•HRES 1140 IH 
dhist nuns Ngawang Sangdrol and Phuntsog Nyidron, 
among others; 
(5) the Department of Homeland Security appointed 
the first Senior Refugee and Asylum Policy Advisor to re-
solve problems in United States immigration law relating 
to expedited removal, a process implemented in 1997 to 
‘‘expeditiously remove’’ certain improperly documented 
aliens without a hearing, to ensure that legitimate asylum 
seekers are not put at risk of being returned to countries 
where they may face persecution, particularly religious 
persecution; and 
(6) in response to protections in the IRFA for those 
individuals seeking asylum for fear of persecution, the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 
issued an order to vacate its August 2005 ruling in Li 
v. Gonzales, clarifying that China’s control over reg-
istered churches, and its prosecution of individuals for 
engaging in ‘‘unauthorized’’ religious activity, are clearly 
in violation of international law with regard to freedom 
of religion or belief, and that Li, a Chinese man who had 
been arrested, beaten, fired, and charged with the 
‘‘crime’’ of organizing an unregistered house church in 
China, should not be removed from the United States; 
Whereas, ten years since the passage of the IRFA, the right 
to religious freedom remains under increasing assault in 
many countries around the world; 
Whereas while some governments have made significant im-
provements in respect for the right to religious freedom, 
new situations of grave concern have arisen, including— 
(1) governments are increasingly limiting the space 
for open discussion and peaceful practice of religious be-
liefs that differ from the beliefs of the majority by pro-
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moting religious defamation resolutions at the United 
Nations Human Rights Council and enforcing national 
laws against blasphemy and apostasy, and this has exac-
erbated societal intolerance for the religious freedom 
rights of individuals; 
(2) the association of nationalism with specific reli-
gions, such as Hindu extremism in India, has led to a 
significant increase in attacks on minority and unrecog-
nized religious communities throughout the world, and of-
tentimes majority religious communities collaborate with 
local officials and the perpetrators are given impunity by 
the government; 
(3) the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson 
Institute exposed translations of extremist literature, 
largely funded by the government of Saudi Arabia, found 
in mosques and schools throughout the world, including 
in the United States, that propagates incitement to reli-
gious hatred and intolerance; 
(4) since September 11, 2001, countries around the 
world, including Uzbekistan and China among others, 
have justified restrictions on religious freedom by accus-
ing peaceful practitioners of some religious communities 
of terrorist activities; 
(5) governments, such as Russia and other countries 
of the Commonwealth of Independent States, often legiti-
mize discrimination against religious minorities by pass-
ing restrictive legislation containing onerous registration 
requirements and unbalanced treatment for such minority 
religious groups; and 
(6) the promotion of religious freedom has increas-
ingly become a critical national security factor in United 
States foreign policy as respect for this right often serves 
as a litmus test for assessing and identifying ways to pre-
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vent and respond to the threat of religiously motivated 
terrorism from extremists throughout the world; 
Whereas, in order to establish the internationally recognized 
right to freedom of religion as a top priority in United 
States foreign policy, the IRFA established the position 
of National Security Advisor on International Religious 
Freedom, but this position has never been filled, limiting 
coordination between the Office of the President and 
other agencies handling religious freedom; 
Whereas the IRFA also called upon the United States Gov-
ernment to fund programs throughout the world that 
promote cultural respect and develop legal protections for 
this international norm, called upon United States em-
bassies in countries the governments of which engage in 
severe violations of religious freedom to develop strategies 
to promote this international norm, and called for in-
struction to be provided at all levels of the foreign service 
in the field of internationally recognized human rights, 
including religious freedom, but it appears that these di-
rectives have never been prioritized nor adequately imple-
mented; 
Whereas, in February 2005, the United States Commission 
on International Religious Freedom, in a comprehensive 
study on the treatment of asylum seekers in the United 
States, identified serious flaws undermining the integrity 
of the system, yet most of the findings and recommenda-
tions from this study, authorized by the IRFA, have not 
yet been addressed by the Department of Homeland Se-
curity; and 
Whereas the United States recognizes the need for additional 
domestic and international attention and action to pro-
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mote and protect the fundamental freedom of religious 
liberty: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the United States House of Rep-
resentatives— 
(1) recognizes the tenth anniversary of the sign-
ing of the International Religious Freedom Act of 
1998 (IRFA) and the fundamental importance of re-
ligious freedom within United States historical expe-
rience and United States foreign policy; 
(2) urges all Member States of the United Na-
tions to respect their obligations to protect Article 
18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 
its entirety and without subjecting it to national law 
or interpretations inconsistent with the object and 
purpose of the Declaration; 
(3) calls upon the President and successive ad-
ministrations to— 
(A) appoint a National Security Advisor on 
International Religious Freedom to coordinate 
United States foreign policy on religious free-
dom between the Office of the President and 
other relevant agencies; 
(B) continue to promote respect for the 
internationally recognized right to freedom of 
religion and fundamental human rights in all 
multilateral and bilateral fora; and 
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•HRES 1140 IH 
(C) address the findings and recommenda-
tions of the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom in its study, 
authorized by the IRFA, on the treatment of 
asylum-seekers in the United States, in order to 
ensure the United States remains a refuge for 
those individuals who have been persecuted on 
the basis of religion or belief; and 
(4) calls upon the Secretary of State to— 
(A) continue to ensure that no foreign gov-
ernment official receives a visa to enter the 
United States if that official has been directly 
involved in particularly severe violations of reli-
gious freedom; 
(B) ensure that religious freedom is a key 
component of dialogue with all countries on the 
list of countries of particular concern (CPC) or 
where concerns exist, and to work with United 
States Ambassadors serving in these countries 
to develop strategies to promote cultural respect 
and develop legal protections for this inter-
national norm; 
(C) ensure that the funding of programs to 
promote respect for the international right to 
religious freedom is made a priority of United 
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