[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 26 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 26

    Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Taliban-led 
                       Government in Afghanistan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2001

Mrs. Maloney of New York (for herself, Mr. Rohrabacher, and Mr. Hoyer) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the Taliban-led 
                       Government in Afghanistan.

Whereas millions of women and girls living under Taliban rule Afghanistan are 
        denied their basic human rights;
Whereas according to the Department of State and international human rights 
        organizations, the Taliban continues to commit widespread and well-
        documented human rights abuses, in gross violation of internationally 
        accepted norms;
Whereas, according to the United States Department of State Country Report on 
        Human Rights Practices (hereinafter the ``1998 State Department Human 
        Rights Report''), violence against women in Afghanistan occurs 
        frequently, including beatings, rapes, forced marriages, disappearances, 
        kidnapings, and killings;
Whereas women and girls under Taliban rule are generally barred from working, 
        going to school, leaving their homes without an immediate male family 
        member as chaperone, and visiting doctors, hospitals, or clinics;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, gender 
        restrictions by the Taliban continue to interfere with the delivery of 
        humanitarian assistance to women and girls in Afghanistan;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, under 
        Taliban rule women are forced to don a head-to-toe garment known as a 
        burqa, which has only a mesh screen for vision, and many women found in 
        public not wearing a burqa, or wearing a burqa that does not properly 
        cover the ankles, are beaten by Taliban militiamen;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, some poor 
        women under Taliban rule cannot afford the cost of a burqa and thus are 
        forced to remain at home or risk beatings if they go outside the home 
        without one;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, the lack of 
        a burqa has resulted in the inability of some women under Taliban rule 
        to get necessary medical care because they cannot leave home;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, women under 
        Taliban rule reportedly have been beaten if their shoe heels click when 
        they walk;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, under 
        Taliban rule women in homes must not be visible from the street, and 
        houses with female occupants must have their windows painted over;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, under 
        Taliban rule women are not allowed to drive, and taxi drivers reportedly 
        have been beaten if they take unescorted women as passengers;
Whereas according to the 1998 State Department Human Rights Report, women under 
        Taliban rule are forbidden to enter mosques or other places of worship; 
        and
Whereas women and girls of all ages under Taliban rule have suffered needlessly 
        and even died from curable illness because they have been turned away 
        from health care facilities because of their gender: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the President should instruct the United States 
        Representative to the United Nations to use all appropriate 
        means to prevent any Taliban-led government in Afghanistan from 
        obtaining the seat in the United Nations General Assembly 
        reserved for Afghanistan so long as gross violations of 
        internationally recognized human rights against women and girls 
        persist; and
            (2) the United States should refuse to recognize any 
        government in Afghanistan which is not taking actions to 
        achieve the following goals in Afghanistan:
                    (A) The effective participation of women in all 
                civic, economic, and social life.
                    (B) The right of women to work.
                    (C) The right of women and girls to an education 
                without discrimination and the reopening of schools to 
                women and girls at all levels of education.
                    (D) The freedom of movement for women and girls.
                    (E) Equal access for women and girls to health 
                facilities.
                    (F) Equal access for women and girls to 
                humanitarian aid.
                                 <all>