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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 923 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

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 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, 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;
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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses support for Human Rights Day and recognizes 
        its global significance;
            (2) recognizes the critical importance and contributions of 
        global civil society in advancing human rights, democracy, and 
        the rule of law;
            (3) condemns the use of political imprisonment as a tool of 
        repression to restrict civil liberties and human rights;
            (4) calls upon governments that are unjustly detaining 
        individuals for their human rights and civil society advocacy 
        work to immediately and unconditionally release these political 
        prisoners;
            (5) encourages the Department of State to continue robust 
        campaigns to advocate for the release of political prisoners 
        and to leverage all necessary diplomatic tools in support of 
        such advocacy, including by--
                    (A) coordinating with other executive agencies on 
                priority cases of political prisoners for any 
                principals or high-level United States officials 
                traveling to specific countries where a known case 
                requires attention or diplomatic intervention;
                    (B) working with congressional partners, such as 
                the Senate Human Rights Caucus and the Tom Lantos Human 
                Rights Commission, to coordinate advocacy on priority 
                cases for members of Congress, including advocacy 
                preceding official congressional travel;
                    (C) consulting with civil society and 
                nongovernmental organizations in countries with 
                priority political prisoners' cases on plans of 
                engagement and advocacy;
                    (D) supporting bilateral and multilateral 
                engagement with allies and like-minded countries on 
                issues involving the global protection of human rights, 
                democratic governance, and the rule of law; and
                    (E) working with multilateral organizations and 
                fora to devise joint efforts to advance human rights 
                and democracy; and
            (6) encourages the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and 
        Labor, in collaboration with the Office of the Special 
        Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, to devise joint 
        strategies to deter authoritarian regimes from using their 
        judicial systems (particularly arrests, detentions, and 
        sentencings) as tools to silence dissent or for political 
        leverage.
                                 <all>
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