,,iii #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #eci ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #aa1 #bjah ,mr4 ,wicker 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mr4 ,lankford1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,gardner1 and ,mr4 ,boozman7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,urging the ,president to strengthen efforts of the ,united ,states to combat religious freedom violations in ,eurasia1 especially the use of torture or cruel1 inhuman1 or degrading treatment or punishment1 prolonged detention without charges1 causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine detention of those persons1 and other flagrant denial of the right to life1 liberty1 or the security of persons4 ,whereas the ,national ,security ,strategy of the ,united ,states issued in #bjag stated that the ,united ,states also remains committed to supporting and advancing religious freedom ''' ,our ,founders understood religious freedom not as the state's creation1 but as the gift of ,god to every person and a fundamental right for our flourishing society1 and national security strategies issued in #bjae1 #bjjf1 #bjjb1 #bjjj1 #aiii1 #aiih1 and #aiig1 likewise committed the ,united ,states to promoting international religious freedom to advance the security1 economic1 and other national interests of the people of the ,united ,states2 ,whereas religious freedom is the first freedom enumerated in the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 enshrined as a non-derogable freedom in international law1 enumerated in ,article #ah of the ,universal ,declaration of ,human ,rights1 which the ,united ,states voted for1 enumerated in ,article #ah of the ,international ,covenant on ,civil and ,political ,rights1 which the ,united ,states ratified1 committed to as part of comprehensive security by the #eg participating ,states of the ,organization for ,security and ,cooperation in ,europe1 including in the ,helsinki ,final ,act of #aige1 the ,madrid ,concluding ,document of #aihc1 the ,vienna ,concluding ,document of #aihi1 the ,,csce_/,,osce ,copenhagen ,document of #aiij1 the ,charter of ,paris for a ,new ,europe of #aiij1 the ,budapest ,document of #aiid1 and the ,istanbul ,document of #aiii1 and affirmed in specific decisions of the ,ministerial ,council in #bjjb to #bjjg1 and #bjac2 ,whereas the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fdja et seq47 defines particularly severe violations of religious freedom as torture or cruel1 inhuman1 or degrading treatment or punishment1 prolonged detention without charges1 causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine detention of those persons1 other flagrant denial of the right to life1 liberty1 or the security of persons1 requires the ,president to designate each country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom in that country during the preceding #ab months or since the date of the last review of that country ''' as a country of particular concern for religious freedom1 and requires the ,united ,states as a matter of policy to condemn violations of religious freedom1 and to promote1 and to assist other governments in the promotion of1 the fundamental right to freedom of religion2 ,whereas the ,secretary of ,state designated as ,,cpc ,,osce participating ,states ,uzbekistan in #bjjf1 #bjji1 #bjaa1 #bjad1 #bjaf1 and #bjag1 ,turkmenistan in #bjad1 #bjaf1 and #bjag1 and ,tajikistan in #bjaf and #bjag2 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom recommended for ,,cpc designation ,,osce participating ,states ,turkmenistan from #bjjj to #bjah1 ,uzbekistan from #bjje to #bjah1 ,tajikistan from #bjab to #bjai1 ,russia from #bjag to #bjah1 and ,turkey in #bjab2 ,whereas the ,frank ,r4 ,wolf ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act 7,public ,law #aad-bha7 requires the ,president to designate each country that engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom during the previous year1 but does not meet1 in the opinion of the ,president at the time of publication of the ,annual ,report1 all of the criteria ''' for designation as a ,,cpc as being placed on a ,special ,watch ,list1 and the ,secretary of ,state designated no ,,osce participating ,states as a ,special ,watch ,list country when designating countries of particular concern and one ,special ,watch ,list country on ,december #bb1 #bjag2 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom has included on its annual ,tier ,two list or ,watch ,list countries in which the government has engaged in or tolerated serious violations of religious freedom1 ,azerbaijan from #bjac to #bjah1 ,kazakhstan from #bjac to #bjah1 ,turkey from #bjji to #bjaa and #bjad to #bjah1 ,russia from #bjji to #bjaf1 ,belarus from #bjjd to #bjab1 ,tajikistan from #bjji to #bjaa1 ,uzbekistan from #bjjc to #bjjd1 and ,georgia in #bjjd2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ag1 #bjag1 the ,supreme ,court of the ,russian ,federation upheld a ban against ,jehovah's ,witnesses as an extremist group1 enforcing extremism laws that violate religious freedom1 including ,july #g1 #bjaf1 amendments to the prohibitive #aiig ,law on ,freedom of ,conscience and ,religious ,associations that further restrict missionary activities of ,russians and foreigners in ,russia1 restrict or ban online and printed religious materials1 impose fines1 confiscate assets and property1 prohibit public and private religious assembly and expression1 criminalize and ban religious activities and groups as extremist without legally defining extremism to include the threat or use of violence1 and put religious minorities such as ,jehovah's ,witnesses1 ,muslims1 ,protestant ,christians1 and ,mormons1 especially at risk of severe and particularly severe violations of religious freedom2 ,whereas1 since forces of the ,government of the ,russian ,federation invaded ,crimea1 ,ukraine1 in ,february #bjad1 they have forcibly and illegally occupied the territory1 and as the occupying power are required under international law such as the ,geneva ,conventions to protect the religious freedom of the inhabitants of the occupied territory1 are responsible for violations of religious freedom in ,crimea for the duration of their occupation1 and there have been violations1 including abduction1 detention and imprisonment1 forced psychiatric hospitalizations1 fines1 restrictions on missionary activities1 confiscations of property including churches and meeting halls1 expulsions and obstructions to reentry1 denying registration of religious groups1 vandalism1 fines1 and banning peaceful religious groups1 and targeted groups have included ,muslim ,crimean ,tatars1 the ,ukrainian ,orthodox ,church of the ,kyivan ,patriarchate1 the ,ukrainian ,greek ,catholic ,church1 and ,protestant ,christians1 as reported in ,international ,religious ,freedom ,reports and by the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,russian ,federation-led separatist forces have effectively controlled the ,donbas region of eastern ,ukraine since ,april #bjad1 are therefore required under international law to protect the religious freedom of the inhabitants of the territory they control1 are responsible for violations of religious freedom in the ,donbas for the duration of their control1 proclaimed the ,donetsk ,people's ,republic and the ,luhansk ,people's ,republic1 established illegal entities to govern the territory1 and religious freedom violations in the region have included detention and imprisonment1 confiscation of property1 including churches and meeting halls1 physical assaults and threats of violence1 vandalism1 fines1 restrictions on missionary activities1 religious services1 ceremonies1 gatherings1 and literature1 and banning of peaceful religious groups1 and targeted groups have included the ,ukrainian ,orthodox ,church-,kyiv ,patriarchate1 ,jehovah's ,witnesses1 the ,ukrainian ,greek ,catholic ,church1 and ,protestant ,christians1 as reported in ,international ,religious ,freedom ,reports and by the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom2 ,whereas the draft 8,law ,introducing ,amendments and ,additions to ,laws on ,questions of ,religious ,activity and ,religious ,associations0 would amend the already restrictive religion law of ,kazakhstan to further control and punish people who communicate religious teachings the government has not approved1 restrict sharing religious beliefs1 confiscate religious literature that does not pass mandatory state censorship1 make it easier to permanently ban religious organizations for violating the ,religion ,law1 and double some fines for exercising religious freedom2 ,whereas1 since the second ,president and the ,prime ,minister of ,uzbekistan assumed office on ,december #ad1 #bjaf1 the ,government of ,uzbekistan has taken steps towards improvement on religious freedom1 including the release of some religious prisoners and the road map resolution issued on ,may #d1 #bjah1 by the ,legislative ,chamber and the ,senate instructing government offices to implement the recommendations in the ,february #bb1 #bjah1 ,report of the ,special ,rapporteur on ,freedom of ,religion or ,belief on ,his ,mission to ,uzbekistan within a year1 and the ,government has shown openness to the recommendations of the ,united ,states ,government regarding religious freedom2 ,whereas the ,frank ,wolf ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act includes a sense of ,congress that ongoing and persistent waivers of the application of any of the actions ''' 7or commensurate substitute action7 ''' with respect to a country do not fulfill the purposes of the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih1 and because the promotion of religious freedom is an important interest of ,united ,states foreign policy1 the ,president1 the ,secretary of ,state1 and other executive branch officials1 in consultation with ,congress1 should seek to find ways to address existing violations1 on a case-by-case basis1 through the actions ''' or other commensurate substitute action in the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih2 ,whereas section #bab7;a77#b77;,g7 of the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahb7;a77#b77;,g77 provides that any alien who1 while serving as a foreign government official1 was responsible for or directly carried out1 at any time1 particularly severe violations of religious freedom1 as defined in section #c of the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fdjb7 is inadmissible to the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfef note7 authorizes the ,president to take actions based on credible evidence that a foreign person is responsible for extrajudicial killings1 torture1 or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country who seek ''' to obtain1 exercise1 defend1 or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms1 such as the freedoms of religion1 expression1 association1 and assembly1 and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections1 including denying entry to the ,united ,states1 or revoking the ,united ,states visa1 and blocking ''' all transactions in all property and interests in property ''' if such property and interests in property are in the ,united ,states1 come within the ,united ,states1 or are or come within the possession or control of a ,united ,states person of any such foreign person or foreign person who acted as an agent of or on behalf of such a foreign person2 and ,whereas the ,government of ,turkey has detained ,pastor ,andrew ,brunson1 a ,united ,states citizen1 since ,october #g1 #bjaf1 on false charges of membership in an armed terrorist group1 espionage1 and attempting to overthrow the state1 provided no credible evidence1 and denied him timely and credible due process3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate urges the ,president-- 7#a7 to redesignate ,tajikistan1 ,turkmenistan1 and ,uzbekistan as countries of particular concern1 grant a waiver on the one or more actions or commensurate action the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih requires the ,president to take toward them as ,c,p,cs1 condition the waiver on the governments of these countries ceasing1 or taking substantial and verifiable steps to cease1 particularly severe violations of religious freedom within #ahj days of the designation1 and revoke the waiver and take the statutorily required action or commensurate action if these governments do not take such steps2 7#b7 to designate ,azerbaijan1 ,russia1 and ,turkey as special watch list countries1 urge the ,government of ,kazakhstan to refrain from adopting amendments that would make the religion law more restrictive1 and if the ,government of ,kazakhstan adopts such restrictions1 to designate ,kazakhstan as a special watch list country for that year2 7#c7 to instruct the ,ambassador-at-,large for ,international ,religious ,freedom1 under statute the principal adviser to the ,president on international religious freedom1 to develop and transmit to ,congress a one-time inter-agency strategy to advance religious freedom in ,tajikistan1 ,turkmenistan1 ,uzbekistan1 ,azerbaijan1 ,kazakhstan1 ,russia1 ,turkey1 and parts of ,ukraine occupied by ,government of the ,russian ,federation forces or controlled by ,government of the ,russian ,federation-led separatist forces1 and that this strategy shall-- 7,a7 emphasize the value of adopting religious freedom as a means of enhancing economic growth and undermining religion-related violence and terrorism2 7,b7 include details on how resources from ,federal departments and agencies1 including the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development1 will be used to implement the strategy2 7,c7 be developed in consultation with advice from the ,united ,states ,commission on ,international ,religious ,freedom1 governments1 private sector and civil society entities2 and 7,d7 prioritize supporting ongoing reforms in ,uzbekistan2 and 7#d7 to apply visa1 entry into the ,united ,states1 and property blocking sanctions targeting any foreign person found to engage in or be complicit in severe violations of religious freedom in ,tajikistan1 ,turkmenistan1 ,uzbekistan1 ,azerbaijan1 ,kazakhstan1 ,turkey1 ,russia1 and ,ukraine1 including government authorities of ,russia or persons appointed by the ,government of the ,russian ,federation effectively governing or otherwise exercising control of occupied ,crimea1 ,ukraine1 and ,government of the ,russian ,federation-led separatist forces in the ,donbas region of eastern ,ukraine1 and including officials1 agents1 or others acting on behalf of the ,government of ,turkey responsible for the wrongful detention of ,pastor ,andrew ,brunson1 actions authorized by the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fdja et seq471 the ,global ,magnitsky ,human ,rights ,accountability ,act 7subtitle ,f of title ,,xii of ,public ,law #aad-cbh2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bfef note71 or other applicable laws4