[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 433 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 433

Condemning the abduction of female students by armed militants from the 
Government Girls Secondary School in the northeastern province of Borno 
                  in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 1, 2014

  Ms. Landrieu (for herself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Coons, and Mr. Menendez) submitted the following resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the abduction of female students by armed militants from the 
Government Girls Secondary School in the northeastern province of Borno 
                  in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Whereas, on the night of April 14, 2014, as many as 234 female students, most of 
        them between 16 and 18 years old, were abducted by armed militants from 
        the Government Girls Secondary School, a boarding school located in the 
        northeastern province of Borno in the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
Whereas the militants burned down several buildings before opening fire on 
        soldiers and police who were guarding the school and forcing the 
        students into trucks;
Whereas, according to local officials in Borno state, about 43 students were 
        able to flee their captors, and the rest remain missing;
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 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, has kidnapped girls in the past to use as 
        cooks and sex slaves, and is thought to be responsible for the April 
        14th kidnapping in Borno state;
Whereas there are reports that the abducted girls have been sold as brides to 
        Islamist militants for the equivalent of $12 each;
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, according to the Brookings Institution, Boko Haram burned down or 
        destroyed 50 schools and killed approximately 30 teachers in Nigeria in 
        2013, leaving tens of thousands of children unable to attend school;
Whereas, on April 14, 2014, hours before the kidnapping in Borno state, Boko 
        Haram bombed a bus station in Abuja, Nigeria, killing at least 75 people 
        and wounding over 100, making it the deadliest attack ever in Nigeria's 
        capital;
Whereas Amnesty International estimates that more than 1,500 people have been 
        killed in attacks by Boko Haram or reprisals by Nigerian security forces 
        this year alone, and the Council on Foreign Relations estimates that 
        almost 4,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram attacks since 2011;
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 women and 
        children;
Whereas, according to the United Nations, girls' education is a major challenge 
        in Nigeria;
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 a study conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and 
        Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 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, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index, 
        Nigeria is ranked 106 out of 136 countries based on women's economic 
        participation, educational attainment, and political empowerment;
Whereas, according to the United Nations, women held only 6.7 percent of the 
        seats in Nigeria's parliament in 2013;
Whereas the advancement of women around the world is a foreign policy priority 
        for the United States;
Whereas, according to the United States Agency for International Development, 
        ``Broader, more equitable access to education encourages political 
        participation, enhances governance, strengthens civil society, and 
        promotes transparency and accountability.'';
Whereas a 100-country study by the World Bank shows that increasing the share of 
        women with a secondary education by 1 percent boosts annual per capita 
        income growth by 0.3 percentage points;
Whereas, according to UNICEF, adolescent girls that attend school are less 
        likely to be married as children, ``are less vulnerable to disease 
        including HIV and AIDS, and acquire information and skills that lead to 
        increased earning power. Evidence shows that the return to a year of 
        secondary education for girls correlates to a 25 percent increase in 
        wages later in life.'';
Whereas, according to the World Bank, ``The benefits of women's education go 
        beyond higher productivity for 50 percent of the population. More 
        educated women also tend to be healthier, participate more in the formal 
        labor market, earn more income, . . . and provide better health care and 
        education to their children, all of which eventually improve the well-
        being of all individuals and lift households out of poverty. These 
        benefits also transmit across generations, as well as to their 
        communities at large.''; and
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 the world: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (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 the ability of children to obtain an 
        education and to hold those who conduct such violent attacks 
        accountable;
            (4) encourages efforts by the United States Government to 
        support the capacity of the Government of Nigeria to provide 
        security for schools and to hold terrorist organizations, such 
        as Boko Haram, accountable;
            (5) urges timely civilian assistance from the United States 
        and allied African nations in rescuing and reintegrating the 
        abducted girls;
            (6) recognizes that every individual, regardless of gender, 
        should have the opportunity to pursue an education without fear 
        of discrimination;
            (7) reaffirms its commitment to ending discrimination and 
        violence against women and girls, to ensuring the safety and 
        welfare of women and girls, and to pursuing policies that 
        guarantee the basic human rights of women and girls worldwide;
            (8) recognizes that the empowerment of women is 
        inextricably linked to the potential of countries to generate 
        economic growth, sustainable democracy, and inclusive security; 
        and
            (9) encourages the Department of State, the United States 
        Agency for International Development, and the Department of 
        Defense to continue their support for initiatives that 
        positively impact the ability of women and girls to fully 
        access their human rights.
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