[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 59 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 59

   Concerning the return of or compensation for wrongly confiscated 
   foreign properties in formerly Communist countries and by certain 
                    foreign financial institutions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 9, 1997

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Porter, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Salmon, 
 Mr. Christensen, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Cardin) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International 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 House of Representatives (the Senate 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.
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