H. Res. 562
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
October 13, 1998.
Whereas totalitarian regimes, including Fascist and Com-
munist dictatorships, have caused immeasurable human
suffering and loss, degrading not only every conceivable
human right, but the human spirit itself;
Whereas the villainy of communism was dedicated, in particu-
lar, to the organized and systematic destruction of pri-
vate property ownership, including ownership of real, per-
sonal, business, and financial property, by individuals and
communities;
Whereas the confiscation of property without compensation
by totalitarian regimes was often designed to victimize
people because of religion, ethnicity, national or social or-
igin, or opposition to such regimes;
Whereas certain individuals and communities twice suffered
the taking of their properties without compensation, first
by the Nazis and their collaborators and next by subse-
quent Communist regimes;
Whereas churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious
properties, as well as properties such as hospitals, schools
and orphanages owned by religious communities, were de-
stroyed or confiscated as a means of breaking the spir-
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itual devotion and allegiance of religious people and dis-
mantling religious communities;
Whereas refugees from communism, in addition to being
wrongfully deprived of their property, were often forced
to relinquish their citizenship in order to protect them-
selves and their families from reprisals by the Com-
munists who ruled their countries;
Whereas the participating States of the Organization for Se-
curity and Cooperation in Europe have agreed to achieve
or maintain full recognition and protection of all types of
property, including private property, and the right to
prompt, just and effective compensation in the event pri-
vate property is taken for public use;
Whereas the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the
Caucasus, and Central Asia, have entered a post-Com-
munist period of transition and democratic development,
and many countries have begun the difficult and wrench-
ing process of trying to right the wrongs of previous to-
talitarian regimes;
Whereas many countries in Central and Eastern Europe have
enacted laws providing for the restitution of properties
that were illegally or unjustly seized, nationalized, con-
fiscated, or otherwise expropriated by totalitarian re-
gimes;
Whereas legal or administrative restrictions that require
claimants to reside in, or be a citizen of, the country
from which they seek restitution of, or compensation for,
wrongfully expropriated property are arbitrary, discrimi-
natory, and in violation of international law; and
Whereas the rule of law and democratic norms require that
the activity of governments and their administrative
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agencies be exercised in accordance with the laws passed
by their parliaments or legislatures, and such laws them-
selves must be consistent with international human rights
standards: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) welcomes the efforts of many formerly totali-
tarian countries to address the complex and difficult
question of the status of wrongfully expropriated prop-
erties;
(2) urges countries which have not already done so
to return wrongfully expropriated properties to their
rightful owners or, when actual return is not possible, to
pay prompt, just and effective compensation, in accord-
ance with principles of justice and in a manner that is
just, transparent and fair;
(3) calls for the return of wrongfully expropriated
properties to religious communities;
(4) calls on Croatia, the Czech Republic, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and any other nation
whose laws or regulations limit restitution or compensa-
tion for wrongfully expropriated properties to persons
who reside in, or are citizens of, the country from which
restitution or compensation is sought, to remove such re-
strictions; and
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(5) urges formerly totalitarian countries to pass and
effectively implement laws that provide for restitution of,
or compensation for, wrongfully expropriated property.
SEC. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall
transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the
United States.
Attest:
Clerk.