III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 184 

Recognizing refugee women and girls on World Refugee Day. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2013 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Ms. LANDRIEU, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. WARREN, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HEITKAMP, and Ms. STABENOW) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing refugee women and girls on World Refugee Day. 

Whereas June 20 was established by the United Nations as 

World Refugee Day, a global day to honor the courage, 

strength, and determination of women, men, and children 

who are forced to flee their homes under threat of conflict, violence, and persecution; 

Whereas, according to the Office of the United Nations High 

Commissioner for Refugees (in this preamble referred to 

as the ‘‘UNHCR’’), there are more than 43,000,000 displaced people worldwide, including more than 15,000,000 

refugees; 

Whereas, according to the UNHCR, women and girls make 

up at least 50 percent of any refugee population; 


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•SRES 184 ATS 

Whereas refugee women and girls work every day, often 

under the most difficult circumstances, to care for their 

families, improve their prospects and build a better future; 

Whereas refugee women and girls are often at greater risk 

of sexual violence and exploitation, forced or early marriage, human trafficking, and other forms of genderbased violence; 

Whereas refugee women and girls face barriers in accessing 

education, healthcare, and economic opportunities in 

countries of asylum; 

Whereas, according to the UNHCR, more than 1,600,000 

refugees, 3⁄4 of which are women and children, have fled 

the ongoing violence in Syria; 

Whereas, according to the UNHCR, an estimated 2,700,000 

people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have 

been displaced, and an additional nearly 500,000 Congolese refugees have crossed the border into neighboring 

countries; 

Whereas refugee women and girls are frequently victims of 

gender-based violence as their displaced status puts them 

at greater risk, coupled with intense social and cultural 

stigmas that make actual statistics extremely difficult to 

compile because underreporting is endemic; 

Whereas refugee women and girls have a right to safe and 

equitable access to humanitarian assistance, including 

food and cooking fuel, shelter, education, health care, and 

economic opportunity; 

Whereas the full and meaningful participation of refugee 

women and girls in community decision-making is critical 


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to the stability, security, and prosperity of entire communities; 

Whereas the full participation of refugee women and girls in 

the design and implementation of assistance programs is 

vital to ensuring that those programs are equitable, efficient and successful; 

Whereas the United States is a leader on protection of and 

humanitarian assistance for refugees, including refugee 

women and girls; 

Whereas the United States has recognized the threat that 

gender-based violence can pose to refugee women and 

girls by working to strengthen efforts to protect them 

through the United States National Action Plan on 

Women, Peace, and Security; 

Whereas the United States is a leading advocate for the 

meaningful participation of refugee women in humanitarian programs, peace processes, governance, and recovery programs; 

Whereas the United States provides critical resources and 

support to the UNHCR and other international and nongovernmental organizations working with refugees around 

the world; and 

Whereas the United States has welcomed more than 

3,000,000 refugees during the last 30 years, who are resettled in communities across the country: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the goals and ideals of World Ref3 ugee Day; 


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1 (2) reaffirms its commitment to the protection, 

2 well-being, and self-reliance of refugee women and 

3 girls and their families in United States humani4 tarian policy, programs, and diplomacy and recog5 nizes the work of the United States Department of 

6 State and the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development to this end; 

8 (3) emphasizes the importance of ensuring that 

9 humanitarian assistance programs supported by the 

10 United States provide safe and equitable access for 

11 women and girls and are designed and implemented 

12 with their full participation; 

13 (4) reiterates the importance of targeted pro14 grams for refugee women and girls that prevent and 

15 respond to gender-based violence, support self-reli16 ance, and promote and develop their participation 

17 and leadership skills; 

18 (5) recognizes the work of the Bureau of Popu19 lation, Refugees, and Migration of the Department 

20 of State, the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the 

21 Department of Health and Human Services, the 

22 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the 

23 Department of Homeland Security, nongovernmental 

24 organizations, advocacy groups, and communities 


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1 across the United States in welcoming and resettling 

2 refugees in the United States; 

3 (6) celebrates the invaluable contributions that 

4 refugee women and girls make to their families and 

5 communities; and 

6 (7) encourages the people of the United States 

7 to observe World Refugee Day with appropriate pro8 grams and activities. 

Æ 


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