[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 617 Engrossed in House (EH)]

H. Res. 617

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         June 12, 2014.
Whereas, on the night of April 14, 2014, 276 female students, most of them 
        between 15 and 18 years old, were abducted by Boko Haram from the 
        Government Girls Secondary School, a boarding school located in the 
        northeastern province of Borno in the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
Whereas, all public secondary schools in Borno state were closed in March 2014 
        because of increasing attacks in the past year that have killed hundreds 
        of students, but the young women at the Government Girls Secondary 
        School were recalled to take their final exams;
Whereas, Boko Haram burned down several buildings before opening fire on 
        soldiers and police who were guarding the Government Girls Secondary 
        School and forcing the students into trucks;
Whereas, according to local officials in Borno state, 53 students were able to 
        flee their captors, and the rest remain abducted;
Whereas, there are reports that the abducted girls have been sold as brides to 
        Islamist militants for the equivalent of $12 each;
Whereas, the group popularly known as ``Boko Haram'', which loosely translates 
        from the Hausa language to ``Western education is sin'', is known to 
        oppose the education of girls;
Whereas, on April 14, 2014, hours before the kidnapping in Borno state, and on 
        May 2, 2014, Boko Haram bombed bus stations in Abuja, Nigeria, killing 
        at least 94 people and wounding over 160, making it the deadliest set of 
        attacks ever in Nigeria's capital;
Whereas, Boko Haram has kidnapped girls in the past to use as cooks and sex 
        slaves, and has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in Borno state 
        on April 14, 2014;
Whereas, late May 5, 2014, suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped an additional 8 
        girls, ranging in age from 12 to 15, from a village in northeast 
        Nigeria;
Whereas, on May 7, 2014, Boko Haram killed at least 336 people in Gamboru Ngala 
        and burned hundreds of houses and cars;
Whereas, on June 5, 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped an additional 20 women from 
        northeastern Nigeria, near the town of Chibok;
Whereas, reports estimate that more than 500 students and 100 teachers have been 
        killed by Boko Haram and have destroyed roughly 500 schools in northern 
        Nigeria, leaving more than 15,000 students without access to education;
Whereas, Boko Haram has targeted schools, mosques, churches, villages, and 
        agricultural centers, as well as government facilities, in an armed 
        campaign to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, prompting the 
        President of Nigeria to declare a state of emergency in three of the 
        country's northeastern states in May 2013;
Whereas, human rights groups have indicated that the Nigerian state security 
        forces should improve efforts to protect civilians during offensive 
        operations against Boko Haram;
Whereas, according to nongovernmental organizations, more than 1,500 people have 
        been killed in attacks by Boko Haram or reprisals by Nigerian security 
        forces this year alone, and that almost 4,000 people have been killed in 
        Boko Haram attacks since 2011;
Whereas, the enrollment, retention, and completion of education for girls in 
        Nigeria remains a major challenge;
Whereas, according to the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 
        some 4,700,000 children of primary school age are still not in school in 
        Nigeria, with attendance rates lowest in the north;
Whereas, studies have found that school children in Nigeria, particularly those 
        in the northern provinces, are at a disadvantage in their education, 
        with 37 percent of primary-age girls in the rural northeast not 
        attending school, and 30 percent of boys not attending school;
Whereas, women and girls must be allowed to go to school without fear of 
        violence and unjust treatment so that they can take their rightful place 
        as equal citizens of and contributors to society;
Whereas United States security assistance to Nigeria has emphasized military 
        professionalization, peacekeeping support and training, and border and 
        maritime security;
Whereas, the Department of State designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist 
        Organization in November 2013, recognizing the threat posed by the 
        group's large-scale and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, 
        including women and children;
Whereas Boko Haram is one of a number of radical Islamist terrorist 
        organizations and extremist groups that pose a growing threat to United 
        States interests in the region as well as broader peace and security; 
        and
Whereas these radical Islamist groups, which include Ansar al-Sharia, Al-Qaeda 
        in the Islamic Maghreb, the National Movement for Unity and Jihad in 
        West Africa, and others have carried out deadly attacks in the region 
        and constitute a growing threat to North and West Africa: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses its strong support for the people of Nigeria, 
        especially the parents and families of the girls abducted by Boko Haram 
        in Borno state, and calls for the immediate, safe return of the girls;
            (2) condemns Boko Haram for its violent attacks on civilian targets, 
        including schools, mosques, churches, villages, and agricultural centers 
        in Nigeria;
            (3) encourages the Government of Nigeria to strengthen efforts to 
        protect children seeking to obtain an education and to hold those who 
        conduct such violent attacks accountable;
            (4) commends efforts by the United States Government to hold 
        terrorist organizations, such as Boko Haram, accountable;
            (5) supports offers of United States assistance to the government of 
        Nigeria in the search for these abducted girls and encourages the 
        government of Nigeria to work with the United States and other concerned 
        governments to resolve this tragic situation;
            (6) recognizes that every individual, regardless of gender, should 
        have the opportunity to pursue an education without fear of 
        discrimination;
            (7) encourages the Department of State and the United States Agency 
        for International Development to continue their support for initiatives 
        that promote the human rights of women and girls in Nigeria;
            (8) urges the President to immediately strengthen United States 
        security, law enforcement, and intelligence cooperation with appropriate 
        Nigerian forces, including offering United States personnel to support 
        operations to locate and rescue the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped 
        by Boko Haram, and to support Nigerian efforts to counter this United 
        States designated foreign terrorist organization; and
            (9) calls on the President to provide to Congress a comprehensive 
        strategy to counter the growing threat posed by radical Islamist 
        terrorist groups in West Africa, the Sahel, and North Africa.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.