[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 190 Referred in Senate (RFS)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 190


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 16 (legislative day, March 15), 2006

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should 
    fully protect the freedoms of all religious communities without 
distinction, whether registered and unregistered, as stipulated by the 
           Russian Constitution and international standards.

Whereas the Russian Federation is a participating State of the Organization for 
        Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and has freely committed to 
        fully respect the rights of individuals, whether alone or in community 
        with others, to profess and practice religion or belief;
Whereas the Russian Federation specifically committed in the 1989 Vienna 
        Concluding Document to ``take effective measures to prevent and 
        eliminate discrimination against individuals or communities on the 
        grounds of religion or belief'' and to ``grant upon their request to 
        communities of believers, practicing or prepared to practice their faith 
        within the constitutional framework of their States, recognition of the 
        status provided for them in the respective countries'';
Whereas Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation declares 
        ``everyone shall be guaranteed the right to freedom of conscience, to 
        freedom of religious worship, including the right to profess, 
        individually or jointly with others, any religion'' and Article 8 of the 
        1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations provides 
        for registration for religious communities as ``religious 
        organizations,'' if they have at least 10 members and have operated 
        within the Russian Federation with legal status for at least 15 years;
Whereas registration is critical for religious groups to fully enjoy their 
        religious freedoms, as many rights and privileges afforded to religious 
        communities in the Russian Federation are contingent on obtaining 
        registration;
Whereas many religious groups refuse to seek registration on theological or 
        other grounds, while other communities have been unjustly denied 
        registration or had their registration improperly terminated by local 
        authorities;
Whereas many of the unregistered communities in the Russian Federation today 
        were never registered under the Soviet system because they refused to 
        collaborate with that government's anti-religious policies and they are 
        now experiencing renewed discrimination and repression from the 
        authorities;
Whereas over the past 2 years there have been an estimated ten arson attacks on 
        unregistered Protestant churches, with little or no effective response 
        by law enforcement officials to bring the perpetrators to justice;
Whereas in some areas of the Russian Federation law enforcement personnel have 
        carried out violent actions against believers from unregistered 
        communities peacefully practicing their faith; and
Whereas the United States has sought to protect the fundamental and inalienable 
        human right to seek, know, and serve God according to the dictates of 
        one's own conscience, in accordance with the international agreements 
        committing nations to respect individual freedom of thought, conscience, 
        and belief: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that the United States should--
            (1) urge the Russian Federation to ensure full protection 
        of freedoms for all religious communities without distinction, 
        whether registered and unregistered, and end the harassment of 
        unregistered religious groups by the security apparatus and 
        other government agencies;
            (2) urge the Russian Federation to ensure that law 
        enforcement officials vigorously investigate acts of violence 
        against unregistered religious communities, as well as make 
        certain that authorities are not complicit in such attacks;
            (3) continue to raise concerns with the Government of the 
        Russian Federation over violations of religious freedom, 
        including those against unregistered religious communities, 
        especially indigenous denominations not well known in the 
        United States;
            (4) ensure that United States Embassy officials engage 
        local officials throughout the Russian Federation, especially 
        when violations of freedom of religion occur, and undertake 
        outreach activities to educate local officials about the rights 
        of unregistered religious communities;
            (5) urge both the Personal Representative of the OSCE 
        Chair-in-Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and 
        Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination 
        against Christians and Members of Other Religions, and the 
        United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or 
        Belief to visit the Russian Federation and raise with federal 
        and local officials concerns about the free practice of 
        unregistered religious communities; and
            (6) urge the Council of Europe and its member countries to 
        raise with Russian Federation officials issues relating to 
        freedom of religion, especially in light of the Russian 
        Federation's responsibilities as President of the Council in 
        2006.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 15, 2006.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.