Aus: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.3145:
Trans-Atlantic Religious Protection Act (TARPA) of 2001 (Introduced
in the House)
HR 3145 IH
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3145
To promote greater cooperation between the United States and
its European allies toward religious tolerance and to require the imposition
of punitive measures with respect to entities that discriminate against
individuals or groups on the basis of religion or belief.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 16, 2001
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself and Mr. GILMAN) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and
in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Ways and Means, for
a period subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To promote greater cooperation between the United States and
its European allies toward religious tolerance and to require the imposition
of punitive measures with respect to entities that discriminate against
individuals or groups on the basis of religion or belief.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Trans-Atlantic Religious Protection Act
(TARPA) of 2001'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states
that `[e]veryone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom,
either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest
his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance'.
(2) Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights states that `[n]o one shall be subject to coercion which would impair
his freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice'.
(3) The member countries of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) have undertaken a series of specific commitments designed
to ensure the freedom of the individual to profess and practice religion
or belief, including a commitment by those countries to ensure the full
and effective exercise of the freedom of thought, conscience, religion,
or belief, in their laws and regulations.
(4) Principle VII of the Helsinki Final Act commits the OSCE member
countries to `recognize and respect the freedom of the individual to profess
and practice, alone or in community with others, religion or belief acting
in accordance with the dictates of his own conscience'.
(5) The 1989 Vienna Concluding Document commits the OSCE member countries
to `take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination against
individuals or communities on the grounds of religion or belief in the
recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms
in all fields of civil, political, economic, social and cultural life'.
(6) In the 1991 Moscow Document, the OSCE member countries `categorically
and irrevocably declare that the commitments undertaken in the field of
the human dimension . . . are matters of direct and legitimate concern
to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the internal
affairs of the State concerned'.
(7) Freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief is inextricably
linked to the exercise of other rights, including the right to freedom
of peaceful assembly and association, the right to freedom of association
with others, and the right to freedom of expression, and the recognition
that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any
discrimination to the equal protection of the law, including in employment.
(8) The United States Department of State's annual reports on religious
freedom and human rights have documented numerous instances of government
discrimination in Western Europe based on religion or belief, including
discriminatory acts against American members of several different religious
denominations and beliefs.
(9) Both the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the
Department of State have objected to the use of discriminatory procurement
practices by German Federal, state and local governmental agencies and
private entities which have the potential to discriminate against United
States firms in procurement decisions by permitting agencies and firms
to reject bids and terminate contracts with firms that do not attest that
the firm and its employees are not affiliated with certain religious beliefs.
(10) In France, Federal and local governmental agencies, as well as
private businesses responding to French Government actions, have terminated
contracts with a United States-owned software firm solely because of the
religious beliefs of the firm's founder.
(11) A law enacted by the French Parliament on May 30, 2001, contains
repressive measures which would have a chilling effect on the freedom religion
and belief, including the dissolution of targeted religious associations,
the imprisonment of members of such groups, and infringement upon freedom
of speech, including speech intended to persuade another person to a particular
point of view, whether philosophical or religious.
(12) His Holiness Pope John Paul II has spoken out against the new
French law as potentially devastating. While formally accepting the credentials
of the new French Ambassador to the Holy See, the Pope reminded the ambassador
that `religious liberty in the full sense of the term, is the first human
right . . . [t]his means a liberty which is not reduced to the private
sphere only . . . [t]o discriminate [against] religious beliefs, or to
discredit one or another form of religious practices is a form of exclusion
contrary to the respect of fundamental human values and will eventually
destabilize society, where a pluralism of thought and action should exist,
as well as a benevolent and brotherly attitude . . . [t]his
will necessarily create a climate of tension, intolerance, opposition and
suspect, not conducive to social peace'.
(13) United States Department of State officials testifying on the
new French law before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 1,
2001, and the House Committee on International Relations on July 11, 2001,
underscored that `[t]he United States is concerned that such policies are
becoming institutionalized in some parts of Europe and are having the effect
of appearing to justify restrictive laws elsewhere such as Russia, Central
Asia, and even China'.
(14) A 1996 French National Assembly report listed 173 organizations
as suspect, including independent evangelical Christian churches, Scientologists,
Jehovah's Witnesses, and Unificationists and this report has been used
by both private and official entities to harass, intimidate, deny employment,
and deny commercial loans to listed groups, and members of other religious
groups, such as Southern Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists, the Catholic
Charismatic Renewal movement, Opus Dei, and the Society of Jesus, have
also been subject to recent discrimination and harassment at the hands
of the French Government.
(15) The Parliament of Austria passed a law in 1997 which codified
a tiered system of government recognition and preferential treatment and
which requires religious groups seeking recognition to undergo government
surveillance for at least 10, or up to 20, years to prove legitimacy to
government officials.
(16) The Austrian law on religion is cited as justification for more
repressive laws being proposed in nascent democracies further east, such
as Hungary and Romania, and has been cited by Russian officials as justification
for an oppressive 1997 Russian religion law.
(17) The Government of Austria has instituted a `sect' office which
disseminates official propaganda on religious groups not recognized by
the government and leading to a chilling effect on religious liberty.
(18) The Parliament of Belgium issued a report in 1997 on `sects' with
a widely circulated informal appendix listing 189 groups as suspect, including
many Protestant and Catholic groups, Quakers, Hasidic Jews, Buddhists,
and members of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), based on
rumor and speculation found in police files, and implicitly warning the
public to avoid such `dangerous' groups.
(19) The Parliament of Belgium has established a government Center
for Information and Advice on Harmful Sectarian Organizations which disseminates
official views on groups considered `sects' as defined by the list in the
appendix to the 1997 Belgian Parliament report.
(20) On April 29, 1998, the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs sent
a report to the lower house of the Italian Parliament entitled `Cults and
New Magical Movements in Italy'. This report mentions that the Ministry
of Internal Affairs monitors 137 groups--76 of which are categorized as
`new religions' and 61 as `new magical movements'. This report, according
to Dr. Massimo Introvigne of CESNUR in Italy, notes that `the real danger
is that, because of the media event created around the report, respectable
and law-abiding citizens who happen to be members of movements mentioned,
but explicitly exonerated from any charge in the report may be discriminated
against or maligned'.
(21) Some evangelical and charismatic Christian churches have been
targeted in parliamentary investigations in France, Belgium, and Germany.
(22) Jehovah's Witnesses have been subjected in France to various forms
of harassment, have been informed by German state tax authorities that
the long-standing exemption from property taxation for their houses of
worship may be canceled in the near future, continue to suffer from employment
discrimination in Austria, France, and Germany, and have been discriminated
against in foster parent proceedings in Germany and in some child custody
matters in Belgium.
(23) Muslims have been subjected to harassment, including police brutality
and attacks by extremist groups, particularly in Germany and France, and
Muslim women are subject to frequent discrimination and other forms of
abuse and harassment because they wear a head covering.
(24) Adherents to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have
been subject to continued acts of harassment, including confiscation of
religious materials, and are prevented from freely sharing their beliefs
in several Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) member
countries.
(25) Members of the Church of Scientology have been subject to pervasive
civil, political, and economic discrimination, harassment, surveillance,
and orchestrated boycotts in Germany, France, Belgium, and Austria.
(26) The Law of Sects in Spain, passed in 1989, authorizes the police
to investigate `sects' with a `destructive' character. As a result, a special
unit was created within the police to investigate these allegedly dangerous
sects.
(27) The Government of the Canary Islands, one of Spain's 17 regions,
has refused to grant permission to the Salvation Army to open a center
for needy children on the grounds that the Salvation Army is categorized
as a `destructive sect'.
(28) Actions by Western European governments have contributed to intolerance
by public and private actors who have discriminated in hiring practices
or terminated employment based on an individual's religious affiliation.
(29) The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States
have intensified fears of infringement and violations of religious freedom,
with experts cautioning against the use of the antiterrorism effort as
an excuse for arbitrary abuses and proliferation of anti-sect laws and
lists such as those used by European countries to monitor or restrict particular
religious groups.
SEC. 3. DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS.
(a) GENERAL EFFORTS- The President and the Secretary of State--
(1) shall raise violations of freedom of thought, conscience, religion,
or belief at every appropriate level with representatives of European countries
that have failed to implement their international commitments and obligations
in this regard;
(2) shall make full use of existing meetings and structures of international
organizations and multilateral fora to raise violations by Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) member countries of freely
undertaken international commitments both to protect and to provide for
the full and effective exercise of the freedom of thought, conscience,
religion, or belief under their respective jurisdictions; and
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, shall appoint experts on religious
liberty to United States delegations to appropriate meetings of international
organizations.
(b) UNITED STATES-EU INTER-PARLIAMENTARY MEETINGS- United States representatives
to the United States-European Union Inter-Parliamentary meetings, should
raise at such meetings the issue of laws, regulations, and other practices
in the members countries which infringe upon freedom of thought, conscience,
religion or belief and take concrete steps to address these violations.
SEC. 4. ACTIONS BY DEPARTMENT OF STATE.
(a) DIVERSITY AND TOLERANCE EXCHANGES- The Secretary of State, through
the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Exchange, shall promote educational
and cultural workshops and forums among academics, religious leaders, and
human rights organizations in the United States and their European counterparts
in an effort to promote a better understanding of religious and philosophical
diversity and a tolerant society.
(b) HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORS- The Secretary of State, through the Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Bureau of Diplomatic and
Consular Affairs, shall train United States human rights monitors stationed
at European posts to identify, investigate, and monitor persecution and
discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.
(c) DENIAL OF VISAS- The Secretary of State may not issue a visa to,
and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States, any alien
who the Secretary of State determines is a high-ranking official of the
government of a country, or a commercial or other entity of a government,
which is in violation of international obligations to guarantee and ensure
the full and effective exercise of freedom of thought, conscience, religion,
or belief.
(d) TRAVEL ADVISORIES- The Secretary of State shall issue travel advisories
on countries which discriminate on the basis of religion or belief advising
Americans of the potential dangers faced by individuals who are members
of targeted groups.
SEC. 5. ACTIONS BY UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE.
The President shall, in accordance with section 301(a)(1) of the Trade
Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411(a)(1)), direct the United States Trade Representative--
(1) to take all appropriate action authorized under section 301(c)
of such Act against each European country the government of which engages
in or tolerates violations of religious freedom (as determined under section
401 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998), including the
imposition of duties or other import restrictions on goods of such country
that are similar to the goods of a United States individual or United States
business (or its subsidiary) that is subject to such violations of religious
freedom; and
(2) to initiate appropriate action at the World Trade Organization
against each European country described in paragraph (1).
SEC. 6. ACTIONS BY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.
The President shall direct the Secretary of Commerce--
(1) to incorporate into the programs and assistance of the International
Trade Administration guidelines and warnings regarding the discriminatory
practices of European countries against United States products or businesses
(and their subsidiaries) on the basis of religion or belief; and
(2) to make it a priority to advocate on behalf of United States businesses
being discriminated against by European countries on the basis of religion
or belief to ensure full market access and achieve full compliance by such
countries with international trade agreements and accords entered into
with the United States.
SEC. 7. PRESIDENTIAL WAIVER.
(a) WAIVER- Subject to subsection (b), the President may waive any
provision of this Act with respect to a country if the President determines
and so reports to Congress that--
(1) the government of the country has ceased the violations giving
rise to the action under this Act;
(2) the exercise of the waiver would further the purposes of this Act;
or
(3) it is important to the national interests of the United States
to do so.
(b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION- Prior to exercising his authority to
waive any provision of this Act pursuant to subsection (a), the President
shall notify Congress of the waiver together with a detailed justification
thereof.
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