,,iii #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #bfb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #bb1 #bjae ,ms4 ,ayotte 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mrs4 ,mc,caskill1 ,mrs4 ,fischer1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mrs4 ,gillibrand1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1 ,ms4 ,heitkamp1 ,ms4 ,stabenow1 ,ms4 ,mikulski1 ,ms4 ,warren1 ,mrs4 ,capito1 ,mrs4 ,ernst1 ,mrs4 ,boxer1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,ms4 ,cantwell1 and ,mrs4 ,murray7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,to support the empowerment of women and urge countries to ,free,the#bj4 ,whereas1 in #aiie1 representatives from #ahi governments and tens of thousands of organizations met in ,beijing at the ,fourth ,world ,conference on ,women for the purpose of empowering women2 ,whereas1 at the ,fourth ,world ,conference on ,women1 the governments represented produced the ,beijing ,declaration and ,platform for ,action1 a roadmap seeking to advance gender equality and women's rights2 ,whereas1 on ,september #bg1 #bjae1 the ,united ,nations will host the ,global ,leaders' ,meeting on ,gender ,equality and ,women's ,empowerment3 ,a ,commitment to ,action at the ,united ,nations headquarters in ,new ,york ,city2 ,whereas1 at this high level conference1 governments will be invited to make commitments to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women2 ,whereas the ongoing imprisonment by many countries of innocent women is contrary to ,universal ,declaration of ,human ,rights1 as well as the ,beijing ,declaration and ,platform for ,action2 ,whereas some countries attending the conference at the ,united ,nations imprison women for exercising universal human rights2 and ,whereas1 on ,september #a1 #bjae1 the ,united ,states ,permanent ,representative to the ,united ,nations began a government-wide campaign to highlight the cases of women prisoners held unjustly around the world1 including-- 7#a7 ,wang ,yu of ,china1 who-- 7,a7 after being assaulted attempting to board a train in #bjjh1 was sentenced to #b years in prison for assault2 7,b7 has taken on the cases of clients who other lawyers fear representing2 7,c7 has been harassed1 threatened1 and smeared in the state-run media2 and 7,d7 was detained again on ,july #i1 #bjae2 7#b7 ,khadija ,ismayilova of ,azerbaijan1 who was-- 7,a7 arrested in ,december #bjad in a crackdown on civil society activists and journalists2 and 7,b7 sentenced on ,september #a1 #bjae1 to #g years in prison after alleging government fraud2 7#c7 ,bahareh ,hedayat of ,iran1 a student activist and campaigner for women's rights1 who-- 7,a7 was arrested ,december #ca1 #bjji1 and charged with several offenses including interviews with foreign media and insulting the ,president and leader2 7,b7 was sentenced in ,may #bjaj to-- 7i7 #f months in prison for insulting the president2 7ii7 #b years in prison for insulting the leader2 and 7iii7 #e years in prison for gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security2 7,c7 received an additional #f months in prison for having written a letter in ,december #bjaj encouraging students to continue struggling peacefully for freedom2 and 7,d7 was given an additional #b-year prison sentence on ,august #bh1 #bjae2 7#d7 ,blen ,mesfin1 ,meron ,alemayehu1 and ,nigist ,wondifraw of ,ethiopia1 who were imprisoned after being charged with inciting violence during anti-,islamic ,state in ,libya demonstrations in ,addis ,ababa in ,april #bjae2 7#e7 ,gao ,yu of ,china1 a #ga-year-old veteran journalist1 who was initially arrested in ,april #bjad as authorities detained dozens of rights activists and dissidents ahead of the #beth anniversary of the ,june #d ,tiananmen ,square ,massacre and was sentenced to #g years in jail on ,april #ag1 #bjae1 on charges of leaking state secrets overseas2 7#f7 ,aster ,yohannes of ,eritrea1 the wife of an imprisoned political activist1 who-- 7,a7 was arrested in #bjjc upon returning from the ,united ,states2 7,b7 was never publicly accused of a crime or tried in a court of law2 and 7,c7 is of unknown whereabouts2 7#g7 ,matlyuba ,kamilova of ,uzbekistan1 who-- 7,a7 was jailed in ,september #bjaj for alleged drug possession2 7,b7 was arrested under highly suspicious circumstances in the midst of efforts to expose police corruption2 and 7,c7 remains in prison2 7#h7 ,leyla ,yunus of ,azerbaijan1 who-- 7,a7 was arrested with her husband in ,august #bjad during a broad crackdown on civil society activists2 7,b7 was sentenced to an #h-year prison term on ,august #ac1 #bjae2 7,c7 was named by ,france as a ,chevalier of the ,national ,order of the ,legion of ,honour in #bjac in recognition of her human rights work2 and 7,d7 received the ,polish ,prize of ,srgio ,vieira de ,mello in #bjad2 7#i7 ,phyoe ,aung of ,burma1 who was arrested in ,march #bjae1 with over #ajj participants1 for leading protests advocating for reform to the education system of ,burma2 7#aj7 ,ta ,phong ,tan of ,vietnam1 who was arrested in #bjaa for anti-state propaganda for writing online articles alleging government corruption and was sentenced in #bjab to #aj years in prison with #b years of house arrest to follow2 7#aa7 ,liu ,xia of ,china1 who-- 7,a7 has been under house arrest since the #bjaj announcement that her husband received the ,nobel ,peace ,prize2 7,b7 is confined to her ,beijing apartment without internet or phone access2 7,c7 is allowed only weekly trips to buy groceries and visit her parents2 7,d7 is allowed to visit ,liu ,xiaobo once a month2 and 7,e7 reportedly suffers from heart problems and severe depression2 7#ab7 ,sanaa ,seif of ,egypt1 who was sentenced in ,october #bjad1 with #bc other people1 to #c years in prison for conducting a peaceful demonstration without permission1 a sentence which was reduced to #b years in ,december #bjad2 7#ac7 ,judge ,mara ,lourdes ,afuini ,mora of ,venezuela1 who-- 7,a7 was imprisoned in ,december #bjji on charges of corruption and abuse of authority for releasing an imprisoned banker1 was placed on house arrest until ,june #bjac1 and1 according to ,president ,chavez1 must pay for what she has done2 and 7,b7 is on conditional release awaiting trial and is forbidden to leave the country or speak publicly2 7#ad7 ,naw ,ohn ,hla of ,burma1 who-- 7,a7 is the co-founder of the ,democracy and ,peace ,women ,network and a prominent land rights and political prisoners advocate2 7,b7 was sentenced to a #d-year-and-#d-month term in prison on ,may #ae1 #bjae1 for protesting1 in front of the ,chinese ,embassy in ,rangoon1 the deadly police crackdown at the ,chinese company ,wanbao's ,letpadaung copper mine2 and 7,c7 was1 on ,june #bi1 #bjae1 given an additional #f-month prison term with hard labor for conducting a peaceful prayer service in #bjjg protesting against ,daw ,aung ,san ,suu ,kyi's house arrest2 7#ae7 ,nadiya ,savchenko of ,russia1 who-- 7,a7 is a member of the parliament of ,ukraine1 the ,verkhovna ,rada1 and a helicopter pilot in the ,ukrainian military2 7,b7 was seized in ,ukraine by ,russian-backed separatists in #bjad2 and 7,c7 was illegally transferred to ,russian custody1 where she remains2 7#af7 serving as a composite for prisoners of concern worldwide1 an estimated #hj1jjj to #abj1jjj political prisoners1 including men1 women1 and children1 who are detained in the brutal political prison camps of ,north ,korea where starvation1 forced labor1 executions1 rape1 sexual violence1 forced abortions1 and torture are commonplace and whose offenses1 according to defectors1 include-- 7,a7 burning old currency or criticizing the currency revaluation of the ,government2 7,b7 sitting on newspapers bearing the picture of ,kim ,il ,sung or ,kim ,jong ,il2 7,c7 mentioning the limited formal education of ,kim ,il ,sung2 and 7,d7 defacing photographs of the ,kims2 7#ag7 ,bui ,thi ,minh ,hang of ,vietnam-- 7,a7 is an active anti-,china demonstrator and vocal supporter of human rights and democracy1 with a particular focus on helping victims and their families2 7,b7 was arrested on ,february #ab1 #bjad and is serving a #c-year sentence for disrupting public order2 and 7,c7 was detained without trial for #f months at a reeducation center prior to her arrest in ,february of #bjad2 and 7#ah7 ,rasha ,chorbaji of ,syria-- 7,a7 who was arrested trying to obtain a passport in #bjad with #c of her children because her husband opposed the regime during the revolution2 and 7,b7 whose children were taken by the ,government of ,syria and placed in an orphanage1 and whose husband drowned in the ,mediterranean ,sea while fleeing ,syria3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 recognizes the #bjth anniversary of the ,beijing ,declaration and ,platform for ,action1 as well as the high level conference in ,september #bjae at the ,united ,nations to empower women2 7#b7 recognizes that many women will not be able to participate in the dialogue about the conference in ,september #bjae because they are imprisoned unjustly2 7#c7 reiterates support for efforts to empower women and secure universal human rights for women2 7#d7 reminds governments attending the conference that unjustly imprisoning women is inconsistent with the ,beijing ,declaration and does not empower women2 7#e7 welcomes the release of ,ta ,phong ,tan of ,vietnam on ,september #ai1 #bjae1 whose release was called for as part of the campaign2 7#f7 calls for the immediate release of the women mentioned in the preamble of this resolution1 most of whom remain wrongfully imprisoned or under house arrest2 and 7#g7 encourages conference attendees to fulfill previous commitments related to the empowerment of women and to commit to meaningful and concrete steps to advance women's rights1 for the betterment of all people4