[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 77 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 198--CONDEMNING BRUNEI'S DRAMATIC HUMAN RIGHTS 
                              BACKSLIDING

  Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Rubio, and Mr. 
Van Hollen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 198

       Whereas Brunei has been led since 1967 by one of the 
     world's longest-reigning absolute monarchs, Sultan Haji 
     Hassanal Bolkiah;
       Whereas Brunei gained independence in 1984;
       Whereas emergency powers in place in Brunei since 1962 
     allow the sultan to govern with few limitations to his 
     authority;
       Whereas, according to the United States Department of State 
     Brunei 2018 Human Rights Report, human rights issues included 
     censorship, interferences with the rights of peaceful 
     assembly and freedom of association, crimes involving 
     violence or threats targeting homosexuality, and exploitation 
     of foreign workers, including through forced labor;
       Whereas Brunei's media are neither free nor diverse, with 
     broadcasting dominated by the state and private media owned 
     or controlled by the royal family;
       Whereas homosexuality has been illegal in Brunei, carrying 
     a punishment of up to ten years in prison;
       Whereas in 2013, the Government of Brunei announced it was 
     imposing new laws that included harsher punishments of death 
     by stoning for adultery and homosexual relations;
       Whereas international condemnation resulted in a delay in 
     carrying out the provisions;
       Whereas, in March 2019, the Government of Brunei announced 
     it was going forward with the penal code to take effect April 
     3, 2019;
       Whereas the law includes, among other things, death by 
     stoning for male same-sex relations, adultery, and blasphemy, 
     amputation of limbs for theft, caning for female same-sex 
     relations, and criminalization of exposure of children to the 
     beliefs and practices of differing religions;
       Whereas, on April 2, 2019, the Department of State said 
     Brunei's new laws and associated penalties run ``counter to 
     its international human rights obligations including with 
     respect to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading 
     treatment or punishment'';
       Whereas, on April 18, 2019, the European Parliament adopted 
     a resolution strongly condemning Brunei for introducing 
     ``retrograde'' laws, calling for their immediate repeal, 
     urging that Brunei uphold its international obligations under 
     ``international human rights instruments, including with 
     regard to sexual minorities, religious minorities and non-
     believers,'' and suggesting visa bans and asset freezes 
     should the laws not be repealed;
       Whereas the United Nations and international human rights 
     organizations have denounced the laws, arguing they amount to 
     torture and a violation of human rights;
       Whereas United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 
     Michelle Bachelet urged Brunei to repeal the laws, which 
     include punishments she called ``cruel, inhuman, and 
     degrading'' and a ``serious setback for human rights 
     protections.'';
       Whereas Human Rights Watch stated, ``Brunei's new penal 
     code is barbaric to the core, imposing archaic punishments 
     for acts that shouldn't even be crimes. . .Sultan Hassanal 
     should immediately suspend amputations, stoning, and all 
     other rights-abusing provisions and punishments.'';
       Whereas Amnesty International stated, ``Brunei's Penal Code 
     is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of 
     provisions that violate human rights. . .As well as imposing 
     cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly 
     restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion and 
     belief, and codifies discrimination against women and 
     girls.''; and
       Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
     Rights has also noted that the implementation of these 
     discriminatory laws will drive people underground and out of 
     reach of life-saving HIV treatment and prevention services, 
     increases stigma, and gives license to discrimination, 
     violence, and harassment: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the Government of Brunei's further 
     criminalization and barbaric punishments regarding sexual 
     orientation, adultery, and relations between persons of the 
     same sex;
       (2) calls on the Government of Brunei to expeditiously 
     repeal such measures; and
       (3) supports the withdrawal and denial of United States 
     visas for any Brunei official responsible for passage or 
     implementation of such laws until they are repealed.

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