,,iii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #fi  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of
 ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,february #e1 
#bjae ,mr4 ,inhofe 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,thune1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 ,mr4 ,boozman1    
,mr4 ,portman1 ,mr4 ,king1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 
and ,mr4 ,lankford7 submitted the       
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,,resolution  ,calling for  
the protection of religious minority    
rights and freedoms worldwide4  ,whereas
 it is a human right for all peoples to 
enjoy the fundamental freedom of        
religion1 and the ,united ,states       
remains committed to promoting and      
protecting those that have been         
marginalized and persecuted because of  
their faith2 ,whereas ,article #ah of   
the ,universal ,declaration of ,human   
,rights recognizes that everyone has the
 right to freedom of thought1           
conscience1 and religion2 this right    
includes freedom to change his religion 
or belief1 and freedom1 either alone or 

in community with others and in public  
or private1 to manifest his religion or 
belief in teaching1 practice1 worship1  
and observance2 ,whereas the freedom to 
worship by minority religious           
communities worldwide has come under    
repeated and deadly attack1 and often   
religious minorities are regarded as    
enemies of the state2 ,whereas the      
freedom to proselytize by minority      
religious communities has also come     
under repeated and deadly attack in     
recent years through so-called blasphemy
 laws and anti-conversion laws that are 
punishable by fines1 imprisonment1 and  
death2 ,whereas1 on ,november #a1 #bjaj1
 the deadliest ever recorded attack on  
,iraqi ,christians occurred at the      
,sayidat al-,nejat ,catholic ,cathedral 
located in central ,baghdad1 where      
militants stormed the church and        
detonated #b suicide vests filled with  
ball bearings1 killing #eh1 including #b
 priests1 and wounding #gh parishioners2
 ,whereas1 in ,november #bjaj1 ,aasia   

,bibi1 a ,christian mother of five1 was 
fined #a1ajj and sentenced to death by  
hanging for blasphemy1 becoming the     
first woman condemned to death on       
blasphemy charges in ,pakistan1 and     
remains jailed today appealing her      
sentence2 ,whereas1 on ,december #bi1   
#bjaa1 the ,shia religious leader ,tajul
 ,muluk's ,islamic boarding school in   
,madura ,island1 ,indonesia1 was burned 
down in an arson attack by #cjj         
anti-,shi'ite protestors1 causing #ejj  
,shia residents to flee from their      
homes1 and on ,january #a1 #bjab1 the   
,indonesian ,ulema ,council issued a    
fatwa against his teachings1 leading to 
blasphemy charges and the arrest of     
,muluk on ,april #ab1 #bjab1 in         
,sampang1 where he remains in prison2   
,whereas1 on ,july #bh1 #bjab1 ,saeed   
,abedini1 a ,christian pastor with dual 
,iranian and ,united ,states            
citizenship1 was arrested on charges    
solely based on his ,christian faith1   
convicted1 and sentenced to eight years 

in a brutal ,iranian prison where he    
remains today2 ,whereas1 on ,october    
#ag1 #bjac1 #aj bombs exploded in the   
minority ,shi'ite districts of ,baghdad1
 killing #dd people1 including #f       
children1 and on that same day a suicide
 bomber drove into a village in the     
northern province of ,ninebeh1 killing  
#ae ,shabaks1 who are mainly ,shi'ites  
and are viewed as apostates by extreme  
,sunni ,islamists2 ,whereas1 on         
,november #af1 #bjac1 ,zhang ,shaojie1 a
 member of ,three-,self church and      
pastor of the government-sanctioned     
,nanle ,county ,christian ,church1      
,china1 was arrested1 fined #af1jjj1 and
 given a #ab-year prison sentence for   
gathering a crowd to disrupt the public 
order1 in what is believed to be        
retaliation for his advocacy on behalf  
of his congregation and community2      
,whereas1 on ,may #ae1 #bjad1 a         
,sudanese ,christian woman1 ,meriam     
,ibrahim1 was imprisoned and sentenced  
to death by hanging for allegedly       

committing apostasy from ,islam and     
faced constant pressure to renounce her 
faith of ,christianity while in prison1 
and only after immediate and sustained  
pressure by the ,united ,states ,senate 
and the ,department of ,state was she   
released and allowed to leave the       
country1 settling in ,new ,hampshire    
with her husband and two children2      
,whereas1 on ,november #aj1 #bjad1 a    
young ,christian ,pakistani couple1     
,shama ,bibi and ,sajjad ,maseeh1 who   
was four months pregnant with her fifth 
child1 were brutally beaten by a mob in 
,punjab ,province1 had their legs broken
 so they could not flee1 and were locked
 in a brick kiln to burn to death while 
a crowd of #a1bjj watched for alleged   
blasphemy of the desecration of a       
,koran2 ,whereas1 since #bjaj1 the      
,nigerian terrorist organization ,boko  
,haram1 which translates to western     
education is a sin1 has destroyed more  
than #a1jjj churches across ,nigeria1   
abducted hundreds of ,christians to     

forcibly convert to ,islam1 and in      
increasingly violent attacks beginning  
in #bjad1 has killed more than #a1gjj   
,christians2 ,whereas1 according to the 
,united ,states ,commission on          
,international ,religious ,freedom1 over
 #ae1jjj people in ,north ,korea are    
presently incarcerated in prison labor  
camps for attempting to practice their  
religion and face constant abuse in     
attempts to force them to renounce their
 faith2 ,whereas1 since the beginning of
 its reign of terror1 ,,isil has sought 
to destroy any person of faith that does
 not embrace their own perverted        
interpretation of ,islam1 leading to the
 destruction of ,jonah's tomb in ,mosul1
 the destruction of ,sunni shrines and  
mosques in ,ninevah1 the destruction of 
,christian churches in ,syria1 and the  
slaughter of anyone who resists their   
teachings2 and ,whereas seven ,indian   
states have so-called anti-conversion   
apostasy laws that require officials to 
assess the legality of conversions1 and 

fine and_/or imprison those responsible 
for the conversions if it is determined 
to be illegal3 ,now1 therefore1 be it   
,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 remains        
committed to protecting the human right 
and the fundamental freedom of religion1
 especially those of religious          
minorities2  7#b7 recognizes that       
government policies prohibiting the     
freedom of thought and religion are     
designed to harass and intimidate       
religious groups2 and  7#c7 urges in the
 strongest terms that the ,united       
,states ,government lead the            
international effort in calling for the 
repeal of all existing apostasy and     
blasphemy laws4