Condemning the global persecution of Christians.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 640 Condemning the global persecution of Christians. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 18, 2019 Mr. PALMER (for himself, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. HICE of Geor- gia, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. BUCK, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. BUDD, Mr. ROY, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. BABIN, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. SPANO, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. RATCLIFFE, Mr. WALKER, Mr. BIGGS, Mrs. MILLER, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. WESTERMAN, and Ms. FOXX of North Carolina) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs RESOLUTION Condemning the global persecution of Christians. Whereas Christian persecution remains a global problem; Whereas, according to the Pew Research Center, Christians remain the most persecuted religious group in the world; Whereas persecution includes acts such as physical violence, forced exile, imprisonment, torture, rape, and death; Whereas, according to Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List, the 50 most dangerous countries for Christians VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Oct 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR640.IH HR640 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 640 IH were responsible for 4,136 Christians killed for faith-re- lated reasons, 1,266 church or Christian building attacks, and the detention without trial, arrest, sentencing, and imprisonment of 2,625 Christians; Whereas, in 2010, Asia Bibi, a Christian mother and field la- borer, was charged with blasphemy and sentenced to death by hanging in Pakistan; Whereas, after nine years of imprisonment, Pakistan’s Su- preme Court acquitted Asia Bibi based on insufficient evidence and she was finally allowed to leave the country in May 2019; Whereas, since 2014, discrimination and violence toward Christians, Muslims, and other religious minorities in India have significantly increased using anticonversion laws, anti-cow-slaughter laws, forced conversions, and in- justice within law enforcement; Whereas, in Nigeria on February 15, 2014, Boko Haram militants attacked a farming village in Borno State, kill- ing 106 people while targeting male residents of the Christian community; Whereas, in August 2014, ISIS swept into the Nineveh Plain in Iraq, forcing thousands of Christian families to flee their homes; Whereas, in 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry stated that a genocide was being committed against Christians and Yazidis in Northern Iraq and Syria; Whereas, in 2016, United States Pastor Andrew Brunson was wrongfully imprisoned by the Government of Turkey for two years until his release in 2018; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Oct 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR640.IH HR640 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 640 IH Whereas, on April 9, 2017, Palm Sunday, two Egyptian Cop- tic Christian churches were bombed, killing 45 and injur- ing 126 churchgoers; Whereas, in Nigeria on June 23, 2018, Fulani militants in Plateau State killed 120 Christians as they returned from a funeral; Whereas, in December 2018, police officers in Chengdu, China, arrested Protestant Pastor Wang Yi and more than 100 Early Rain Covenant Church members; Whereas Chinese authorities searched and sealed each of the Early Rain Covenant Church’s properties and forced members to sign a pledge that they would not attend the church or church school again; Whereas China banned the online sale of the Bible; Whereas Chinese authorities are forcing Christians to replace pictures of Jesus with pictures of Chinese government of- ficials; Whereas an estimated 60 million Christians reside in China and most worship in underground churches to avoid gov- ernment control; Whereas, on April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday, more than 180 people were killed while worshipping at Christian church- es in three separate locations in Sri Lanka; Whereas the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Easter attacks, stating it was carried out by seven ISIS fighters and targeted Christians and ‘‘citizens of Cru- sader coalition states’’; and Whereas, in May 2019, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt issued an interim report finding that ‘‘the over- whelming majority (estimated at 80 percent) of per- VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Oct 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR640.IH HR640 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 640 IH secuted religious believers are Christians.’’: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) condemns persecution of members of any 2 faith; 3 (2) calls for every government to recognize the 4 right of Christians to practice their faith without 5 fear of persecution, including physical violence, 6 death, or imprisonment; and 7 (3) calls on the Department of State to 8 prioritize freedom of conscience and religious free- 9 dom in United States foreign policy consideration. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Oct 18, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR640.IH HR640 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with BILLS