III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 198 

Condemning Brunei’s dramatic human rights backsliding. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 9, 2019 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. VAN

HOLLEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. CRUZ, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

and Mr. MARKEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JULY 9, 2019 

Reported by Mr. RISCH, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

JULY 16, 2019 

Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning Brunei’s dramatic human rights backsliding. 

Whereas Brunei has been led since 1967 by one of the 

world’s longest-reigning 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; 


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SRES 198 ATS 

Whereas, according to the United States Department of State 

2018 Human Rights Report, human rights issues in 

Brunei 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 a revised penal code 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 penal code includes, among other things, death 

by stoning for male same-sex relations, adultery, and 

blasphemy, amputation of limbs for theft, whipping 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 penal code and associated penalties run 

‘‘counter to its international human rights obligations inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Jul 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR198.ATS SR198

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SRES 198 ATS 

cluding 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 penal code not be repealed; 

Whereas the United Nations and international human rights 

organizations have denounced the penal code, arguing it 

amounts to torture and a violation of human rights; 

Whereas United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

Rights Michelle Bachelet urged Brunei to repeal the 

penal code, noting the punishments proscribed as ‘‘cruel, 

inhuman, and degrading’’ and calling the code 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 


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SRES 198 ATS 

Whereas the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS 

(UNAIDS) Executive Director Michel Sidibe ́ stated that 

the implementation of this discriminatory penal code will 

‘‘drive people underground and out of reach of life-saving 

HIV treatment and prevention services,’’ and UNAIDS 

and the United Nations Population Fund noted these 

kinds of laws ‘‘increase stigma, and give license to discrimination, violence, and harassment’’: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) condemns the Government of Brunei’s fur3 ther criminalization and barbaric punishments re4 garding sexual orientation, adultery, and relations 

5 between persons of the same sex; 

6 (2) calls on the Government of Brunei to expe7 ditiously repeal the 2013 penal code; and 

8 (3) supports the withdrawal and denial of 

9 United States visas for any Brunei official respon10 sible for passage or implementation of such penal 

11 code and related laws until they are repealed. 

Æ 


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