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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1539 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1539

   Expressing solidarity with human rights defenders in the Russian 
                  Federation, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2010

 Mr. Hastings of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
   Expressing solidarity with human rights defenders in the Russian 
                  Federation, and for other purposes.

Whereas the Russian Federation is a permanent member of the United Nations 
        Security Council, a participating state of the Organization for Security 
        and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a member state of the Council of 
        Europe, and as a signatory to international legislation has freely 
        committed to uphold and respect international law;
Whereas the Russian Federation, as a party to the United Nations Universal 
        Declaration of Human Rights under article 3 is obligated to ensure ``the 
        right to life, liberty, and security of person'';
Whereas the Russian Federation, as a signatory to the International Covenant on 
        Civil and Political Rights and as a party to the European Convention on 
        Human Rights, is legally obliged to uphold fundamental freedoms and 
        human rights, including the right to life, freedom of expression, and 
        freedom of association, among others;
Whereas all OSCE participating states, including the Russian Federation, have 
        recognized the right of individuals to know and act upon human rights 
        and fundamental freedoms, and to contribute actively, individually or in 
        association with others, to their promotion and protection;
Whereas human rights defenders, investigative journalists, and activists 
        addressing human rights abuses and corruption in the Russian Federation 
        are routinely targeted for harassment, persecution, and physical 
        attacks;
Whereas human rights defenders, investigative journalists, and activists in the 
        North Caucasus and those reporting on developments in that region of the 
        Russian Federation have been systematically targeted for reprisals 
        because of their work;
Whereas Natalya Estemirova, the leading human rights defender in Chechnya, was 
        abducted nearby her apartment building in Grozny on July 15, 2009, by 
        unidentified men, transported to the neighboring Republic of Ingushetia, 
        and brutally killed;
Whereas several other activists were also slain in 2009 in connection with their 
        professional work in the North Caucasus and others remain at risk;
Whereas Anna Politkovskaya and over a dozen other journalists have been killed 
        in Russia since 2000 in retaliation for their work, in cases that remain 
        unsolved;
Whereas the 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, issued by the 
        Department of State, found that the Russian Government's poor human 
        rights record in the North Caucasus worsened, with a marked increase in 
        extrajudicial killings by both Government and rebel forces and 
        politically motivated disappearances in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and 
        Dagestan; and
Whereas the ongoing human rights violations, legal impunity, and the permeating 
        climate of fear in the North Caucasus remain a concern of human rights 
        defenders and the international community: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses solidarity with human rights defenders in the 
        Russian Federation;
            (2) calls for an end to the harassment, persecution, and 
        attacks against human rights activists, including journalists, 
        in the Russian Federation;
            (3) condemns the impunity for those responsible for murder 
        of human rights defenders, including journalists, in the 
        Russian Federation;
            (4) urges the Russian Federation to--
                    (A) fully respect in practice the rights and 
                freedoms of all human rights defenders, including the 
                right to life, freedom of expression, and freedom of 
                association;
                    (B) take appropriate measures to end the 
                harassment, persecution, and attacks against human 
                rights activists, including lawyers and journalists;
                    (C) ensure that law enforcement officials 
                vigorously and transparently investigate acts of 
                violence, harassment, and intimidation against members 
                of Russian civil society, as well as make certain that 
                authorities are not complicit in such acts; and
                    (D) fully and thoroughly investigate all unresolved 
                murder cases of human rights defenders, including 
                journalists;
            (5) urges the President and the Secretary of State to 
        integrate human rights in all components of bilateral relations 
        with the Russian Federation and to continue to raise concerns 
        with the Government of the Russian Federation over human rights 
        violations, including the harassment, persecution, and attacks 
        on human rights defenders and journalists; and
            (6) urges the Secretary of State to make effective use of 
        meetings of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
        Europe and other international fora for the purposes of raising 
        these and other human rights abuses in the North Caucasus and 
        elsewhere in the Russian Federation.
                                 <all>
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