[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 306 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 306

 Urging the Republic of Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage and 
                to return confiscated church properties.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2011

 Mr. Royce (for himself, Mr. Berman, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Schiff, Mr. 
       Costa, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Pallone, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Frank of 
Massachusetts, Mr. Baca, Mr. Cicilline, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Sarbanes, 
Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Nunes, Ms. Chu, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Engel, 
 Mr. Sherman, Mr. Braley of Iowa, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, 
   Mr. Bilirakis, Ms. Speier, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Daniel E. Lungren of 
 California, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Denham, Mr. 
 Cardoza, and Mr. Dold) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Urging the Republic of Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage and 
                to return confiscated church properties.

Whereas the United States has an interest in protecting and preserving the 
        rights of national, religious, and ethnic groups worldwide;
Whereas the United States remains concerned about the welfare of Christian 
        communities within the Republic of Turkey, their right to worship and 
        practice their faiths freely, and the legal status and condition of 
        churches and other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, 
        monuments, relics, holy sites, and other religious properties in the 
        Republic of Turkey;
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) affirms that 
        ``(e)veryone 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 the Republic of Turkey is a signatory to the UDHR and therefore is 
        obligated to accord to all its citizens, including religious minorities, 
        ``freedom of thought, conscience, and religion'', as defined by the 
        UDHR;
Whereas the Ottoman Empire's oppression and intentional destruction of much of 
        its ancient Christian populations, including over 2,000,000 Armenians, 
        Greeks, Assyrians, Pontians, and Syriacs, has left only a small fraction 
        of these populations to care for their vast religious heritage within 
        modern Turkey;
Whereas the non-Muslim population in the contemporary Republic of Turkey is less 
        than one percent of the total population, rendering these religious 
        communities especially vulnerable;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey has been responsible for the destruction and 
        theft of much of the Christian heritage within its borders;
Whereas the Republic of Turkey, through official and unofficial acts of 
        discrimination, intolerance, and intimidation, has hindered the 
        remaining Christians on its territory from freely practicing their 
        ancient faiths;
Whereas in its 2011 Annual Report, the United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom placed Turkey on its ``Watch List'' for the third 
        straight year, and concluded that ``The Turkish government continues to 
        impose serious limitations on freedom of religion or belief, thereby 
        threatening the continued vitality and survival of minority religious 
        communities in Turkey.''; and
Whereas Turkish reforms carried out over the past decade to ameliorate the 
        situation of religious minorities have been sorely inadequate: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives urges the Government of 
Turkey to honor its obligations under international treaties and human 
rights law to--
            (1) end all forms of religious discrimination;
            (2) allow the rightful church and lay owners of Christian 
        church properties, without hindrance or restriction, to 
        organize and administer prayer services, religious education, 
        clerical training, appointments, and succession, religious 
        community gatherings, social services, including ministry to 
        the needs of the poor and infirm, and other religious 
        activities;
            (3) return to their rightful owners all Christian churches 
        and other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, 
        monuments, relics, holy sites, and other religious properties, 
        including movable properties, such as artwork, manuscripts, 
        vestments, vessels, and other artifacts; and
            (4) allow the rightful Christian church and lay owners of 
        Christian church properties, without hindrance or restriction, 
        to preserve, reconstruct, and repair, as they see fit, all 
        Christian churches and other places of worship, monasteries, 
        schools, hospitals, monuments, relics, holy sites, and other 
        religious properties within Turkey.
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