Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to: (1) the Russian Federation's compliance with the minimum standards of democratic governance and rule of law characteristic of Group of 8 (G8) member countries; (2) conditioning participation by the Russian Federation in the G8 on acceptance of, and adherence to, the democratic standards and principles adhered to by the other G8 nations; and (3) steps to suspend Russian Federation participation until the President determines and reports to Congress that the Russian Government is committed to respecting and upholding these democratic principles.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 14 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 14
Expressing the sense of Congress that the continued participation of
the Russian Federation in the Group of 8 nations should be conditioned
on the Russian Government voluntarily accepting and adhering to the
norms and standards of democracy.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 17, 2005
Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Burns, Mr. Bayh, Mr.
Chambliss, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that the continued participation of
the Russian Federation in the Group of 8 nations should be conditioned
on the Russian Government voluntarily accepting and adhering to the
norms and standards of democracy.
Whereas the countries that comprise the Group of 7 nations are pluralistic
societies with democratic political institutions and practices,
committed to the observance of universally recognized standards of human
rights, respect for individual liberties, and democratic principles;
Whereas in 1991 and subsequent years, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations,
heads of the governments of the major free market economies of the world
who meet annually in a summit meeting, invited then-Russian President
Boris Yeltsin to a post-summit dialogue;
Whereas in 1998, the leaders of the Group of 7 nations formally invited
President Boris Yeltsin of Russia to participate in an annual gathering
that subsequently was known as the Group of 8 nations, although the
Group of 7 nations have continued to hold informal summit meetings and
ministerial meetings that do not include the Russian Federation;
Whereas the invitation to President Yeltsin to participate in the annual summits
was in recognition of his commitment to democratization and economic
liberalization, despite the fact that the Russian economy remained weak
and the commitment of the Russian Government to democratic principles
was uncertain;
Whereas under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Government
has attempted to control the activities of independent media
enterprises, nongovernmental organizations, religious organizations, and
other pluralistic elements of Russian society in an attempt to mute
criticism of the government;
Whereas under the leadership of President Putin, the Russian Government has
suppressed the activities of independent journalists, international
observers, and human rights monitoring organizations, and has blocked
the renewal of the mandate of the Organization for Security and Co-
operation in Europe (OSCE) to operate inside Chechnya in an attempt to
block public scrutiny of the war in Chechnya;
Whereas the suppression by the Russian Government of independent media
enterprises has resulted in widespread government control and influence
over the media in Russia, stifling freedom of expression and individual
liberties that are essential to any functioning democracy;
Whereas the arrest and prosecution of prominent Russian business leaders who had
supported the political opposition to President Putin are examples of
selective application of the rule of law for political purposes;
Whereas the courts of the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Greece
have consistently ruled against extradition warrants issued by the
Russian Government after finding that the cases presented by the
Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation have been inherently
political in nature;
Whereas Russian military forces continue to commit brutal atrocities against the
civilian population in Chechnya and have been implicated in abductions
of Chechen civilians who filed cases before the European Court of Human
Rights;
Whereas leaders of the Group of 7 nations have repeatedly expressed that a
military solution in Chechnya is not possible;
Whereas in the aftermath of the tragic siege of School No. 1 in Beslan, Russia
that occurred during September 2004, which was an act of terrorism
abhorrent to all civilized people, President Putin cited violence in the
North Caucasus as a pretext for consolidating centralized power and
proposed to abolish the popular election of regional governors in favor
of presidential appointment of such officials;
Whereas the catastrophic consequences of the siege of School No. 1 in Beslan and
of the continued violence in Chechnya demonstrate the need to search for
political solutions and to commence negotiations between the Government
of Russia and moderate Chechen separatists, giving moderates credence
over extremist elements;
Whereas the Government of Russia initially supported the undemocratic results of
the November 21, 2004, runoff in the Ukrainian presidential election, in
spite of widespread election fraud and mass demonstrations in support of
a new, legitimate election, which raised concerns among the Group of 7
nations that the commitment of the Government of Russia to democratic
standards is waning;
Whereas a wide range of observers at think tanks and nongovernmental
organizations have expressed deep concern that the Russian Federation is
moving away from the political and legal underpinnings of a market
economy and have identified the continuing war in Chechnya as a major
threat to stability and democracy in Russia; and
Whereas the continued participation of the Russian Federation in the Group of 8
nations, including the opportunity for the Russian Government to host
the Group of 8 nations in 2006 as planned, is a privilege that is
premised on the Government of Russia voluntarily accepting and adhering
to the norms and standards of democracy, including governmental
accountability, transparency, and the rule of law: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the selective prosecution of political opponents and
the suppression of free media by the Russian Federation, and
the continued commission of widespread atrocities in the
conduct of the brutal war in Chechnya, do not reflect the
minimum standards of democratic governance and rule of law that
characterize every other member state in the Group of 8
nations;
(2) the continued participation of the Russian Federation
in the Group of 8 nations, including the opportunity for the
Russian Government to host the Group of 8 nations summit in
2006 as planned, should be conditioned on the Russian
Government accepting and adhering to the norms and standards of
free, democratic societies as generally practiced by every
other member nation of the Group of 8 nations, including--
(A) the rule of law, including protection from
selective prosecution and protection from arbitrary
state-directed violence;
(B) a court system free of political influence and
manipulation;
(C) a free and independent media;
(D) a political system open to participation by all
citizens and which protects freedom of expression and
association; and
(E) the protection of universally recognized human
rights; and
(3) the President and the Secretary of State should work
with the other members of the Group of 7 nations to take all
necessary steps to suspend the participation of the Russian
Federation in the Group of 8 nations until the President, after
consultation with the other members of the Group of 7 nations,
determines and reports to Congress that the Russian Government
is committed to respecting and upholding the democratic
principles described in paragraph (2).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced: CR S1685-1686)
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