[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 176 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 176

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should 
 preserve and protect the rights and freedoms currently afforded those 
           of religious faith under the Russian Constitution.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 24, 1997

    Mr. Hutchinson (for himself, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Watts of 
  Oklahoma, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Bob 
Schaffer of Colorado, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Horn, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Pickering, 
Mr. Cook, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. King, Mr. Rush, Mr. Calvert, 
 Mr. Snowbarger, Mr. Hayworth, Mr. Hoekstra, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Markey, 
   Mr. Gordon, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Doyle, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Souder, Mrs. 
  Emerson, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Adam Smith of 
Washington, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Talent, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. 
 Ryun, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Crapo, and Mr. Hansen) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should 
 preserve and protect the rights and freedoms currently afforded those 
           of religious faith under the Russian Constitution.

Whereas the influence of religious faith provides the necessary foundation for 
        the building of a moral and just society;
Whereas people of faith from around the world have worked hand in hand with the 
        Russian people throughout history to provide significant humanitarian 
        assistance to Russia;
Whereas the 1993 Russian Constitution promises freedom of religion for all 
        Russians and allows for the free functioning of all religious 
        denominations;
Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to international agreements on 
        human rights and religious freedoms such as the United Nations Universal 
        Declaration on Human Rights, the European Convention, and the 1989 
        Vienna Concluding Document of the Conference on Security and Cooperation 
        in Europe;
Whereas on September 24, 1997, the Russian Duma passed, and on September 25, 
        1997, President Yeltsin signed into law legislation discriminating 
        against religious minorities in the Russian Federation by violating 
        their core civil liberties, including freedom of conscience, freedom of 
        association, and freedom of speech; and
Whereas this law violates the Russian Constitution by providing preferential 
        treatment for some religious groups, and severely restricting, if not 
        abolishing, many others: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That--
            (1) it is the sense of the Congress that the ``On Freedom 
        of Conscience and on Religious Association'' law enacted by the 
        Russian Government on September 25, 1997, will deny people of 
        faith the rights, freedoms, and privileges afforded Russian 
        citizens under the Russian Constitution;
            (2) the Congress unequivocally condemns the enactment of 
        this law as a flagrant violation of internationally accepted 
        standards of human rights; and
            (3) it is the sense of the Congress that none of the funds 
        appropriated under the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, 
        and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1998 should be made 
        available for the Government of the Russian Federation unless 
        it has taken the appropriate steps to assure that religious 
        discrimination does not result from implementation of this law, 
        or unless the law is effectively challenged and changed through 
        an appropriate review process.
                                 <all>