[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 458 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 458
Calling for the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 19, 2019
Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Cruz, Mr.
Braun, Mr. Kennedy, Mrs. Blackburn, Mrs. Loeffler, and Mr. Gardner)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
December 19, 2020
Committee discharged; considered, amended, and agreed to with an
amended preamble
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling for the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws.
Whereas Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that
``[e]veryone 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 many countries continue to have criminal blasphemy laws, and many punish
people who engage in expression deemed by the government to be
blasphemous, heretical, apostate, defamatory of religion, or insulting
to religion or to religious symbols, figures, or feelings, and such
punishment can include fines, imprisonment, and capital punishment
including by beheading;
Whereas blasphemy laws have affected Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Baha'i,
secularists, and many other groups, are inconsistent with international
human rights standards because they establish and promote official
religious orthodoxy and dogma over individual liberty, and often result
in violations of the freedoms of religion, thought, and expression that
are protected under international instruments, including Articles 18 and
19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Committee stated in General Comment 34
that ``[p]rohibitions of displays of lack of respect for a religion or
other belief system, including blasphemy laws, are incompatible with the
[ICCPR].'';
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
has found that blasphemy charges are often based on false accusations,
are used for sectarian or political purposes, and foster religious
intolerance, discrimination, and violence;
Whereas USCIRF has found that at least 84 countries had blasphemy laws as of
2020;
Whereas USCIRF has identified 41 countries that have taken enforcement action in
674 criminal blasphemy cases between 2014 and 2018;
Whereas these laws were enforced in 15 Middle East and North African countries,
14 Asia-Pacific countries, 7 European countries, and 5 Sub-Saharan
African countries between 2014 and 2018;
Whereas Pakistan, Iran, Russia, India, Egypt, Indonesia, Yemen, Bangladesh,
Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait account for more than 81 percent of all
reported cases of state criminal blasphemy enforcement;
Whereas USCIRF has found that the three countries without an official state
religion that have the highest state enforcement of blasphemy laws are
Russia, India, and Indonesia;
Whereas the Pew Research Center found that countries with laws against
blasphemy, apostasy, or defamation of religion were more likely to have
severe governmental restrictions on religion, and to experience social
hostilities based on religion, than countries that did not have such
laws;
Whereas restrictive laws beyond those penalizing blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy
further limit religious freedom, such as extremism laws--
(1) in Russia that have been used to ban Jehovah's Witnesses as an
extremist organization and fueled persecution of this religious group;
(2) in China, to arbitrarily detain an estimated 800,000 to 2,000,000
Uighur Muslims in internment camps because they followed Islamic rituals
and practices; and
(3) in North Korea, to detain an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians
in labor camps because they followed the tenets of Christianity;
Whereas an international group of experts convened by the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recommended in 2012 that
``[s]tates that have blasphemy laws should repeal the[m] as such laws
have a stifling impact on the enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief
and healthy dialogue and debate about religion.'';
Whereas blasphemy laws are inconsistent with United Nations resolutions adopted
by consensus since 2011 recognizing that religious intolerance is best
fought through positive measures, such as education, outreach, and
counter-speech, and that criminalization of speech is warranted only for
the prevention of imminent violence;
Whereas, according to the annual religious freedom report published by the
Department of State in 2015, attackers in Bangladesh killed five
allegedly anti-Islamic or secularist writers and publishers, and injured
three others;
Whereas, in response to these killings, the Home Minister of Bangladesh, rather
than condemning the murders, called on bloggers and others to refrain
from writings that could hurt the religious feelings of others and added
that violators of the warning would be subject to prosecution under the
restrictive religious freedom laws of Bangladesh;
Whereas a 2016 report by USCIRF on Bangladesh found that religious and civil
society groups fear that increasing religious extremism will result in
more criminal attacks and threats;
Whereas restrictive religious freedom laws validate and promote social violence
targeted at religious minorities and dissenters, whether Christian,
Muslim, secularist, or other;
Whereas more than one-quarter of reported cases implicated alleged blasphemous
speech posted on social media platforms;
Whereas USCIRF has found that in Pakistan, blasphemy laws have been used to
prosecute and persecute Muslims, Christians, secularists, and others;
Whereas, according to a Pew Center report on religion and public life, Pakistan
stands out for having one of the highest levels of restrictions on
religion when both government restrictions and social hostilities are
taken into account;
Whereas, as of May 2020, USCIRF was aware of approximately 40 individuals on
death row for blasphemy in Pakistan or serving life sentences;
Whereas Asia Bibi was sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010 and was held on
death row for 8 years, until the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned
her conviction in 2018, upheld her acquittal, and granted her permission
to leave the country to flee the threats against her in 2019;
Whereas Pakistan selectively enforces the blasphemy and anti-terrorism laws
against minority religious groups, including by specifically targeting
Ahmadiyya Muslims such as Abdul Shakoor, an 82-year old optician and
bookseller who was recently released after serving over three years in
prison on such charges;
Whereas, on July 29, 2020, Tahir Ahmad Naseem, a United States citizen, was shot
and killed in a courtroom while on trial for blasphemy;
Whereas, in 2017, the Christian Governor of Jakarta, Indonesia, was convicted
for blasphemy of Islam and sentenced to two years in jail;
Whereas several countries that previously maintained blasphemy laws have
recently removed these provisions, including Iceland, Norway, Malta,
Denmark, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Greece, and Scotland;
Whereas blasphemy laws in the United States were invalidated by the adoption of
the First Amendment to the Constitution, which protects the freedoms of
thought, conscience, expression, and religious exercise; and
Whereas the United States has become a beacon of religious freedom and tolerance
around the world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes that blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws
inappropriately position governments as arbiters of religious
truth and empower officials to impose religious dogma on
individuals or minorities through the power of the government
or through violence sanctioned by the government;
(2) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to
encourage the repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy in
bilateral discussions between the United States and all
countries that have such laws, through direct interventions in
bilateral and multilateral fora;
(3) encourages the President and the Secretary of State to
oppose--
(A) any efforts, by the United Nations or by other
international or multilateral fora, to create an
international anti-blasphemy norm, such as the
``defamation of religions'' resolutions introduced in
the United Nations between 1999 and 2010; and
(B) any attempts to expand the international norm
on incitement to include blasphemy or defamation of
religions;
(4) supports efforts by the United Nations to combat
intolerance, discrimination, or violence against persons based
on religion or belief without restricting expression, including
United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 (2011) and
the Istanbul Process meetings pursuant to such resolution, that
are consistent with the First Amendment to the Constitution;
(5) calls on the President and the Secretary of State to
designate countries that enforce blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy
laws as ``countries of particular concern for religious
freedom'' under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)) for
engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious
freedom, as a result of the abuses flowing from the enforcement
of such laws and from unpunished vigilante violence often
generated by blasphemy allegations;
(6) urges the governments of countries that enforce
blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy laws to allow for freedom of
religion and expression and amend or repeal such laws, as they
provide pretext and impunity for vigilante violence against
religious minorities; and
(7) urges the governments of countries that have
prosecuted, imprisoned, and persecuted people on charges of
blasphemy, heresy, or apostasy to release such people
unconditionally and, once released, to ensure their safety and
that of their families.
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