,,iii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #gbd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #bd1 #bjbj,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mrs4 ,shaheen1 and ,mr4 ,kaine7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of the ,senate regarding the practice of politically motivated imprisonment of women around the world and calling on governments for the immediate release of women who are political prisoners4 ,whereas ,article #c of the ,universal ,declaration of ,human ,rights guarantees the right to liberty and security of person1 ,article #i protects against arbitrary arrest or detention1 and ,article #ah guarantees the right to freedom of thought1 conscience1 and religion2 ,whereas women across the world face enormous risks to advance human rights and pursue progress for their communities1 including-- 7#a7 discriminatory policies and attitudes2 7#b7 repressive governments2 7#c7 abusive authorities2 and 7#d7 critical threats to their health1 especially amid the ,,covid-#ai pandemic2 ,whereas women activists across the world are being unjustly detained in order to silence their voices and end their activism2 ,whereas women journalists are being unjustly detained for speaking truth to power and exposing corruption and abuses by governments and other authorities2 ,whereas the ,,covid-#ai pandemic presents a severe threat to women who are detained unjustly and who are often housed in overcrowded prisons with limited access to medical care1 which can convert unjust prison sentences into death sentences for vulnerable detained women2 ,whereas the ,people's ,republic of ,china has waged a brutal campaign to suppress political dissent and vibrant ethnic minority communities2 ,whereas the ,people's ,republic of ,china has suppressed and detained human rights legal professionals1 including ,li ,yuhan1 who has been severely mistreated in detention and who went on a hunger strike in #bjah2 ,whereas the ,people's ,republic of ,china has subjected ,uyghurs in ,xinjiang to mass surveillance1 forced labor1 forced birth control1 forced sterilization1 and extrajudicial internment1 including-- 7#a7 ,rahile ,dawut1 a professor of traditional ,uyghur culture2 7#b7 ,gulmira ,imin1 a former website administrator and government employee2 and 7#c7 ,nigare ,abdushukur1 who was sentenced to #ai years imprisonment after inquiring about her mother's detention2 ,whereas the ,people's ,republic of ,china has targeted ,tibetans for celebrating their heritage1 including-- 7#a7 ,bonkho ,kyi1 who was detained for organizing a picnic celebration for ,his ,holiness the ,dalai ,lama's #hjth birthday2 and 7#b7 ,yeshe ,choedron1 who was sentenced in #bjjh to #ae years imprisonment after participating in protests2 ,whereas in ,iran1 human rights defenders have been steadfast in their advocacy despite repeated abuse and arrest by authorities1 including currently detained human rights activists-- 7#a7 ,nasrin ,sotoudeh1 who spoke out against the death penalty and laws forcing women to wear hijabs and who is currently on a hunger strike and is in critical condition2 7#b7 ,atena ,daemi1 a human rights activist who is serving an additional #b years in prison and facing #gd lashes for participating in a peaceful sit-in protest in ,evin prison2 and 7#c7 ,narges ,mohammadi1 vice president of the ,centre for ,human ,rights ,defenders1 who has experienced severe health conditions and lung disease while in prison and has suffered from worsening ,,covid-#ai symptoms since ,june #bi1 #bjbj2 ,whereas ,iranian authorities have also recently arrested and imprisoned environmentalists working for the ,persian ,wildlife ,heritage ,foundation1 including ,sepideh ,kashami and ,mc,gill ,university graduate ,niloufar ,bayani1 who previously worked for the ,united ,nations ,environment ,programme2 ,whereas ,turkey is the world's second worst jailer of journalists1 with #dg journalists imprisoned in #bjai1 including-- 7#a7 ,hatice ,duman1 owner and editor at ,atilim1 which published editorials condemning ,president ,erdogan's policies2 and 7#b7 ,aysenur ,parildak and ,hanim ,bsra ,erdal1 journalists for ,zaman1 which authorities claim has ties to ,fethulaah ,glen2 ,whereas in ,egypt1 ,president ,sisi has attempted to quash dissent by jailing and abusing human rights defenders1 including-- 7#a7 ,mahienour el-,masry1 a human rights lawyer accused of spreading false news2 7#b7 ,esraa ,abdel ,fattah1 a human rights activist and reporter who was reportedly beaten1 hung from handcuffs1 and choked with her clothes by authorities2 and 7#c7 ,sanaa ,seif1 who was detained while filing a complaint at the ,public ,prosecutor's office regarding her assault outside ,cairo's ,tora prison1 which houses her brother1 who is a political activist2 ,whereas ,burundian authorities arrested and convicted #d journalists at ,iwacu1 ,burundi's last remaining independent newspaper1 including ,christine ,kamikazi and ,agns ,ndirubusa1 after a flawed trial1 for allegedly attempting to undermine state security2 ,whereas ,saudi ,arabian women's rights and human rights activists ,loujain al-,hathloul1 ,nassima al-,sada1 ,samar ,badawi1 ,nouf ,abdualziz1 and ,maya'a al-,zahrani all remain wrongfully imprisoned2 ,whereas in the ,philippines1 ,senator ,leila de ,lima remains unjustly imprisoned for her vocal criticism of extrajudicial killings carried out during ,president ,duterte's war on drugs2 ,whereas in ,eritrea1 political dissident ,aster ,fissehatsion has been held incommunicado without charge or trial since #bjja3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 supports women who are being unjustly detained around the world2 7#b7 affirms that a government should never detain its citizens for exercising the rights of freedom of assembly1 association1 and speech2 7#c7 calls on governments that are unjustly detaining women for exercising their fundamental rights to immediately and unconditionally release these political prisoners2 and 7#d7 urges the ,united ,states ,government1 in all its interactions with foreign governments-- 7,a7 to raise individual cases of women political prisoners2 and 7,b7 press for their immediate release4