[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 732 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 732

  Calling for the protection of the rights and freedoms of religious 
                     minorities in the Arab world.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2012

 Mr. Franks of Arizona (for himself, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Pitts, 
 Mr. Connolly of Virginia, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mrs. Hartzler, Mr. 
   Van Hollen, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Jones, Ms. Buerkle, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Forbes, 
 Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Scalise, Mr. Harris, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Pompeo, 
Mr. Walberg, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Canseco, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Poe of Texas, 
   Mr. Peters, Mr. Marino, Mr. Huelskamp, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Gowdy, Mr. 
  Sires, and Ms. Eshoo) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Calling for the protection of the rights and freedoms of religious 
                     minorities in the Arab world.

Whereas Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes that 
        ``[e]veryone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and 
        religion; this right includes freedom to change one's religion or 
        belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in 
        public or in private, to manifest one's religion or belief in teaching, 
        practice, worship and observance'';
Whereas Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
        states that ``Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, 
        conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to 
        adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either 
        individually or in community with others and in public or private, to 
        manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and 
        teaching.'';
Whereas, since January 2011, popular uprisings and movements for democratic 
        change have swept the Arab world, including Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, 
        Yemen, and Syria;
Whereas many democratic reformers in the Arab world expressed aspirations for 
        religious freedom, tolerance, and peace;
Whereas in recent months, in the midst of political transition and uncertainty 
        in many Arab countries, minority ethno-religious communities have come 
        under repeated and deadly attack;
Whereas, on January 1, 2011, a suicide bomber attacked the Saint George and 
        Bishop Peter Church in Alexandria, killing 21 Coptic Christians, an 
        ancient Egyptian religious faith community that accounts for over 10 
        percent of the country's population of 82,000,000;
Whereas, on October 9, 2011, tens of thousands of Coptic Christians along with 
        Muslims took to the streets in the Maspero section of Cairo to protest 
        Egypt's interim military government's failure to protect them from 
        attacks on churches, and, in response, were attacked by the Egyptian 
        military and security forces in one of the deadliest assaults on the 
        community since the revolution began, with at least 25 Christians killed 
        and more than 300 Copts and Muslims injured;
Whereas, on October 9, 2011, more violence was incited by Egyptian television 
        when Egyptians were called upon to ``protect the army'' against the 
        peaceful protests of the Christians;
Whereas the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces promised an independent 
        investigation into the events surrounding the October 9, 2011, massacre, 
        yet no action has been taken to date to punish the perpetrators of the 
        massacre;
Whereas, on October 16, 2011, in the Upper Egyptian town of Mallawi, 17-year-old 
        Ayman Labib, when he could not remove a cross tattooed on his wrist, was 
        brutally attacked and murdered by students in his class who were incited 
        by his teacher;
Whereas attacks against the Coptic Christian community have continued unabated 
        since the revolution began, with the government creating a climate of 
        impunity by providing little justice or protection from these attacks;
Whereas, since March 2011, tens of thousands of Copts have reportedly left 
        Egypt, increasing the trends of refugees fleeing from Egypt;
Whereas, on October 31, 2010, the deadliest ever recorded attack on Iraqi 
        Christians occurred at the Sayidat al-Nejat Catholic Cathedral in 
        central Baghdad, where militants stormed the church and held 
        parishioners hostage for several hours, and later detonated 2 suicide 
        vests filled with ball bearings, killing 58 and wounding 78 
        parishioners, including 3 priests;
Whereas since the Iraq War began, over one-half of Iraq's Christian population 
        has disappeared, been killed, or been forced into flight by terrorist 
        groups, thereby threatening the very existence of this ancient community 
        in Iraq;
Whereas the United States Department of State's July-December 2010 Religious 
        Freedom Report found that the Iraqi Christian population is 
        approximately half of its 2003 level, a staggering loss of communities 
        that date back thousands of years;
Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has 
        reported that marginalization, discrimination, threats of death, 
        kidnapping for ransom, and attacks and murders by terrorists have 
        threatened the elimination of Iraq's Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, and 
        other ancient ethno-religious communities such as the Mandaeans and 
        Yezidis; and
Whereas the Arab Spring's democracy advocates will not be safe to express 
        themselves or achieve the benefits of a stable, peaceful, and 
        transparent democracy until religious freedom for all, including 
        religious minorities, and the freedoms that parallel those rights, such 
        as freedom of association, expression, and equal protection under the 
        law are enshrined in any future legal or political reforms in countries 
        throughout the region: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes, in light of the upheaval brought by the 
        Arab Spring, that religious freedom is critical to 
        democratization, so that all people can freely associate, 
        speak, and peacefully participate equally in the political 
        process, and that religious minorities are protected during 
        this time of transition in the region;
            (2) calls upon the Arab League and the Organization of 
        Islamic Cooperation to press all member nations to protect the 
        rights of religious minorities within their borders and treat 
        those minorities as equal citizens, which includes the vigorous 
        prosecution of any crimes against them;
            (3) urges the United States Government to lead an 
        international effort to support legal and political reforms for 
        the equal protection of religious freedom for all as a 
        foundation for a stable, peaceful, and lasting democracy in the 
        region by--
                    (A) making legal protection for the freedom of 
                religion and for all who peacefully practice their 
                faith a top priority in all meetings with senior 
                foreign officials, communicating the message that 
                foreign officials must--
                            (i) end the climate of impunity when 
                        religious minorities are attacked;
                            (ii) vigorously prosecute those individuals 
                        truly responsible for the attacks; and
                            (iii) ensure equality under the law for all 
                        people to adopt a religion or belief of their 
                        choice, to change that religion or belief, and 
                        to manifest their religious beliefs in worship, 
                        observances, practice, and teaching;
                    (B) supporting and directing United States 
                officials with international programs in the Middle 
                East to work with officials, civil society actors, and 
                ethno-religious communities to educate all sectors of 
                society that religious freedom provides a foundation 
                for the democratic freedoms they seek to achieve;
                    (C) supporting greater Internet freedom throughout 
                the region to provide the opportunity for access to 
                information and the free exchange of ideas; and
                    (D) encouraging the protection of places of worship 
                and historic religious and cultural sites against 
                terrorist attacks;
            (4) encourages the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and 
        the newly elected Egyptian President to ensure that the 
        constituent assembly will draft a new constitution that is 
        representative of all parts of Egyptian society, including 
        religious minorities;
            (5) calls on the appointees of Egypt's constituent assembly 
        to enshrine the internationally recognized principles of 
        freedom of religion and freedom of expression into the new 
        constitution;
            (6) calls upon the Government of Egypt and the newly 
        elected Egyptian President to prosecute acts of violence 
        against Christians and make their protection an urgent 
        priority; and
            (7) calls upon the local and federal governments of Iraq to 
        prosecute acts of violence against Iraqi Christians, and make 
        the protection of ancient ethno-religious minorities in Iraq an 
        urgent priority.
                                 <all>