[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 763 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 763

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
Nations resolutions on the ``defamation of religions'' are incompatible 
  with the fundamental freedoms of individuals to freely exercise and 
              peacefully express their religious beliefs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 22, 2009

Mr. Poe of Texas (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Franks of Arizona, 
and Mr. Inglis) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                  to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
Nations resolutions on the ``defamation of religions'' are incompatible 
  with the fundamental freedoms of individuals to freely exercise and 
              peacefully express their religious beliefs.

Whereas since 1999, the United Nations has annually passed a resolution on the 
        ``defamation of religions'' in the Human Rights Council (previously the 
        Commission on Human Rights) and in the General Assembly;
Whereas unlike traditional defamation laws, which punish false statements of 
        fact that harm individual persons, measures prohibiting the ``defamation 
        of religions'' punish the peaceful criticism of ideas;
Whereas United Nations resolutions on the ``defamation of religions'' contradict 
        United States Constitutional protections of free speech and the free 
        exercise of religion;
Whereas the concept of ``defamation of religions'' is fundamentally inconsistent 
        with the principles outlined in the United Nations' founding documents, 
        including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms the 
        protection of persons, rather than ideas;
Whereas Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that 
        ``Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; 
        this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and 
        freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or 
        private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, 
        worship and observance'';
Whereas Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that 
        ``Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this 
        right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to 
        seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and 
        regardless of frontiers'';
Whereas the sponsor of these United Nations resolutions, the Organization of the 
        Islamic Conference, has indicated that it is seeking to create a legally 
        binding mechanism to combat the ``defamation of religions'';
Whereas such resolutions provide international support for domestic anti-
        blasphemy laws in some countries;
Whereas domestic anti-blasphemy laws are often used by governments to punish the 
        peaceful expression of disfavored religious beliefs and ideas;
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has confirmed that 
        there is no international consensus on the concept of ``defamation of 
        religions'', and multiple United Nations Special Rapporteurs have 
        acknowledged that the difficulties in providing an objective definition 
        of the term ``defamation of religions'' at the international level make 
        the whole concept open to abuse;
Whereas the United States Constitution does not guarantee, and the Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights does not recognize, the right to have one's 
        beliefs protected from challenge or criticism, or the right not to be 
        offended;
Whereas existing legal instruments already address discrimination, personal 
        defamation, and incitement to violence in ways that are more carefully 
        focused to address those specific problems without unduly threatening 
        the rights of speech and religious free exercise; and
Whereas legal efforts alone cannot foster an environment of respect and 
        religious freedom, and education and public diplomacy are vital tools in 
        the protection of a peaceful and robust exchange of ideas and beliefs: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) underscores the value of respectful speech and civil 
        dialogue, at the same time that it affirms that the freedoms of 
        speech and religious free exercise are integral to the health 
        of free societies and the dignity of the human person;
            (2) strongly urges the Secretary of State to make every 
        effort to defeat the passage of future resolutions on the 
        ``defamation of religions'' at the United Nations, and other 
        resolutions or international instruments that would threaten 
        the free and peaceful exchange of ideas, beliefs, and truth 
        claims;
            (3) calls on the United Nations to abandon all efforts to 
        adopt or affirm the flawed concept of ``defamation of 
        religions''; and
            (4) urges fellow Member States of the United Nations to 
        focus on protecting the fundamental freedom of individuals to 
        peacefully express their religious beliefs, and to avoid 
        supporting resolutions that threaten the freedom of expression.
                                 <all>