IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1240 

Expressing condemnation for police brutality wherever in the world it occurs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 24, 2020 

Ms. OMAR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing condemnation for police brutality wherever in the 

world it occurs. 

Whereas, in 2020, there have been significant peaceful assemblies protesting against police brutality throughout 

the world, including in the United States; 

Whereas police brutality may include human rights violations 

such as the use of excessive force, extrajudicial killings, 

arbitrary detention, torture, and the use of lethal rounds 

and the unnecessary use of ‘‘less-lethal’’ crowd control 

weapons by law enforcement, in response to peaceful assemblies; 


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•HRES 1240 IH 

Whereas police brutality may occur prior to an arrest, during 

crowd control operations, during an arrest, and while an 

individual is in custody; 

Whereas the Small Arms Survey identified that between 

2007–2012, 19,000 people worldwide were killed by police annually; 

Whereas a 2017 United Nations Development Program report found that more than 70 percent of individuals who 

had joined violent extremist groups across Africa self-reported that ‘‘government action’’, including police brutality, was the determining factor in their decision to join 

such groups; 

Whereas the United States is the largest arms exporter in the 

world, including as the top provider to 13 out of 19 countries in the Middle East; 

Whereas the United States is the largest developer and exporter of ‘‘less-lethal’’ weapons, including tear gas, in the 

world; 

Whereas the United States, especially under the auspices of 

the wars on drugs and global terrorism, has in recent 

decades dramatically increased its influence on the tactics, equipment, and purpose of policing around the 

world; 

Whereas during that same period and under those same auspices, domestic police forces at the State, local, and Federal level have become increasingly militarized in both 

equipment and tactics; 

Whereas several United States embassies in Africa released 

statements in the aftermath of the May 25, 2020, police 

killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, explicitly 


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•HRES 1240 IH 

recognizing the foreign policy dimension of domestic police violence; 

Whereas many of those statements included reminders of the 

importance of an impartial judicial system and accountability for state security forces who commit human rights 

violations; 

Whereas on a global scale, police brutality occurs on every 

continent, in both democracies and dictatorships, and in 

countries that are both partners and adversaries of the 

United States; 

Whereas on a global scale, police brutality disproportionately 

harms already vulnerable people, including racial, ethnic, 

and religious minorities, women, migrants, people with 

disabilities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community; 

and 

Whereas on a global scale, impunity for both individual police 

officers and departments or units who commit police brutality is an endemic problem: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns police brutality wherever in the 

3 world it occurs; 

4 (2) stands with peaceful protesters around the 

5 world in their calls for justice and accountability for 

6 police brutality; 

7 (3) recognizes that police brutality dispropor8 tionately targets already vulnerable populations, in9 cluding racial, ethnic, religious minorities, women, 

10 migrants, and the LGBTQIA+ community; 


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•HRES 1240 IH 

1 (4) recognizes that impunity for police brutality 

2 undermines the rule of law, erodes public confidence 

3 in state institutions and degrades social cohesion; 

4 (5) calls on the United States Government to— 

5 (A) take immediate and significant steps to 

6 eliminate police brutality and impunity for po7 lice brutality in the United States; 

8 (B) prohibit the sales of arms, ammuni9 tion, and ‘‘less-lethal’’ policing equipment to 

10 countries with demonstrated patterns of human 

11 rights violations by security forces or impunity 

12 for human rights violations by security forces; 

13 (C) prohibit other forms of security assist14 ance, including police training, to countries with 

15 demonstrated patterns of human rights viola16 tions by security forces or impunity for human 

17 rights violations by security forces; 

18 (D) use its voice, vote, and influence in 

19 international institutions to work toward the 

20 elimination of police brutality and ending impu21 nity for police brutality around the world; 

22 (E) end the use of militarized equipment 

23 and tactics in policing both at home and 

24 abroad; and 


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•HRES 1240 IH 

1 (F) reallocate funding in both the United 

2 States and abroad to peacebuilding, job train3 ing, counseling and mental health program4 ming, and violence-preventing programming; 

5 and 

6 (6) calls on businesses based in the United 

7 States that sell lethal and less-lethal policing equip8 ment to adopt strict protocols prohibiting the sale of 

9 such articles to countries with demonstrated pat10 terns of police brutality or impunity for police bru11 tality. 

Æ 


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