[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 143 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 143

 Expressing the sense of Congress that the continued participation of 
the Russian Federation in the Group of 8 nations should be conditioned 
  on the Russian Government voluntarily accepting and adhering to the 
                   norms and standards of democracy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 3, 2005

Mr. Cox (for himself, Mr. Lantos, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Ackerman, 
 Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Berman, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Ms. Watson, Mr. 
 Davis of Illinois, and Mr. Cannon) submitted the following concurrent 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of Congress that the continued participation of 
the Russian Federation in the Group of 8 nations should be conditioned 
  on the Russian Government voluntarily accepting and adhering to the 
                   norms and standards of democracy.

Whereas the countries that comprise the Group of 7 nations are pluralistic 
        societies with democratic political institutions and practices, 
        committed to the observance of universally recognized standards of human 
        rights, respect for individual liberties, and democratic political 
        practices;
Whereas in 1991 and subsequent years, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations, 
        heads of the governments of the major free-market economies of the world 
        who meet annually in a summit meeting, invited then-Russian President 
        Boris Yeltsin to a post-summit dialogue;
Whereas in 1998, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations formally invited the 
        President of the Russian Federation to participate in an annual 
        gathering that subsequently was known as the Group of 8 nations, 
        although the Group of 7 nations have continued to hold informal summit 
        meetings and ministerial meetings that do not include the Russian 
        Federation;
Whereas the invitation to President Yeltsin to participate in the annual summits 
        was in recognition of the commitment of President Yeltsin to 
        democratization and economic liberalization, despite the fact that the 
        Russian economy remained weak and the commitment of the Government of 
        the Russian Federation to democratic principles was uncertain;
Whereas under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the Government of the 
        Russian Federation has attempted to control the activities of 
        independent media enterprises, nongovernmental organizations, religious 
        organizations, and other pluralistic elements of Russian society in an 
        attempt to mute criticism of the government;
Whereas under the leadership of President Putin, the Government of the Russian 
        Federation has suppressed the activities of independent journalists, 
        international observers, and human rights monitoring organizations, and 
        has blocked the renewal of the mandate of the Organization for Security 
        and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to operate inside Chechnya in an 
        attempt to block public scrutiny of the war in Chechnya;
Whereas the suppression by the Government of the Russian Federation of 
        independent media enterprises has resulted in widespread government 
        control and influence over the media in the Russian Federation, stifling 
        freedom of expression and individual liberties that are essential to any 
        functioning democracy;
Whereas the arrest and prosecution of prominent Russian business leaders who had 
        supported the political opposition to President Putin are examples of 
        selective application of the rule of law for political purposes;
Whereas the courts of the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece 
        have consistently ruled against extradition warrants issued by the 
        Government of the Russian Federation after finding that the cases 
        presented by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation have been 
        inherently political in nature;
Whereas the rise to influence within the Government of the Russian Federation of 
        unelected security officials from the KGB of the former Soviet Union is 
        increasingly undermining the Russian Government's commitment to 
        democratic principles, accountability, and transparency;
Whereas Russian military forces continue to commit brutal atrocities against the 
        civilian population in Chechnya and have been implicated in abductions 
        of Chechen civilians who filed cases before the European Court of Human 
        Rights;
Whereas leaders of the Group of 7 nations have repeatedly expressed that a 
        military solution in Chechnya is not possible;
Whereas in the aftermath of the tragic siege of School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia 
        that occurred during September 2004, which was an act of terrorism 
        abhorrent to all civilized people, President Putin cited violence in the 
        North Caucasus as a pretext for consolidating centralized power and 
        proposed to abolish the popular election of regional governors in favor 
        of presidential appointment of such officials;
Whereas the catastrophic consequences of the siege of School No. 1 in Beslan and 
        of the continued violence in Chechnya demonstrate the need to search for 
        political solutions and to commence negotiations between the Government 
        of Russia and moderate Chechen leaders, giving moderates credence over 
        extremist elements;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation initially supported the 
        undemocratic results of the November 21, 2004, runoff in the Ukrainian 
        presidential election, in spite of widespread election fraud and mass 
        demonstrations in support of a new, legitimate election, which raised 
        concerns among the Group of 7 nations that the commitment of the Russian 
        Government to democratic standards is waning;
Whereas a wide range of observers at think tanks and nongovernmental 
        organizations have expressed deep concern that the Russian Federation is 
        moving away from the political and legal underpinnings of a market 
        economy, and have identified the continuing war in Chechnya as a major 
        threat to stability and democracy in Russia; and
Whereas the continued participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of 8 
        nations, including the Russian Government's opportunity to host the G-8 
        summit in 2006 as planned, is a privilege that is premised on the 
        Russian Government voluntarily accepting and adhering to the norms and 
        standards of democracy: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the selective prosecution of political opponents and 
        the suppression of free media by the Russian Federation, and 
        the continued commission of widespread atrocities in the 
        conduct of the brutal war in Chechnya, do not reflect the 
        minimum standards of civilized nations that characterize every 
        other member state in the Group of 8 nations;
            (2) the continued participation of the Russian Federation 
        in the Group of 8 nations, including the Russian Government's 
        opportunity to host the G-8 summit in 2006 as planned, should 
        be conditioned on the Russian Government voluntarily accepting 
        and adhering to the norms and standards of free, democratic 
        societies as generally practiced by every other member state of 
        the Group of 8 nations, including--
                    (A) the rule of law, including protection from 
                selective prosecution and protection from arbitrary 
                state-directed violence;
                    (B) a court system free of political influence and 
                manipulation;
                    (C) a free and independent media;
                    (D) a political system open to participation by all 
                citizens and which protects freedom of expression and 
                association; and
                    (E) the protection of universally recognized human 
                rights; and
            (3) the President of the United States and the Secretary of 
        State should work with the other members of the Group of 7 
        nations to take all necessary steps to suspend the 
        participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of 8 
        nations until the President, after consultation with the other 
        members of the Group of 7, determines and reports to Congress 
        that the Government of the Russian Federation is committed to 
        respecting and upholding the democratic principles described in 
        paragraph (2).
                                 <all>