The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH RESPECT TO DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S9317-S9318 on July 29, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE WITH RESPECT TO DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN
RIGHTS IN THE LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 429, S. Res. 240.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 240) expressing the sense of the Senate with respect to democracy and human rights in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations with amendments.
(The parts of the resolution intended to be stricken are shown in boldface brackets and the parts of the resolution intended to be inserted are shown in italic.)
S. Res. 240
Whereas in 1975, the Pathet Lao party supplanted the existing Lao government and the Lao Royal Family, and established a ``people's democratic republic'', in violation of the 1962 Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos and its Protocol, as well as the 1973 Vientiane Agreement on Laos;
Whereas since the 1975 overthrow of the existing Lao government, Laos has been under the sole control of the Lao People's Democratic Party;
Whereas the present Lao Constitution provides for human rights protection for the Lao people, and Laos is a signatory to international agreements on civil and political rights;
Whereas Laos has become a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which calls for the creation of open societies in each of its member states by the year 2020;
Whereas despite that, the State Department's ``Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1997'' notes that the government has only slowly eased restrictions on basic freedoms and begun codification of implementing legislation for rights stipulated in the Lao Constitution, and continues to significantly restrict the freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion; and
Whereas on January 30, 1998, the Lao government arrested and detained forty-four individuals at a Bible study meeting in Vientiane and on March 25 sentenced thirteen Christians from the group to prison terms of three to five years for
``creating divisions among the people, undermining the government, and accepting foreign funds to promote religion'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the present government of Laos should--
(1) respect international norms of human rights and democratic freedoms for the Lao people, and fully honor its commitments to those norms and freedoms as embodied in its constitution and international agreements, and in the 1962 Declaration on the Neutrality of Laos and its Protocol and the 1973 Vientiane Agreement on Laos;
(2) issue a public statement specifically reaffirming its commitment to protecting religious freedom and other basic human rights; [and]
(3) fully institute a process of democracy, human rights, and openly-contested free and fair elections in Laos, and ensure specifically that the National Assembly elections--currently scheduled for 2002--are openly contested[.]; and
(4) allow access for international human rights monitors, including the International Committee of the Red Cross to Lao prisons, and to all regions of the country to investigate allegations of human rights abuses, including those against the Hmong people, when requested.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendments be agreed to, as amended, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the resolution appear at this point in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee amendments were agreed to.
The resolution, (S. Res. 240) as amended, was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
____________________
