[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 453 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 453

  Condemning the death sentence against Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a 
             Sudanese Christian woman accused of apostasy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2014

   Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Inhofe, Mrs. 
Fischer, Mr. Cruz, Mr. McCain, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Moran, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. 
Boozman, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Johnson of Wisconsin, 
  Mr. Isakson, Mr. Burr, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. Coburn) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Condemning the death sentence against Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a 
             Sudanese Christian woman accused of apostasy.

Whereas, on May 15, 2014, a Sudanese court affirmed a sentence of death by 
        hanging for 27-year-old Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a Christian woman 
        accused of apostasy for refusing to recant her Christian faith, and 
        ordered her to receive 100 lashes for adultery because under Sudan's 
        Shari'ah law such inter-religious marriages are illegal;
Whereas Ibrahim is eight months pregnant and being held in the Omdurman Federal 
        Women's Prison with her 20-month-old son;
Whereas the Department of State has designated Sudan as a ``Country of 
        Particular Concern'' under the International Religious Freedom Act of 
        1998 (Public Law 105-292) based on the government's systematic, ongoing, 
        and egregious violations of religious freedom since 1999;
Whereas the Sudanese 1991 Criminal Code allows for death sentences for apostasy, 
        stoning for adultery, cross-amputations for theft, prison sentences for 
        blasphemy, and floggings for undefined acts of ``indecency'';
Whereas, according to the United States Commission on International Religious 
        Freedom (USCIRF), the Government of Sudan, led by President Omar Hassan 
        al-Bashir, continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious 
        violations of religious freedom or belief, imposes a restrictive 
        interpretation of Shari'ah law on Muslims and non-Muslims alike and, 
        along with other National Congress Party leaders, President al-Bashir 
        has stated that Sudan's new constitution, when drafted, will be based on 
        its interpretation of Shari'ah;
Whereas, according to USCIRF, since South Sudan's independence from Sudan in 
        2011, the number and severity of harsh Shari'ah-based judicial decisions 
        in Sudan has increased, including sentences of amputation for theft and 
        sentences of stoning for adultery;
Whereas the United States Government has designated Sudan as a State Sponsor of 
        Terrorism since August 12, 1993, for repeatedly providing support for 
        acts of international terrorism;
Whereas the Sudanese 2005 Interim Constitution states that ``[t]he State shall 
        respect the religious rights to (a) worship or assemble in connection 
        with any religion or belief'';
Whereas the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the 
        Government of Sudan has acceded, provides 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 the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life found that, as 
        of 2011, 10 percent of the 198 countries surveyed had apostasy laws 
        which can, and have been, used to punish both Muslims and non-Muslims in 
        countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco, and Sudan; and
Whereas people have the right to practice their faith without fear of death or 
        persecution: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the charge of apostasy and death sentence of 
        Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag and calls for immediate and 
        unconditional release of her and her son;
            (2) encourages efforts by the United States Government to 
        support religious freedom within Sudan, including by requiring, 
        before normalizing relations or lifting sanctions under the 
        International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-
        292) and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
        U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), that the Government of Sudan abide by 
        international standards of freedom of religion or belief;
            (3) urges the Government of Sudan to ensure that, when 
        drafting the country's new constitution, the process is 
        transparent and inclusive of civil society leaders and 
        representatives of all major political parties, to ensure that 
        the new constitution includes protections for freedom of 
        religion or belief, respect for international human rights 
        commitments, and recognition of Sudan as a multireligious, 
        multiethnic, and multicultural nation;
            (4) recognizes that every individual regardless of religion 
        should have the opportunity to practice his or her religion 
        without fear of discrimination;
            (5) reaffirms the commitment of the United States 
        Government to end religious discrimination and to pursue 
        policies that guarantee the basic human rights of all 
        individuals worldwide; and
            (6) encourages the Department of State and the United 
        States Agency for International Development to continue their 
        support for initiatives worldwide that support religious 
        freedom.
                                 <all>