,,iii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #egc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december 
#ah1 #bjbe,mr4 ,risch submitted the     
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,,resolution  ,expressing   
the need for the ,united ,states        
continued leadership on matters of      
religious freedom4  ,whereas the freedom
 of religion is the ,united ,states     
first right that launched a revolution  
to enshrine freedom for all2 ,whereas   
the ,first ,amendment to the            
,constitution of the ,united ,states    
clearly states1 ,congress shall make no 
law respecting an establishment of      
religion1 or prohibiting the free       
exercise thereof2 or abridging the      
freedom of speech1 or of the press2 or  
the right of the people peaceably to    
assemble1 and to petition the           
,government for a redress of grievances2
 ,whereas the ,united ,states founding  
fathers believed all persons had        

inalienable rights1 as endowed by our   
,creator and further protected by the   
,government2 ,whereas these inalienable 
rights also belong to those around the  
world1 as they are inherent and the     
foundation of individual dignity and    
freedom2 ,whereas the ,united ,states is
 the global leader in the fight to      
protect and expand the inalienable right
 to freedom of religion2 ,whereas the   
,united ,states has consistently        
reaffirmed its commitment to the freedom
 of religion1 including through the     
,international ,religious ,freedom ,act 
of #aiih 7,public ,law #aje-bib7 and the
 ,frank ,r4 ,wolf ,international        
,religious ,freedom ,act 7,public ,law  
#aad-bha72 ,whereas ,congress has       
reaffirmed its commitment to the        
promotion of religious freedom abroad by
 creating and confirming                
,ambassadors-at-,large for              
,international ,religious ,freedom and  
the ,special ,envoy to ,monitor and     
,combat ,antisemitism2 ,whereas other   

,western countries have not taken       
similar steps to enshrine the           
inalienable right of religious freedom  
in their founding documents or in a     
consistent pattern of domestic policies2
 ,whereas the rise of religious         
intolerance in ,europe has created an   
environment that-- 7#a7 criminalizes    
certain religious practices that target 
,jews2 and  7#b7 creates subtly         
inhospitable environments for           
,christians2 ,whereas countries around  
the world continue to engage in gross   
violations of internationally recognized
 human rights1 including violations of  
the inalienable right to freedom of     
religion2 ,whereas governments in       
,afghanistan1 ,algeria1 ,azerbaijan1    
,burma1 ,china1 ,cuba1 ,egypt1 ,eritrea1
 ,india1 ,indonesia1 ,iran1 ,iraq1      
,kazakhstan1 ,malaysia1 ,nicaragua1     
,nigeria1 ,north ,korea1 ,pakistan1     
,russia1 ,saudi ,arabia1 ,sri ,lanka1   
,syria1 ,tajikistan1 ,turkey1           
,turkmenistan1 ,uzbekistan1 ,venezuela1 

and ,vietnam1 and have all engaged in   
patterns of violations of varying       
degrees of religious freedom2 ,whereas  
the ,chinese ,communist ,party arrested 
dozens of ,zion ,house ,church members  
and leaders in ,october #bjbe1 which was
 the greatest attack on ,christianity in
 ,china in decades in their continued   
campaign to ,sinicize religion2 ,whereas
 the ,united ,states ,commission on     
,international ,religious ,freedom #bjbe
 ,annual ,report revealed that the      
,government of ,nicaragua continues to  
ruthlessly suppress religious freedom   
for ,christians1 including through      
intimidation tactics2 ,whereas ,vatican 
leaders are mourning the ongoing        
killings of ,christians for their faith1
 which are occurring in increasing      
numbers in some places2 ,whereas        
according to the pontifical foundation  
,aid to the ,church in ,need1 more than 
#cfj1jjj1jjj ,christians live in areas  
where they face high levels of          
persecution2 ,whereas such patterns of  

violating religious freedom will        
continue in these countries unless the  
,united ,states sends clear1 concise1   
and strong messages to cease such       
behavior2 and ,whereas1 as the global   
leader for centuries on religious       
freedom1 only the ,united ,states can   
proclaim without reservation that these 
countries must reverse course and       
protect and defend the inalienable      
rights of all people1 particularly those
 who are seeking to exercise the most   
provocative right1 which is the natural 
and inalienable right to freedom of     
religion3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that  
the ,senate-- 7#a7 reaffirms the ,united
 ,states leadership around the world to 
promote1 protect1 and expand the        
inalienable and internationally         
recognized right to freedom of religion2
  7#b7 encourages the ,secretary of     
,state-- 7,a7 to continue to engage on  
matters of religious freedom2  7,b7 to  
use all available tools and resources to
 discourage foreign governments from    

continuing patterns of violations2 and  
7,c7 to continue to engage on matters of
 religious freedom with friendly nations
 to prevent further erosion of religious
 freedom2  7#c7 reaffirms the importance
 of the offices of the                  
,ambassador-at-,large for ,international
 ,religious ,freedom and the ,special   
,envoy to ,monitor and ,combat          
,antisemitism2  7#d7 supports the       
offices of the ,ambassador-at-,large for
 ,international ,religious ,freedom and 
the ,special ,envoy to ,monitor and     
,combat ,antisemitism to work together  
to ensure that no faith or believer is  
left behind2 and  7#e7 commits the      
,united ,states to always support those 
seeking freedom from authoritarian      
repression against our shared and       
inalienable rights4