[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 496 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 496

   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding so-called ``honor 
                              killings''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 2002

Mr. Nadler (for himself, Mr. Rohrabacher, and Mrs. Lowey) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding so-called ``honor 
                              killings''.

Whereas thousands of women around the world are killed and maimed each year in 
        the name of family ``honor'';
Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 56th Session, January 
        2000, working with the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and 
        extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, received reports of so-
        called ``honor killings'' from numerous countries, including Bangladesh, 
        Jordan, India, Pakistan, Ecuador, Uganda, and Morocco, and noted that 
        such killings take many forms, such as flogging, forced suicide, 
        stoning, beheading, acid throwing, and burning;
Whereas according to the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights 
        Practices for 1999, ``crimes of honor'' in Bangladesh include acid-
        throwing and whipping of women accused of moral indiscretion;
Whereas authorities in Bangladesh estimate there will be up to 200 ``honor 
        killings'' in that country this year;
Whereas thousands of Pakistani women and girls are stabbed, burned, or maimed 
        every year by husbands, fathers, and brothers who accuse them of 
        dishonoring their family by being unfaithful, seeking a divorce, or 
        refusing an arranged marriage;
Whereas Jordan, which had 20 reported ``honor killings'' in 1998, still has laws 
        reducing the penalty for, or exempting perpetrators of ``honor crimes'', 
        and the Jordanian Parliament has twice failed to repeal these laws;
Whereas His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan should be commended for the recent 
        formation of Jordan's Royal Commission on Human Rights, chaired by Her 
        Majesty Queen Rania, which will primarily address obstacles that prevent 
        women and children from exercising their basic human rights, including 
        the persistence of ``honor crimes'';
Whereas more than 5,000 ``dowry deaths'' occur every year in India, according to 
        the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which reported in 1997 that 
        a dozen women die each day in ``kitchen fires'' designed to be passed 
        off as accidents because the woman's husband's family is dissatisfied 
        over the size of the woman's dowry;
Whereas women accused of adultery in countries such as Afghanistan, the United 
        Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and a host of other countries are subject to a 
        maximum penalty of death by stoning;
Whereas even though ``honor killings'' may be outlawed, law enforcement and 
        judicial systems often fail to properly investigate, arrest, and 
        prosecute offenders and laws frequently permit reduction in sentences or 
        exemptions from prosecution for those who ``kill in the name of honor'' 
        typically resulting in a token punishment, impunity, and continued 
        violence against women; and
Whereas the right to exist is the most fundamental of all rights and must be 
        guaranteed to every individual without discrimination, and the 
        perpetuation of ``honor killings'' and dowry deaths is a deliberate 
        violation of women's human rights that should be universally condemned: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the United States, through the United States Agency for 
        International Development, should--
                    (A) work with foreign law enforcement and judicial 
                agencies to enact legal system reforms to more 
                effectively address the investigation and prosecution 
                of so-called ``honor crimes''; and
                    (B) make resources available to local organizations 
                to provide refuge and rehabilitation for women who are 
                victims of ``honor crimes'' and the children of such 
                women;
            (2) the Department of State, when preparing yearly Country 
        Reports on Human Rights Practices, should include--
                    (A) information relating to the incidence of 
                ``honor violence'' in foreign countries;
                    (B) the steps taken by foreign governments to 
                address the problem of ``honor violence''; and
                    (C) all relevant actions taken by the United 
                States, whether through diplomacy or foreign assistance 
                programs, to reduce the incidence of ``honor violence'' 
                and to increase investigations and prosecutions of such 
                crimes;
            (3) the United States should communicate to the United 
        Nations its concern over the high rate of honor-related 
        violence toward women worldwide and request that the 
        appropriate United Nations bodies, in consultation with 
        relevant nongovernmental organizations, propose actions to be 
        taken to encourage these countries to demonstrate strong 
        efforts to end such violence; and
            (4) the President and the Secretary of State should 
        communicate directly with leaders of countries where ``honor 
        killings'', dowry deaths, and related practices are endemic, in 
        order to convey the Nation's most serious concerns over these 
        gross violations of human rights and urge these leaders to 
        investigate and prosecute all such acts as murder, with the 
        appropriate penalties.
                                 <all>