[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 35 (Thursday, March 3, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1282-S1283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 388--SUPPORTING THE GOALS OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S 
                                  DAY

  Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Boxer, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. 
Markey, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. Gillibrand, 
Mrs. Murray, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Kirk, Ms. Warren, Mr. Murphy, 
and Ms. Cantwell) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 388

       Whereas, in March 2016, there are more than 3,640,000,000 
     women in the world;
       Whereas women around the world--
       (1) have fundamental rights;
       (2) participate in the political, social, and economic 
     lives of their communities;
       (3) play a critical role in providing and caring for their 
     families;
       (4) contribute substantially to economic growth and the 
     prevention and resolution of conflict; and
       (5) as farmers and caregivers, play an important role in 
     the advancement of food security for their communities;
       Whereas the advancement of women around the world is a 
     foreign policy priority for the United States;
       Whereas, on July 28, 2015, in Mandela Hall at the African 
     Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President told 
     individuals in Africa--
       (1) ``if you want your country to grow and succeed, you 
     have to empower your women. And if you want to empower more 
     women, America will be your partner''; and
       (2) ``girls cannot go to school and grow up not knowing how 
     to read or write--that denies the world future women 
     engineers, future women doctors, future women business 
     owners, future women presidents--that sets us all back'';
       Whereas 2015 marked the 20th anniversary of the adoption of 
     the Beijing Declaration at the Fourth World Conference on 
     Women, in September 1995, which reaffirmed--
       (1) the commitment of the international community to the 
     full implementation of the rights of women and girls as an 
     inalienable, integral, and indivisible part of all human 
     rights; and
       (2) that local, regional, national, and global peace is 
     attainable and inextricably linked to the advancement of 
     women, who are a fundamental force for leadership, conflict 
     resolution, and the promotion of lasting peace at all levels;
       Whereas 2016 will mark the 5-year anniversary of the 
     establishment of the first United States National Action Plan 
     on Women, Peace, and Security, which includes a comprehensive 
     set of commitments by the United States to advance the 
     meaningful participation of women in decisionmaking relating 
     to matters of war or peace;
       Whereas the first United States National Action Plan on 
     Women, Peace, and Security states that, ``Deadly conflicts 
     can be more effectively avoided, and peace can be best forged 
     and sustained, when women become equal partners in all 
     aspects of peace-building and conflict prevention, when their 
     lives are protected, their experiences considered, and their 
     voices heard.'';
       Whereas there are 58 national action plans around the 
     world, and there are 15 national action plans known to be in 
     development;
       Whereas at the White House Summit on Countering Violent 
     Extremism in February 2015, leaders from more than 60 
     countries, multilateral bodies, civil society, and private 
     sector organizations agreed to a comprehensive action agenda 
     against violent extremism that--
       (1) highlights the importance of the inclusion of women in 
     countering the threat of violent extremism; and
       (2) notes that ``women are partners in prevention and 
     response, as well as agents of change'';
       Whereas women remain underrepresented in conflict 
     prevention and conflict resolution efforts, despite the 
     proven success of women in conflict-affected regions in--
       (1) moderating violent extremism;
       (2) countering terrorism;
       (3) resolving disputes through nonviolent mediation and 
     negotiation; and
       (4) stabilizing societies by improving access to peace and 
     security--
          (A) services;
          (B) institutions; and
          (C) venues for decisionmaking;
       Whereas peace negotiations are more likely to end in a 
     peace agreement when women's groups play an influential role 
     in the negotiation process;
       Whereas studies show that a peace agreement is 35 percent 
     more likely to last not less than 15 years if women 
     participate in the development of the peace agreement;
       Whereas according to the Bureau of International Narcotics 
     and Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of State, the 
     full and meaningful participation of women in security forces 
     vastly enhances the effectiveness of the security forces;
       Whereas, on August 30, 2015, the Secretary of State and the 
     Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 
     the United Kingdom highlighted, ``our goal must be to build 
     societies in which sexual violence is treated--legally and by 
     every institution of authority--as the serious and wholly 
     intolerable crime that it is. We have seen global campaigns 
     and calls to action draw attention to this issue and mobilize 
     governments and organizations to act. But transformation 
     requires the active participation of men and women 
     everywhere. We must settle for nothing less than a united 
     world saying no to sexual violence and yes to justice, 
     fairness and peace.'';
       Whereas, in 2014--
       (1) 700,000,000 women or girls had been married before the 
     age of 18; and

[[Page S1283]]

       (2) 250,000,000 women or girls had been married before the 
     age of 15;
       Whereas, on October 11, 2013, the President strongly 
     condemned the practice of child marriage;
       Whereas approximately \1/4\ of girls between the ages of 15 
     and 19 are victims of physical violence;
       Whereas it is estimated that 1 in 3 women around the world 
     has experienced some form of physical or sexual violence;
       Whereas according to the 2012 report of the United Nations 
     Office on Drugs and Crime entitled the ``Global Report on 
     Trafficking in Persons''--
       (1) adult women account for between 55 and 60 percent of 
     all known trafficking victims worldwide; and
       (2) adult women and girls account for approximately 75 
     percent of all known trafficking victims worldwide;
       Whereas according to the United Nations, women are 
     subjected to physical or sexual violence, including rape, 
     other forms of sexual violence, and human trafficking, as a 
     weapon of war;
       Whereas 603,000,000 women live in countries in which 
     domestic violence is not criminalized;
       Whereas, on August 10, 2012, the President announced the 
     United States Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based 
     Violence Globally, the first interagency strategy to address 
     gender-based violence around the world;
       Whereas, in December 2015, the Department of State released 
     a report on the implementation of the United States Strategy 
     to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally that 
     states, ``Addressing GBV is intimately tied to a range of 
     global efforts that address gender equality and women's and 
     girls' empowerment, whether in peacetime or in the midst of 
     conflict. This includes addressing GBV as part of efforts to 
     raise the status of adolescent girls and through women's 
     economic empowerment activities.'';
       Whereas the ability of women and girls to realize their 
     full potential is critical to the ability of a country to 
     achieve--
       (1) strong and lasting economic growth; and
       (2) political and social stability;
       Whereas according to the United Nations Educational, 
     Scientific, and Cultural Organization, \2/3\ of the 
     775,000,000 illiterate individuals in the world are female;
       Whereas 150,000,000 children currently enrolled in school 
     will drop out before completing primary school, not less than 
     100,000,000 of whom are girls;
       Whereas according to the United States Agency for 
     International Development, in comparison with uneducated 
     women, educated women are--
       (1) less likely to marry as children; and
       (2) more likely to have healthier families;
       Whereas a goal of the United Nations Millennium Project, to 
     eliminate gender disparity in primary education, was achieved 
     in most countries not later than 2015, but more work remains;
       Whereas gender equality is 1 of the 17 Sustainable 
     Development Goals adopted at the United Nations Sustainable 
     Development Summit on September 25, 2015;
       Whereas according to the United Nations, women have access 
     to fewer income earning opportunities and are more likely to 
     manage the household or engage in agricultural work than men, 
     making women more vulnerable to economic insecurity caused 
     by--
       (1) natural disasters;
       (2) long term changes in weather patterns; or
       (3) environmental degradation;
       Whereas according to the World Bank Group, women own or 
     partially own more than \1/3\ of small- and medium-sized 
     enterprises in developing countries, and 40 percent of the 
     global workforce is female, but female entrepreneurs and 
     employers have disproportionately less access to capital and 
     other financial services than men;
       Whereas in the United States, women account for 45 percent 
     of the overall labor force of companies included in the 
     Standard & Poor's 500 Index, and 37 percent of the first or 
     mid-level officials and managers in those companies are 
     women, but--
       (1) only 25 percent of the executive and senior level 
     officials and managers in those companies are women;
       (2) women only hold 19 percent of the seats on the boards 
     of those companies; and
       (3) only 4.6 percent of the Chief Executive Officers of 
     those companies are women;
       Whereas globally women earn an average of 24 percent less 
     than men;
       Whereas despite the achievements of individual female 
     leaders--
       (1) women around the world remain vastly underrepresented 
     in--
          (A) high-level positions; and
          (B) national and local legislatures and governments; and
       (2) according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women 
     account for only 22 percent of national parliamentarians and 
     17.7 percent of government ministers;
       Whereas according to the World Health Organization, during 
     the period beginning in 1990 and ending in 2015, global 
     maternal mortality decreased by approximately 44 percent, but 
     approximately 830 women die from preventable causes relating 
     to pregnancy or childbirth each day, and 99 percent of all 
     maternal deaths occur in developing countries;
       Whereas a target of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable 
     Development, adopted at the United Nations Sustainable 
     Development Summit on September 25, 2015, is to reduce global 
     maternal mortality to less than 70 deaths for every 100,000 
     live births not later than 2030;
       Whereas according to the World Health Organization--
       (1) suicide is the leading cause of death for girls between 
     the ages of 15 and 19; and
       (2) complications from pregnancy or childbirth is the 
     second-leading cause of death for those girls;
       Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 
     for Refugees reports that approximately \1/2\ of--
       (1) refugees and internally displaced or stateless 
     individuals are women; and
       (2) the 59,500,000 displaced individuals in the world are 
     women;
       Whereas it is imperative--
       (1) to alleviate violence and discrimination against women; 
     and
       (2) to afford women every opportunity to be full and 
     productive members of their communities;
       Whereas, on October 10, 2014, Malala Yousafzai became the 
     youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate for her work 
     promoting the access of girls to education; and
       Whereas March 8, 2016, is recognized as International 
     Women's Day, a global day--
       (1) to celebrate the economic, political, and social 
     achievements of women in the past, present, and future; and
       (2) to recognize the obstacles that women face in the 
     struggle for equal rights and opportunities: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals of International Women's Day;
       (2) recognizes that the empowerment of women is 
     inextricably linked to the potential of a country to 
     generate--
       (A) economic growth;
       (B) sustainable democracy; and
       (C) inclusive security;
       (3) recognizes and honors individuals in the United States 
     and around the world, including women human rights defenders 
     and civil society leaders, that have worked throughout 
     history to ensure that women are guaranteed equality and 
     basic human rights;
       (4) reaffirms the commitment--
       (A) to end discrimination and violence against women and 
     girls;
       (B) to ensure the safety and welfare of women and girls;
       (C) to pursue policies that guarantee the basic human 
     rights of women and girls worldwide; and
       (D) to promote meaningful and significant participation of 
     women in every aspect of society and community;
       (5) supports inclusive, sustainable development, including 
     through the promotion of the access of women to each tool, 
     skill, and bargaining power needed--
       (A) to promote peace and stability in society;
       (B) to sustain long term economic prosperity; and
       (C) to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of 
     women; and
       (6) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
     International Women's Day with appropriate programs and 
     activities.

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