,i #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dcdg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #bh1 #bjad ,mr4 ,royce 7for himself and ,mr4 ,engel7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,secretary of ,state to provide an annual report to ,congress regarding ,united ,states ,government efforts to survey and secure the return1 protection1 and restoration of stolen1 confiscated1 or otherwise unreturned ,christian properties in the ,republic of ,turkey and in those areas currently occupied by the ,turkish military in northern ,cyprus4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,turkey ,christian ,churches ,accountability ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,united ,states diplomatic leadership contributes meaningfully and materially to the protection internationally of religious minorities and their faith-based practices and places of worship4 7#b7 ,the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih states that ,it shall be the policy of the ,united ,states to condemn violations of religious freedom1 and to promote1 and to assist other governments in the promotion of1 the fundamental right to freedom of religion44 7#c7 ,the ,house of ,representatives1 when it adopted ,house ,resolution #cjf on ,december #ac1 #bjaa1 called on the ,secretary of ,state1 in all official contacts with ,turkish leaders1 to urge ,turkey to allow the rightful church and lay owners of ,christian church properties1 without hindrance or restriction1 to organize and administer prayer services1 religious education1 clerical training1 appointments1 and succession1 and to return to their rightful owners all ,christian churches and other places of worship1 monasteries1 schools1 hospitals1 monuments1 relics1 holy sites1 and other religious properties1 including movable properties1 such as artwork1 manuscripts1 vestments1 vessels1 and other artifacts4 7#d7 ,on ,september #bh1 #bjaj1 the ,house of ,representatives adopted ,house ,resolution #afca1 calling for the protection of religious sites and artifacts1 as well as for general respect for religious freedom in ,turkish-occupied areas of northern ,cyprus4 7#e7 ,christian churches and communities in the ,republic of ,turkey and in the occupied areas of ,cyprus continue to be prevented from fully practicing their faith and face serious obstacles to reestablishing full legal1 administrative1 and operational control over stolen1 expropriated1 confiscated1 or otherwise unreturned churches and other religious properties and sites4 7#f7 ,in many cases the rightful ,christian church authorities1 including relevant ,holy ,sees located outside ,turkey and ,turkish-occupied territories1 are obstructed from safeguarding1 repairing1 or otherwise caring for their holy sites upon their ancient homelands1 because the properties have been destroyed1 expropriated1 converted into mosques1 storage facilities1 or museums1 or subjected to deliberate neglect4 7#g7 ,while the ,turkish ,government has made efforts in recent years to address these issues and to return some church properties1 much more must be done to rectify the situation of ,christian communities in these areas1 as a vast majority of ,christian holy sites continue to be held by the ,turkish ,government or by third parties4 7#h7 ,on ,april #bd1 #bjac1 ,catholicos ,karekin ,,ii and ,catholicos ,aram ,i1 spiritual leaders of the millions of ,christian ,armenian faithful in ,armenia and the ,diaspora1 noted that ,turkey continued to unjustly retain confiscated church estates and properties1 and religious and cultural treasures of the ,armenian people1 and called on ,turkey to immediately return the ,armenian churches1 monasteries1 church properties1 and spiritual and cultural treasures1 to the ,armenian people as their rightful owner4 7#i7 ,the boundaries of ,turkey encompass significant historic ,christian lands1 including the biblical lands of ,armenia 7present-day ,anatolia71 home to many of early ,christianity's pivotal events and holy sites1 such as ,mount ,ararat1 the location cited in the ,bible as the landing place of ,noah's ,ark4 7#aj7 ,these ancient territories were for thousands of years home to a large1 indigenous ,christian population1 but1 because of years of repressive ,turkish ,government policies1 historic atrocities1 and brutal persecution1 today ,christians constitute less than one percent of ,turkey's population4 7#aa7 ,as a result of the ,turkish ,government's invasion of the northern area of the ,republic of ,cyprus on ,july #bj1 #aigd1 and the ,turkish military's continued illegal and discriminatory occupation of portions of this sovereign state1 the future and very existence of ,greek ,cypriot1 ,maronite1 and ,armenian communities are now in grave jeopardy4 7#ab7 ,under the ,turkish occupation of northern ,cyprus1 freedom of worship has been severely restricted1 access to religious sites blocked1 religious sites systematically destroyed1 and a large number of religious and archaeological objects illegally confiscated or stolen4 7#ac7 ,the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom1 in its #bjab annual report1 criticized the ,turkish government's systematic and egregious limitations on the freedom of religion1 and warned that longstanding policies continue to threaten the survivability and viability of minority religious communities in ,turkey4 7#ad7 ,christian minorities in ,turkey continue to face discrimination1 prohibitions on the training and succession of clergy1 and violent attacks1 which have at times resulted in lenient sentencing1 including the reduced sentence for the murderer of the ,catholic ,church's head bishop in ,turkey1 ,luigi ,padovese1 in ,june #bjaj1 or delayed justice1 including the unresolved torture and murder1 in ,april #bjjg1 of three employees of a ,protestant ,bible publishing house in ,malatya1 ,turkey4 7#ae7 ,the ,government of ,turkey1 in contravention of its international legal obligations1 refuses to recognize the #b1jjj-year-old ,sacred ,see of the ,ecumenical ,patriarchate's international status1 has confiscated the large majority of the assets and properties of the ,ecumenical ,patriarchate1 ,greek cultural and educational foundations1 maintains that candidates for the position of ,ecumenical ,patriarch must be ,turkish citizens1 and continues to refuse to reopen the ,theological ,school at ,halki1 thus impeding training and succession for the ,greek ,orthodox clergy in ,turkey4 7#af7 ,the ,government of ,turkey1 in contravention of its international legal obligations1 continues to place substantial restrictions and other limitations upon the ,armenian ,patriarchate's right to train and educate clergy and select and install successors without government interference4 7#ag7 ,religious freedom is an essential cornerstone of democracy that promotes respect for individual liberty1 which contributes to greater stability1 and is therefore a priority value for the ,united ,states to promote in its engagement with other countries4 #c4 ,report requirements 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act and annually thereafter until #bjba1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate a report on the status and return of stolen1 confiscated1 or otherwise unreturned ,christian churches1 places of worship1 and other properties in or from the ,republic of ,turkey and in the areas of northern ,cyprus occupied by the ,turkish military that shall contain the following3 7#a7 ,a comprehensive listing of all the ,christian churches1 places of worship1 and other properties1 such as monasteries1 schools1 hospitals1 monuments1 relics1 holy sites1 and other religious properties1 including movable properties1 such as artwork1 manuscripts1 vestments1 vessels1 and other artifacts1 in or from ,turkey and in the territories of the ,republic of ,cyprus under military occupation by ,turkey that are claimed as stolen1 confiscated1 or otherwise wrongfully removed from the ownership of their rightful ,christian church owners4 7#b7 ,description of all engagement over the previous year on this issue by officials of the ,department of ,state with representatives of the ,republic of ,turkey regarding the return to their rightful owners of all ,christian churches1 places of worship1 and other properties1 such as monasteries1 schools1 hospitals1 monuments1 relics1 holy sites1 and other religious properties1 including movable properties1 such as artwork1 manuscripts1 vestments1 vessels1 and other artifacts1 both those located within ,turkey's borders and those under control of ,turkish military forces in the occupied northern areas of ,cyprus4 7b7 ,inclusion in annual ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices and ,international ,religious ,freedom ,report ,the information required under subsection 7a7 shall be summarized in the annual ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices and ,international ,religious ,freedom ,reports4