IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 176
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Federation should
preserve and protect the rights and freedoms currently afforded those
of religious faith under the Russian Constitution.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 24, 1997
Mr. HUTCHINSON (for himself, Mr. DELAY, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. WATTS of Okla-
homa, Mr. WOLF, Mr. PITTS, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr.
BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado, Mr. HOYER, Mr. HORN, Mr. ADERHOLT,
Mr. PICKERING, Mr. COOK, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. KING,
Mr. RUSH, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. SNOWBARGER, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr.
HOEKSTRA, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. GORDON, Mr. MEEHAN,
Mr. DOYLE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. SOUDER, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr.
CUNNINGHAM, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. ADAM SMITH of Wash-
ington, Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina, Mr. TALENT, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.
RYUN, Mr. WICKER, Mr. CRAPO, and Mr. HANSEN) submitted the follow-
ing concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Inter-
national Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the Russian Fed-
eration should preserve and protect the rights and free-
doms currently afforded those of religious faith under
the Russian Constitution.
Whereas the influence of religious faith provides the nec-
essary foundation for the building of a moral and just so-
ciety;
•HCON 176 IH
Whereas people of faith from around the world have worked
hand in hand with the Russian people throughout history
to provide significant humanitarian assistance to Russia;
Whereas the 1993 Russian Constitution promises freedom of
religion for all Russians and allows for the free function-
ing of all religious denominations;
Whereas the Russian Federation is a signatory to inter-
national agreements on human rights and religious free-
doms such as the United Nations Universal Declaration
on Human Rights, the European Convention, and the
1989 Vienna Concluding Document of the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe;
Whereas on September 24, 1997, the Russian Duma passed,
and on September 25, 1997, President Yeltsin signed
into law legislation discriminating against religious mi-
norities in the Russian Federation by violating their core
civil liberties, including freedom of conscience, freedom of
association, and freedom of speech; and
Whereas this law violates the Russian Constitution by provid-
ing preferential treatment for some religious groups, and
severely restricting, if not abolishing, many others: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That—
(1) it is the sense of the Congress that the ‘‘On
Freedom of Conscience and on Religious Associa-
tion’’ law enacted by the Russian Government on
September 25, 1997, will deny people of faith the
•HCON 176 IH
rights, freedoms, and privileges afforded Russian
citizens under the Russian Constitution;
(2) the Congress unequivocally condemns the
enactment of this law as a flagrant violation of
internationally accepted standards of human rights;
and
(3) it is the sense of the Congress that none of
the funds appropriated under the Foreign Oper-
ations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 1998 should be made available
for the Government of the Russian Federation un-
less it has taken the appropriate steps to assure that
religious discrimination does not result from imple-
mentation of this law, or unless the law is effectively
challenged and changed through an appropriate re-
view process.
Æ