IV 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 738 
Expressing concern regarding severe restrictions on religious freedom abroad. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2025 
Mr. HILL of Arkansas (for himself and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing concern regarding severe restrictions on religious 
freedom abroad. 
Whereas the free exercise of religion is an inalienable right 
belonging to all people; 
Whereas Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil 
and Political Rights states ‘‘Everyone shall have the right 
to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right 
shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or be-
lief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in 
community with others and in public or private, to mani-
fest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice 
and teaching’’; 
Whereas the United States contributes meaningfully and ma-
terially to the cause of religious freedom and the protec-
tion of religious minorities around the world; 
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•HRES 738 IH 
Whereas the United States has strong bilateral relationships 
and many diplomatic engagements with the governments 
of foreign countries that engage in or tolerate severe vio-
lations of religious freedom; 
Whereas engaging sincerely with foreign countries to promote 
religious freedom for their people serves to support both 
the enduring prosperity of their societies and the long- 
term stability of United States strategic partnerships; 
Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli-
gious Freedom has recommended to the Department of 
State the nations of Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indo-
nesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Sri 
Lanka, Syria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan for designation on 
the Special Watch List for severe religious freedom viola-
tions; 
Whereas the Government of Algeria— 
(1) systematically prosecutes Christian and Muslim 
minority communities under blasphemy laws; 
(2) forcibly closes Evangelical Protestant Association 
churches and requires state permission to establish a 
non-Muslim place of worship; 
(3) 
systemically 
persecutes 
members 
of 
the 
Ahmadiyya Muslim community; 
(4) targets members of the Ahmadi Religion of 
Peace and Light; and 
(5) tolerates antisemitism in ways that restrict Jews’ 
ability to openly practice their religion; 
Whereas the Government of Azerbaijan— 
(1) engages in and tolerates severe violations of reli-
gious freedom such as detaining religious minorities; 
(2) fails to investigate credible claims of abuse 
against freedom of religion or belief; and 
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•HRES 738 IH 
(3) destroyed Armenian religious and cultural sites 
in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh; 
Whereas the Government of Egypt— 
(1) arrests, tries, and imprisons people for blas-
phemy; 
(2) denies unrecognized religious minorities the right 
to declare their religion on national identity cards, pre-
senting administrative obstacles to marriage and gath-
ering for worship, impacting Baha’is, and Jehovah’s Wit-
nesses; and 
(3) fails to thoroughly investigate or prosecute 
kidnappings, forced marriages, and forced conversions, 
impacting Coptic Christians; 
Whereas the Government of Indonesia— 
(1) signed into law a criminal code in January 2023, 
which is scheduled for implementation in 2026, that will 
deepen the systematic repression of religious freedom; 
and 
(2) tolerates discrimination and harsh treatment for 
religious minorities such as shutting down or banning re-
ligious meetings and activities; 
Whereas the Government of Iraq— 
(1) lacks the ability or will to curtail state-affiliated 
and Iran-backed militias which target religious minorities 
for harassment, property appropriation, extortion, deten-
tion, and torture; and 
(2) is advancing policy to block content perceived to 
be insulting to scriptures or prophets, restricting freedom 
of religion or belief for Yazidis, Christians, and Shi’a and 
Sunni Muslims; 
Whereas the Government of Kazakhstan— 
(1) penalizes religious activities of all groups; 
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•HRES 738 IH 
(2) systematically restricts religious activities; 
(3) bans unregistered religious activities; 
(4) requires official examinations of religious mate-
rials; 
(5) restricts religious education, proselytization, and 
events; and 
(6) wrongly imprisons individuals for religious activi-
ties or beliefs; 
Whereas the Government of Kyrgyzstan— 
(1) penalizes peaceful religious practices by banning 
organizations under vague standards of ‘‘extremism’’; 
and 
(2) raids religious schools, religious camps, and 
places of worship; 
Whereas the Government of Malaysia tolerates and engages 
in religious freedom violations against individuals whose 
religious expression diverges from the Government’s fa-
vored interpretation of Islam and allows violators to be 
fined or imprisoned; 
Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka— 
(1) has used discriminatory legislation to harass, de-
tain, and target religious minorities; 
(2) denied religious minorities access to houses of 
worship; and 
(3) expropriated land from religious minority com-
munities under the guise of ‘‘protecting Buddhism’’; 
Whereas transitional authorities in Syria have failed to ade-
quately investigate, document, and bring to justice those 
responsible for sectarian massacres of Alawi in Latakia 
and Tartus, sustained violence against Druze residents in 
the Damascus suburbs and Suweida, and a suicide bomb-
ing of a Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, and al-
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•HRES 738 IH 
lowed Islamist militia members to intimidate, taunt, and 
loot the homes of Christians; 
Whereas the Government of Turkey has tolerated the perse-
cution of religious minorities such as obstacles to places 
of worship, barriers to continued legal residency, and re-
strictions on clerical institutions including the Theological 
School of Halki; 
Whereas the Government of Uzbekistan restricts and penal-
izes the practices of many religious groups by placing bu-
reaucratic restrictions on the registration process for reli-
gious communities, banning missionary activity and pros-
elytism, prohibiting unregistered religious education, and 
mandating government examination and approval for all 
religious materials; and repeatedly arrests individuals for 
peaceful religious activities; and 
Whereas the Department of State made such recommended 
Special Watch List designations for Algeria, Azerbaijan, 
the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam on 
December 29, 2023: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) affirms that the United States should ac-
tively maintain its position of global leadership in 
the advancement of freedom of religion abroad; 
(2) urges the Secretary of State to engage 
robustly with allies and partners on religious free-
dom; and 
(3) affirms the importance of the offices of the 
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious 
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