,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #abdf  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,december #b1   
#bjbj,mrs4 ,lesko 7for herself1 ,mr4    
,sherman1 ,mr4 ,perry1 ,mr4 ,harder of  
,california1 and ,ms4 ,eshoo7 submitted 
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,affairs  ,,resolution  ,expressing the 
sense of the ,house of ,representatives 
regarding ,united ,states policy        
recognizing the ,semele ,massacre of    
#aicc4  ,whereas the ,united ,states has
 a history of recognizing and condemning
 atrocities experienced by vulnerable   
and native minorities2 ,whereas the     
,first ,world ,war brought untold       
suffering to the world1 and particularly
 to the ,assyrian people1 who lost      
two-thirds of their numbers to violence1
 famine1 and disease inflicted upon them
 by hostile forces1 and found themselves
 in a difficult predicament as new      
nation-states formed around them2       
,whereas the ,assyrians had not been    

included in the ,sykes-,picot ,agreement
 between the ,british and ,french       
,governments after the ,first ,world    
,war and were otherwise left vulnerable 
as refugees in the newly formed ,kingdom
 of ,iraq2 ,whereas the ,government of  
,iraq became increasingly hostile toward
 the ,assyrians1 and on ,august #ah1    
#aicc1 exiled their leader1 ,patriarch  
,mar ,eshai ,shimun ,,xxiii1 to ,cyprus1
 with the authorization of the ,british 
,government1 despite the ,assyrians     
being recognized as ,britain's smallest 
ally in the ,middle ,east2 ,whereas the 
,government of ,iraq rejected the       
,assyrian leaders' request for autonomy 
and sought to cause division and        
animosity among them2 ,whereas1 in      
,august #aicc1 after the surrender of   
those ,assyrians who pledged their      
loyalties to the ,government of ,iraq   
and laid down their arms in the interest
 of peace1 the armed forces of the      
,government of ,iraq targeted them for  
calculated slaughter that came to be    

known as the ,semele ,massacre2 ,whereas
 the greatest number of killings        
occurred between ,august #a and         
,september #af1 #aicc1 when up to #c1jjj
 unarmed ,assyrian ,christian men1      
women1 and children were slaughtered by 
the armed forces of the ,government of  
,iraq2 ,whereas at the time of the      
massacres1 over #fj ,assyrian villages  
were looted and destroyed by various    
populations urged on to destroy the     
,assyrian people2 ,whereas as a result  
of the massacres1 numerous ,assyrians   
were forcedly displaced within their    
country of ,iraq1 and others were forced
 to flee the country2 ,whereas the      
entire world was horrified at the       
indiscriminate slaughter of men1 women1 
and children2 and ,whereas the ,elie    
,wiesel ,genocide and ,atrocities       
,prevention ,act of #bjah 7,public ,law 
#aae-dda7 establishes that atrocities   
prevention represents a ,united ,states 
national interest1 and affirms that it  
is the policy of the ,united ,states to 

pursue a ,united ,states ,government    
wide strategy to identify1 prevent1 and 
respond to the risk of atrocities by    
strengthening diplomatic response and   
the effective use of foreign assistance 
to support appropriate transitional     
justice measures1 including criminal    
accountability1 for past atrocities3    
,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the  
sense of the ,house of ,representatives 
that it is the policy of the ,united    
,states to-- 7#a7 commemorate the       
,semele ,massacre through official      
recognition and remembrance2  7#b7      
reject efforts to enlist1 engage1 or    
otherwise associate the ,united ,states 
,government with denial of the ,semele  
,massacre2 and  7#c7 encourage education
 and public understanding of the facts  
of the ,semele ,massacre1 including the 
,united ,states role in the humanitarian
 relief effort1 and the relevance of the
 ,semele ,massacre to modern-day crimes 
against humanity4