Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to: (1) the Russian Federation's compliance with the minimum standards of democratic governance and rule of law characteristic of Group of 8 (G8) member countries; (2) conditioning participation by the Russian Federation in the G8 on acceptance of, and adherence to, the democratic standards and principles adhered to by the other G8 nations; and (3) steps to suspend Russian Federation participation until the President determines and reports to Congress that the Russian Government is committed to respecting and upholding these democratic principles.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 143 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 143
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 3, 2005
Mr. Cox (for himself, Mr. Lantos, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Ackerman,
Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. Berman, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Ms. Watson, Mr.
Davis of Illinois, and Mr. Cannon) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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.
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 political
practices;
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 the
President of the Russian Federation 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 the commitment of President Yeltsin to
democratization and economic liberalization, despite the fact that the
Russian economy remained weak and the commitment of the Government of
the Russian Federation to democratic principles was uncertain;
Whereas under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the Government of the
Russian Federation 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 under the leadership of President Putin, the Government of the Russian
Federation has suppressed the activities of independent journalists,
international observers, and human rights monitoring organizations, and
has blocked the renewal of the mandate of the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to operate inside Chechnya in an
attempt to block public scrutiny of the war in Chechnya;
Whereas the suppression by the Government of the Russian Federation of
independent media enterprises has resulted in widespread government
control and influence over the media in the Russian Federation, 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 the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece
have consistently ruled against extradition warrants issued by the
Government of the Russian Federation after finding that the cases
presented by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation have been
inherently political in nature;
Whereas the rise to influence within the Government of the Russian Federation of
unelected security officials from the KGB of the former Soviet Union is
increasingly undermining the Russian Government's commitment to
democratic principles, accountability, and transparency;
Whereas Russian military forces continue to commit brutal atrocities against the
civilian population in Chechnya and have been implicated in abductions
of Chechen civilians who filed cases before the European Court of Human
Rights;
Whereas leaders of the Group of 7 nations have repeatedly expressed that a
military solution in Chechnya is not possible;
Whereas in the aftermath of the tragic siege of School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia
that occurred during September 2004, which was an act of terrorism
abhorrent to all civilized people, President Putin cited violence in the
North Caucasus as a pretext for consolidating centralized power and
proposed to abolish the popular election of regional governors in favor
of presidential appointment of such officials;
Whereas the catastrophic consequences of the siege of School No. 1 in Beslan and
of the continued violence in Chechnya demonstrate the need to search for
political solutions and to commence negotiations between the Government
of Russia and moderate Chechen leaders, giving moderates credence over
extremist elements;
Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation initially supported the
undemocratic results of the November 21, 2004, runoff in the Ukrainian
presidential election, in spite of widespread election fraud and mass
demonstrations in support of a new, legitimate election, which raised
concerns among the Group of 7 nations that the commitment of the Russian
Government to democratic standards is waning;
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 have identified the continuing war in Chechnya as a major
threat to stability and democracy in Russia; and
Whereas the continued participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of 8
nations, including the Russian Government's opportunity to host the G-8
summit 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 House of Representatives (the Senate 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 civilized nations 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 Russian Government's
opportunity to host the G-8 summit in 2006 as planned, should
be conditioned on the Russian Government voluntarily accepting
and adhering to the norms and standards of free, democratic
societies as generally practiced by every other member state 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, determines and reports to Congress
that the Government of the Russian Federation is committed to
respecting and upholding the democratic principles described in
paragraph (2).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats.
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