[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 3, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S3384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING THE DEATH SENTENCE AGAINST MERIAM YAHIA IBRAHIM ISHAG
Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of
and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 453.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 453) condemning the death sentence
against Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a Sudanese Christian
woman accused of apostasy.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Ms. STABENOW. I ask unanimous consent that the Rubio amendment to the
resolution be agreed to; the resolution, as amended, be agreed to; the
Rubio amendment to the preamble be agreed to; the preamble, as amended,
be agreed to; and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid
upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 3230) was agreed to, as follows:
(Purpose: To make a technical correction)
On page 3, line 5, strike ``son'' and insert ``children''.
The resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
The amendment (No. 3231) was agreed to, as follows:
In the second whereas clause of the preamble, strike ``is
eight months pregnant and being held in Omdurman Federal
Women's Prison with her 20-month-old son'' and insert ``is
being held in the Omdurman Federal Women's Prison with her
newborn daughter and 20-month-old son''.
In the ninth whereas clause of the preamble, strike
``conscience.'' and insert ``conscience,''.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, as amended, with its preamble, as amended, reads as
follows:
S. Res. 453
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 being held in the Omdurman Federal
Women's Prison with her newborn daughter and 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 children;
(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.
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