[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1725 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1725
Condemning and deploring the murderous attacks, bombings, kidnappings,
and threats against vulnerable religious communities in Iraq, in
particular the attack against Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad
on October 31, 2010, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 2010
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Wolf, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Kirk,
Mr. Peters, Mr. Franks of Arizona, and Mr. Pitts) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning and deploring the murderous attacks, bombings, kidnappings,
and threats against vulnerable religious communities in Iraq, in
particular the attack against Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad
on October 31, 2010, and for other purposes.
Whereas, on October 31, 2010, gunmen stormed Our Lady of Salvation (Sayidat al-
Nejat) Church in an historic neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, and took
hostage more than 100 Catholic men, women, and children worshipping
inside;
Whereas over the course of the hostage crisis and rescue operation, 52 police
officers and worshippers, including 2 priests, were killed and 75 people
were wounded;
Whereas the Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda affiliated group, claimed
responsibility for the attack;
Whereas, the Iraqi Human Rights Minister, Wijdan Michael, reportedly said at the
scene of the attack, ``What happened was more than a catastrophic and
tragic event. In my opinion, it is an attempt to force Iraqi Christians
to leave Iraq and to empty Iraq of Christians.'';
Whereas, on November 9, 2010, and November 10, 2010, more than a dozen homes
inhabited by Christians in Baghdad were targeted in coordinated bomb and
mortar attacks, killing at least 4 people and wounding dozens more;
Whereas the victims of the November 9, 2010, and November 10, 2010, attacks
included at least one family of a victim of the Our Lady of Salvation
attack, whom terrorists may have identified by funeral signs hanging
outside the home;
Whereas these attacks are only the latest instances of violence directed against
Iraq's vulnerable religious communities, including Assyrians, Chaldeans,
Mandeans, Syriacs, Yazidis, and other religious communities;
Whereas Iraq's ancient and once vibrant Christian population that numbered an
estimated 1,500,000 out of a total population in Iraq of 30,000,000 in
2003 has been reduced by at least one half, due to Christians fleeing
the violence;
Whereas most of Iraq's ancient Jewish community also has fled out of fear and
the community has almost disappeared;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom noted in
its 2010 Annual Report that, ``despite the overall drop in violence in
the country, violence against religious minorities and their religious
sites continued in 2009 and 2010, particularly in the Northern disputed
regions.'';
Whereas vulnerable religious communities have been subjected to a specific
pattern of violence and discrimination, and as such, require a
comprehensive and cohesive strategy for their protection and
preservation;
Whereas the survival and prosperity of vulnerable religious communities is
critical for the long-term stability of Iraq;
Whereas in fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, Congress appropriated funding
specifically for the protection and development of efforts aimed at
Iraq's minority populations, with a particular focus on the Nineveh
Plains region; and
Whereas H. Res. 944, passed by the House of Representatives on February 24,
2010, requested that the Secretary of State develop and report to
Congress on a comprehensive strategy to encourage the protection of the
rights of members of vulnerable religious and ethnic minority
communities in Iraq: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that
the United States Government should--
(1) continue to clearly and forcefully denounce any form of
violence and other human rights violations committed against
vulnerable religious communities in Iraq;
(2) assist the Government of Iraq in developing and
implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure security at places
of worship and other sites where vulnerable religious
communities congregate and to include measures to increase the
representation of vulnerable religious communities in the
Government of Iraq, including the security forces, and the
inclusion of vulnerable religious communities in economic,
social, and political aspects of Iraqi society;
(3) assist the Government of Iraq in establishing, funding,
training, and deploying police units that include officers
representative of vulnerable religious communities for the
protection of vulnerable religious communities;
(4) strongly urge the Government of Iraq to undertake
prompt, transparent, and thorough investigations of all
allegations of human rights abuses against vulnerable religious
communities, including those stemming from sectarian,
religiously motivated, or other violence by Iraqi security
forces, political factions, militias, or any other para-state
actors;
(5) strongly encourage the Government of Iraq to secure the
prosecution of those who perpetrate religiously motivated
violence;
(6) continue to process Iraqi refugees for resettlement to
the United States, taking into account the recent and continued
targeted violence against members of Iraq's vulnerable
religious communities and the P2 designation in the Refugee
Crisis in Iraq Act of 2007; and
(7) ensure that members of Iraq's vulnerable religious
communities scheduled to be resettled to the United States are
not delayed unnecessarily by providing adequate personnel to
conduct background screening procedures and by enforcing proper
application of the existing waiver of the material support bar
to those forced to provide support to terrorists under duress.
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