[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 332 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 332

    Expressing concern for the plight of Assyrians in the Near East.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 13, 1997

Mr. Blagojevich (for himself and Mr. Hamilton) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing concern for the plight of Assyrians in the Near East.

Whereas Assyrians have suffered profound religious and ethnic discrimination at 
        the hands of certain governments and political factions of the Near 
        East;
Whereas the Assyrian people have made great sacrifices in the effort to oppose 
        the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and have suffered 
        mightily as a result of their efforts;
Whereas certain governments in the Near East have failed to cooperate fully with 
        the efforts of the United States Department of State and international 
        human rights agencies to account for the disappearances of prominent 
        Assyrians;
Whereas the Assyrian people are a distinct cultural and ethnic group, tracing 
        their heritage back over 6,700 years;
Whereas the Assyrians have made significant and invaluable contributions to the 
        progress of human civilization, such as the university, the library, the 
        postal delivery system, and indoor plumbing;
Whereas the Assyrian language is a unique and living language, with its roots in 
        ancient Akkadian;
Whereas there are almost 3,000,000 Assyrians living throughout the world today 
        and 300,000 living in the United States;
Whereas the Assyrian people have been repeatedly denied their right as a nation 
        to determine their own destiny; and
Whereas the Assyrian people have expressed their desire to coexist peacefully 
        with other peoples in a democratic society: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    The House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the continuing religious and ethnic 
        discrimination against Assyrians, as well as denial of basic 
        human rights to Assyrians in the Near East;
            (2) reaffirms that all Assyrians should be entitled to 
        freely practice their religion, speak their language, practice 
        their customs, and celebrate their culture in whatever country 
        they choose to make their home; and
            (3) strongly urges the governments of the Near East to 
        cooperate fully to ensure that the rights of Assyrians are 
        thoroughly respected.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

    It is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
            (1) the President should call for an end to the government-
        sponsored persecution of Assyrians, and further call for all 
        governments to uphold the rights of Assyrians;
            (2) the President should instruct the Secretary of State to 
        address the issue of Assyrian rights with other governments 
        through the appropriate bilateral and multilateral forums; and
            (3) the President should instruct the United States 
        Ambassador to the United Nations to work in that body to 
        address the issue of discrimination against Assyrians in the 
        Near East.
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