[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S10772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONDEMNING STONING IN SOMALIA

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 711, which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 711) condemning the tragic and 
     senseless death by stoning of a 13-year-old girl from 
     Somalia.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 711) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 711

       Whereas a child from Somalia, identified as Aisha Ibrahim 
     Duhulow, was raped by 3 men, and when her family reported the 
     rape to authorities of the al-Shabaab militia that control 
     the city of Kismayu, Somalia, she was accused of adultery and 
     ordered to be stoned;
       Whereas, in October 2008, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was stoned 
     to death by 50 militant men before 1,000 witnesses in a 
     public stadium;
       Whereas al-Shabaab, some of whose members are affiliated 
     with al Qaeda, is a violent and brutal extremist group that 
     has used intimidation and committed human rights violations 
     to undermine the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia 
     and threaten activists in civil society working to bring 
     about peace through political dialogue and reconciliation;
       Whereas, on February 29, 2008, Secretary of State 
     Condoleezza Rice designated al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist 
     organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) and placed the organization 
     on the list of specially designated global terrorists 
     established under the International Emergency Economic Powers 
     Act and initiated under Executive Order 13224;
       Whereas the 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices 
     in Somalia, released on March 11, 2007, by the Department of 
     State, cited the ``poor human rights situation'' in Somalia, 
     including ``unlawful and politically motivated killings, 
     official impunity, and discrimination and violence against 
     women'';
       Whereas stoning is a grave and serious violation of human 
     rights law, in which the victim is killed in an especially 
     brutal way;
       Whereas stoning is practiced particularly on girls and 
     women accused of adultery;
       Whereas the United States Commission on International 
     Religious Freedom has condemned the death of Aisha Ibrahim 
     Duhulow and called on the United States Government to join 
     other states in speaking out decisively in international fora 
     against such grave human rights abuses; and
       Whereas the United States Government continues to support 
     the efforts of those working to transform the troubled region 
     of Somalia through commitment to sound human rights 
     practices, democratic and representative government, economic 
     recovery, and lasting peace and reconciliation: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the tragic and senseless death by stoning of 
     Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow;
       (2) urges the international community to join the Senate in 
     speaking out against this brutal act; and
       (3) urges the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia--
       (A) to undertake robust efforts to protect women and 
     children and to prevent acts of institutionalized violence 
     against women in Somalia;
       (B) to work to strengthen the rule of law as part of the 
     effort by the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to 
     establish its authority;
       (C) to promote equal and fair treatment of women; and
       (D) to end the culture of impunity in Somalia.

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