Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to promoting religious freedom globally.
Calls on the President to:
Urges the Department of State to: (1) implement Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act provisions that direct the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center to conduct training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers and all outgoing deputy chiefs of mission and ambassadors, (2) develop a training curriculum for American diplomats in international religious freedom policy, and (3) reestablish the Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 319 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 319
Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promoting religious
freedom globally, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 11, 2017
Mr. Hultgren (for himself, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Jody B. Hice of
Georgia, Mr. Fortenberry, and Ms. Eshoo) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promoting religious
freedom globally, and for other purposes.
Whereas religious freedom is a fundamental right enshrined in the American
Constitution and critically tied to America's founding and self-
understanding;
Whereas international religious freedom is a universally recognized human right
and the protection and promotion globally of this right attracts broad,
bipartisan support;
Whereas every individual's rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and
religion is guaranteed under the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, adopted at Paris December 10, 1948, and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted at New York December 16,
1966, which recognize that ``Everyone 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 according to the bipartisan United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom, abuses committed by governments and non-state actors
has increased and the incarceration of prisoners of conscience remains
widespread;
Whereas according to the latest Pew Research Center's Study of Global
Restrictions on Religion, which surveyed 2015, an estimated 79 percent
of the world's population lives in countries where freedom of religion
and conscience is highly restricted, either by the government or by
social groups;
Whereas according to the same study by the Pew Research Center, Pakistan,
Nigeria, India, Turkey, Indonesia, Egypt, Russia, China, Iran, Burma,
and Vietnam had some of the highest levels of either government
restrictions on religion or social hostilities experienced by religious
groups;
Whereas according to the same Pew Research Center Study, the two geographic
regions with the highest government restrictions continue to be the
Middle East-North Africa and the Asia-Pacific;
Whereas the most recent data reflects that in 2015 Christians were harassed in
128 of 198 countries, more than any other faith group, Muslims were
harassed in 125 countries, and Jews were harassed in 74 countries;
Whereas according to a 2017 report by the Religious Freedom Institute and the
Center on Faith & International Affairs, the scope of religious
persecution globally affects many religious communities, it is Christian
minorities that are currently most at risk, particularly in the Middle
East, where ancient communities are in danger of elimination;
Whereas Congress has recognized that Yezidis, Christian, Shi'a and other
religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria have faced genocide
and other crimes against humanity perpetuated by ISIS, and that some of
these minority faiths are on the verge of extinction in Iraq;
Whereas Egyptian Coptic Christians have been repeatedly targeted and their
aggressors have gone unprosecuted, including two suicide bombings that
killed 44 people at Coptic churches on Palm Sunday 2017 and an attack in
December 2016 killing 24 and injuring numerous other Coptic worshipers,
many of whom were women and children;
Whereas according to the bipartisan United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom, Burmese Christians and Muslim communities have faced
extraordinary persecution from both government and non-state actors,
including incidents of intimidation and violence; the forced relocation
and destruction of religious sites; violent attacks by mobs and the
military; sexual violence and trafficking in persons; and an ongoing
campaign of coerced conversion to Buddhism;
Whereas according to the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, in Nigeria
systemic discrimination and impunity has contributed to a 62-percent
increase of Christians killings over the past 3 years, resulting in over
4,028 deaths and 200 church attacks, led in part by the Islamist terror
group Boko Haram, Fulani militants, and others, resulting in mass
dislocation and famine;
Whereas the Eritrean Government continues to target Protestant Christians,
including torturing religious prisoners, arbitrarily arresting and
detaining Protestant Christians without charges, and banning public
religious activities;
Whereas apostasy and blasphemy laws are routinely used across the Middle East
and North Africa to intimidate and punish minority faiths and those who
would leave Islam;
Whereas according to Human Rights Watch, in Pakistan Christians, Hindu, and
Ahmadis are often targeted because of their religious identities by
violent religious extremists; forced conversion and marriage of
Christian and Hindu girls and young women into Islam remains a systemic
problem; where blasphemy laws are often used as an excuse to settle
personal scores or stir up religious animosity against marginalized
religious minorities, resulting in a climate of fear and a chilling
effect on religious expression; and whereas, according to the United
States Commission for International Religious Freedom, there are more
people serving on death row or serving life sentences for blasphemy in
Pakistan than in any other country in the world;
Whereas the Iranian government has increasingly raided Christian and Baha'i
religious gatherings, arrested and imprisoned worshipers and religious
leaders, imprisoned Baha'i educators, confiscated Christian and Baha'i
properties, significantly increased the number of physical assaults and
beatings of Christians in prison, restricted access to education for the
Christian and Baha'i faith communities, and forced human rights
defenders who defend Christians and Baha'is in court to flee the country
or face imprisonment;
Whereas according to the Department of State, the Sudanese Government has
systematically targeted the Christian community, prosecuting Christian
pastors on trumped-up charges, confiscating Christian-owned properties,
banning the construction of new Christian houses of worship, destroying
numerous religious facilities throughout the country, targeting human
rights defenders for legally representing the Christian community, and,
according to Open Doors, conducting bombing campaigns of churches and
hospitals in the Nuba mountains;
Whereas the North Korean Government continues to be the most repressive regime,
reserving its most severe persecution for Christians with estimates that
tens of thousands of Christians are currently in prison camps facing
hard labor or execution;
Whereas limits on religious expression and religious practice are widespread,
including the use of technologies and the Internet to target and silence
religious minorities, restrict the freedom of assembly, and limit access
to digital religious materials;
Whereas promoting Internet freedom is a cost-effective means of advancing
fundamental freedoms in closed and authoritarian countries, including
the freedom of religion;
Whereas despite increased attention to religion in United States foreign policy
in recent years, global levels of religious persecution, violent
religious extremism, and religion-related conflict remain dangerously
high;
Whereas the global religious freedom crisis we are experiencing today has
created millions of victims and undermines liberty, prosperity, and
peace in places vital to United States national interests--posing direct
challenges to United States interests in the Middle East, Russia, China,
and sub-Saharan Africa;
Whereas a growing body of academic research, including the work of the Religious
Freedom and Business Foundation, demonstrates that the absence of
religious freedom contributes to persecution of minorities, religious
extremism, terrorism, and instability;
Whereas this research also shows that where religious freedom is protected and
advanced as a universally recognized human right there is greater peace,
political and social stability, economic development, democratization,
women's empowerment, and less violent religious extremism; and
Whereas Congress recently recognized, with broad bipartisan support, in the
Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (Public Law 114-281)
that because the promotion of international religious freedom protects
human rights, advances democracy abroad, and advances United States
interests in stability, security, and development globally, the
promotion of international religious freedom requires new and evolving
policies, and diplomatic responses that are drawn from the expertise of
the national security agencies, the diplomatic services, and other
governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations, and are
coordinated across and carried out by the entire range of Federal
agencies: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to
promoting religious freedom globally and calls on the President
and the Secretary of State, in accordance with the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended by the
Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016
(Public Law 114-281), to strengthen United States religious
freedom diplomacy on behalf of individuals facing restrictions,
imprisonment, and violence in foreign countries on account of
their religious belief or practice;
(2) calls on the President to appoint a new Ambassador-at-
Large for International Religious Freedom at the Department of
State and to name a Special Advisor for International Religious
Freedom at the National Security Council, as urged by section
201 of the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act
(Public Law 114-281);
(3) calls on the President, the Secretary of State, and the
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom to
develop a national security strategy on international religious
freedom and to integrate that strategy into United States
diplomatic, development, and national security strategies,
including by incorporating international religious freedom
policy into the strategic plans of all executive agencies with
foreign policy responsibilities, including the Department of
Defense Quadrennial Defense Review;
(4) urges the President to incorporate the national
security strategy on international religious freedom into the
National Security Strategy of the United States;
(5) urges the President, the Secretary of State, and the
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom to
provide strong support for international religious freedom in
existing United Nations institutions that have a specialized
expertise on the issue and leverage the growing network of
foreign international religious freedom focused institutions
including such bodies as the International Contact Group on
Freedom of Religion or Belief, the Panel of Experts on Freedom
of Religion or Belief at the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights, the European Parliament
Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious
Tolerance, the International Panel of Parliamentarians for
Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Commonwealth Initiative
for Freedom of Religion or Belief;
(6) calls on the President, in collaboration with the
Secretary of State, the Ambassador-at-Large for International
Religious Freedom, and the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, in accordance with
section 106 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
(22 U.S.C. 6415), to develop a strategic plan for United States
diplomatic missions to promote and protect international
religious freedom and to direct grants to civil society,
nongovernmental organizations, and both majority and minority
religious groups that are engaged in innovative programs to
build and strengthen pluralistic societies, protect the
universally guaranteed right to the freedom of religion, reduce
conflict, and counter violent religious extremism and
terrorism;
(7) urges the Secretary of State to implement the
requirements of section 103 of the Frank Wolf International
Religious Freedom Act (Public Law 114-281) and develop a
training curriculum for all American diplomats in international
religious freedom policy;
(8) calls on the President, in collaboration with the
Secretary of State, the Ambassador-at-Large for International
Religious Freedom, the Chief Executive Officer of the
Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, to develop
a comprehensive and multiyear strategy that partners with civil
society, businesses, key technology industries, religious
leaders, and human rights defenders to achieve rapid levels of
closed society access to the Internet in promotion of democracy
and human rights, including religious freedom;
(9) urges that not less than 5 percent of funds
appropriated for the Broadcasting Board of Governors is used to
support Internet firewall and censorship circumvention
activities;
(10) urges the President, the Secretary of State, the
Secretary of Defense, and other relevant agencies to develop a
comprehensive response to protect the victims of genocide,
crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to provide
humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery assistance to all
individuals from religious and ethnic groups so effected in
Iraq and Syria; and
(11) urges the Secretary of State to reestablish the
Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group within the Department
of State's Federal Advisory Committee established by the
previous administration, bringing together experts from
government, universities, religious and other nongovernment
organizations to develop an effective multiyear plan to address
religious persecution globally and protect and promote
international religious freedom.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
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