IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 319 
Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promoting religious 
freedom globally, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2017 
Mr. HULTGREN (for himself, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. JODY B. HICE of 
Georgia, Mr. FORTENBERRY, and Ms. ESHOO) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to 
promoting religious freedom globally, and for other purposes. 
Whereas religious freedom is a fundamental right enshrined 
in the American Constitution and critically tied to Amer-
ica’s founding and self-understanding; 
Whereas international religious freedom is a universally rec-
ognized human right and the protection and promotion 
globally of this right attracts broad, bipartisan support; 
Whereas every individual’s rights to freedom of thought, con-
science, and religion is guaranteed under the United Na-
tions Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted at 
Paris December 10, 1948, and the International Cov-
enant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted at New York 
December 16, 1966, which recognize that ‘‘Everyone has 
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•HRES 319 IH 
the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; 
this right includes freedom to change his religion or be-
lief, and freedom, either alone or in community with oth-
ers and in public or private, to manifest his religion or 
belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance’’; 
Whereas according to the bipartisan United States Commis-
sion on International Religious Freedom, abuses com-
mitted by governments and non-state actors has in-
creased and the incarceration of prisoners of conscience 
remains widespread; 
Whereas according to the latest Pew Research Center’s Study 
of Global Restrictions on Religion, which surveyed 2015, 
an estimated 79 percent of the world’s population lives in 
countries where freedom of religion and conscience is 
highly restricted, either by the government or by social 
groups; 
Whereas according to the same study by the Pew Research 
Center, Pakistan, Nigeria, India, Turkey, Indonesia, 
Egypt, Russia, China, Iran, Burma, and Vietnam had 
some of the highest levels of either government restric-
tions on religion or social hostilities experienced by reli-
gious groups; 
Whereas according to the same Pew Research Center Study, 
the two geographic regions with the highest government 
restrictions continue to be the Middle East-North Africa 
and the Asia-Pacific; 
Whereas the most recent data reflects that in 2015 Chris-
tians were harassed in 128 of 198 countries, more than 
any other faith group, Muslims were harassed in 125 
countries, and Jews were harassed in 74 countries; 
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•HRES 319 IH 
Whereas according to a 2017 report by the Religious Free-
dom Institute and the Center on Faith & International 
Affairs, the scope of religious persecution globally affects 
many religious communities, it is Christian minorities 
that are currently most at risk, particularly in the Middle 
East, where ancient communities are in danger of elimi-
nation; 
Whereas Congress has recognized that Yezidis, Christian, 
Shi’a and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq 
and Syria have faced genocide and other crimes against 
humanity perpetuated by ISIS, and that some of these 
minority faiths are on the verge of extinction in Iraq; 
Whereas Egyptian Coptic Christians have been repeatedly 
targeted and their aggressors have gone unprosecuted, in-
cluding two suicide bombings that killed 44 people at 
Coptic churches on Palm Sunday 2017 and an attack in 
December 2016 killing 24 and injuring numerous other 
Coptic worshipers, many of whom were women and chil-
dren; 
Whereas according to the bipartisan United States Commis-
sion on International Religious Freedom, Burmese Chris-
tians and Muslim communities have faced extraordinary 
persecution from both government and non-state actors, 
including incidents of intimidation and violence; the 
forced relocation and destruction of religious sites; violent 
attacks by mobs and the military; sexual violence and 
trafficking in persons; and an ongoing campaign of co-
erced conversion to Buddhism; 
Whereas according to the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, 
in Nigeria systemic discrimination and impunity has con-
tributed to a 62-percent increase of Christians killings 
over the past 3 years, resulting in over 4,028 deaths and 
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200 church attacks, led in part by the Islamist terror 
group Boko Haram, Fulani militants, and others, result-
ing in mass dislocation and famine; 
Whereas the Eritrean Government continues to target Protes-
tant Christians, including torturing religious prisoners, 
arbitrarily arresting and detaining Protestant Christians 
without charges, and banning public religious activities; 
Whereas apostasy and blasphemy laws are routinely used 
across the Middle East and North Africa to intimidate 
and punish minority faiths and those who would leave 
Islam; 
Whereas according to Human Rights Watch, in Pakistan 
Christians, Hindu, and Ahmadis are often targeted be-
cause of their religious identities by violent religious ex-
tremists; forced conversion and marriage of Christian and 
Hindu girls and young women into Islam remains a sys-
temic problem; where blasphemy laws are often used as 
an excuse to settle personal scores or stir up religious an-
imosity against marginalized religious minorities, result-
ing in a climate of fear and a chilling effect on religious 
expression; and whereas, according to the United States 
Commission for International Religious Freedom, there 
are more people serving on death row or serving life sen-
tences for blasphemy in Pakistan than in any other coun-
try in the world; 
Whereas the Iranian government has increasingly raided 
Christian and Baha’i religious gatherings, arrested and 
imprisoned worshipers and religious leaders, imprisoned 
Baha’i educators, confiscated Christian and Baha’i prop-
erties, significantly increased the number of physical as-
saults and beatings of Christians in prison, restricted ac-
cess to education for the Christian and Baha’i faith com-
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munities, and forced human rights defenders who defend 
Christians and Baha’is in court to flee the country or 
face imprisonment; 
Whereas according to the Department of State, the Sudanese 
Government has systematically targeted the Christian 
community, prosecuting Christian pastors on trumped-up 
charges, confiscating Christian-owned properties, banning 
the construction of new Christian houses of worship, de-
stroying numerous religious facilities throughout the 
country, targeting human rights defenders for legally rep-
resenting the Christian community, and, according to 
Open Doors, conducting bombing campaigns of churches 
and hospitals in the Nuba mountains; 
Whereas the North Korean Government continues to be the 
most repressive regime, reserving its most severe persecu-
tion for Christians with estimates that tens of thousands 
of Christians are currently in prison camps facing hard 
labor or execution; 
Whereas limits on religious expression and religious practice 
are widespread, including the use of technologies and the 
Internet to target and silence religious minorities, restrict 
the freedom of assembly, and limit access to digital reli-
gious materials; 
Whereas promoting Internet freedom is a cost-effective means 
of advancing fundamental freedoms in closed and author-
itarian countries, including the freedom of religion; 
Whereas despite increased attention to religion in United 
States foreign policy in recent years, global levels of reli-
gious persecution, violent religious extremism, and reli-
gion-related conflict remain dangerously high; 
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Whereas the global religious freedom crisis we are experi-
encing today has created millions of victims and under-
mines liberty, prosperity, and peace in places vital to 
United States national interests—posing direct challenges 
to United States interests in the Middle East, Russia, 
China, and sub-Saharan Africa; 
Whereas a growing body of academic research, including the 
work of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, 
demonstrates that the absence of religious freedom con-
tributes to persecution of minorities, religious extremism, 
terrorism, and instability; 
Whereas this research also shows that where religious free-
dom is protected and advanced as a universally recog-
nized human right there is greater peace, political and so-
cial stability, economic development, democratization, 
women’s empowerment, and less violent religious extre-
mism; and 
Whereas Congress recently recognized, with broad bipartisan 
support, in the Frank R. Wolf International Religious 
Freedom Act (Public Law 114–281) that because the 
promotion of international religious freedom protects 
human rights, advances democracy abroad, and advances 
United States interests in stability, security, and develop-
ment globally, the promotion of international religious 
freedom requires new and evolving policies, and diplo-
matic responses that are drawn from the expertise of the 
national security agencies, the diplomatic services, and 
other governmental agencies and nongovernmental orga-
nizations, and are coordinated across and carried out by 
the entire range of Federal agencies: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 319 IH 
(1) reaffirms the commitment of the United 
States to promoting religious freedom globally and 
calls on the President and the Secretary of State, in 
accordance with the International Religious Freedom 
Act of 1998, as amended by the Frank R. Wolf 
International Religious Freedom Act of 2016 (Public 
Law 114–281), to strengthen United States religious 
freedom diplomacy on behalf of individuals facing re-
strictions, imprisonment, and violence in foreign 
countries on account of their religious belief or prac-
tice; 
(2) calls on the President to appoint a new Am-
bassador-at-Large for International Religious Free-
dom at the Department of State and to name a Spe-
cial Advisor for International Religious Freedom at 
the National Security Council, as urged by section 
201 of the Frank Wolf International Religious Free-
dom Act (Public Law 114–281); 
(3) calls on the President, the Secretary of 
State, and the Ambassador-at-Large for Inter-
national Religious Freedom to develop a national se-
curity strategy on international religious freedom 
and to integrate that strategy into United States 
diplomatic, development, and national security strat-
egies, including by incorporating international reli-
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gious freedom policy into the strategic plans of all 
executive agencies with foreign policy responsibil-
ities, including the Department of Defense Quadren-
nial Defense Review; 
(4) urges the President to incorporate the na-
tional security strategy on international religious 
freedom into the National Security Strategy of the 
United States; 
(5) urges the President, the Secretary of State, 
and the Ambassador-at-Large for International Reli-
gious Freedom to provide strong support for inter-
national religious freedom in existing United Na-
tions institutions that have a specialized expertise on 
the issue and leverage the growing network of for-
eign international religious freedom focused institu-
tions including such bodies as the International Con-
tact Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, the 
Panel of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief 
at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and 
Human Rights, the European Parliament Intergroup 
on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tol-
erance, the International Panel of Parliamentarians 
for Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Common-
wealth Initiative for Freedom of Religion or Belief; 
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(6) calls on the President, in collaboration with 
the Secretary of State, the Ambassador-at-Large for 
International Religious Freedom, and the Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, in accordance with section 106 of the 
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6415), to develop a strategic plan for United 
States diplomatic missions to promote and protect 
international religious freedom and to direct grants 
to civil society, nongovernmental organizations, and 
both majority and minority religious groups that are 
engaged in innovative programs to build and 
strengthen pluralistic societies, protect the univer-
sally guaranteed right to the freedom of religion, re-
duce conflict, and counter violent religious extre-
mism and terrorism; 
(7) urges the Secretary of State to implement 
the requirements of section 103 of the Frank Wolf 
International Religious Freedom Act (Public Law 
114–281) and develop a training curriculum for all 
American diplomats in international religious free-
dom policy; 
(8) calls on the President, in collaboration with 
the Secretary of State, the Ambassador-at-Large for 
International Religious Freedom, the Chief Execu-
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tive Officer of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, 
and the Administrator of the United States Agency 
for International Development, to develop a com-
prehensive and multiyear strategy that partners with 
civil society, businesses, key technology industries, 
religious leaders, and human rights defenders to 
achieve rapid levels of closed society access to the 
Internet in promotion of democracy and human 
rights, including religious freedom; 
(9) urges that not less than 5 percent of funds 
appropriated for the Broadcasting Board of Gov-
ernors is used to support Internet firewall and cen-
sorship circumvention activities; 
(10) urges the President, the Secretary of 
State, the Secretary of Defense, and other relevant 
agencies to develop a comprehensive response to pro-
tect the victims of genocide, crimes against human-
ity, and war crimes and to provide humanitarian, 
stabilization, and recovery assistance to all individ-
uals from religious and ethnic groups so effected in 
Iraq and Syria; and 
(11) urges the Secretary of State to reestablish 
the Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group 
within the Department of State’s Federal Advisory 
Committee established by the previous administra-
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tion, bringing together experts from government, 
universities, religious and other nongovernment or-
ganizations to develop an effective multiyear plan to 
address religious persecution globally and protect 
and promote international religious freedom. 
Æ 
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