Share:
Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 13, 2014 04:55 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Condemning the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq |
| I plan to offer a resolution urging the President and the Congress of the United States to publicly denounce the crimes against humanity occurring in Iraq and to take every step possible to protect Iraqi Christians and other religious minorities from persecution from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Iraq is currently embroiled in a surge of violence arising from an Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-led offensive that began in the Anbar province and has spread to key locations such as Mosul, Tikrit, and Samarra and continues to engulf the region in violence and instability. On June 29, 2014, ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi renamed the group the Islamic State and pronounced himself Caliph of a new Islamic Caliphate encompassing the areas under his control, and Mr. al-Baghdadi has a stated mission of spreading the Islamic State and caliphate across the region through violence against Shiites, non-Muslims, and unsupportive Sunnis. Upon taking control over northwestern Iraq and Syria, ISIL issued a warning to Christians living under its jurisdiction to convert to Islam, pay a burdensome religious tax or be executed. Over 1,000,000 people have been displaced by violence in Iraq, and reports have surfaced of targeted harassment, persecution, and killings of Iraqi religious minorities by the Islamic State with little to no protection from the Government of Iraq and other security forces. Reports indicate that Islamic State militants have been marking homes of Christians with the Arabic letter “N,” for “Nazara” (Christian), beheading children and crucifying captives. ISIL’s actions are a crime against humanity and nothing more than genocide or ethnic cleansing against religious minority groups. The Iraqi constitution provides for religious freedom by stating: (1) “no law may be enacted that contradicts the principles of democracy”; (2) “no law may be enacted that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms stipulated in this Constitution”; and (3) “[This Constitution] guarantees the full religious rights to freedom of religious belief and practice of all individuals such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans”. President Barack Obama recently declared on Religious Freedom Day, “Foremost among the rights Americans hold sacred is the freedom to worship as we choose *** we also remember that religious liberty is not just an American right; it is a universal human right to be protected here at home and across the globe. This freedom is an essential part of human dignity, and without it our world cannot know lasting peace”. The atrocities being committed on Christians and other ethnic and religious minority communities in Iraq are unconscionable and represent a crime against humanity. In addition to urging the President and Congress to publicly condemn the crimes against humanity occurring in Iraq and to take every step possible to protect Iraqi Christians and other religious minorities from persecution from ISIL, the resolution also calls on them to urge the Government of Iraq to take immediate steps to protect the safety and constitutional rights of all Iraqi citizens. In addition, it urges the President and Congress to work with the Government of Iraq to bring Islamic State militants to justice before an international forum for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Copies of this resolution will be transmitted to the President of the United States, to the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania. |
Introduced as SR430