III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 569 

Recognizing religious freedom as a fundamental right, expressing support 

for international religious freedom as a cornerstone of United States 

foreign policy, and expressing concern over increased threats to and 

attacks on religious freedom around the world. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. TILLIS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing religious freedom as a fundamental right, expressing support for international religious freedom as 

a cornerstone of United States foreign policy, and expressing concern over increased threats to and attacks 

on religious freedom around the world. 

Whereas freedom of religion is a fundamental right; 

Whereas the First Amendment of the Constitution stipulates 

that ‘‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 

thereof’’; 

Whereas, in pushing for religious freedom in the Commonwealth of Virginia, James Madison argued that the right 

to freedom of religion ‘‘is precedent, both in order of time 


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•SRES 569 IS 

and in degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society’’; 

Whereas freedom of religion is a foundational element of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in the United 

States and abroad, as well as a guiding principle for 

United States foreign policy; 

Whereas Article 18 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states ‘‘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 the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (referred to in this preamble as 

‘‘USCIRF’’) stipulates that ‘‘freedom of religion or belief 

is an expansive right that includes the freedoms of 

thought, conscience, expression, association, and assembly’’; 

Whereas the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

(22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) recognizes religious freedom as 

a ‘‘universal human right’’; 

Whereas the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

(22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) requires the President to annually designate as a ‘‘country of particular concern’’ each 

country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated ‘‘particularly severe’’ religious freedom violations, including— 

(1) systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations 

such as torture; 


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•SRES 569 IS 

(2) cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; 

(3) prolonged detention without charges; and 

(4) forced disappearances; 

Whereas, on December 29, 2023, the Biden administration 

designated Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, 

Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, 

Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, 

and Turkmenistan as countries of particular concern; 

Whereas the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom 

Act (Public Law 114–281; 130 Stat. 1426) requires the 

President to annually designate countries with severe religious freedom violations that do not reach the threshold 

of ‘‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious’’ violations to a 

‘‘Special Watch List’’; 

Whereas, on December 29, 2023, the Biden administration 

designated Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam as Special Watch List 

countries; 

Whereas to enhance accountability for global human rights 

violations, including violations of religious freedom, President Joseph R. Biden signed the permanent authorization of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) into law on April 8, 

2022; 

Whereas the Senate passed a resolution calling for the global 

repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws in 2020 

(Senate Resolution 458, 116th Congress, agreed to December 19, 2020); 

Whereas, in 2023, threats to religious freedom worsened 

around the world, including incidents targeting the exerVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Mar 01, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR569.IS SR569

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cise of religion in public or private, participation in religious advocacy, conversion from one religion to another, 

engagement in religious practices broadly, and those 

choosing to have no faith at all; 

Whereas, according to USCIRF, there were thousands of incidents wherein religious freedom was violated in 2023, 

including— 

(1) the targeting of 2,228 individuals by 27 countries and entities; 

(2) the imprisonment of 1,491 individuals; 

(3) the ongoing imprisonment of 1,311 individuals; 

and 

(4) the death of 9 individuals while in custody; 

Whereas USCIRF has identified 95 countries with legislation 

criminalizing blasphemy used to enforce arbitrary limitations on religious freedom of expression; 

Whereas the Department of State has determined that religious minorities continue to be victims of genocides that 

relate to matters of religious freedom, including in— 

(1) Burma, where security forces have committed 

crimes against humanity and genocide against Rohingya 

Muslims since 2017, including the systematic killing, torture, and confinement of Rohingyas to small, overcrowded camps without freedom of movement or access 

to adequate food, health care, and education; and 

(2) China, where since 2017 the Chinese government 

has committed crimes against humanity and genocide 

against Uyghurs, including by— 

(A) imprisoning more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs 

in ‘‘re-education camps’’; 

(B) subjecting Uyghur women to forced sterilizations and abortions; 


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•SRES 569 IS 

(C) deliberately separating Uyghur families; 

(D) instituting government surveillance through 

intrusive homestay programs; and 

(E) eliminating the Uyghur language from educational materials; 

Whereas religious minorities face harassment, intimidation, 

violence, and imprisonment from state and non-state actors around the world, including in— 

(1) Afghanistan, where the Taliban has rigorously 

enforced its harsh interpretation of Shari’a law that violates the freedom of religion or belief of religious minorities, including Christians, Ahmadiyya Muslims, Baha’is, 

and nonbelievers who face imprisonment or death if discovered; 

(2) Burma, where in addition to violence targeted at 

religious minorities, strict laws in favor of the Buddhist 

majority regulate religious conversion, marriages, and 

births of non-Buddhists such as Muslims and Christians; 

(3) China, where the government utilizes targeted 

surveillance to monitor, harass, and detain Christians, 

Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghur 

Muslims, and other religious minorities for exercising 

their beliefs; 

(4) Cuba, where the government subjects religious 

leaders and groups that are unregistered through its Office of Religious Affairs to detention, interrogation, imprisonment, and confiscation of property; 

(5) India, where laws promoting religiously discriminatory policies, including laws that target religious conversion, interfaith relationships, the wearing of hijabs, 

and cow slaughter, have been implemented at the national, state, and local levels and negatively impact the 


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•SRES 569 IS 

livelihoods of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and 

Adivasis; 

(6) Iran, where the government disproportionately 

subjects members of religious minorities such as Baha’is, 

Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, and Sunni Muslims to 

amputations, floggings, detention, harassment, surveillance, executions, and exile; 

(7) Nicaragua, where the government arbitrarily detains and exiles religious clerics and leaders who advocate 

for the rights of religious minorities and criticize the government’s persecution of the Roman Catholic Church; 

(8) Nigeria, where the government’s enforcement of 

blasphemy laws embedded in Nigeria’s criminal and 

Shari’a codes results in the arbitrary detainment and imprisonment of those who express their religious identity; 

(9) North Korea, where any religion contrary to the 

ruling ideology known as Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism is 

deemed an existential threat to the state; 

(10) Pakistan, where religious minorities face 

killings, lynchings, mob violence, forced conversions, and 

sexual violence for their religious identities; 

(11) Russia, where laws on terrorism and extremism 

are used to target religious minorities such as Jehovah’s 

Witnesses, Muslims, and members of the Ukrainian 

Greek-Catholic Church for their beliefs; 

(12) Tajikistan, where the government represses the 

display of public religiosity by individuals of all faiths 

and institutes strict restrictions against Muslims, including a ban on beards and hijabs; 

(13) Turkmenistan, where the government controls 

all aspects of religious life and expression, monitors religious practice, and punishes nonconformity through administrative harassment, imprisonment, and torture; and 


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(14) Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, where the 

Russian military has reportedly perpetrated 43 cases of 

targeted persecution of the clergy and more than 109 

acts pressuring churches and religious figures representing Orthodox Christians, Ukrainian Greek-Catholics, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Jehovah’s Witnesses since the launch of its full-scale invasion 

in February 2022; 

Whereas violent extremists and non-state actors continue to 

capitalize upon violence and instability in countries to 

perpetrate serious human rights violations against religious minorities, including in— 

(1) Latin America, where criminal gangs and paramilitary groups threaten and displace indigenous communities, destroy places of worship, and forcibly require conversion or renunciation of ancestral practices; 

(2) Nigeria, where violent, non-state militant groups 

such as Boko Haram target Christians, as well as persons engaged in ‘‘un-Islamic’’ activities, including Muslim 

critics and elders; 

(3) the Sahel region of Africa, where violent extremist organizations threaten violence against Christians who 

do not convert to Islam; 

(4) Syria, where violent extremist organizations restrict the religious freedom of non-confirming Sunni Muslims and threaten the property, safety, and existence of 

religious minority groups such as Alawites, Christians, 

and Druze; and 

(5) Yemen, where the Houthi rebels harass, defame, 

and incite hatred against vulnerable faith communities 

including the Christians, Baha’is, Jews, and non-religious 

persons who continue to be forced to flee to the south of 

the country or leave Yemen entirely; and 


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Whereas religious sites continue to be damaged or destroyed, 

especially in areas of conflict, including in— 

(1) Burma, where the military junta has destroyed 

approximately 200 houses of worship and religious sites 

such as Buddhist monasteries, churches, and mosques, 

and has occupied religious compounds for use as military 

bases; 

(2) China, where the government has destroyed 

mosques, shrines, gravesites, and other religious and cultural sites throughout Xinjiang and the country; 

(3) Ethiopia, where ongoing violence between the 

government and non-state actors has led to drone strikes 

and attacks on church compounds such as the Full Gospel Church in the Oromiya region in which 8 people were 

killed; 

(4) India, where places of worship such as Christian 

churches and Muslim madrasas continue to be destroyed, 

especially those in predominantly Christian and Muslim 

neighborhoods; 

(5) Nigeria, where violent, non-state groups, such as 

Boko Haram, attack population centers and religious targets, including churches and mosques; 

(6) Sudan, where members of the Rapid Support 

Forces attacked a Coptic Christian monastery and raided 

the Sudanese Episcopal Church in Khartoum, using both 

as bases for military operations; and 

(7) Ukraine, where approximately 500 houses of 

worship have been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s 

full-scale invasion of the country began in February 

2022: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) recognizes religious freedom as a funda2 mental human right; 

3 (2) recognizes the critical importance of reli4 gious freedom in— 

5 (A) supporting democracy, good govern6 ance, and the rule of law; 

7 (B) encouraging pluralism and robust po8 litical participation; and 

9 (C) fostering global stability and peace; 

10 (3) expresses grave concern over threats to reli11 gious freedom around the world, such as through 

12 harassment, violence, and imprisonment; 

13 (4) condemns all efforts to suppress religious 

14 freedom, including through the criminalization of— 

15 (A) religious exercise in public or private; 

16 (B) the choice to have no faith; 

17 (C) conversion from one religion to an18 other; 

19 (D) advocacy for religious freedom; 

20 (E) sharing and spreading religious mes21 sages and educational materials; and 

22 (F) construction and maintenance of reli23 gious holy sites; 


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1 (5) supports the invaluable work of religious 

2 freedom advocates in fighting for greater religious 

3 freedom around the world; and 

4 (6) urges the Department of State to— 

5 (A) continue robust bilateral and multilat6 eral engagement with allies and partners on re7 ligious freedom; 

8 (B) maintain and expand support for 

9 human rights activists, journalists, and civil so10 ciety leaders working to protect religious free11 dom in countries of particular concern and Spe12 cial Watch List countries; 

13 (C) leverage all diplomatic and sanctions 

14 tools available to the United States Government 

15 to hold religious freedom violators accountable 

16 for their actions, including those authorized by 

17 the International Religious Freedom Act of 

18 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.); 

19 (D) continue to impose sanctions on those 

20 responsible for violations of religious freedom 

21 pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human 

22 Rights Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 

23 (E) consider human rights abuses and reli24 gious freedom violations in prioritizing partners 

25 for free trade agreements; and 


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1 (F) promote religious freedom as an ut2 most priority for the United States in imple3 mentation of United States foreign policy. 

Æ 


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