III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 500 

Expressing the sense of Congress that the Russian Federation should fully 

protect the freedoms of all religious communities without distinction, 

whether registered or unregistered, as stipulated by the Russian Constitution and international standards. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2006 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. SMITH, and Mr. NELSON of 

Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress that the Russian Federation should fully protect the freedoms of all religious 

communities without distinction, whether registered or 

unregistered, as stipulated by the Russian Constitution 

and international standards. 

Whereas the Russian Federation is a participating State of 

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe 

(OSCE) and has freely committed to fully respect the 

rights of individuals, whether alone or in community with 

others, to profess and practice religion or belief; 

Whereas the 1989 Vienna Concluding Document calls on 

OSCE participating States to ‘‘take effective measures to 

prevent and eliminate discrimination against individuals 


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•SRES 500 IS

or communities on the grounds of religion or belief’’ and 

to ‘‘grant upon their request to communities of believers, 

practicing or prepared to practice their faith within the 

constitutional framework of their States, recognition of 

the status provided for them in the respective countries’’; 

Whereas Article 28 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation declares that ‘‘everyone shall be guaranteed the 

right to freedom of conscience, to freedom of religious 

worship, including the right to profess, individually or 

jointly with others, any religion’’ and Article 8 of the 

1997 Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations provides for registration for religious communities as ‘‘religious organizations,’’ if they have at least 

10 members and have operated within the Russian Federation with legal status for at least 15 years; 

Whereas religious freedom has advanced significantly for the 

vast majority of people in Russia since the collapse of the 

Soviet Union; 

Whereas many rights and privileges afforded to religious 

communities in the Russian Federation remain contingent on the ability of the communities to obtain government registration; 

Whereas some religious groups have not attempted to register 

with government authorities due to theological considerations, and other communities have been unjustly denied 

registration or had their registration improperly terminated by local authorities; 

Whereas many of the unregistered communities in the Russian Federation today were never registered under the 

Soviet system because they refused to collaborate with 

that government’s anti-religious policies and they are now 


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experiencing renewed discrimination and repression by 

authorities of the Russian Federation; 

Whereas over the past 2 years there have been an estimated 

10 arson attacks on unregistered Protestant churches, 

with little or no effective response by law enforcement officials to bring the perpetrators to justice; 

Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation reacted 

swiftly in response to the January 2006 attack on a Moscow synagogue, but there have been numerous other antiSemitic attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions in 

the Russian Federation, and there is increasing tolerance 

of anti-Semitism in certain segments of society in that 

country; 

Whereas there has been evidence of an increase in the frequency and severity of oppressive actions by security 

forces and federal and local officials against some Muslim 

communities and their members; 

Whereas there are many cases involving restitution for religious property seized by the Soviet regime that remain 

unresolved; 

Whereas in some areas of the Russian Federation law enforcement personnel have carried out acts of harassment 

and oppression against members of religious communities 

peacefully practicing their faith and local officials have 

put overly burdensome restrictions on the ability of some 

religious communities to engage in religious activity; and 

Whereas the United States has sought to protect the fundamental and inalienable right of individuals to profess and 

practice their faith, alone or in community with others, 

according to the dictates of their conscience, and in accordance with international agreements committing naVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:34 Jun 07, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR500.IS SR500

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tions to respect individual freedom of thought, conscience, and belief: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of Congress that the 

2 United States Government should— 

3 (1) urge the Government of the Russian Fed4 eration to ensure full protection of freedoms for all 

5 religious communities without distinction, whether 

6 registered or unregistered, and end the harassment 

7 of unregistered religious groups by the security ap8 paratus and other government agencies, thereby 

9 building upon the progress made over the past 15 

10 years in promoting religious freedom in the Russian 

11 Federation; 

12 (2) urge the Government of the Russian Fed13 eration to ensure that law enforcement officials vig14 orously investigate and prosecute acts of violence, 

15 arson, and desecration perpetrated against reg16 istered and unregistered religious communities, as 

17 well as make certain that government authorities are 

18 not complicit in such incidents; 

19 (3) continue to raise concerns with the Govern20 ment of the Russian Federation over violations of re21 ligious freedom, including those against unregistered 

22 religious communities, especially indigenous denomi23 nations not well known in the United States; 


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1 (4) ensure that United States Embassy officials 

2 engage local officials throughout the Russian Fed3 eration, especially when violations of freedom of reli4 gion occur, and undertake outreach activities to edu5 cate local officials about the rights of unregistered 

6 religious communities; 

7 (5) urge the Government of the Russian Fed8 eration to invite the three Personal Representatives 

9 of the OSCE Chair-in-Office and the United Nations 

10 Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief 

11 to visit the Russian Federation and discuss with fed12 eral and local officials concerns about the religious 

13 freedom of both registered and unregistered religious 

14 communities; and 

15 (6) urge the Council of Europe, its member 

16 countries, and the other members of the G–8 to 

17 raise issues relating to religious freedom with Rus18 sian officials in the context of the Russian Federa19 tion’s responsibilities both as President of the Coun20 cil in 2006 and as a member of the G–8. 

Æ 


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