119-hres738

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 738 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 738

 Expressing concern regarding severe restrictions on religious freedom 
 abroad.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 18, 2025

 Mr. Hill of Arkansas (for himself and Mr. McGovern) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
 Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing concern regarding severe restrictions on religious freedom 
 abroad.

Whereas the free exercise of religion is an inalienable right belonging to all 
 people;
Whereas Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
 states ``Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience 
 and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a 
 religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in 
 community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion 
 or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching'';
Whereas the United States contributes meaningfully and materially to the cause 
 of religious freedom and the protection of religious minorities around 
 the world;
Whereas the United States has strong bilateral relationships and many diplomatic 
 engagements with the governments of foreign countries that engage in or 
 tolerate severe violations of religious freedom;
Whereas engaging sincerely with foreign countries to promote religious freedom 
 for their people serves to support both the enduring prosperity of their 
 societies and the long-term stability of United States strategic 
 partnerships;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has 
 recommended to the Department of State the nations of Algeria, 
 Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, 
 Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey, and Uzbekistan for designation on the Special 
 Watch List for severe religious freedom violations;
Whereas the Government of Algeria--

    (1) systematically prosecutes Christian and Muslim minority communities 
under blasphemy laws;

    (2) forcibly closes Evangelical Protestant Association churches and 
requires state permission to establish a non-Muslim place of worship;

    (3) systemically persecutes members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community;

    (4) targets members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light; and

    (5) tolerates antisemitism in ways that restrict Jews' ability to 
openly practice their religion;

Whereas the Government of Azerbaijan--

    (1) engages in and tolerates severe violations of religious freedom 
such as detaining religious minorities;

    (2) fails to investigate credible claims of abuse against freedom of 
religion or belief; and

    (3) destroyed Armenian religious and cultural sites in the region of 
Nagorno-Karabakh;

Whereas the Government of Egypt--

    (1) arrests, tries, and imprisons people for blasphemy;

    (2) denies unrecognized religious minorities the right to declare their 
religion on national identity cards, presenting administrative obstacles to 
marriage and gathering for worship, impacting Baha'is, and Jehovah's 
Witnesses; and

    (3) fails to thoroughly investigate or prosecute kidnappings, forced 
marriages, and forced conversions, impacting Coptic Christians;

Whereas the Government of Indonesia--

    (1) signed into law a criminal code in January 2023, which is scheduled 
for implementation in 2026, that will deepen the systematic repression of 
religious freedom; and

    (2) tolerates discrimination and harsh treatment for religious 
minorities such as shutting down or banning religious meetings and 
activities;

Whereas the Government of Iraq--

    (1) lacks the ability or will to curtail state-affiliated and Iran-
backed militias which target religious minorities for harassment, property 
appropriation, extortion, detention, and torture; and

    (2) is advancing policy to block content perceived to be insulting to 
scriptures or prophets, restricting freedom of religion or belief for 
Yazidis, Christians, and Shi'a and Sunni Muslims;

Whereas the Government of Kazakhstan--

    (1) penalizes religious activities of all groups;

    (2) systematically restricts religious activities;

    (3) bans unregistered religious activities;

    (4) requires official examinations of religious materials;

    (5) restricts religious education, proselytization, and events; and

    (6) wrongly imprisons individuals for religious activities or beliefs;

Whereas the Government of Kyrgyzstan--

    (1) penalizes peaceful religious practices by banning organizations 
under vague standards of ``extremism''; and

    (2) raids religious schools, religious camps, and places of worship;

Whereas the Government of Malaysia tolerates and engages in religious freedom 
 violations against individuals whose religious expression diverges from 
 the Government's favored interpretation of Islam and allows violators to 
 be fined or imprisoned;
Whereas the Government of Sri Lanka--

    (1) has used discriminatory legislation to harass, detain, and target 
religious minorities;

    (2) denied religious minorities access to houses of worship; and

    (3) expropriated land from religious minority communities under the 
guise of ``protecting Buddhism'';

Whereas transitional authorities in Syria have failed to adequately investigate, 
 document, and bring to justice those responsible for sectarian massacres 
 of Alawi in Latakia and Tartus, sustained violence against Druze 
 residents in the Damascus suburbs and Suweida, and a suicide bombing of 
 a Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, and allowed Islamist militia 
 members to intimidate, taunt, and loot the homes of Christians;
Whereas the Government of Turkey has tolerated the persecution of religious 
 minorities such as obstacles to places of worship, barriers to continued 
 legal residency, and restrictions on clerical institutions including the 
 Theological School of Halki;
Whereas the Government of Uzbekistan restricts and penalizes the practices of 
 many religious groups by placing bureaucratic restrictions on the 
 registration process for religious communities, banning missionary 
 activity and proselytism, prohibiting unregistered religious education, 
 and mandating government examination and approval for all religious 
 materials; and repeatedly arrests individuals for peaceful religious 
 activities; and
Whereas the Department of State made such recommended Special Watch List 
 designations for Algeria, Azerbaijan, the Central African Republic, 
 Comoros, and Vietnam on December 29, 2023: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) affirms that the United States should actively maintain 
 its position of global leadership in the advancement of freedom 
 of religion abroad;

    (2) urges the Secretary of State to engage robustly with 
 allies and partners on religious freedom; and

    (3) affirms the importance of the offices of the 
 Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and the 
 Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism.
 <all>