[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 407 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 407

       Condemning the persecution of Christians around the world.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2017

    Mr. Grothman (for himself, Mr. Babin, Mr. Harris, Mr. Graves of 
Georgia, Mr. Garrett, Mr. Yoho, Mr. DeSantis, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Johnson of 
Louisiana, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Allen, Mr. Jody B. Hice of Georgia, Mr. Rice 
  of South Carolina, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Gaetz, Ms. Granger, Mr. King of 
Iowa, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Perry, Mr. Faso, Mr. Dunn, Ms. Jenkins of Kansas, 
    Mr. Tipton, Mr. Ross, and Mr. Simpson) submitted the following 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Condemning the persecution of Christians around the world.

Whereas the persecution of Christians is a global problem, occurring in 
        countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas;
Whereas Christians face persecution not only from Islamic extremist groups, like 
        the Islamic State and Boko Haram, but also from other religious 
        extremist groups and from officials at all levels of government;
Whereas such persecution ranges from social harassment and discrimination to 
        physical violence, imprisonment, torture, enslavement, rape, and death;
Whereas Christianity is one of the most persecuted religions in the world;
Whereas over 200,000,000 Christians experience persecution across the globe;
Whereas the majority of persecuted Christians live in the Middle East;
Whereas Christianity is not a Western imposition on historically Islamic 
        countries in the Middle East because the Middle East has been a home to 
        Christians since the first century A.D.;
Whereas the Christian population in the Middle East has significantly decreased 
        over the past few decades as a result of persecution, displacement, and 
        genocide;
Whereas Christians in Syria and Iraq have been facing genocide for many years;
Whereas the Christian population in Iraq decreased from 1,400,000 people in 2003 
        to just 275,000 people in 2016, as a result of displacement and genocide 
        caused by religious extremism;
Whereas many Syrian Christians have been displaced, and those unable to escape 
        have been subject to imprisonment, torture, enslavement, and execution 
        by the Islamic State;
Whereas Christian holy sites in Syria have been destroyed by the Islamic State;
Whereas in Iran, Christian converts have been banned from attending church 
        services during the Christmas season, in an effort to limit the spread 
        of Christianity;
Whereas in 2016, approximately 200 Christians were arrested in Iran for their 
        faith;
Whereas in Saudi Arabia, Christians must practice their faith in secrecy because 
        churches are not allowed, and makeshift churches in homes are raided;
Whereas Christians in Saudi Arabia face imprisonment, torture, and deportation;
Whereas in Afghanistan, where Islam is viewed as a unifying faith, Christian 
        converts are often murdered or sent to a mental hospital after their 
        families learn of their new faith;
Whereas Christians in Pakistan face constant accusation of blasphemy, punishable 
        by death, and convictions and sentences for blasphemy are given despite 
        little or no evidence of blasphemy;
Whereas in 2016, approximately 600 Christian churches were attacked in Pakistan;
Whereas Coptic Christians in Egypt have faced persecution for over 50 years, and 
        on April 9, 2017, Palm Sunday, 44 people were killed in bomb attacks by 
        the Islamic State on Coptic churches;
Whereas the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack on a bus on 
        May 26, 2017, in which 29 Coptic Christians were killed while traveling 
        to a monastery in Minya, Egypt;
Whereas since the fall of the Gaddafi regime, persecution of Christians in Libya 
        has significantly increased;
Whereas Christians in Nigeria have been massacred by Islamic extremist groups 
        like Boko Haram and the Fulani;
Whereas in January 2017, Fulani militants raided a Christian village in Nigeria, 
        killing six police officers and four civilians;
Whereas Christian converts in Somalia often face public execution;
Whereas in 2017, a mob of 100 men attacked a Christian church in Uganda, beating 
        and raping members of the congregation;
Whereas Christian persecution has been on the rise in Asia, primarily due to 
        religious nationalism;
Whereas in May 2017, a Christian governor in Indonesia was found guilty of 
        blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison for ``distorting'' a 
        Koranic teaching during a campaign speech;
Whereas in Bangladesh, hundreds of Christians are being forced off their 
        property, and legal action rarely results in the favor of a Christian 
        party;
Whereas communist regimes have a strong history of oppressing and persecuting 
        Christians;
Whereas since 2013, in the Zhejiang Province of China, crosses have been removed 
        from over 1,500 churches as part of that province's anti-cross campaign;
Whereas in China, members of churches that are not registered with the 
        government face imprisonment and torture;
Whereas in North Korea, the practice of Christianity is prohibited and 
        Christians are forced to hide their faith from the government;
Whereas if caught, Christians in North Korea are forced into harsh labor camps, 
        where approximately 70,000 Christians are imprisoned in 2017;
Whereas in November 2016, Vietnam adopted a new ``Law on Belief and Religion'' 
        that limits the right to religious freedom for over 8,000,000 Christians 
        in that country;
Whereas in Mexico, Christians and Christian church leaders are killed by drug 
        cartels for speaking out against organized crime and corruption;
Whereas although the Colombian government respects the right to religious 
        freedom, Christians from indigenous communities often face imprisonment 
        because of their faith;
Whereas religious discrimination, including the persecution of Christians, is a 
        global human rights problem; and
Whereas the right to religious freedom is a universal right recognized by the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the persecution of Christians around the 
        world;
            (2) calls on discriminatory regimes to cease their 
        persecution of Christians and religious minorities; and
            (3) urges the President and the heads of the governments of 
        all democratic countries around the world to uphold the right 
        to religious freedom and condemn the global persecution of 
        Christians.
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