INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ACT OF 1998 -- HON. SHEILA
JACKSON-LEE (Extension of Remarks - October 16, 1998)
[Page: E2218]
HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE
in the House of Representatives
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1998
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in
support of H.R. 2431, the Freedom from Religious Persecution Act of
1998. Essentially, this bill is an effort to protect one of the most
sacred rights that human beings can enjoy, the right to seek out and
worship the divine as they may deem fit.
All over the world, nations, sovereign powers and
totalitarian groups are restricting the religious freedom of others.
From Christians to Jews to Muslims to Bahai's, religious
persecution, as we stand on the brink of the next millennium, is as
widespread as ever. So, in response to this crisis, this bill
establishes a new office in the State Department to monitor religious
persecution overseas called the Office of Religious Persecution
Monitoring, directs U.S. sanctions against countries and individuals
determined to have engaged in religious persecution and ensures that our
foreign service officers are trained in the bringing relief to refugees
and persons seeking asylum.
As our history teaches us, many of the founders of this great
nation crossed the imposing gulf of the Atlantic Ocean in order to
preserve the sanctity of their personal religious choices. Without
reservation, they flatly refused to let others dictate for them who they
could worship and how that worship should be conducted. Instead of
bowing to the suppression of their beliefs, these brave pioneers of a
new and enlightened sense of public governance, chose to protect their
freedom above all. Well over two centuries later, this same struggle is
being fought again by literally millions of people around the globe who
simply refuse to betray their most sacred beliefs about God.
In Sudan, in particular, this struggle has taken on
genocidically proportions. Some reports estimate that well over one
million people have been killed by the Sudanese government, both
Christians and Muslims, fighting to preserve their most fundamental
religious beliefs. In China, millions of `house church' Christians are
forced to worship in absolute secrecy in order to prevent the government
from interfering in the practice of their worship. In Tibet, Buddhists
have been brutalized, their religious leaders jailed, and their most
holy of worship places completely desecrated. In Iran, practicing
Bahai's have been met with a rash of sudden executions. We have
also learned about the violent terrorism against Christians in both
Pakistan and Egypt, while the government of these nations have simply
stood back and watched. So now that we know what is happening around us,
what are we going to do about these on-going travesties of justice?
For me, the answer is as simple as this, we must take
a stand on these important issues of principle. This bill, in
my opinion, is a workable solution to these growing threats to religious
freedom surging abroad. First of all, the bill does not exclude any
religious groups from its protections. Whether you are Christian, Jew,
Muslim, Hindu or something else, if you are persecuted because of your
religious beliefs, this bill and its provisions will protect you.
Furthermore, this bill is in no way mutually exclusive to any
protections that may exist in current law for any other persecuted
group. If you are persecuted for race, national origin, political
affiliation or some other defining characteristic of personhood,
existing federal law still addresses these concerns. Religion, I
believe, because of the many on-going tragedies of persecution,
terrorism and violence that I listed above, definitely deserves some
form of special consideration and treatment. Thus, the necessity of
creating a new federal sub-agency to be responsible for this volatile
issue.
The newly created Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring
in the State Department will be headed by a Director appointed by the
President and confirmed by the Senate. This director should be
recognized as an expert in the area of religious persecution and is
barred specifically by the language of the bill, from holding any other
federal position while serving in this capacity. More importantly
though, this office is empowered by the bill to make findings of fact on
any potential violations as discovered by the State Department and
submit these findings to the Secretary (of State) and President with
recommendations for action. Additionally, the office will create and
issue an `Annual Report on Religions Persecution' that can be used by
this Congress and other policy-makers to ensure that no oppression go
un-noticed. This bill, in sum, is a powerful statement to nations of the
world, that we will not countenance the rampant disregard of our fellow
man's unalienable rights.
As for the bill's remaining provisions, in regard to the
sanctions against aid given to countries that violate the religious
freedom of their citizens; we should not, we must not, and we can not
sit back and enrich governments that either conduct or condone the
persecution of citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs. In all
of our policy decisions, we need to show our displeasure with this kind
of heinous conduct. This bill mandates that the President of the United
States take action against all countries that engage in violations of
religious freedom. It offers the President a list of options from which
to choose an appropriate response, ranging from diplomatic protest to
economic sanctions. That flexibility is important because it allows us
to tailor our action so that more innocents are not hurt because of our
mandated retaliation. Finally and importantly, this bill causes the
creation of a structured asylum program for religious refugees a noble
objective which is long overdue.
Millions of persecuted people around the world are waiting
for this bill. I hope that we can send it to them unanimously.