[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 395 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 395

   Reaffirming the leadership of the United States in promoting the 
   safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 20, 2017

 Mr. Ted Lieu of California (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Bera, 
Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Clarke of New 
 York, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Curbelo of Florida, 
 Mr. Deutch, Mr. Engel, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. 
   Hastings, Mr. Higgins of New York, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Hultgren, Ms. 
   Jayapal, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Keating, Mr. Kind, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. 
Lofgren, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Mr. Payne, Mr. 
Pallone, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Shea-
 Porter, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Schneider, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Sires, 
Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Soto, Mr. Takano, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Torres, 
   Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Beyer, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. 
 Espaillat, Mr. Levin, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Welch, Ms. Tsongas, Ms. Speier, 
   Mr. Raskin, Ms. McCollum, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Schiff, Mr. 
  McGovern, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Serrano, and Mrs. Davis of California) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Reaffirming the leadership of the United States in promoting the 
   safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons.

Whereas the United States has been a global leader in responding to displacement 
        crises around the world and promoting the safety, health, and well-being 
        of refugees and displaced persons;
Whereas many around the world observe June 20 as World Refugee Day, a global day 
        to acknowledge the courage, strength, and determination of women, men, 
        and children who are forced to flee their homes due to conflict, 
        violence, and persecution;
Whereas according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees--

    (1) there are more than 65,600,000 displaced people worldwide, the 
worst displacement crisis in global history, including almost 22,500,000 
refugees, over 40,300,000 internally displaced people, and 2,800,000 people 
seeking asylum;

    (2) children account for 51 percent of the refugee population in the 
world, millions of whom are unable to access basic services, including 
education;

    (3) on average, 20 people are displaced from their homes every minute;

    (4) 10,300,000 individuals were newly displaced due to conflict or 
persecution in 2016 alone, including 6,900,000 displaced within the borders 
of their own countries and 3,400,000 new refugees and asylum seekers;

    (5) over 5,500,000 refugees have fled Syria since the start of the 
Syrian conflict and more than 6,300,000 people are internally displaced 
within Syria;

    (6) since January 2014, more than 3,000,000 Iraqis fleeing violence 
have been internally displaced, and 257,000 refugees have fled to 
neighboring countries; and

    (7) South Sudan is now the largest refugee crisis in Africa and the 
third largest worldwide, responsible for approximately 1,800,000 refugees, 
including 1,000,000 children;

Whereas 84 percent of the world's refugees are hosted in developing regions, 
        with more than a quarter in the world's least developed countries;
Whereas refugee children are 5 times more likely to be out of school than non-
        refugee children;
Whereas refugees who are women and children are often at greater risk of 
        violence, human trafficking, exploitation, and gender-based violence; 
        and
Whereas the United States continues to be the single largest refugee 
        resettlement country in the world and the single largest donor of 
        humanitarian assistance: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the bipartisan commitment of the United 
        States to promote the safety, health, and well-being of the 
        millions of refugees, including the education of refugee 
        children and displaced persons who flee war, persecution, or 
        torture in search of peace, hope, and freedom;
            (2) recognizes those who have risked their lives, working 
        either individually or for nongovernmental organizations and 
        international agencies such as the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Refugees, to provide life-saving assistance 
        and help protect those displaced by conflict around the world;
            (3) calls upon the United States Government--
                    (A) to uphold its international leadership role in 
                responding to displacement crises with humanitarian 
                assistance and protection of the most vulnerable 
                populations who endure sexual violence, human 
                trafficking, persecution and violence against religious 
                minorities, forced conscription, genocide, and 
                exploitation;
                    (B) to work in partnership with the international 
                community to find solutions to existing conflicts and 
                prevent new conflicts from beginning;
                    (C) to continue to support the efforts of the 
                United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to 
                advance the work of nongovernmental organizations to 
                protect refugees regardless of their country of origin 
                or religious beliefs; and
                    (D) to continue to mitigate through humanitarian 
                and development support the burden placed on frontline 
                refugee host countries that absorb the majority of the 
                world's refugees; and
            (4) reaffirms the goals of World Refugee Day and reiterates 
        the strong commitment to protect the millions of refugees who 
        live without material, social, or legal protections.
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