[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 73 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
104th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. CON. RES. 73
Concerning the return of or compensation for wrongly confiscated
foreign properties in formerly Communist countries and by certain
foreign financial institutions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 27, 1996
Mr. D'Amato submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Concerning the return of or compensation for wrongly confiscated
foreign properties in formerly Communist countries and by certain
foreign financial institutions.
Whereas Fascist and Communist dictatorships have caused immeasurable human
suffering and loss, degrading not only every conceivable human right,
but the human spirit itself;
Whereas the villainy of communism was dedicated, in particular, to the organized
and systematic destruction of private property ownership;
Whereas the wrongful and illegal confiscation of property perpetrated by Fascist
and Communist regimes was often specifically designed to victimize
people because of their religion, national or social origin, or
expressed opposition to the regimes which repressed them;
Whereas Fascists and Communists often obtained possession of properties
confiscated from the victims of the systems they actively supported;
Whereas Jewish individuals and communities were often twice victimized, first by
the Nazis and their collaborators and then by the subsequent Communist
regimes;
Whereas churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious properties were also
destroyed or confiscated as a means of breaking the spiritual devotion
and allegiance of religious adherents;
Whereas Fascists, Nazis, and Communists have used foreign financial institutions
to launder and hold wrongfully and illegally confiscated property and
convert it to their own personal use;
Whereas some foreign financial institutions violated their fiduciary duty to
their customers by converting to their own use financial assets
belonging to Holocaust victims while denying heirs access to these
assets;
Whereas refugees from communism, in addition to being wrongly stripped of their
private property, were often forced to relinquish their citizenship in
order to protect themselves and their families from reprisals by the
Communists who ruled their countries;
Whereas the participating states of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe have agreed to give full recognition and
protection to all types of property, including private property, as well
as the right to prompt, just, and effective compensation in the event
private property is taken for public use;
Whereas the countries of central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Caucasus and
central Asia, have entered a post-Communist period of transition and
democratic development, and many countries have begun the difficult and
wrenching process of trying to right the past wrongs of previous
totalitarian regimes;
Whereas restrictions which require those whose properties have been wrongly
plundered by Nazi or Communist regimes to reside in or have the
citizenship of the country from which they now seek restitution or
compensation are arbitrary and discriminatory in violation of
international law; and
Whereas the rule of law and democratic norms require that the activity of
governments and their administrative agencies be exercised in accordance
with the laws passed by their parliaments or legislatures and such laws
themselves must be consistent with international human rights standards:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That the Congress--
(1) welcomes the efforts of many post-Communist countries
to address the complex and difficult question of the status of
plundered properties;
(2) urges countries which have not already done so to
return plundered properties to their rightful owners or, as an
alternative, pay compensation, in accordance with principles of
justice and in a manner that is just, transparent, and fair;
(3) calls for the urgent return of property formerly
belonging to Jewish communities as a means of redressing the
particularly compelling problems of aging and destitute
survivors of the Holocaust;
(4) calls on the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania,
Romania, Slovakia and any other country with restrictions which
require those whose properties have been wrongly plundered by
Nazi or Communist regimes to reside in or have the citizenship
of the country from which they now seek restitution or
compensation to remove such restrictions from their restitution
or compensation laws;
(5) calls upon foreign financial institutions, and the
states having legal authority over their operation, that
possess wrongfully and illegally property confiscated from
Holocaust victims, from residents of former Warsaw Pact states
who were forbidden by Communist law from obtaining restitution
of such property, and from states that were occupied by Nazi,
Fascist, or Communist forces, to assist and to cooperate fully
with efforts to restore this property to its rightful owners;
and
(6) urges post-Communist countries to pass and effectively
implement laws that provide for restitution of, or compensation
for, plundered property.
<all>