III 109th CONGRESS 1st Session S. CON. RES. 46 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 22, 2005 Mr. Brownback (for himself and Mr. Smith) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 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 that 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 10 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

That it is the sense of the Congress that the United States Government should— (1)urge the Government of 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 Government of 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.