[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 164 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 164

   Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives to the 
 people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan upon the assassination of 
Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minorities, who courageously advocated for 
 religious freedom and tolerance in Pakistan and calling on the United 
 States to renew its efforts with international partners in the Human 
   Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly to promote 
religious freedom and tolerance in accordance with international human 
                           rights standards.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2011

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. 
 Capuano, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas, Mr. 
 Daniel E. Lungren of California, Ms. Speier, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Schmidt, 
  Mr. Rohrabacher, and Mr. Sires) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives to the 
 people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan upon the assassination of 
Shahbaz Bhatti, Minister for Minorities, who courageously advocated for 
 religious freedom and tolerance in Pakistan and calling on the United 
 States to renew its efforts with international partners in the Human 
   Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly to promote 
religious freedom and tolerance in accordance with international human 
                           rights standards.

Whereas Shahbaz Bhatti, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan's Minister of 
        Minorities, and an unapologetic champion of the right of religious 
        freedom and other human rights of all Pakistanis, was shot to death in 
        his vehicle on March 2, 2011, by a group claiming to oppose Bhatti's 
        efforts to reform Pakistan's blasphemy laws;
Whereas Governor Salman Taseer, who courageously sought to release Aasia Bibi, a 
        Christian woman and mother of 5 who was unjustly sentenced to death 
        under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, was gunned down in broad daylight by 
        his own security guard on January 4, 2011, allegedly because the 
        Governor supported reforms to the blasphemy laws;
Whereas Pakistan is a multireligious society comprised of Muslims, Christians, 
        Hindus, Parsis (Zoroastrians), Sikhs, Buddhists, Baha'is, and others;
Whereas Islam is the state religion and Pakistan's Constitution states that 
        ``subject to law, public order and morality, every citizen shall have 
        the right to profess, practice, and propagate his religion'' and that 
        there shall be no discrimination in rights based on religion in the 
        provision of government services, property rights, education, and public 
        access;
Whereas Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, envisioned a 
        nation of religious plurality and equality;
Whereas support for religious freedom and related human rights in Pakistan will 
        help ensure the future of Pakistan as a free, strong, and vibrant 
        society and that enduring stability in Pakistan will come from an active 
        civil society in which religious freedom flourishes;
Whereas Minister Bhatti spearheaded the ``Joint Declaration of National 
        Interfaith Consultation'', that was issued on July 12, 2010, in 
        Islamabad, which was signed by prominent imams and minority religious 
        leaders and which stated that ``Pakistan is a homeland of peaceful 
        people with diversified colours, races and religions which is being 
        targeted by the conspirators to harbor hate amongst various sects and 
        religions to propagate extremism and terrorism'' and ``reiterated that 
        the followers of all faiths and sects will support the cause of national 
        integration and interfaith harmony in the country'';
Whereas interfaith dialogue and respect for diversity reflects the 
        multireligious nature of Pakistan and the vision of Pakistan's founder;
Whereas the government of President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousef 
        Raza Gilani appointed the first cabinet-level official on religious 
        minorities, Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, on November 3, 2008, 
        and reappointed him on February 11, 2010, the only Christian in the 
        cabinet, to protect the rights of minorities as envisioned under 
        Pakistan's Constitution of 1973;
Whereas the Government of Pakistan allocated a quota of 5 percent of all federal 
        jobs for members of minority religious groups through a law passed and 
        implemented on May 26, 2009;
Whereas, in 2008, the Government of Pakistan for the first time recognized the 
        holidays of minority religious groups in addition to Muslim holidays;
Whereas, on August 11, 2009, President Zardari declared August 11 as 
        ``Minorities Day'' to celebrate and recognize the role that Pakistan's 
        minorities played in the country's independence and development;
Whereas the parliament unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the August 1, 
        2009, attacks against Christians in Gojra, Punjab, and affirming that 
        their rights should be protected in accordance with the vision of the 
        founder of Pakistan;
Whereas the parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning the May 28, 
        2010, Lahore attacks on the Ahmadi mosques, and calling for a thorough 
        government investigation and swift and just prosecution of the 
        perpetrators of the attacks;
Whereas Prime Minister Gilani announced 3 days of mourning after the 
        assassination of Minister Bhatti and declared at the funeral that the 
        government would do its ``utmost'' to bring the murderers to justice;
Whereas Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of 
        the Islamic Conference, has condemned the assassination of Minister 
        Bhatti and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice;
Whereas extremist groups have used the blasphemy laws to trigger sectarian 
        violence, intimidate members of religious minorities and others with 
        whom they disagree, and exploit these laws for their own political ends;
Whereas the blasphemy laws have been wielded falsely against Muslims and non-
        Muslims alike for the settling of personal disputes, and the law is used 
        against Muslims more than any other religious group;
Whereas vigilantes have murdered individuals accused of blasphemy before, 
        during, or after trials, even when the accused have been acquitted, such 
        as the July 19, 2010, assassination in Faisalabad of Christian Pastor 
        Rashid Emmanuel and his brother Sajjad as a police officer escorted them 
        from a court hearing on the blasphemy charges against them;
Whereas there is a correlation between the lack of religious freedom protections 
        for all, the persecution of religious minorities, and the rise of 
        violent religious extremism, which threatens Pakistan's national 
        security as well as the security interests of the United States and its 
        international partners;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council have 
        continued to adopt resolutions on ``defamation of religion'' or 
        ``vilification of religion'' that fail to address the abuses associated 
        with blasphemy laws and elevate the ``rights'' of a religion over an 
        individual's right to freedom of religion and freedom of speech as 
        recognized by international human rights standards;
Whereas incidents of religious intolerance, discrimination, and related 
        violence, as well as of negative stereotyping of the individual based on 
        religion or belief, plague many countries and effective measures should 
        be taken consistent with their obligations under international human 
        rights law to address and combat such incidents;
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 Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
        Rights protect freedom of religion and expression enshrined in the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas Minister Bhatti gave his life to uphold the universal values of freedom 
        of religion and expression for the sake of vulnerable minorities;
Whereas it is the foreign policy of the United States to promote internationally 
        the right of everyone to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, 
        as well as freedom of speech in accordance with international human 
        rights standards; and
Whereas these values are advanced through interfaith dialogue, punishment of 
        violence and discrimination against religious individuals, and by 
        governments and other leaders, including the media, choosing to set an 
        example of civil and responsible discourse: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the United States should--
            (1) include a special working group on interfaith harmony 
        and religious tolerance in United States-Pakistan strategic 
        dialogues to discuss ways to continue the vision of Shahbaz 
        Bhatti in both countries;
            (2) urge the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 
        to reform the blasphemy law, so as to ensure it is no longer 
        abused to limit the rights of Pakistanis, whether Muslims or 
        religious minorities;
            (3) assist efforts to protect the religious freedom of all 
        Pakistanis through prioritizing the prevention of religiously 
        motivated and sectarian violence, enhancing training for local 
        law enforcement including emergency response and scene 
        investigation, prompt and thorough investigation of any 
        incidents of violence, and training of judges on international 
        human rights obligations;
            (4) work with its partners in the United Nations to support 
        resolutions promoting religious freedom and tolerance, 
        including the prevention of negative stereotyping of 
        individuals based on religion or belief;
            (5) engage with its international partners to ensure 
        promotion of interreligious dialogue and protection and 
        promotion of religious freedom and related human rights for all 
        people by--
                    (A) supporting civil society institutions that work 
                to uphold and guarantee religious freedom and related 
                human rights;
                    (B) promoting interreligious dialogue designed to 
                strengthen civil society and advance religious freedom;
                    (C) using all available tools of public diplomacy 
                to spread positive messages about religious freedom and 
                tolerance;
                    (D) encouraging efforts to strengthen institutions 
                crucial to rule of law and good governance, 
                particularly the judiciary and police; and
                    (E) recognizing the importance of programs such as 
                the Fulbright Program, the International Visitor 
                Program, and other exchanges for professionals, 
                students, and religious and civil society leaders from 
                diverse communities, including programs that emphasize 
                tolerance for minority groups; and
            (6) call on the Government of Pakistan and all other 
        governments to continue the same tradition of leadership and 
        courage as was shown by Minister Bhatti in the fight against 
        violent religious extremism in every form.
                                 <all>