[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 32 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 32
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to human rights in
Central Asia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2003
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself and Mr. Lantos) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to human rights in
Central Asia.
Whereas the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan provided the United States with important
assistance in the war in Afghanistan, from military basing and
overflight rights to the facilitation of humanitarian relief;
Whereas America's victory over the Taliban in turn provided important benefits
to the Central Asian nations, removing a regime that threatened their
security, and significantly weakening the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan, a terrorist organization that had previously staged armed
raids from Afghanistan into the region;
Whereas the United States has consistently urged the nations of Central Asia to
open their political systems and economies and to respect human rights,
both before and since the attacks of September 11, 2001;
Whereas Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are
members of the United Nations and the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), both of which confer a range of human
rights obligations on their members;
Whereas, according to the Department of State, the Government of Kazakhstan
harasses and monitors independent media and human rights activists,
restricts freedom of association and opposition political activity, has
engaged in selective prosecution of opposition leaders, and allows
security forces to commit extrajudicial executions, torture, and
arbitrary detention with impunity;
Whereas, according to the Department of State, the Government of Kyrgyzstan
engages in arbitrary arrest and detention, restricts the activities of
political opposition figures, religious organizations deemed
``extremist'', human rights activists, and nongovernmental
organizations, and discriminates against ethnic minorities, and recently
conducted a flawed constitutional referendum that will further
concentrate power in the presidency and weaken the role of civil
society;
Whereas, according to the Department of State, the Government of Tajikistan
remains authoritarian, curtailing freedoms of speech, assembly, and
association, with security forces committing extrajudicial executions,
kidnappings, disappearances, and torture;
Whereas, according to the Department of State, Turkmenistan is a Soviet-style
one-party state centered around the glorification of its president,
which engages in serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrest
and detention, severe restrictions of personal privacy, repression of
political opposition, and restrictions on freedom of speech and
nongovernmental activity, and most recently has engaged in sweeping
arrests and summary convictions, as well as torturing of suspects, in
the aftermath of the attack on the President's motorcade and has refused
to cooperate with the OSCE fact-finding mission;
Whereas, according to the Department of State, the Government of Uzbekistan
continues to commit serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary
arrest, detention and torture in custody, particularly of Muslims who
practice their religion outside state controls, to severely restrict
freedom of speech, the press, religion, independent political activity,
and nongovernmental organizations, and detains over 7,000 people for
political or religious reasons;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has
expressed concern about religious persecution in the region,
recommending that Turkmenistan be named a ``Country of Particular
Concern'' under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and
that Uzbekistan be placed on a special ``Watch List'';
Whereas, by continuing to suppress human rights and to deny citizens peaceful,
democratic means of expressing their convictions, the nations of Central
Asia risk fueling popular support for violent and extremist movements,
thus undermining the goals of the war on terrorism;
Whereas President Bush has made the defense of ``human dignity, the rule of law,
limits on the power of the state, respect for women and private property
and free speech and equal justice and religious tolerance'' strategic
goals of United States foreign policy in the Islamic world, arguing that
``a truly strong nation will permit legal avenues of dissent for all
groups that pursue their aspirations without violence''; and
Whereas Congress has expressed its desire to see deeper reform in Central Asia
in resolutions and other legislation, most recently conditioning
assistance to Uzbekistan on its progress in meeting human rights and
democracy commitments to the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan should accelerate democratic
reforms and fulfill their human rights obligations, including,
where appropriate, by--
(A) releasing from prison all those jailed for
peaceful political activism or the nonviolent
expression of their political or religious beliefs,
including Felix Kulov in Kyrgyzstan;
(B) fully investigating any credible allegations of
torture and prosecuting those responsible;
(C) permitting the free and unfettered functioning
of independent media outlets, independent political
parties, and nongovernmental organizations, whether
officially registered or not;
(D) permitting the free exercise of religious
beliefs and ceasing the persecution of members of
religious groups and denominations not registered with
the state;
(E) holding free, competitive, and fair elections;
and
(F) making publicly available documentation of
their revenues and punishing those engaged in official
corruption;
(2) the President, the Secretary of State, and the
Secretary of Defense should--
(A) continue to raise at the highest levels with
the governments of the nations of Central Asia specific
cases of political and religious persecution, and urge
greater respect for human rights and democratic
freedoms at every diplomatic opportunity;
(B) take progress in meeting the goals outlined in
paragraph (1) into account when determining the level
and frequency of United States diplomatic engagement
with the governments of the Central Asian nations, the
allocation of United States assistance, and the nature
of United States military engagement with the countries
of the region;
(C) ensure that the provisions of the annual
foreign operations appropriation Act are fully
implemented to ensure that no United States assistance
benefits security forces in Central Asia implicated in
violations of human rights;
(D) follow the recommendations of the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom by
designating Turkmenistan a ``Country of Particular
Concern'' under the International Religious Freedom Act
of 1998 and by making clear that Uzbekistan risks
designation if conditions in that country do not
improve;
(E) urge the Government of Turkmenistan to respect
the right of imprisoned opposition leader Boris
Shikmuradov to due process and a fair trial and to
release democratic activists and their family members
from prison, and urge the Government of the Russian
Federation not to extradite to Turkmenistan members of
that country's political opposition;
(F) work with the Government of Kazakhstan to
create a political climate free of intimidation and
harassment, including releasing political prisoners and
permitting the return of political exiles, most notably
Akezan Kazegeldin, and to reduce official corruption,
including by urging the Government of Kazakhstan to
cooperate with the ongoing Department of Justice
investigation, and if convicted independent journalist
Sergey Duvanov decides to appeal his verdict, to ensure
that due process will be strictly followed in
accordance with Kazakhstani law and international
standards of justice;
(G) work with the Government of Uzbekistan to
address the serious concerns about systemic torture
documented in the reports of the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on Torture and to implement recommendations
made in the report;
(H) work with the Government of Kyrgyzstan to
introduce changes in the recently adopted constitution
that would address concerns about protections for human
rights and balance of powers; and
(I) support through United States assistance
programs those individuals, nongovernmental
organizations, and media outlets in Central Asia
working to build more open societies, to support the
victims of human rights abuses, and to expose official
corruption;
(3) increased levels of United States assistance to the
governments of the Central Asian nations made possible by their
cooperation in the war in Afghanistan can be sustained only if
there is substantial and continuing progress towards meeting
the goals outlined in paragraph (1).
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