[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 101 (Friday, July 22, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8753-S8754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 46--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE CONGRESS 
 THAT THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION SHOULD FULLY PROTECT THE FREEDOMS OF ALL 
   RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES WITHOUT DISTINCTION, WHETHER REGISTERED AND 
      UNREGISTERED, AS STIPULATED BY THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION AND 
                        INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

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

                            S. Con. Res. 46

       Whereas the Russian Federation is a participating State of 
     the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 
     (OSCE) and has freely committed to fully respect the rights 
     of individuals, whether alone or in community with others, to 
     profess and practice religion or belief;
       Whereas the Russian Federation specifically committed in 
     the 1989 Vienna Concluding Document to ``take effective 
     measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination against 
     individuals or communities on the grounds of religion or 
     belief'' and to ``grant upon their request to communities of 
     believers, practicing or prepared to practice their faith 
     within the constitutional framework of their States, 
     recognition of the status provided for them in the respective 
     countries'';
       Whereas Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian 
     Federation declares that ``everyone shall be guaranteed the 
     right to freedom of conscience, to freedom of religious 
     worship, including the right to profess, individually or 
     jointly with others, any religion'' and Article 8 of the 1997 
     Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations 
     provides for registration for religious communities as 
     ``religious organizations,'' if they have at least 10 members 
     and have operated within the Russian Federation with legal 
     status for at least 15 years;
       Whereas registration is critical for religious groups to 
     fully enjoy their religious freedoms, as many rights and 
     privileges afforded to religious communities in the Russian 
     Federation are contingent on obtaining registration;
       Whereas many religious groups refuse to seek registration 
     on theological or other grounds, while other communities have 
     been unjustly denied registration or had their registration 
     improperly terminated by local authorities;
       Whereas many of the unregistered communities in the Russian 
     Federation today were never registered under the Soviet 
     system because they refused to collaborate with that

[[Page S8754]]

     government's anti-religious policies and they are now 
     experiencing renewed discrimination and repression from the 
     authorities;
       Whereas over the past 2 years there have been an estimated 
     10 arson attacks on unregistered Protestant churches, with 
     little or no effective response by law enforcement officials 
     to bring the perpetrators to justice;
       Whereas in some areas of the Russian Federation law 
     enforcement personnel have carried out violent actions 
     against believers from unregistered communities peacefully 
     practicing their faith; and
       Whereas the United States has sought to protect the 
     fundamental and inalienable human right to seek, know, and 
     serve God according to the dictates of one's own conscience, 
     in accordance with the international agreements committing 
     nations to respect individual freedom of thought, conscience, 
     and belief: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the 
     United States Government should--
       (1) urge the Government of the Russian Federation to ensure 
     full protection of freedoms for all religious communities 
     without distinction, whether registered and unregistered, and 
     end the harassment of unregistered religious groups by the 
     security apparatus and other government agencies;
       (2) urge the Government of the Russian Federation to ensure 
     that law enforcement officials vigorously investigate acts of 
     violence against unregistered religious communities, as well 
     as make certain that authorities are not complicit in such 
     attacks;
       (3) continue to raise concerns with the Government of the 
     Russian Federation over violations of religious freedom, 
     including those against unregistered religious communities, 
     especially indigenous denominations not well known in the 
     United States;
       (4) ensure that United States Embassy officials engage 
     local officials throughout the Russian Federation, especially 
     when violations of freedom of religion occur, and undertake 
     outreach activities to educate local officials about the 
     rights of unregistered religious communities;
       (5) urge both the Personal Representative of the OSCE 
     Chair-in-Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and 
     Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and 
     Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other 
     Religions, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on 
     Freedom of Religion or Belief to visit the Russian Federation 
     and raise with federal and local officials concerns about the 
     free practice of unregistered religious communities; and
       (6) urge the Council of Europe and its member countries to 
     raise with Russian Federation officials issues relating to 
     freedom of religion, especially in light of the Russian 
     Federation's responsibilities as President of the Council in 
     2006.

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