The U.S. Congress has approved a resolution urging President <NOBR>Vladimir Putin’s</NOBR> administration to fully protect religious freedom, saying religious minorities in Russia were suffering from harassment and violence, France Presse reported.
“Such episodes are becoming alarmingly common,” said Chris Smith, the Republican Representative from New Jersey.
“Considering the challenges being faced by religious communities in this Putin era, this resolution urges the government of Russia to ensure religious freedom for all,” said Smith, who chairs the House of Representatives subcommittee on human rights which adopted the bill.
Russian authorities have come under fire from human rights campaigners and religious groups for favoring the majority Russian Orthodox church over other denominations and clamping down on the activities of foreign missionaries.
Under Russian law, religious groups must be registered with both local and federal authorities.
Smith said those groups which were not registered had often been subject to harassment and even violence, charging that Moscow had overlooked crimes committed against religious minorities.
“These types of distinction between registered and unregistered religious communities are not viable under international standards,” he said.
Russia had committed to meeting international standards of religious freedom by being in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, he said.
“Russia’s obligations are clear and unequivocal, and the resolution passed by my subcommittee today will demonstrate to the authorities in Moscow that their actions will not go unnoticed,” Smith said.
The U.S. State Department said in an annual report on international religious freedom last week that Russia’s protections for religious minorities were insufficient.
The report said “some federal agencies and many local authorities continued to restrict the rights of various religious minorities,” and that conditions in Russia continued to deteriorate for some minority faiths.
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