,,iii  #aacth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #ecj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #cj1
 #bjad ,mr4 ,portman 7for himself1 ,mr4 
,alexander1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4         
,barrasso1 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,mr4 ,boozman1  
,ms4 ,cantwell1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4      
,chambliss1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 
,mr4 ,enzi1 ,mrs4 ,fischer1 ,mr4        
,grassley1 ,mr4 ,heller1 ,mr4 ,hoeven1  
,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mr4 ,isakson1 ,mr4       
,johanns1 ,mr4 ,kirk1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1  
,ms4 ,landrieu1 ,mr4 ,lee1 ,mr4 ,levin1 
,mr4 ,manchin1 ,mr4 ,markey1 ,mr4       
,mc,cain1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4
 ,johnson of ,wisconsin1 ,mr4 ,rubio1   
,mr4 ,sessions1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,ms4    
,stabenow1 ,mr4 ,thune1 ,mr4 ,wicker1   
,mr4 ,hatch1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,vitter1
 and ,ms4 ,ayotte7 submitted the        
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,,resolution  ,expressing   
the sense of the ,senate 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 ,state1 formerly known as the  
,islamic ,state of ,iraq and the ,levant
 7,,isil71 as it expands its control    
over areas in northwestern ,iraq4       
,whereas ,iraq is currently embroiled in
 a surge of violence arising from an    
,islamic ,state in ,iraq and the ,levant
 7,,isil7-led offensive that began in   
,anbar province and has spread to key   
locations such as ,mosul1 ,tikrit1 and  
,samarra and continues to engulf the    
region in violence and instability2     
,whereas1 on ,june #bi1 #bjad1 ,,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 control1 and ,mr4       
al-,baghdadi has a stated mission of    
spreading the ,islamic ,state and       
caliphate across the region through     
violence against ,shiites1 non-,muslims1

 and unsupportive ,sunnis2 ,whereas     
,iraq's population is approximately     
#ca1cjj1jjj people1 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 #hej1jjj1 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 that no law may be   
enacted that contradicts the principles 
of democracy1 no law may be enacted that
 contradicts the rights and basic       
freedoms stipulated in this             
,constitution1 and this ,constitution   
guarantees the full religious rights to 
freedom of religious belief and practice
 of all individuals such as ,christians1

 ,yazidis1 and ,mandean ,sabeans2       
,whereas over #a1jjj1jjj people have    
been displaced by violence in ,iraq1 and
 reports have surfaced of targeted      
harassment1 persecution1 and killings of
 ,iraqi religious minorities by the     
,islamic ,state with little to no       
protection from the ,government of ,iraq
 and other security forces2 ,whereas the
 fall of ,mosul in particular has       
sparked enough anxiety among the        
,christian population that1 for the     
first time in #a1fjj years1 there was no
 ,mass in that city2 ,whereas over #ej  
percent of ,iraq's ,christian population
 has fled since the fall of ,saddam     
,hussein1 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 ,government
 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 ,senate-- 7#a7 reaffirms 
its commitment to promoting and         
protecting religious freedom around the 
world and providing relief to minority  
groups facing persecution2  7#b7 calls  
on the ,department of ,state to work    

with the ,kurdistan ,regional           
,government1 the ,government of ,iraq1  
neighboring countries1 the diaspora     
community in the ,united ,states1 and   
other key stakeholders to help secure   
safe havens for those seeking safety and
 protection from religious persecution  
in ,iraq2  7#c7 respectfully requests   
the addition of a ,special              
,representative for ,religious          
,minorities to be included in ,iraq's   
government2 and  7#d7 urges the         
,president to ensure the timely         
processing of visas for ,iraq's minority
 groups fleeing religious persecution1  
in accordance with existing ,united     
,states immigration law and national    
security screening procedures4