S.Amdt. 3783

SA 3783. Mr. PORTMAN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the resolution S. Res. 530, 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 State, formerly known as the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as it expands its control over
areas in northwestern Iraq; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations; as follows:

Strike the preamble and insert the following:
Whereas Iraq is currently embroiled in a surge of violence
arising from an ISIL-led offensive that began in Anbar
province and has spread to key locations such as Mosul,
Tikrit, and Samarra and continues to engulf the region in
violence and instability;
Whereas, on June 29, 2014, 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 control, and Mr. al-Baghdadi has a stated mission
of spreading the Islamic State and caliphate across the
region through violence against Shiites, non-Muslims, and
unsupportive Sunnis;
Whereas Iraq's population is approximately 31,300,000
people, with 97 percent identifying themselves as Muslim and
the approximately 3 percent of religious minorities groups
comprising of Christians, Yezidis, Sabean-Mandaeans, Bahais,
Shabaks, Kakais, and Jews;
Whereas the Iraqi Christian population is estimated to be
between 400,000 and 850,000, with two-thirds being Chaldean,
one-fifth Assyrian, and the remainder consisting of Syriacs,
Protestants, Armenians, and Anglicans;
Whereas the Iraqi constitution provides for religious
freedom by stating that ``no law may be enacted that
contradicts the principles of democracy,'' ``no law may be
enacted that contradicts the rights and basic freedoms
stipulated in this Constitution,'' and ``[this Constitution]
guarantees the full religious rights to freedom of religious
belief and practice of all individuals such as Christians,
Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans'';
Whereas the fall of Mosul in particular has sparked enough
anxiety among the Christian population that, for the first
time in 1,600 years, there was no Mass in that city;
Whereas over 50 percent of Iraq's Christian population has
fled since the fall of Saddam Hussein, and the government
under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki did not uphold its
commitment to protect the rights of religious minorities;
Whereas the United States Government has provided over
$73,000,000 of cumulative assistance to Iraq's minority
populations since 2003 through economic development,
humanitarian services, and capacity development;
Whereas 84,902 Iraqis have resettled to the United States
between 2007 and 2013 and over 300,000 Chaldean and Assyrians
currently reside throughout the country, particularly in
Michigan, California, Arizona, Illinois, and Ohio; and
Whereas President Barack Obama recently declared on
Religious Freedom Day, ``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
right; it is a universal human right to be protected here at
home and across the globe. This freedom is an essential part
of human dignity, and without it our world cannot know
lasting peace.'': Now, therefore, be it
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