WASHINGTON – The Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Co-Chairman, Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), have introduced a resolution to the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, calling upon the Government of Russia to fully protect religious freedom.
“The Russian government’s record on religious freedom has not met the standards of the Helsinki Process, or even the Russian Constitution itself,” said Brownback. “Freedom of religion is the linchpin of all other freedoms. President Putin must do more to ensure all Russian citizens enjoy their religious liberties.”
“The Russian system of registering faith is used as a shield by the Russian police and other government agencies to discriminate against and mistreat people who hold certain religious beliefs,” noted Smith. “This resolution makes clear that whether registered or unregistered, Russia must abide by its commitments to support religious freedom.”
Under the Russian system, a religion must be registered with the government in order to enjoy certain rights and privileges. Historically, some religious groups have refused to do so on grounds of doctrine or because they do not wish to be implicated in Russian Government policy.
“Russia needs to immediately improve its record on protecting religious freedoms for unregistered groups. Nobody is expecting Jeffersonian pluralism overnight, but the Russian Government need to take positive steps to assure equal protection of all religious groups,” said Rep. Ban Cardin (D-MD).
According to some statistics, in the past two years there have been as many as ten arson attacks on unregistered Protestant churches in Russia, with little or no effective response by law enforcement officials to bring the perpetrators to justice. There have also been incidents of discrimination against other religious groups. In April, the Helsinki Commission held a hearing on unregistered religious groups in Russia, which highlighted the problem facing these communities throughout the Russian Federation.
