[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 14 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 14

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 17, 2005

   Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Burns, Mr. Bayh, Mr. 
     Chambliss, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               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 principles;
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 
        President Boris Yeltsin of Russia 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 his commitment to democratization and economic 
        liberalization, despite the fact that the Russian economy remained weak 
        and the commitment of the Russian Government to democratic principles 
        was uncertain;
Whereas under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Government 
        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 Russian Government 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 Russian Government of independent media 
        enterprises has resulted in widespread government control and influence 
        over the media in Russia, 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 
        Russian Government after finding that the cases presented by the 
        Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation have been inherently 
        political in nature;
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 separatists, giving moderates credence 
        over extremist elements;
Whereas the Government of Russia 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 Government of Russia 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 opportunity for the Russian Government to host 
        the Group of 8 nations in 2006 as planned, is a privilege that is 
        premised on the Government of Russia voluntarily accepting and adhering 
        to the norms and standards of democracy, including governmental 
        accountability, transparency, and the rule of law: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 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 democratic governance and rule of law 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 opportunity for the 
        Russian Government to host the Group of 8 nations summit in 
        2006 as planned, should be conditioned on the Russian 
        Government accepting and adhering to the norms and standards of 
        free, democratic societies as generally practiced by every 
        other member nation 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 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 nations, 
        determines and reports to Congress that the Russian Government 
        is committed to respecting and upholding the democratic 
        principles described in paragraph (2).
                                 <all>