III 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 46 

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should 

fully protect the freedoms of all religious communities without distinction, 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2005 

Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself and Mr. SMITH) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

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

communities without distinction, whether registered and 

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 Russian Federation specifically committed in the 

1989 Vienna Concluding Document to ‘‘take effective 

measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination against 
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•SCON 46 IS

individuals 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 registration is critical for religious groups to fully 

enjoy their religious freedoms, as many rights and privileges afforded to religious communities in the Russian 

Federation are contingent on obtaining registration; 

Whereas many religious groups refuse to seek registration on 

theological or other grounds, while 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 

experiencing renewed discrimination and repression from 

the authorities; 
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•SCON 46 IS

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 in some areas of the Russian Federation law enforcement personnel have carried out violent actions 

against believers from unregistered communities peacefully practicing their faith; and 

Whereas the United States has sought to protect the fundamental and inalienable human right to seek, know, and 

serve God according to the dictates of one’s own conscience, in accordance with the international agreements 

committing nations to respect individual freedom of 

thought, conscience, and belief: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the 

3 United States Government should— 

4 (1) urge the Government of the Russian Fed5 eration to ensure full protection of freedoms for all 

6 religious communities without distinction, whether 

7 registered and unregistered, and end the harassment 

8 of unregistered religious groups by the security ap9 paratus and other government agencies; 

10 (2) urge the Government of the Russian Fed11 eration to ensure that law enforcement officials vig12 orously investigate acts of violence against unregis13 tered religious communities, as well as make certain 

14 that authorities are not complicit in such attacks; 
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1 (3) continue to raise concerns with the Govern2 ment of the Russian Federation over violations of re3 ligious freedom, including those against unregistered 

4 religious communities, especially indigenous denomi5 nations not well known in the United States; 

6 (4) ensure that United States Embassy officials 

7 engage local officials throughout the Russian Fed8 eration, especially when violations of freedom of reli9 gion occur, and undertake outreach activities to edu10 cate local officials about the rights of unregistered 

11 religious communities; 

12 (5) urge both the Personal Representative of 

13 the OSCE Chair-in-Office on Combating Racism, 

14 Xenophobia and Discrimination, also focusing on In15 tolerance and Discrimination against Christians and 

16 Members of Other Religions, and the United Nations 

17 Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief 

18 to visit the Russian Federation and raise with fed19 eral and local officials concerns about the free prac20 tice of unregistered religious communities; and 

21 (6) urge the Council of Europe and its member 

22 countries to raise with Russian Federation officials 

23 issues relating to freedom of religion, especially in 
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1 light of the Russian Federation’s responsibilities as 

2 President of the Council in 2006. 

Æ