane, humiliating treatment, and 
        are imprisoned, tortured, enslaved, and killed;
Whereas in some countries proselytism is forbidden, and extremist elements 
        persist unchecked by the government in their campaigns to eradicate 
        Christians and force conversions through intimidation, rape, and forced 
        marriage;
Whereas in several Islamic countries conversion to Christianity from Islam is a 
        crime punishable by death;
Whereas the militant Muslim Government of Sudan is waging a jihad (religious 
        war) against the Christian southern part of the country, enforcing 
        Shari'a (Islamic law) against non-Muslim African Sudanese, torturing, 
        starving, killing, and displacing over 1,000,000 people, and enslaving 
        tens of thousands of women and children. Today in Sudan, a human being 
        can be bought for as little as $15;
Whereas Christians in China have experienced the worst persecution since the 
        pre-Deng period in the 1970's. There are more documented cases of 
        Christians in prison or in some form of detention in China than in any 
        other country. Both Evangelical Protestant house church groups and Roman 
        Catholics have been targeted and named ``a principal threat to political 
        stability'' by the Central Committee of China's Communist party. In 
        recent months, in separate incidents 3 Chinese Christian leaders were 
        beaten to death by Chinese authorities simply for their religious 
        activities;
Whereas an Islamic court in Kuwait has denied religious liberty to a convert 
        from Islam to Christianity, and the judge recommended that he be put to 
        death;
Whereas 3 Christian leaders in Iran were kidnapped and murdered during 1994 as 
        part of a crackdown on the Iranian Christian community;
Whereas severe persecution of Christians is also occurring in North Korea, Cuba, 
        Vietnam, and certain countries in the Middle East, to name merely a few;
Whereas religious liberty is a universal right explicitly recognized in numerous 
        international agreements, including the Universal Declaration of Human 
        Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
Whereas Pope John Paul II recently sounded a call against regimes that 
        ``practice discrimination against Jews, Christians, and other religious 
        groups, going even so far as to refuse them the right to meet in private 
        for prayer,'' declaring that ``this is an intolerable and unjustifiable 
        violation not only of all the norms of current international law, but of 
        the most fundamental human freedom, that of practicing one's faith 
        openly,'' stating that this is for human beings ``their reason for 
        living'';
Whereas the National Association of Evangelicals in January 1996 issued a 
        ``Statement of Conscience and Call to Action,'' subsequently commended 
        or endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention, the Executive Council of 
        the Episcopal Church, and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian 
        Church, United States of America. They pledged to end their ``silence in 
        the face of the suffering of all those persecuted for their religious 
        faith'' and ``to do what is in our power to the end that the Government 
        of the United States will take appropriate action to combat the 
        intolerable religious persecution now victimizing fellow believers and 
        those of other faiths'';
Whereas the World Evangelical Fellowship has declared September 29, 1996, and 
        each annual last Sunday in September, as an international day of prayer 
        on behalf of persecuted Christians. That day will be observed by 
        numerous churches and human rights groups around the world;
Whereas the United States of America since its founding has been a harbor of 
        refuge and freedom to worship for believers from John Winthrop to Roger 
        Williams to William Penn, and a haven for the oppressed, and has 
        guaranteed freedom of worship in this country for people of all faiths;
Whereas, unfortunately, the United States has in many instances failed to raise 
        forcefully the issue of anti-Christian and other religious persecution 
        at international conventions and in bilateral relations with offending 
        countries; and
Whereas, however, in the past the United States has forcefully taken up the 
        cause of other persecuted religious minorities, and the United States 
        has the ability to intervene in a similar manner for persecuted 
        Christians throughout the world: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) unequivocally condemns the egregious human rights 
        abuses and denials of religious liberty to Christians around 
        the world, and calls upon the responsible regimes to cease such 
        abuses;
            (2) strongly recommends that the President expand and 
        invigorate United States international advocacy on behalf of 
        persecuted Christians, and initiate a thorough examination of 
        all United States policies that affect persecuted Christians;
            (3) encourages the President to proceed as expeditiously as 
        possible in appointing a White House special advisor on 
        religious persecution; and
            (4) applauds the actions of the World Evangelical 
        Fellowship in declaring an annual international day of prayer 
        on behalf of persecuted Christians.
                                 <all>