[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1524-E1525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT ON U.S. POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF RELIGIOUS 
                                FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 1997

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, our Assistant Secretary 
of State for Human Rights, John Shattuck, appeared before a meeting of 
the Congressional Human Rights Caucus to present to the Members of 
Congress the State Department Report ``United States Policies in 
Support of Religious Freedom: Focus on Christians.'' This report is an 
indepth summary of the particular measures taken by the administration 
to address the issue of Christian persecution as an element of U.S. 
Government policy to fight against religious persecution and 
discrimination around the world.
  This report, Mr. Speaker, was prepared by the Department of State in 
response to a request by the Congress in the statement that accompanied 
the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for fiscal year 1997. That 
request is principally the effort of our colleague from Virginia, 
Congressman Frank Wolf, who is one of the most active of our Members in 
leading the fight against religious persecution around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the administration for its efforts in dealing 
with the problem of religious persecution. The State Department's 
annual ``Country Reports on Human Rights Practices'' provides indepth 
information about religious freedom issues, and in the most recent 
editions of this important human rights document, Secretary Shattuck 
singled out religious persecution as an area of special attention and 
concern. Last year, then-Secretary of State Warren Christopher 
established the Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad, with a 
membership of some 20 prominent Americans representing a wide range of 
religious groups and nongovernmental organizations. This group has had 
an auspicious beginning to its work, and I look forward to its 
recommendations and activities in support of religious liberty around 
the world. I applaud Secretary Shattuck and our Secretary of State, 
Madeleine Albright, for their commitment to human rights and to dealing 
with religious liberty.
  Mr. Speaker, Secretary Albright was particularly eloquent in her 
foreword to the report in expressing the commitment and the reasons for 
the commitment of the United States to the principles of religious 
freedom. I would like to quote for the benefit of my colleagues her 
statement in the introduction of the report:


       Religious liberty, the freedom to proclaim a religious 
     identity and practice it without fear, is an aspiration and 
     an inalienable right of people everywhere. When practiced 
     with tolerance, it can be one of the keys to a stable, 
     productive society. But generations of hatred may be sown 
     when it is delayed or denied. It is central to the strength 
     of free peoples. Its protection and promotion are important 
     elements of America's support for human rights around the 
     globe.
       First, because the right to profess and practice one's 
     religion is basic to the life of every human being and is 
     recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
       Second, people who are free to profess their beliefs 
     without fear and to live by them without impediment will do 
     more to enrich their societies than people held back by 
     prejudice. Where the rights of persons of any faith are not 
     secure, no one's rights are secure. And violent persecution 
     that begins with one group all too often engulfs whole 
     nations in conflict.
       And third, freedom of religion is central to American 
     history and identity. Because our country has chosen ever 
     since its creation to stand for universal principles of 
     tolerance and liberty, free people around the world have 
     chosen to stand with us.
       That is why our commitment to religious liberty is even 
     more than the expression of American ideals: it is a 
     fundamental source of our strength in the world. We simply 
     could not lead without it. We would be naive to think we 
     could advance our interests without it.


  Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly endorse this statement by our 
distinguished Secretary of State. Freedom of religion is a fundamental 
principle of human rights, a fundamental aspect of our foreign policy, 
and I welcome the support of the administration for this fundamental 
right.
  Mr. Speaker, Secretary John Shattuck made an outstanding presentation 
regarding the administration's report to the members of the Human 
Rights Caucus yesterday. Secretary Shattuck, as always, was well 
prepared, articulate, and concise. The report deals primarily with the 
restrictions and persecution against Christians, although as I and my 
colleagues in the Congressional Human Rights Caucus have repeatedly 
emphasized, human rights are indivisible. A government that abuses 
ethnic minorities is also likely to restrict religious freedom, and a 
government that

[[Page E1525]]

abuses its Jewish or its Muslim or its Baha's believers is also a 
government that is likely to persecute members or portions of its 
Christian community as well. The death, imprisonment, and persecution 
of Christians for their religious beliefs affects some 150 million 
people around the world. The violation of the rights of Christian 
believers include discrimination in employment, political harassment, 
restrictions on the exercise of political rights, the imposition of 
harsh prison sentences, torture and inhumane conditions in prison, and 
in some cases the enslavement of women and children.

  Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues 
some of the countries which are serious violators and which were 
identified in the State Department report. China is one of the 
principal violators of freedom of religion, despite its own 
constitutional promises of freedom of belief. The report notes: ``The 
government of China has sought to restrict all actual religious 
practice to government-authorized religious organizations and 
registered places if worship.'' In a classic catch-22 situation, Roman 
Catholic church organizations which recognize the authority of the Pope 
will not be registered because they recognize and owe spiritual 
allegiance to an authority out of China. Any Vatican-affiliated 
Catholics are considered unregistered.
  The Government in Beijing has cracked down on unregistered Roman 
Catholic and Protestant groups, and it has raided and closed down 
groups that simply gather to worship in each other's homes. Religious 
leaders of these groups have been detained and been subjected to 
lengthy interrogation and in some cases beating and physical abuse.
  A number of other countries were identified in the report because of 
official policies limiting or prohibiting freedom of religious 
expression. In Sudan religious persecution of Christians has reached 
incredible levels, including torture, outrageously long prison 
sentences, and enslavement of women and children. Similar problems 
exist in a number of Islamic countries. Saudi Arabia prohibits public 
and private religious observances by members of all non-Muslim 
religions. Countries which recognize Islamic Shari's Court rulings also 
have a serious record of violations of religious freedom. A Lebanese 
Christian, Elie Dib Ghalib, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates 
some 18 months ago in connection with his marriage to a Muslim woman. A 
Shari's Court ruled that the marriage was null and void, their 
relationship was determined to be immoral, and he was sentenced to 39 
lashes and a year of imprisonment.
  Mr. Speaker, even some of our closest allies have legislation and 
government practices which are surprisingly restrictive of religious 
freedom. Greece, a country widely acclaimed as ``the birthplace of 
democracy,'' has a religious registration law that is surprisingly 
restrictive for all non-Orthodox religious communities. Similar serious 
problems exist in Russia and other republics of the former Soviet 
Union, where post-Communist governments are dealing with demands of 
existing religious organizations to limit other, primarily Christian 
groups, from establishing a presence in these newly independent 
countries.
  In this context, Mr. Speaker, I was most encouraged by the decision, 
announced the day of our briefing with Secretary Shattuck, by Russian 
President, Boris Yeltsin to veto the highly restrictive law on 
religions that was passed by the Russian Duma and Federation Council a 
few weeks ago. His action took great political courage, and I welcome 
his action.
  I do want to call the attention of my colleagues to some countries 
where governments have taken action to assure religious freedom, 
despite strong pressures against such policies. In striking contrast 
with the restrictive practices of the Government of the People's 
Republic of China, the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan 
has shown tolerance for religious diversity and respect for religious 
liberty. India, a country with strong indigenous religious traditions, 
has also shown considerable understanding of the importance of assuring 
freedom of religion.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to give careful consideration to 
this important document on U.S. Policies in Support of Religious 
Freedom. The Department of State has compiled an excellent report on 
the current status of religious liberty around the world. We must 
continue to work together with the administration and intensify our 
efforts to assure that governments around the world respect the 
religious rights of their citizens. As Secretary Albright noted in 
quoting Thomas Jefferson: ``It behooves all who value liberty of 
conscience for themselves to resist invasions of it in the case of 
others; or that case may, by change of circumstances, become their 
own.''

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