Supporting the demands of the #EndSARS movement for justice, accountability, and meaningful police and security sector reforms in Nigeria and calling upon the President and the Secretary of State to safeguard and promote the protection of freedoms of thought, assembly, and expression in Nigeria and around the world.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 235 Supporting the demands of the #EndSARS movement for justice, account- ability, and meaningful police and security sector reforms in Nigeria and calling upon the President and the Secretary of State to safeguard and promote the protection of freedoms of thought, assembly, and expres- sion in Nigeria and around the world. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 16, 2021 Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. OMAR, Mr. HAS- TINGS, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. BASS, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. COOPER, Ms. TITUS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Supporting the demands of the #EndSARS movement for justice, accountability, and meaningful police and secu- rity sector reforms in Nigeria and calling upon the Presi- dent and the Secretary of State to safeguard and pro- mote the protection of freedoms of thought, assembly, and expression in Nigeria and around the world. Whereas, on October 20, 2020, armed security forces report- edly indiscriminately fired live ammunition on a crowd of peaceful protesters that had gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries, in an event now known as ‘‘Black Tuesday’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR235.IH HR235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 235 IH Whereas, on October 3, 2020, a widely shared video emerged appearing to show footage of the brutal treatment and robbery of a Nigerian citizen by Special Anti-Robbery Squad (commonly known as ‘‘SARS’’) officers; Whereas since the emergence of this footage, thousands of people across Nigeria have been publicly and peacefully demonstrating against police brutality and demanding the complete disbandment of SARS; Whereas, on February 6, 2021, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to investigate the October 20, 2020, incident shockingly approved the re- opening of the Lekki Toll Gate prior to the completion of forensic analysis of the crime scene sparking calls for further protests; Whereas, on February 13, 2021, peaceful demonstrators were reportedly arrested and tortured during a protest in re- sponse to the decision of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry to reopen the Lekki Toll Gate; Whereas the #EndSARS movement in Nigeria has been peacefully calling for the disbandment of SARS, that has been implicated in widespread human rights abuses, in- cluding torture and extrajudicial killings; Whereas there has been significant evidence of police violence and abuse by SARS in Nigeria, which must be thor- oughly and immediately investigated in order to achieve justice for victims; Whereas justice for the victims and their families killed by Nigerian security forces during the peaceful demonstra- tions against police abuse must be addressed; Whereas comprehensive reform of the security sector, includ- ing specific measures of accountability, should be imme- VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR235.IH HR235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 235 IH diately initiated and implemented in a public and trans- parent manner; Whereas the Nigerian government must uphold the right to peaceful protest and assembly in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Inter- national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Afri- can Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); Whereas there are over a million Nigerian migrants across the world, with nearly 400,000 Nigerian immigrants and their children residing in the United States; Whereas the African Union issued a strong condemnation of the murder of George Floyd, an African-American man unlawfully killed by Minneapolis police officers, in rec- ognition of the global significance of the Black Lives Matters movement; and Whereas injustice against Black lives in Nigeria is a matter of international concern, because Black lives matter wherever they may be in the world: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) declares that the United States of America 2 considers respect for human rights as a foundation 3 for its bilateral and international engagement with 4 Nigeria; 5 (2) condemns the violent crackdown and intimi- 6 dation of peaceful protesters by Nigeria’s security 7 forces; 8 (3) calls on the Nigerian government to— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR235.IH HR235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 235 IH (A) not use excessive force against peaceful 1 protesters in compliance with international law; 2 (B) desist from the prosecution, harass- 3 ment, and infringement of the human rights of 4 any and all Nigerians for exercising their right 5 to protest; and 6 (C) release all persons wrongfully arrested 7 for participating or supporting the #EndSARS 8 protests and pay reparations to victims of police 9 brutality; 10 (4) support the demands of the #EndSARS 11 movement for justice, accountability, and meaningful 12 police and security sector reforms in Nigeria; and 13 (5) calls upon the President and the Secretary 14 of State to safeguard and promote the protection of 15 freedoms of thought, assembly, and expression in 16 Nigeria and around the world. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:19 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR235.IH HR235 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS