[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 216 (Saturday, December 19, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7850-S7852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CALLING FOR THE GLOBAL REPEAL OF BLASPHEMY, HERESY, AND APOSTASY LAWS
Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further
consideration, and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 458.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 458) calling for the global repeal of
blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws.
There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the
Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
Mr. GARDNER. I ask unanimous consent that the Lankford amendment to
the resolution be agreed to; that the resolution, as amended, be agreed
to; that the Lankford amendment to the preamble be agreed to; that the
preamble, as amended, be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider
be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 2719) was agreed to, as follows
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following: ``That the Senate--
(1) recognizes that blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws
inappropriately position governments as arbiters of religious
truth and empower officials to impose religious dogma on
individuals or minorities through the power of the government
or through violence sanctioned by the government;
(2) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to
encourage the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy in
bilateral discussions between the United States and all
countries that have such laws, through direct interventions
in bilateral and multilateral fora;
(3) encourages the President and the Secretary of State to
oppose--
(A) any efforts, by the United Nations or by other
international or multilateral fora, to create an
international anti-blasphemy norm, such as the ``defamation
of religions'' resolutions introduced in the United Nations
between 1999 and 2010; and
(B) any attempts to expand the international norm on
incitement to include blasphemy or defamation of religions;
(4) supports efforts by the United Nations to combat
intolerance, discrimination, or violence against persons
based on religion or belief without restricting expression,
including United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 16/
18 (2011) and the Istanbul Process meetings pursuant to such
resolution, that are consistent with the First Amendment to
the Constitution;
(5) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to
designate countries that enforce blasphemy, heresy, or
apostasy laws as ``countries of particular concern for
religious freedom'' under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C.
6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)) for engaging in or tolerating severe
violations of religious freedom, as a result of the abuses
flowing from the enforcement of such laws and from unpunished
vigilante violence often generated by blasphemy allegations;
(6) urges the governments of countries that enforce
blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy laws
[[Page S7851]]
to allow for freedom of religion and expression and amend or
repeal such laws, as they provide pretext and impunity for
vigilante violence against religious minorities; and
(7) urges the governments of countries that have
prosecuted, imprisoned, and persecuted people on charges of
blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy to release such people
unconditionally and, once released, to ensure their safety
and that of their families.
The resolution (S. Res. 458), as amended, was agreed to.
The amendment (No. 2720) to the preamble was agreed to, as follows
(Purpose: To amend the preamble)
Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights states that ``[e]veryone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom
to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone
or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance'';
Whereas many countries continue to have criminal blasphemy
laws, and many punish people who engage in expression deemed
by the government to be blasphemous, heretical, apostate,
defamatory of religion, or insulting to religion or to
religious symbols, figures, or feelings, and such punishment
can include fines, imprisonment, and capital punishment
including by beheading;
Whereas blasphemy laws have affected Christians, Muslims,
Jews, Hindus, Baha'i, secularists, and many other groups, are
inconsistent with international human rights standards
because they establish and promote official religious
orthodoxy and dogma over individual liberty, and often result
in violations of the freedoms of religion, thought, and
expression that are protected under international
instruments, including Articles 18 and 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated in
General Comment 34 that ``[p]rohibitions of displays of lack
of respect for a religion or other belief system, including
blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the [ICCPR].'';
Whereas the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has found that blasphemy charges
are often based on false accusations, are used for sectarian
or political purposes, and foster religious intolerance,
discrimination, and violence;
Whereas USCIRF has found that at least 84 countries had
blasphemy laws as of 2020;
Whereas USCIRF has identified 41 countries that have taken
enforcement action in 674 criminal blasphemy cases between
2014 and 2018;
Whereas these laws were enforced in 15 Middle East and
North African countries, 14 Asia-Pacific countries, 7
European countries, and 5 Sub-Saharan African countries
between 2014 and 2018;
Whereas Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Indonesia,
Yemen, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait account for more
than 81 percent of all reported cases of state criminal
blasphemy enforcement;
Whereas USCIRF has found that the three countries without
an official state religion that have the highest state
enforcement of blasphemy laws are Russia, India, and
Indonesia;
Whereas the Pew Research Center found that countries with
laws against blasphemy, apostasy, or defamation of religion
were more likely to have severe governmental restrictions on
religion, and to experience social hostilities based on
religion, than countries that did not have such laws;
Whereas restrictive laws beyond those penalizing blasphemy,
heresy, and apostasy further limit religious freedom, such as
extremism laws--
(1) in Russia that have been used to ban Jehovah's
Witnesses as an extremist organization and fueled persecution
of this religious group;
(2) in China, to arbitrarily detain an estimated 800,000 to
2,000,000 Uighur Muslims in internment camps because they
followed Islamic rituals and practices; and
(3) in North Korea, to detain an estimated 50,000 to 70,000
Christians in labor camps because they followed the tenets of
Christianity;
Whereas an international group of experts convened by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights recommended in 2012 that ``[s]tates that have
blasphemy laws should repeal the[m] as such laws have a
stifling impact on the enjoyment of freedom of religion or
belief and healthy dialogue and debate about religion.'';
Whereas blasphemy laws are inconsistent with United Nations
resolutions adopted by consensus since 2011 recognizing that
religious intolerance is best fought through positive
measures, such as education, outreach, and counter-speech,
and that criminalization of speech is warranted only for the
prevention of imminent violence;
Whereas, according to the annual religious freedom report
published by the Department of State in 2015, attackers in
Bangladesh killed five allegedly anti-Islamic or secularist
writers and publishers, and injured three others;
Whereas, in response to these killings, the Home Minister
of Bangladesh, rather than condemning the murders, called on
bloggers and others to refrain from writings that could hurt
the religious feelings of others and added that violators of
the warning would be subject to prosecution under the
restrictive religious freedom laws of Bangladesh;
Whereas a 2016 report by USCIRF on Bangladesh found that
religious and civil society groups fear that increasing
religious extremism will result in more criminal attacks and
threats;
Whereas restrictive religious freedom laws validate and
promote social violence targeted at religious minorities and
dissenters, whether Christian, Muslim, secularist, or other;
Whereas more than one-quarter of reported cases implicated
alleged blasphemous speech posted on social media platforms;
Whereas USCIRF has found that in Pakistan, blasphemy laws
have been used to prosecute and persecute Muslims,
Christians, secularists, and others;
Whereas, according to a Pew Center report on religion and
public life, Pakistan stands out for having one of the
highest levels of restrictions on religion when both
government restrictions and social hostilities are taken into
account;
Whereas, as of May 2020, USCIRF was aware of approximately
40 individuals on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan or
serving life sentences;
Whereas Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy in
2010 and was held on death row for 8 years, until the Supreme
Court of Pakistan overturned her conviction in 2018, upheld
her acquittal, and granted her permission to leave the
country to flee the threats against her in 2019;
Whereas Pakistan selectively enforces the blasphemy and
anti-terrorism laws against minority religious groups,
including by specifically targeting Ahmadiyya Muslims such as
Abdul Shakoor, an 82-year old optician and bookseller who was
recently released after serving over three years in prison on
such charges;
Whereas, on July 29, 2020, Tahir Ahmad Naseem, a United
States citizen, was shot and killed in a courtroom while on
trial for blasphemy;
Whereas, in 2017, the Christian Governor of Jakarta,
Indonesia, was convicted for blasphemy of Islam and sentenced
to two years in jail;
Whereas several countries that previously maintained
blasphemy laws have recently removed these provisions,
including Iceland, Norway, Malta, Denmark, Ireland, Canada,
New Zealand, Greece, and Scotland;
Whereas blasphemy laws in the United States were
invalidated by the adoption of the First Amendment to the
Constitution, which protects the freedoms of thought,
conscience, expression, and religious exercise; and
Whereas the United States has become a beacon of religious
freedom and tolerance around the world: Now, therefore, be it
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, as amended, with its preamble, as amended, reads as
follows
S. Res. 458
Whereas Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights states that ``[e]veryone has the right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom
to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone
or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance'';
Whereas many countries continue to have criminal blasphemy
laws, and many punish people who engage in expression deemed
by the government to be blasphemous, heretical, apostate,
defamatory of religion, or insulting to religion or to
religious symbols, figures, or feelings, and such punishment
can include fines, imprisonment, and capital punishment
including by beheading;
Whereas blasphemy laws have affected Christians, Muslims,
Jews, Hindus, Baha'i, secularists, and many other groups, are
inconsistent with international human rights standards
because they establish and promote official religious
orthodoxy and dogma over individual liberty, and often result
in violations of the freedoms of religion, thought, and
expression that are protected under international
instruments, including Articles 18 and 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated in
General Comment 34 that ``[p]rohibitions of displays of lack
of respect for a religion or other belief system, including
blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the [ICCPR].'';
Whereas the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has found that blasphemy charges
are often based on false accusations, are used for sectarian
or political purposes, and foster religious intolerance,
discrimination, and violence;
Whereas USCIRF has found that at least 84 countries had
blasphemy laws as of 2020;
Whereas USCIRF has identified 41 countries that have taken
enforcement action in 674 criminal blasphemy cases between
2014 and 2018;
Whereas these laws were enforced in 15 Middle East and
North African countries, 14 Asia-Pacific countries, 7
European countries, and 5 Sub-Saharan African countries
between 2014 and 2018;
Whereas Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Indonesia,
Yemen, Bangladesh, Saudi
[[Page S7852]]
Arabia, and Kuwait account for more than 81 percent of all
reported cases of state criminal blasphemy enforcement;
Whereas USCIRF has found that the three countries without
an official state religion that have the highest state
enforcement of blasphemy laws are Russia, India, and
Indonesia;
Whereas the Pew Research Center found that countries with
laws against blasphemy, apostasy, or defamation of religion
were more likely to have severe governmental restrictions on
religion, and to experience social hostilities based on
religion, than countries that did not have such laws;
Whereas restrictive laws beyond those penalizing blasphemy,
heresy, and apostasy further limit religious freedom, such as
extremism laws--
(1) in Russia that have been used to ban Jehovah's
Witnesses as an extremist organization and fueled persecution
of this religious group;
(2) in China, to arbitrarily detain an estimated 800,000 to
2,000,000 Uighur Muslims in internment camps because they
followed Islamic rituals and practices; and
(3) in North Korea, to detain an estimated 50,000 to 70,000
Christians in labor camps because they followed the tenets of
Christianity;
Whereas an international group of experts convened by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights recommended in 2012 that ``[s]tates that have
blasphemy laws should repeal the[m] as such laws have a
stifling impact on the enjoyment of freedom of religion or
belief and healthy dialogue and debate about religion.'';
Whereas blasphemy laws are inconsistent with United Nations
resolutions adopted by consensus since 2011 recognizing that
religious intolerance is best fought through positive
measures, such as education, outreach, and counter-speech,
and that criminalization of speech is warranted only for the
prevention of imminent violence;
Whereas, according to the annual religious freedom report
published by the Department of State in 2015, attackers in
Bangladesh killed five allegedly anti-Islamic or secularist
writers and publishers, and injured three others;
Whereas, in response to these killings, the Home Minister
of Bangladesh, rather than condemning the murders, called on
bloggers and others to refrain from writings that could hurt
the religious feelings of others and added that violators of
the warning would be subject to prosecution under the
restrictive religious freedom laws of Bangladesh;
Whereas a 2016 report by USCIRF on Bangladesh found that
religious and civil society groups fear that increasing
religious extremism will result in more criminal attacks and
threats;
Whereas restrictive religious freedom laws validate and
promote social violence targeted at religious minorities and
dissenters, whether Christian, Muslim, secularist, or other;
Whereas more than one-quarter of reported cases implicated
alleged blasphemous speech posted on social media platforms;
Whereas USCIRF has found that in Pakistan, blasphemy laws
have been used to prosecute and persecute Muslims,
Christians, secularists, and others;
Whereas, according to a Pew Center report on religion and
public life, Pakistan stands out for having one of the
highest levels of restrictions on religion when both
government restrictions and social hostilities are taken into
account;
Whereas, as of May 2020, USCIRF was aware of approximately
40 individuals on death row for blasphemy in Pakistan or
serving life sentences;
Whereas Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy in
2010 and was held on death row for 8 years, until the Supreme
Court of Pakistan overturned her conviction in 2018, upheld
her acquittal, and granted her permission to leave the
country to flee the threats against her in 2019;
Whereas Pakistan selectively enforces the blasphemy and
anti-terrorism laws against minority religious groups,
including by specifically targeting Ahmadiyya Muslims such as
Abdul Shakoor, an 82-year old optician and bookseller who was
recently released after serving over three years in prison on
such charges;
Whereas, on July 29, 2020, Tahir Ahmad Naseem, a United
States citizen, was shot and killed in a courtroom while on
trial for blasphemy;
Whereas, in 2017, the Christian Governor of Jakarta,
Indonesia, was convicted for blasphemy of Islam and sentenced
to two years in jail;
Whereas several countries that previously maintained
blasphemy laws have recently removed these provisions,
including Iceland, Norway, Malta, Denmark, Ireland, Canada,
New Zealand, Greece, and Scotland;
Whereas blasphemy laws in the United States were
invalidated by the adoption of the First Amendment to the
Constitution, which protects the freedoms of thought,
conscience, expression, and religious exercise; and
Whereas the United States has become a beacon of religious
freedom and tolerance around the world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes that blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws
inappropriately position governments as arbiters of religious
truth and empower officials to impose religious dogma on
individuals or minorities through the power of the government
or through violence sanctioned by the government;
(2) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to
encourage the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy in
bilateral discussions between the United States and all
countries that have such laws, through direct interventions
in bilateral and multilateral fora;
(3) encourages the President and the Secretary of State to
oppose--
(A) any efforts, by the United Nations or by other
international or multilateral fora, to create an
international anti-blasphemy norm, such as the ``defamation
of religions'' resolutions introduced in the United Nations
between 1999 and 2010; and
(B) any attempts to expand the international norm on
incitement to include blasphemy or defamation of religions;
(4) supports efforts by the United Nations to combat
intolerance, discrimination, or violence against persons
based on religion or belief without restricting expression,
including United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 16/
18 (2011) and the Istanbul Process meetings pursuant to such
resolution, that are consistent with the First Amendment to
the Constitution;
(5) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to
designate countries that enforce blasphemy, heresy, or
apostasy laws as ``countries of particular concern for
religious freedom'' under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C.
6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)) for engaging in or tolerating severe
violations of religious freedom, as a result of the abuses
flowing from the enforcement of such laws and from unpunished
vigilante violence often generated by blasphemy allegations;
(6) urges the governments of countries that enforce
blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy laws to allow for freedom of
religion and expression and amend or repeal such laws, as
they provide pretext and impunity for vigilante violence
against religious minorities; and
(7) urges the governments of countries that have
prosecuted, imprisoned, and persecuted people on charges of
blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy to release such people
unconditionally and, once released, to ensure their safety
and that of their families.
____________________