[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S2621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 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

  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:

                              S. Res. 433

       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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