IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 352 
Expressing support for the designation of a ‘‘Prisoners of Conscience Day’’. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 8, 2015 
Mr. PITTS (for himself and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of a ‘‘Prisoners of 
Conscience Day’’. 
Whereas thousands of people around the world are prisoners 
of conscience: persons imprisoned for the peaceful expres-
sion of their political, religious, or other conscientiously 
held beliefs, or for their identity, even though they have 
neither used nor advocated violence; 
Whereas international standards protect human rights and 
the fundamental freedoms of all individuals worldwide; 
Whereas the Preamble to the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights refers to the equal rights of men and 
women; 
Whereas the Universal Declaration declares in Article 2 that 
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms it sets 
forth without distinction of any kind; and in Article 3 
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that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security 
of person; and in Article 9 that no one shall be subjected 
to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile; 
Whereas Article 18 of the Universal Declaration states that: 
‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, con-
science and religion; this right includes freedom to 
change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or 
in community with others and in public or private, to 
manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, wor-
ship and observance’’; 
Whereas Article 19 of the Universal Declaration states that: 
‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and ex-
pression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions 
without interference and to seek, receive and impart in-
formation and ideas through any media and regardless of 
frontiers’’; 
Whereas Article 20 (1) of the Universal Declaration states 
that: ‘‘Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful as-
sembly and association’’; 
Whereas prisoners of conscience are imprisoned, often tor-
tured and sometimes executed, because their governments 
view as unacceptable who they are, what they believe, and 
how they have chosen to express their convictions; 
Whereas governments imprison prisoners of conscience for 
many reasons including to restrict the flow of informa-
tion, narrow the space for independent civil society, di-
minish the power of the people to express their views, and 
prevent challenges to their authority; 
Whereas prisoners of conscience include artists, bloggers, 
community activists, dissidents, journalists, human rights 
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activists, lawyers, labor leaders, teachers, religious lead-
ers, and members of religious communities; 
Whereas through the Defending Freedoms Project of the 
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United 
States House of Representatives, undertaken in collabo-
ration with the United States Commission on Inter-
national Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and Amnesty 
International/USA, Members of Congress advocate on be-
half of prisoners of conscience from around the world and 
shine a light on them and the governments of the coun-
tries that have imprisoned them; 
Whereas the goals of the Defending Freedoms Project are, at 
a minimum, to help improve the conditions under which 
prisoners of conscience are held, and ideally, secure their 
freedom, while encouraging countries to implement need-
ed reforms consistent with internationally approved 
human rights standards; and 
Whereas a Prisoners of Conscience Day would underscore the 
importance of prioritizing the protection for and freedom 
of prisoners of conscience as a United States foreign pol-
icy goal: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) calls for the designation of a Prisoners of 
Conscience Day; 
(2) requests that the President of the United 
States issue a proclamation recognizing ‘‘Prisoners 
of Conscience Day’’; 
(3) encourages Members of Congress to raise 
individual prisoner of conscience cases in Congress, 
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with the executive branch, with their constituents, to 
foreign governments and multilateral organizations, 
and during delegation trips abroad; 
(4) encourages the United States Government 
to implement policies and robustly support programs 
promoting human rights, including religious and po-
litical freedom, the rule of law, and the protection of 
individuals and organizations at risk; 
(5) encourages the United States Government 
to undertake specific actions directed at countries 
that detain prisoners of conscience in violation of 
international standards; and 
(6) urges that human rights advocacy on behalf 
of prisoners of conscience be pursued consistently 
and publicly at every level of United States foreign 
policy and in all bilateral and multilateral engage-
ment, so that laws and policies are brought into con-
formity with international commitments and human 
rights standards. 
Æ 
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