H. Res. 512 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
December 7, 2020. 
Whereas Article 18 of the International Declaration of 
Human Rights states that ‘‘[e]veryone has the right to 
freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right in-
cludes freedom to change his religion or belief, and free-
dom, 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 many countries continue to have criminal blasphemy 
laws and punish people who engage in expression deemed 
by the government to be blasphemous, heretical, apostate, 
defamatory of religion, or insulting to religion or to reli-
gious symbols, figures, or feelings, and such punishment 
can include fines, imprisonment, and capital punishment 
including by beheading; 
Whereas blasphemy laws have affected Christians, Muslims, 
Jews, Hindus, Baha’i, secularists, and many other 
groups, are inconsistent with international human rights 
standards because they establish and promote official re-
ligious orthodoxy and dogma over individual liberty, and 
often result in violations of the freedoms of religion, 
thought, and expression that are protected under inter-
national instruments, including Articles 18 and 19 of the
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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
(ICCPR); 
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Committee stat-
ed in General Comment 34 that ‘‘[p]rohibitions of dis-
plays of lack of respect for a religion or other belief sys-
tem, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the 
[ICCPR].’’; 
Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli-
gious Freedom (USCIRF) has found that blasphemy 
charges are often based on false accusations, are used for 
sectarian or political purposes, and foster religious intol-
erance, discrimination, and violence; 
Whereas USCIRF has found that at least 70 countries had 
blasphemy laws as of 2018; 
Whereas these laws were present in 18 Middle East and 
North African countries, 8 countries in the Americas, 18 
Asia-Pacific countries, 14 European countries, and 12 
Sub-Saharan African countries; 
Whereas the Pew Research Center found that countries with 
laws against blasphemy, apostasy, or defamation of reli-
gion were more likely to have severe governmental restric-
tions on religion, and to experience social hostilities based 
on religion, than countries that did not have such laws; 
Whereas restrictive laws beyond those penalizing blasphemy, 
heresy, and apostasy further limit religious freedom, such 
as extremism laws— 
(1) in Russia that have been used to ban Jehovah’s 
Witnesses as an extremist organization and fueled perse-
cution of this religious group; 
(2) in China, to arbitrarily detain an estimated 
800,000 to 2,000,000 Uighur Muslims in internment
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camps because they followed Islamic rituals and prac-
tices; and 
(3) in North Korea, to detain an estimated 50,000 
to 70,000 Christians in labor camps because they fol-
lowed the tenets of Christianity; 
Whereas an international group of experts convened by the 
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Human Rights recommended in 2012 that ‘‘[s]tates that 
have blasphemy laws should repeal the[m] as such laws 
have a stifling impact on the enjoyment of freedom of re-
ligion or belief and healthy dialogue and debate about re-
ligion.’’; 
Whereas blasphemy laws are inconsistent with United Na-
tions resolutions adopted by consensus since 2011 recog-
nizing that religious intolerance is best fought through 
positive measures, such as education, outreach, and 
counter-speech, and that criminalization of speech is war-
ranted only for the prevention of imminent violence; 
Whereas according to the annual religious freedom report 
published by the Department of State in 2015, attackers 
in Bangladesh killed five allegedly anti-Islamic or 
secularist writers and publishers, and injured three oth-
ers; 
Whereas in response to these killings, the Home Minister of 
Bangladesh, rather than condemning the murders, called 
on bloggers and others to refrain from writings that 
could hurt the religious feelings of others and added that 
violators of the warning would be subject to prosecution 
under the restrictive religious freedom laws of Ban-
gladesh;
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Whereas a 2016 report by USCIRF on Bangladesh found 
that religious and civil society groups fear that increasing 
religious extremism will result in more criminal attacks 
and threats; 
Whereas restrictive religious freedom laws validate and pro-
mote social violence targeted at religious minorities and 
dissenters, whether Christian, Muslim, secularist, or 
other; 
Whereas USCIRF has found that in Pakistan, blasphemy 
laws have been used to prosecute and persecute Muslims, 
Christians, secularists, and others; 
Whereas according to a Pew Center report on religion and 
public life, Pakistan stands out for having one of the 
highest levels of restrictions on religion when both gov-
ernment restrictions and social hostilities are taken into 
account; 
Whereas USCIRF has found egregious examples of the en-
forcement of blasphemy laws and vigilante violence con-
nected to blasphemy allegations in Pakistan, where blas-
phemy charges are common and numerous individuals are 
in prison, with a high percentage sentenced to death or 
to life in prison; 
Whereas, as of May 2018, USCIRF was aware of approxi-
mately 40 individuals on death row for blasphemy in 
Pakistan or serving life sentences; 
Whereas Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 
2010 and was held for 8 years, until the Supreme Court 
of Pakistan overturned her conviction in 2018, upheld 
her acquittal, and granted her permission to leave the 
country to flee the threats against her in 2019;
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Whereas Pakistan selectively enforces the blasphemy and 
anti-terrorism laws against minority religious groups, in-
cluding by specifically targeting Ahmadiyya Muslims such 
as Abdul Shakoor, an 80-year old optician and bookseller 
who was recently released after serving over three years 
in prison on such charges; 
Whereas blasphemy laws in Pakistan have fostered a climate 
of impunity, as those who falsify evidence go unpunished 
and allegations often result in violent mob attacks or as-
sassinations, with little to no police response; 
Whereas in 2017, the Christian Governor of Jakarta, Indo-
nesia, was convicted for blasphemy of Islam and sen-
tenced to two years in jail; 
Whereas several countries that maintained blasphemy laws 
have recently taken steps towards removing these provi-
sions, including Greece, Ireland, and Canada; 
Whereas blasphemy laws in the United States were invali-
dated by the adoption of the First Amendment to the 
Constitution, which protects the freedoms of thought, 
conscience, expression, and religious exercise; and 
Whereas the United States has become a beacon of religious 
freedom and tolerance around the world: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes that blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy 
laws inappropriately position governments as arbiters of 
religious truth and empower officials to impose religious 
dogma on individuals or minorities through the power of
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the government or through violence sanctioned by the 
government; 
(2) calls on the President and the Secretary of 
State to make the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and 
apostasy laws a priority in the bilateral relationships of 
the United States with all countries that have such laws, 
through direct interventions in bilateral and multilateral 
fora; 
(3) encourages the President and the Secretary of 
State to oppose— 
(A) any efforts, by the United Nations or by 
other international or multilateral fora, to create an 
international anti-blasphemy norm, such as the 
‘‘defamation of religions’’ resolutions introduced in 
the United Nations between 1999 and 2010; and 
(B) any attempts to expand the international 
norm on incitement to include blasphemy or defa-
mation of religions; 
(4) supports efforts by the United Nations to com-
bat intolerance, discrimination, or violence against per-
sons based on religion or belief without restricting ex-
pression, including United Nations Human Rights Coun-
cil Resolution 16/18 (2011) and the Istanbul Process 
meetings pursuant to such resolution, that are consistent 
with the First Amendment to the Constitution;
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(5) calls on the President and the Secretary of 
State to designate countries that enforce blasphemy, her-
esy, or apostasy laws as ‘‘countries of particular concern 
for religious freedom’’ under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of 
the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)) for engaging in or tolerating 
severe violations of religious freedom, as a result of the 
abuses flowing from the enforcement of such laws and 
from unpunished vigilante violence often generated by 
blasphemy allegations; 
(6) urges the governments of countries that enforce 
blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy laws to amend or repeal 
such laws, as they provide pretext and impunity for vigi-
lante violence against religious minorities; and 
(7) urges the governments of countries that have 
prosecuted, imprisoned, and persecuted people on 
charges of blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy to release 
such people unconditionally and, once released, to ensure 
their safety and that of their families. 
Attest: 
Clerk.