III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 923 

Recognizing the critical importance and contributions of global civil society 

in advancing human rights, condemning the use of political imprisonment 

as a tool of repression, and calling for the release of political prisoners 

across the world in commemoration of Human Rights Day on December 

10, 2024. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10, 2024 

Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. TILLIS) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the critical importance and contributions of global civil society in advancing human rights, condemning 

the use of political imprisonment as a tool of repression, 

and calling for the release of political prisoners across 

the world in commemoration of Human Rights Day on 

December 10, 2024. 

Whereas the Senate passed S. Res. 731, which designated 

December 10, 2018, as ‘‘Human Rights Day’’; 

Whereas December 10, 2024, marks the 76th anniversary of 

the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights; 

Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a 

landmark document that established the inalienable 


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•SRES 923 IS 

rights to which all humans are entitled, regardless of 

race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property ownership, birthplace, or other status; 

Whereas, in light of immense difficulties, civil society and 

civil society organizations contribute to the promotion, 

protection, and advancement of human rights, democratic 

governance, and rule of law across the world every day; 

Whereas the state of global human rights and civil liberties 

has declined during the past 2 decades, with Freedom 

House notably tracking 18 consecutive years of decline in 

rights and freedoms around the world; 

Whereas Freedom House reports that political rights and 

civil liberties in 2023 diminished in 52 countries and improved in only 21 countries; 

Whereas, since 2016, 91 countries have proposed or enacted 

more than 260 legal measures affecting civil society, of 

which 72 percent have restricted human rights; 

Whereas increasing restrictions on civil society organizations 

directly impedes the ability of such organizations to advance human rights advocacy and democracy-building 

work and obstructs the rights of citizens to exercise freedom of speech and assembly; 

Whereas the Department of State estimates that 1,000,000 

individuals find themselves unjustly behind bars as political prisoners for exercising human rights and fundamental freedoms, because of their race, religion, or ethnicity, or due to their private relationships; 

Whereas political imprisonment is employed by authoritarian 

actors as a tool for limiting political and social dissent, 


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stifling freedom of expression and assembly, and undermining public participation in free and fair elections; 

Whereas authoritarian countries operate vast networks of political prison camps and labor camps used to indiscriminately detain thousands of individuals; 

Whereas countless political prisoners in these detention facilities are subjected to torture, inhumane conditions, enforced disappearance, or other forms of abuse; 

Whereas, according to Freedom House, throughout 2023, 

widespread problems with elections, including violence 

and electoral manipulation, drove deterioration in rights 

and freedoms across the world, especially in countries 

that experienced pre- and post-election violence; 

Whereas, in many countries, political opposition figures and 

civil society members continue to be unjustly detained for 

their role in demanding free and fair elections and leading peaceful democratic protests in opposition to illiberal 

regimes; 

Whereas anti-corruption prosecutors and pro-democracy activists are arbitrarily imprisoned on baseless charges for 

their advocacy of greater judicial independence and transparency in countries where judicial systems are 

weaponized against human rights advocates; 

Whereas religious minorities, religious freedom advocates, 

and missionaries are unjustly targeted, detained, and repressed for exercising their freedom to believe or not to 

believe and advocating for those same freedoms for others; 

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


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Whereas women face significantly higher risks of harassment 

and imprisonment when participating in civil society and 

political advocacy and heightened vulnerabilities to mental and physical abuse during arrest, questioning, and 

imprisonment; 

Whereas authoritarian governments and nonstate actors 

around the world enforce systems of impunity and discrimination to systematically dismantle women’s and 

girls’ access to their civil liberties and imprison female 

human rights defenders and members of civil society who 

speak out against such oppression; 

Whereas journalists face political imprisonment for fighting 

to report the truth, advocating for greater protections for 

freedom of press, and holding governments accountable 

to their citizens; 

Whereas, during 2023, according to Reporters Without Borders, nearly 800 journalists were jailed and 45 were 

killed for simply doing their jobs: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses support for Human Rights Day 

3 and recognizes its global significance; 

4 (2) recognizes the critical importance and con5 tributions of global civil society in advancing human 

6 rights, democracy, and the rule of law; 

7 (3) condemns the use of political imprisonment 

8 as a tool of repression to restrict civil liberties and 

9 human rights; 

10 (4) calls upon governments that are unjustly 

11 detaining individuals for their human rights and civil 


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1 society advocacy work to immediately and uncondi2 tionally release these political prisoners; 

3 (5) encourages the Department of State to con4 tinue robust campaigns to advocate for the release 

5 of political prisoners and to leverage all necessary 

6 diplomatic tools in support of such advocacy, includ7 ing by— 

8 (A) coordinating with other executive agen9 cies on priority cases of political prisoners for 

10 any principals or high-level United States offi11 cials traveling to specific countries where a 

12 known case requires attention or diplomatic 

13 intervention; 

14 (B) working with congressional partners, 

15 such as the Senate Human Rights Caucus and 

16 the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, to 

17 coordinate advocacy on priority cases for mem18 bers of Congress, including advocacy preceding 

19 official congressional travel; 

20 (C) consulting with civil society and non21 governmental organizations in countries with 

22 priority political prisoners’ cases on plans of en23 gagement and advocacy; 

24 (D) supporting bilateral and multilateral 

25 engagement with allies and like-minded counVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Dec 11, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR923.IS SR923

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1 tries on issues involving the global protection of 

2 human rights, democratic governance, and the 

3 rule of law; and 

4 (E) working with multilateral organiza5 tions and fora to devise joint efforts to advance 

6 human rights and democracy; and 

7 (6) encourages the Bureau of Democracy, 

8 Human Rights, and Labor, in collaboration with the 

9 Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage 

10 Affairs, to devise joint strategies to deter authori11 tarian regimes from using their judicial systems 

12 (particularly arrests, detentions, and sentencings) as 

13 tools to silence dissent or for political leverage. 

Æ 


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