IV 

107TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 496

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding so-called ‘‘honor killings’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 2, 2002

Mr. NADLER (for himself, Mr. ROHRABACHER, and Mrs. LOWEY) submitted 

the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 

on International Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding so-called 

‘‘honor killings’’.

Whereas thousands of women around the world are killed and 

maimed each year in the name of family ‘‘honor’’; 

Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 

56th Session, January 2000, working with the Special 

Rapporteurs on violence against women and extrajudicial, 

summary, or arbitrary executions, received reports of socalled ‘‘honor killings’’ from numerous countries, including Bangladesh, Jordan, India, Pakistan, Ecuador, 

Uganda, and Morocco, and noted that such killings take 

many forms, such as flogging, forced suicide, stoning, beheading, acid throwing, and burning; 

Whereas according to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999, ‘‘crimes of 
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•HCON 496 IH 

honor’’ in Bangladesh include acid-throwing and whipping of women accused of moral indiscretion; 

Whereas authorities in Bangladesh estimate there will be up 

to 200 ‘‘honor killings’’ in that country this year; 

Whereas thousands of Pakistani women and girls are 

stabbed, burned, or maimed every year by husbands, fathers, and brothers who accuse them of dishonoring their 

family by being unfaithful, seeking a divorce, or refusing 

an arranged marriage; 

Whereas Jordan, which had 20 reported ‘‘honor killings’’ in 

1998, still has laws reducing the penalty for, or exempting perpetrators of ‘‘honor crimes’’, and the Jordanian 

Parliament has twice failed to repeal these laws; 

Whereas His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan should be 

commended for the recent formation of Jordan’s Royal 

Commission on Human Rights, chaired by Her Majesty 

Queen Rania, which will primarily address obstacles that 

prevent women and children from exercising their basic 

human rights, including the persistence of ‘‘honor 

crimes’’; 

Whereas more than 5,000 ‘‘dowry deaths’’ occur every year 

in India, according to the United Nations Children’s 

Fund (UNICEF), which reported in 1997 that a dozen 

women die each day in ‘‘kitchen fires’’ designed to be 

passed off as accidents because the woman’s husband’s 

family is dissatisfied over the size of the woman’s dowry; 

Whereas women accused of adultery in countries such as Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and a 

host of other countries are subject to a maximum penalty 

of death by stoning; 
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•HCON 496 IH 

Whereas even though ‘‘honor killings’’ may be outlawed, law 

enforcement and judicial systems often fail to properly 

investigate, arrest, and prosecute offenders and laws frequently permit reduction in sentences or exemptions from 

prosecution for those who ‘‘kill in the name of honor’’ 

typically resulting in a token punishment, impunity, and 

continued violence against women; and 

Whereas the right to exist is the most fundamental of all 

rights and must be guaranteed to every individual without discrimination, and the perpetuation of ‘‘honor 

killings’’ and dowry deaths is a deliberate violation of 

women’s human rights that should be universally condemned: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) the United States, through the United 

4 States Agency for International Development, 

5 should—

6 (A) work with foreign law enforcement and 

7 judicial agencies to enact legal system reforms 

8 to more effectively address the investigation and 

9 prosecution of so-called ‘‘honor crimes’’; and 

10 (B) make resources available to local orga11 nizations to provide refuge and rehabilitation 

12 for women who are victims of ‘‘honor crimes’’ 

13 and the children of such women; 
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1 (2) the Department of State, when preparing 

2 yearly Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 

3 should include—

4 (A) information relating to the incidence of 

5 ‘‘honor violence’’ in foreign countries; 

6 (B) the steps taken by foreign govern7 ments to address the problem of ‘‘honor vio8 lence’’; and 

9 (C) all relevant actions taken by the 

10 United States, whether through diplomacy or 

11 foreign assistance programs, to reduce the inci12 dence of ‘‘honor violence’’ and to increase inves13 tigations and prosecutions of such crimes; 

14 (3) the United States should communicate to 

15 the United Nations its concern over the high rate of 

16 honor-related violence toward women worldwide and 

17 request that the appropriate United Nations bodies, 

18 in consultation with relevant nongovernmental orga19 nizations, propose actions to be taken to encourage 

20 these countries to demonstrate strong efforts to end 

21 such violence; and 

22 (4) the President and the Secretary of State 

23 should communicate directly with leaders of coun24 tries where ‘‘honor killings’’, dowry deaths, and re25 lated practices are endemic, in order to convey the 
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•HCON 496 IH 

1 Nation’s most serious concerns over these gross vio2 lations of human rights and urge these leaders to in3 vestigate and prosecute all such acts as murder, with 

4 the appropriate penalties.

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