IV
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 388
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to
government discrimination in Germany based on religion or belief.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 17, 1999
Mr. SALMON (for himself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. GILMAN, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDON-
ALD, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. WYNN, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr.
ROTHMAN, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. ROGAN, Mr. PASTOR, Ms.
JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. EVANS, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. NEY, Mr.
THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. METCALF, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr.
DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. FORD, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. BROWN
of Florida, Mr. SABO, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. FORBES, Mr. HILLIARD,
Mr. WELLER, Mr. HORN, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr.
TOWNS, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. OWENS, Ms.
ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Mrs. CAPPS,
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. MEEKS of
New York, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr.
WATT of North Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on International Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with
respect to government discrimination in Germany based
on religion or belief.
Whereas government discrimination in Germany against indi-
viduals and groups based on religion or belief violates
Germany’s obligations under the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and
•HRES 388 IH
Whereas the 1998 report of the State Department’s Advisory
Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad warned that
unless the work of the German Government’s Parliamen-
tary Inquiry Commission on ‘‘so-called sects and psycho-
groups,’’ which investigated dozens of religious groups,
including Mormons and other minority Christian groups,
‘‘focuses [its] work on investigating illegal acts, [it] runs
the risk of denying individuals the right to freedom of re-
ligion or belief,’’ and the Committee specifically reported
that ‘‘members of the Church of Scientology and of a
Christian charismatic church have been subject to intense
scrutiny by the Commission, and several members have
suffered harassment, discrimination, and threats of vio-
lence’’; and
Whereas in 1997, a United States immigration court judge
granted a German woman asylum in the United States,
finding that she had a well-founded fear of persecution
based on her religious beliefs if she returned to Germany:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) urges the Government of Germany to up-
hold its commitments to ‘‘take effective measures to
prevent and eliminate discrimination against individ-
uals or communities on the grounds of religion or
belief’’ and ‘‘foster a climate of mutual tolerance
and respect between believers of different commu-
nities’’ as required by the Organization on Security
and Cooperation in Europe’s Vienna Concluding
Document of 1989;
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(2) urges the Government of Germany to enter
into a constructive dialogue with minority groups
subject to government discrimination based on reli-
gion or belief;
(3) continues to hold the Government of Ger-
many responsible for protecting the right of freedom
of religion or belief of United States citizens who are
living, performing, doing business, or traveling in
Germany; and
(4) calls upon the President to assert the con-
cern of the United States Government to the Gov-
ernment of Germany regarding government discrimi-
nation in Germany based on religion or belief.
Æ