Title: Reaffirming the commitment of the United States to promoting religious freedom globally, and for other purposes.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to promoting religious freedom globally.
Calls on the President to:
Urges the Department of State to: (1) implement Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act provisions that direct the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center to conduct training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers and all outgoing deputy chiefs of mission and ambassadors, (2) develop a training curriculum for American diplomats in international religious freedom policy, and (3) reestablish the Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 319 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 America's founding and self-
        understanding;
Whereas international religious freedom is a universally recognized human right 
        and the protection and promotion globally of this right attracts broad, 
        bipartisan support;
Whereas every individual's rights to freedom of thought, conscience, and 
        religion is guaranteed under the United Nations Universal Declaration of 
        Human Rights, adopted at Paris December 10, 1948, and the International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted at New York December 16, 
        1966, which recognize that ``Everyone has the right to freedom of 
        thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change 
        his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with 
        others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in 
        teaching, practice, worship and observance'';
Whereas according to the bipartisan United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom, abuses committed by governments and non-state actors 
        has increased 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 
        restrictions on religion or social hostilities experienced by religious 
        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 Christians 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;
Whereas according to a 2017 report by the Religious Freedom 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 elimination;
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, including 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 children;
Whereas according to the bipartisan United States Commission on International 
        Religious Freedom, Burmese Christians 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 coerced conversion to Buddhism;
Whereas according to the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, in Nigeria 
        systemic discrimination and impunity has contributed to a 62-percent 
        increase of Christians killings over the past 3 years, resulting in over 
        4,028 deaths and 200 church attacks, led in part by the Islamist terror 
        group Boko Haram, Fulani militants, and others, resulting in mass 
        dislocation and famine;
Whereas the Eritrean Government continues to target Protestant 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 because of their religious identities by 
        violent religious extremists; forced conversion and marriage of 
        Christian and Hindu girls and young women into Islam remains a systemic 
        problem; where blasphemy laws are often used as an excuse to settle 
        personal scores or stir up religious animosity against marginalized 
        religious minorities, resulting 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 sentences for blasphemy in 
        Pakistan than in any other country 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 
        properties, significantly increased the number of physical assaults and 
        beatings of Christians in prison, restricted access to education for the 
        Christian and Baha'i faith communities, 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, destroying 
        numerous religious facilities throughout the country, targeting human 
        rights defenders for legally representing 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 persecution 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 religious materials;
Whereas promoting Internet freedom is a cost-effective means of advancing 
        fundamental freedoms in closed and authoritarian countries, including 
        the freedom of religion;
Whereas despite increased attention to religion in United States foreign policy 
        in recent years, global levels of religious persecution, violent 
        religious extremism, and religion-related conflict remain dangerously 
        high;
Whereas the global religious freedom crisis we are experiencing today has 
        created millions of victims and undermines 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 contributes to persecution of minorities, religious 
        extremism, terrorism, and instability;
Whereas this research also shows that where religious freedom is protected and 
        advanced as a universally recognized human right there is greater peace, 
        political and social stability, economic development, democratization, 
        women's empowerment, and less violent religious extremism; 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 development globally, the 
        promotion of international religious freedom requires new and evolving 
        policies, and diplomatic responses that are drawn from the expertise of 
        the national security agencies, the diplomatic services, and other 
        governmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations, and are 
        coordinated across and carried out by the entire range of Federal 
        agencies: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (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 restrictions, 
        imprisonment, and violence in foreign countries on account of 
        their religious belief or practice;
            (2) calls on the President to appoint a new Ambassador-at-
        Large for International Religious Freedom at the Department of 
        State and to name a Special Advisor for International Religious 
        Freedom at the National Security Council, as urged by section 
        201 of the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act 
        (Public Law 114-281);
            (3) calls on the President, the Secretary of State, and the 
        Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom to 
        develop a national security strategy on international religious 
        freedom and to integrate that strategy into United States 
        diplomatic, development, and national security strategies, 
        including by incorporating international religious freedom 
        policy into the strategic plans of all executive agencies with 
        foreign policy responsibilities, including the Department of 
        Defense Quadrennial Defense Review;
            (4) urges the President to incorporate the national 
        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 Religious Freedom to 
        provide strong support for international religious freedom in 
        existing United Nations institutions that have a specialized 
        expertise on the issue and leverage the growing network of 
        foreign international religious freedom focused institutions 
        including such bodies as the International Contact 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 
        Tolerance, the International Panel of Parliamentarians for 
        Freedom of Religion or Belief, and the Commonwealth Initiative 
        for Freedom of Religion or Belief;
            (6) calls on the President, in collaboration with the 
        Secretary of State, the Ambassador-at-Large for International 
        Religious Freedom, and the Administrator 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 
        universally guaranteed right to the freedom of religion, reduce 
        conflict, and counter violent religious extremism 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 freedom policy;
            (8) calls on the President, in collaboration with the 
        Secretary of State, the Ambassador-at-Large for International 
        Religious Freedom, the Chief Executive Officer of the 
        Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the Administrator of the 
        United States Agency for International Development, to develop 
        a comprehensive 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 Governors is used to 
        support Internet firewall and censorship circumvention 
        activities;
            (10) urges the President, the Secretary of State, the 
        Secretary of Defense, and other relevant agencies to develop a 
        comprehensive response to protect the victims of genocide, 
        crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to provide 
        humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery assistance to all 
        individuals 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 administration, bringing together experts from 
        government, universities, religious and other nongovernment 
        organizations to develop an effective multiyear plan to address 
        religious persecution globally and protect and promote 
        international religious freedom.
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