[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 170 (Friday, November 21, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15477-S15478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 85--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
THE CONTINUED PARTICIPATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE GROUP OF 8 
  NATIONS SHOULD BE CONDITIONED ON THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT VOLUNTARILY 
     ACCEPTING AND ADHERING TO THE NORMS AND STANDARDS OF DEMOCRACY

  Mr. McCAIN (for himself and Mr. Lieberman) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 85

       Whereas the countries that comprise the Group of 7 nations 
     are pluralistic societies with democratic political 
     institutions and practices, committed to the observance of 
     universally recognized standards of human rights, respect for 
     individual liberties, and democratic principles;
       Whereas in 1991 and subsequent years, the leaders of the 
     Group of 7 nations, heads of the governments of the major 
     free market economies of the world who meet annually in a 
     summit meeting, invited then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin 
     to a post-summit dialogue;
         Whereas in 1998, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations 
     formally invited President Boris Yeltsin of Russia to 
     participate in an annual gathering that subsequently was 
     known as the Group of 8 nations, although the Group of 7 
     nations have continued to hold informal summit meetings and 
     ministerial meetings that do not include the Russian 
     Federation;
         Whereas the invitation to President Yeltsin to 
     participate in the annual summits was in recognition of his 
     commitment to democratization and economic liberalization, 
     despite the fact that the Russian economy remained weak and 
     the commitment of the Russian Government to democratic 
     principles was uncertain;
         Whereas under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, 
     the Russian Government has attempted to control the 
     activities of independent media enterprises, nongovernmental 
     organizations, religious organizations, and other pluralistic 
     elements of Russian society in an attempt to mute criticism 
     of the government;
         Whereas the suppression by the Russian Government of 
     independent media enterprises has resulted in widespread 
     government control and influence over the media in Russia, 
     stifling freedom of expression and individual liberties that 
     are essential to any functioning democracy;
         Whereas the arrest and prosecution of prominent Russian 
     business leaders who had supported the political opposition 
     to President Putin are examples of selective application of 
     the rule of law for political purposes;
         Whereas the courts of Great Britain, Spain, and Greece 
     have consistently ruled against extradition warrants issued 
     by the Russian Government after finding that the cases 
     presented by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation 
     have been inherently political in nature;
         Whereas Russian military forces continue to commit brutal 
     atrocities against the civilian population in Chechnya;
         Whereas the rise to influence within the Russian 
     Government of unelected security officials from the KGB of 
     the former Soviet Union is increasingly undermining the 
     commitment of the Russian Government to democratic 
     principles, accountability, and transparency;
         Whereas a wide range of observers at think tanks and 
     nongovernmental organizations have expressed deep concern 
     that the Russian Federation is moving away from the political 
     and legal underpinnings of a market economy; and
         Whereas the continued participation of the Russian 
     Federation in the Group of 8 nations, including the 
     opportunity for the Russian Government to host the Group of 8 
     nations in 2006 as planned, is a privilege that is premised 
     on the Russian Government voluntarily accepting and adhering 
     to the norms and standards of democracy: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the selective prosecution of political opponents and 
     the suppression of free media by the Russian Federation, and 
     the continued commission of widespread atrocities in the 
     conduct of the brutal war in Chechnya, do not reflect the 
     minimum standards of democratic governance and rule of law 
     that characterize every other member state in the Group of 8 
     nations;
       (2) the continued participation of the Russian Federation 
     in the Group of 8 nations, including the opportunity for the 
     Russian Government to host the Group of 8 nations summit in 
     2006 as planned, should be conditioned on the Russian 
     Government accepting and adhering to the norms and standards 
     of free, democratic societies as generally practiced by every 
     other member nation of the Group of 8 nations, including--
       (A) the rule of law, including protection from selective 
     prosecution and protection from arbitrary state-directed 
     violence;
       (B) a court system free of political influence and 
     manipulation;
       (C) a free and independent media;
       (D) a political system open to participation by all 
     citizens and which protects freedom of expression and 
     association; and
       (E) the protection of universally recognized human rights; 
     and
       (3) the President of the United States and the Secretary of 
     State should work with the other members of the Group of 7 
     nations to take all necessary steps to suspend the 
     participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of 8 
     nations until the President, after consultation with the 
     other members of the Group of 7 nations, determines and 
     reports to Congress that the Russian Government is committed 
     to respecting and upholding the

[[Page S15478]]

     democratic principles described in paragraph (2).

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