,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ffc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,july #aj1 #bjad    
,mr4 ,vargas submitted the following    
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in 
addition to the ,committee on the       
,judiciary1 for a period to be          
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives on the   
current situation in ,iraq and the      
urgent need to protect religious        
minorities from persecution from the    
,sunni ,islamist insurgent and terrorist
 group the ,islamic ,state in ,iraq and 
,levant 7,,isil7 as it expands its      
control over areas in northwestern      
,iraq4  ,whereas ,iraq is currently     
embroiled in a political and religious  
insurrection stemming from an ,islamic  
,state in ,iraq and ,levant 7,,isil7-led

 offensive that began in the ,anbar     
province and has spread to key locations
 such as ,mosul1 ,tikrit1 and ,samarra  
and continues to engulf the region in   
violence and instability2 ,whereas      
,,isil is a transnational ,sunni        
insurgency whose ideological and        
organizational roots lie in both al     
,qaeda in ,iraq and the ,syria-based    
,jabhat al ,nursa and has a stated      
mission of establishing an ,islamic     
state and a caliphate across the ,levant
 through violence against ,shiites1     
non-,muslims1 and unsupportive ,sunnis2 
,whereas ,iraq's population is          
approximately #ca1cjj1jjj with #ig      
percent identifying themselves as       
,muslim and the approximately #c percent
 of religious minorities groups         
comprising of ,christians1 ,yezidis1    
,sabean-,mandaeans1 ,bahais1 ,shabaks1  
,kakais1 and ,jews2 ,whereas the ,iraqi 
,christian population is estimated to be
 between #djj1jjj and #hej1jjj with     
two-thirds being ,chaldean1 one-fifth   

,assyrian1 and the remainder consisting 
of ,syriacs1 ,protestants1 ,armenians1  
and ,anglicans2 ,whereas the ,iraqi     
constitution provides for religious     
freedom by stating--  7#a7 8no law may  
be enacted that contradicts the         
principles of democracy02  7#b7 8no law 
may be enacted that contradicts the     
rights and basic freedoms stipulated in 
this ,constitution02 and  7#c7 8,this   
,constitution guarantees the full       
religious rights to freedom of religious
 belief and practice of all individuals 
such as ,christians1 ,yazidis1 and      
,mandean ,sabeans02  ,whereas over      
#ejj1jjj people have been displaced by  
the current situation in ,iraq and      
reports have surfaced of targeted       
harassment1 persecution1 and killings of
 ,iraqi religious minorities by ,,isil  
with little to no protection from the   
,iraqi ,government and other security   
forces2 ,whereas the fall of ,mosul in  
particular has sparked enough anxiety   
among the ,christian population that for

 the first time in #a1fjj years there   
was no ,mass in the city2 ,whereas over 
#ej percent of ,iraq's ,christian       
population has fled since the fall of   
,saddam ,hussein1 #a1ajj1jjj people of  
diverse religious backgrounds remain    
internally displaced and the government 
under ,prime ,minister ,nouri al-,maliki
 has not upheld its commitment to       
protect the rights of religious         
minorities2 ,whereas the ,united ,states
 has provided over #gc1jjj1jjj of       
cumulative assistance to ,iraq's        
minority populations since #bjjc through
 economic development1 humanitarian     
services1 and capacity development2     
,whereas #hd1ijb ,iraqis have resettled 
to the ,united ,states between #bjjg and
 #bjac and over #cjj1jjj ,chaldean and  
,assyrians currently reside throughout  
the country1 particularly in ,michigan1 
,california1 ,arizona1 ,illinois1 and   
,ohio2 and ,whereas ,president ,barack  
,obama recently declared on ,religious  
,freedom ,day1 ,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 right2 it is a    
universal human right to be protected   
here at home and across the globe4 ,this
 freedom is an essential part of human  
dignity1 and without it our world cannot
 know lasting peace3 ,now1 therefore1 be
 it  ,that the ,house of                
,representatives--  7#a7 reaffirms its  
commitments to promoting and protecting 
religious freedom around the world and  
providing relief to minority groups     
facing persecution2  7#b7 calls on the  
,united ,states ,department of ,state to
 work with the ,kurdistan ,regional     
,government1 the ,iraqi central         
government1 neighboring countries1 the  
diaspora community in the ,united       
,states1 the ,united ,nations ,high     
,commissioner for ,refugees1 and other  
key stakeholders to help secure safe    
havens for those claiming amnesty in    
,iraq2  7#c7 respectfully requests the  

addition of a ,special ,representative  
for ,religious ,minorities to be        
included in ,prime ,minister            
al-,maliki's newly reconstructed        
government2 and  7#d7 urges the         
,administration to expedite the visa    
processing for ,iraq's minority groups  
and to lift the quota cap for           
,iraqi-,christians in order to          
streamline the process of accepting     
refugees by reallocating immigration    
quotas rather than increasing the       
#gj1jjj refugee limitation4