III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 458 

Calling for the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19, 2019 

Mr. LANKFORD (for himself and Mr. COONS) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and 

apostasy laws. 

Whereas Article 18 of the International 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 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; 


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•SRES 458 IS 

Whereas blasphemy laws have affected Christians, Muslims, 

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 70 countries had 

blasphemy laws as of 2018; 

Whereas these laws were present in 18 Middle East and 

North African countries, 8 countries in the Americas, 18 

Asia-Pacific countries, 14 European countries, and 12 

Sub-Saharan African countries; 

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; 


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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; 


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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 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 USCIRF has found egregious examples of the enforcement of blasphemy laws and vigilante violence connected to blasphemy allegations in Pakistan, where blasphemy charges are common and numerous individuals are 

in prison, with a high percentage sentenced to death or 

to life in prison; 


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•SRES 458 IS 

Whereas, as of May 2018, 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, and has since received asylum in Canada; 

Whereas Pakistan selectively enforces the blasphemy law 

against minority religious groups, including specifically 

targeting the Ahmadis, such as Abdul Shakoor, an 82- 

year old bookseller who was recently released after serving four years in prison on blasphemy charges; 

Whereas blasphemy laws in Pakistan have fostered a climate 

of impunity, as those who falsify evidence go unpunished 

and allegations often result in violent mob attacks or assassinations, with little to no police response; 

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 maintained blasphemy laws 

have recently taken steps towards removing these provisions, including Greece, Ireland, and Canada; 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) recognizes that blasphemy, heresy, and 

2 apostasy laws inappropriately position governments 

3 as arbiters of religious truth and empower officials 

4 to impose religious dogma on individuals or minori5 ties through the power of the government or through 

6 violence sanctioned by the government; 

7 (2) calls on the President and the Secretary of 

8 State to make the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and 

9 apostasy laws a priority in the bilateral relationships 

10 of the United States with all countries that have 

11 such laws, through direct interventions in bilateral 

12 and multilateral fora; 

13 (3) encourages the President and the Secretary 

14 of State to oppose— 

15 (A) any efforts, by the United Nations or 

16 by other international or multilateral fora, to 

17 create an international anti-blasphemy norm, 

18 such as the ‘‘defamation of religions’’ resolu19 tions introduced in the United Nations between 

20 1999 and 2010; and 

21 (B) any attempts to expand the inter22 national norm on incitement to include blas23 phemy or defamation of religions; 

24 (4) supports efforts by the United Nations to 

25 combat intolerance, discrimination, or violence 


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1 against persons based on religion or belief without 

2 restricting expression, including United Nations 

3 Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 (2011) and 

4 the Istanbul Process meetings pursuant to such res5 olution, that are consistent with the First Amend6 ment to the Constitution; 

7 (5) calls on the President and the Secretary of 

8 State to designate countries that enforce blasphemy, 

9 heresy, or apostasy laws as ‘‘countries of particular 

10 concern for religious freedom’’ under section 

11 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the International Religious Free12 dom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)) for 

13 engaging in or tolerating severe violations of reli14 gious freedom, as a result of the abuses flowing from 

15 the enforcement of such laws and from unpunished 

16 vigilante violence often generated by blasphemy alle17 gations; 

18 (6) urges the governments of countries that en19 force blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy laws to amend 

20 or repeal such laws, as they provide pretext and im21 punity for vigilante violence against religious minori22 ties; and 

23 (7) urges the governments of countries that 

24 have prosecuted, imprisoned, and persecuted people 

25 on charges of blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy to reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Dec 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR458.IS SR458

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1 lease such people unconditionally and, once released, 

2 to ensure their safety and that of their families. 

Æ 


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