[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 149 (Thursday, October 30, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11465-S11466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 58--EXPRESSING THE CONCERN OF CONGRESS

  Mr. GRAMS (for himself and Mr. Smith of Oregon) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 58

       Whereas the Russian legislature approved a bill ``On 
     Freedom of Conscience and Religious Association'', and 
     Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed it into law on 
     September 26;
       Whereas under the new law, the Russian government exercises 
     almost unrestricted control over the activities of both 
     Russian and international religious groups;
       Whereas the new law will grant privileged status to some 
     religions while discriminating against others through 
     restrictive reporting and registration requirements;
       Whereas the new law jeopardizes religious rights by 
     permitting government officials, in consultation with 
     privileged religious groups, to deny or revoke the 
     registration of minority religions and order their possible 
     disbandment or prohibition, on the basis of such activities 
     as home schooling, nonmedical forms of healing, ``hypnotic'' 
     sermons, and other vaguely defined offenses;
       Whereas the law also restricts foreign missionary work in 
     Russia;
       Whereas under the new law, religious organizations or 
     churches that wish to continue their activities in Russia 
     will have to provide confirmation that they have existed at 
     least 15 years, and only those who legally operated 50 years 
     ago may be recognized as national ``Russian'' religious 
     organizations;
       Whereas although Article 14 of the Russian Constitution 
     stipulates that ``religious associations are separate from 
     the state and are equal before the law'', Article 19 states 
     that restriction of citizens' rights on grounds of religious 
     affiliation are prohibited, and Article 28 stipulates that 
     ``each person is guaranteed freedom of conscience and freedom 
     * * * to choose, hold, and disseminate religious and other 
     convictions and to act in accordance with them'', the new law 
     clearly violates these provisions of the Russian 
     Constitution;
       Whereas the Russian religion law violates accepted 
     international agreements on human rights and religious 
     freedoms to which the Russian Federation is a signatory, 
     including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 
     Helsinki Final Act and Madrid and Vienna Concluding 
     Documents, and the European Convention on Human Rights;
       Whereas governments have a primary responsibility to 
     promote, encourage, and protect respect for the fundamental 
     and internationally recognized right to freedom of religion; 
     and
       Whereas the United States Government is committed to the 
     right to freedom of religion and its policies, and should 
     encourage

[[Page S11466]]

     foreign governments to commit to this principle: Now, 
     therefore, be it--
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress hereby--
       (1) condemns the newly passed Russian antireligion law 
     restricting freedom of religion, and violating international 
     norms, international treaties to which the Russian Federation 
     is a signatory, and the Constitution of Russia;
       (2) recommends that President Clinton make the United 
     States position clear to President Yeltsin and the Russian 
     legislature that this antireligion law may seriously harm 
     United States-Russian relations;
       (3) calls upon President Yeltsin and the Russian 
     legislature to uphold their international commitments on 
     human rights, abide by the Russian Constitution's guarantee 
     of freedom of religion, and reconsider their position by 
     amending the new antireligion law and lifting all 
     restrictions on freedom of religion; and
       (4) calls upon all governments and legislatures of the 
     independent states of the former Soviet Union to respect 
     religious human rights in accordance with their international 
     commitments and resist efforts to adopt the Russian 
     discriminatory law.

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