IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1539 
Expressing solidarity with human rights defenders in the Russian Federation, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 20, 2010 
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing solidarity with human rights defenders in the 
Russian Federation, and for other purposes. 
Whereas the Russian Federation is a permanent member of 
the United Nations Security Council, a participating 
state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe (OSCE), a member state of the Council of Eu-
rope, and as a signatory to international legislation has 
freely committed to uphold and respect international law; 
Whereas the Russian Federation, as a party to the United 
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights under 
article 3 is obligated to ensure ‘‘the right to life, liberty, 
and security of person’’; 
Whereas the Russian Federation, as a signatory to the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and as a 
party to the European Convention on Human Rights, is 
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legally obliged to uphold fundamental freedoms and 
human rights, including the right to life, freedom of ex-
pression, and freedom of association, among others; 
Whereas all OSCE participating states, including the Russian 
Federation, have recognized the right of individuals to 
know and act upon human rights and fundamental free-
doms, and to contribute actively, individually or in asso-
ciation with others, to their promotion and protection; 
Whereas human rights defenders, investigative journalists, 
and activists addressing human rights abuses and corrup-
tion in the Russian Federation are routinely targeted for 
harassment, persecution, and physical attacks; 
Whereas human rights defenders, investigative journalists, 
and activists in the North Caucasus and those reporting 
on developments in that region of the Russian Federation 
have been systematically targeted for reprisals because of 
their work; 
Whereas Natalya Estemirova, the leading human rights de-
fender in Chechnya, was abducted nearby her apartment 
building in Grozny on July 15, 2009, by unidentified 
men, transported to the neighboring Republic of 
Ingushetia, and brutally killed; 
Whereas several other activists were also slain in 2009 in 
connection with their professional work in the North 
Caucasus and others remain at risk; 
Whereas Anna Politkovskaya and over a dozen other journal-
ists have been killed in Russia since 2000 in retaliation 
for their work, in cases that remain unsolved; 
Whereas the 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Prac-
tices, issued by the Department of State, found that the 
Russian Government’s poor human rights record in the 
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North Caucasus worsened, with a marked increase in 
extrajudicial killings by both Government and rebel forces 
and politically motivated disappearances in Chechnya, 
Ingushetia, and Dagestan; and 
Whereas the ongoing human rights violations, legal impunity, 
and the permeating climate of fear in the North 
Caucasus remain a concern of human rights defenders 
and the international community: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses solidarity with human rights de-
fenders in the Russian Federation; 
(2) calls for an end to the harassment, persecu-
tion, and attacks against human rights activists, in-
cluding journalists, in the Russian Federation; 
(3) condemns the impunity for those responsible 
for murder of human rights defenders, including 
journalists, in the Russian Federation; 
(4) urges the Russian Federation to— 
(A) fully respect in practice the rights and 
freedoms of all human rights defenders, includ-
ing the right to life, freedom of expression, and 
freedom of association; 
(B) take appropriate measures to end the 
harassment, persecution, and attacks against 
human rights activists, including lawyers and 
journalists; 
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(C) ensure that law enforcement officials 
vigorously and transparently investigate acts of 
violence, harassment, and intimidation against 
members of Russian civil society, as well as 
make certain that authorities are not complicit 
in such acts; and 
(D) fully and thoroughly investigate all un-
resolved murder cases of human rights defend-
ers, including journalists; 
(5) urges the President and the Secretary of 
State to integrate human rights in all components of 
bilateral relations with the Russian Federation and 
to continue to raise concerns with the Government 
of the Russian Federation over human rights viola-
tions, including the harassment, persecution, and at-
tacks on human rights defenders and journalists; 
and 
(6) urges the Secretary of State to make effec-
tive use of meetings of the Organization for Security 
and Cooperation in Europe and other international 
fora for the purposes of raising these and other 
human rights abuses in the North Caucasus and 
elsewhere in the Russian Federation. 
Æ 
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