S.Res. 711 – Reading Mode

III

110th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. RES. 711

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 20, 2008

Ms. Collins (for herself, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Snowe, Ms. Landrieu, Ms. Stabenow, and Mrs. Clinton) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Condemning the tragic and senseless death by stoning of a 13-year-old girl from Somalia.

Whereas a child from Somalia, identified as Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, was raped by 3 men, and when her family reported the rape to authorities of the al-Shabaab militia that control the city of Kismayu, Somalia, she was accused of adultery and ordered to be stoned;

Whereas, in October 2008, Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow was stoned to death by 50 militant men before 1,000 witnesses in a public stadium;

Whereas al-Shabaab, some of whose members are affiliated with al Qaeda, is a violent and brutal extremist group that has used intimidation and committed human rights violations to undermine the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and threaten activists in civil society working to bring about peace through political dialogue and reconciliation;

Whereas, on February 29, 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice designated al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) and placed the organization on the list of specially designated global terrorists established under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and initiated under Executive Order 13224;

Whereas the 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Somalia, released on March 11, 2007, by the Department of State, cited the poor human rights situation in Somalia, including unlawful and politically motivated killings, official impunity, and discrimination and violence against women;

Whereas stoning is a grave and serious violation of human rights law, in which the victim is killed in an especially brutal way;

Whereas stoning is practiced particularly on girls and women accused of adultery;

Whereas the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has condemned the death of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow and called on the United States Government to join other states in speaking out decisively in international fora against such grave human rights abuses; and

Whereas the United States Government continues to support the efforts of those working to transform the troubled region of Somalia through commitment to sound human rights practices, democratic and representative government, economic recovery, and lasting peace and reconciliation: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—

(1)

condemns the tragic and senseless death by stoning of Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow;

(2)

urges the international community to join the Senate in speaking out against this brutal act; and

(3)

urges the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia—

(A)

to undertake robust efforts to protect women and children and to prevent acts of institutionalized violence against women in Somalia;

(B)

to work to strengthen the rule of law as part of the effort by the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia to establish its authority;

(C)

to promote equal and fair treatment of women; and

(D)

to end the culture of impunity in Somalia.