Turkey and Ecumenical Patriarchate Religious Freedom Act of 2021
This bill requires reports on religious freedom in Turkey.
The Department of State must report to Congress on the State Department's policy for promoting religious freedom in Turkey.
If the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommends putting Turkey on the State Department's special watch list of countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom but the State Department does not do so, the President must report to Congress a justification for the decision. The President shall not have to make this report if Turkey is added to the special watch list or designated a country of particular concern for religious freedom.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3056 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3056
To oppose violations of religious freedom in Turkey by the Government
of Turkey and to safeguard the rights and religious freedoms of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 7, 2021
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York (for herself, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr.
McGovern, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Titus, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. Malliotakis,
Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Lofgren, and Mr. Sherman) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To oppose violations of religious freedom in Turkey by the Government
of Turkey and to safeguard the rights and religious freedoms of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Turkey and Ecumenical Patriarchate
Religious Freedom Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The promotion and protection of the universally
recognized right to the freedom of religion is a priority of
United States foreign policy as stated in section 402 of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442).
(2) The Ecumenical Patriarchate is the spiritual home of
the world's oldest and second largest Christian Church.
(3) Within the 2,000-year-old Sacred See of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate, the New Testament was codified and the Nicene
Creed was created.
(4) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is one of the world's
preeminent spiritual leaders and peacemakers representing over
300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.
(5) The disappearance of the See would mean the end of a
crucial link between the Christian and the Muslim world since
the continuing presence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in
Turkey is a living testimony of religious co-existence since
1453.
(6) The Ecumenical Patriarch has direct jurisdiction over
the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and thus is the
spiritual and ecclesiastical leader of its 1.5 million
adherents.
(7) The Ecumenical Patriarch is, in a sense, also an
American spiritual leader and should be afforded the
protections of an American spiritual leader.
(8) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award bestowed by the
United States Congress, and he coordinated with religious
leaders around the world to issue a condemnation of the
September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States as an anti-
religious act.
(9) The Ecumenical Patriarchate has a record of reaching
out and working for peace and reconciliation amongst all faiths
and has fostered dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
(10) The Ecumenical Patriarchate co-sponsored the Peace and
Tolerance Conference in Istanbul which issued the Bosphorus
Declaration that stated, ``A crime committed in the name of
religion is a crime against religion.''.
(11) Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew stated in Brussels in
2004, ``The Ecumenical Patriarchate is a supranational
ecclesiastical institution . . . which demonstrates religious
tolerance as a beautiful reality. For we bear respect toward
all of our humans, irrespective of their faith. Without any
trace of fanaticism or discrimination on account of differences
of religion, we coexist peacefully and in a spirit that honors
each and every human being.''.
(12) In 1993, the European Union defined the membership
criteria for accession to the European Union at the Copenhagen
European Council, obligating candidate countries to have
achieved certain levels of reform, including stability of
institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, and human
rights, and respect for and protection of minorities.
(13) Turkey's persecution of religious minorities violates
the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as the
United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, which Turkey has signed and ratified, and which
guarantees freedom of religion.
(14) The Government of Turkey has failed to recognize the
international legal personality of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
(15) The Government of Turkey and the governments of all
nations should accord to the Ecumenical Patriarchate the
diplomatic rights and immunities under the Vienna Convention.
(16) The Government of Turkey has and continues to violate
the rights and privileges of the Ecumenical Patriarchate under
the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 and prior treaties.
(17) The Government of Turkey has limited candidates
available to the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to
Turkish nationals and reneged on its agreement to reopen the
Theological School at Halki, thus impeding the training for
Orthodox clergy.
(18) The Government of Turkey has confiscated 75 percent of
Ecumenical Patriarchate properties and has placed a 42-percent
retroactive tax on the Balukli Hospital of Istanbul which is
operated by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
(19) Turkey has systematically converted or destroyed
minority religious symbols and property, including converting
the Hagia Sophia and Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora,
UNESCO-designated museums located in Istanbul, into mosques, in
violation of the UNESCO convention.
(20) The European Council has agreed to open accession
negotiations with Turkey, conditional upon the continuation by
Turkey of reform processes to increase protection and support
for human rights and civil liberties.
(21) Although the Constitution of Turkey ostensibly
provides for freedom of religion, the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom's 2021 Annual Report on
International Religious Freedom maintains that, ``In 2020,
religious freedom conditions in Turkey continued to follow a
troubling trajectory. In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan issued a decree converting back into a mosque the
famous Hagia Sophia, a former church that had been serving as a
museum, in a move that many denounced as divisive and hostile
to Turkey's religious minorities. . . The government
furthermore made little to no effort to address many
longstanding religious freedom issues and it ignored the
continued targeting and vandalization of religious minority
properties throughout the country. Despite repeated requests by
religious minority communities for permission to hold board
member elections for non-Muslim foundations, the government did
not permit those elections during the year. Similarly, the
government disregarded calls for the reopening of the Greek
Orthodox Halki Seminary and continued to deny legal personality
to all religious communities. . . In December, Turkey's
parliament passed a law that human rights groups warned would
increase governmental control over civil society, including
religious groups, by subjecting them to intensified oversight
and new limitations on online fundraising. . . Many religious
minorities continued to feel threatened in connection with
incidents perpetrated by nonstate actors or due to direct
pressure from the state. . . Throughout the year, authorities
brought politically motivated charges of blasphemy against
individuals and groups, while others in official positions
utilized rhetoric characterized as hate speech that denigrated
nonreligious individuals and members of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community.
Religious sites--including places of worship and cemeteries--
were subject to vandalism, damage, and, in some cases,
destruction, which the government regularly fails to prevent or
punish.''.
(22) Accordingly, in its 2021 Annual Report on
International Religious Freedom, the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom recommended that the
Department of State ``[i]nclude Turkey on the U.S. Department
of State's Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating
severe violations of religious freedom pursuant to the
International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA)'', the same
recommendation it made in 2020.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the designation of Turkey as a country on the ``Special
Watch List'' for severe violations of religious freedom
pursuant to section 402(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(iii))
would be a powerful and effective tool in--
(A) highlighting abuses of religious freedom in
Turkey and against the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and
(B) in encouraging improvement with the respect to
religious freedoms and the rights of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate in Turkey; and
(2) the President should, in accordance with the
recommendation of the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom, designate Turkey as a country on such
``Special Watch List''.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON FAILURE TO PLACE TURKEY ON THE ``SPECIAL WATCH LIST''
FOR ENGAGING IN OR TOLERATING SEVERE VIOLATIONS OF
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), if--
(1) the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom recommends in its Annual Report on International
Religious Freedom that Turkey should be placed on the ``Special
Watch List'' for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of
religious freedom pursuant to section 402(b)(1)(A)(iii) of the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C.
6442(b)(1)(A)(iii)), and
(2) Turkey is not placed on such ``Special Watch List''
pursuant to such section 402(b)(1)(A)(iii) within 90 days after
the date on which such Annual Report is submitted to Congress,
the President shall, not later than 90 days after making the
determination not to place Turkey on such ``Special Watch List'',
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that
contains a detailed justification therefor.
(b) Exception.--The President is not required to submit a report
under subsection (a) if, at the time the report is required to be so
submitted, Turkey--
(1) has been designated as a country of particular concern
for religious freedom pursuant to clause (ii) of section
402(b)(1)(A) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998
(22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)); or
(2) has been placed on the ``Special Watch List'' for
engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious
freedom pursuant to clause (iii) of such section.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S POLICY FOR PROMOTING
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TURKEY.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Act,
the Secretary of State, following consultation with the appropriate
congressional committees, shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on the Department of State's policy for promoting
religious freedom in Turkey, including a description of planned efforts
to combat deteriorating conditions for religious freedom in Turkey,
including diplomacy, foreign assistance, and other relevant efforts.
SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber.
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