IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 262 

Expressing the strong concern of the House of Representatives about the 

actions of the Taliban in Swat, Pakistan, to restrict girls’ access to education. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2009 

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. FILNER) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the strong concern of the House of Representatives about the actions of the Taliban in Swat, Pakistan, 

to restrict girls’ access to education. 

Whereas Pakistan was one of the United Nations Member 

States that signed the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights (UDHR), adopted on December 10, 1948, Article 

2 of which establishes the principle of nondiscrimination, 

including on the basis of sex, and Article 26 of which articulates the right to education as a basic human right; 

Whereas Pakistan became a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 

(ICESCR) on April 17, 2008, Article 3 of which requires 

States Parties to ensure that men and women have equal 

rights to enjoy all the rights under the ICESCR, and ArVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:09 Mar 19, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR262.IH HR262

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ticle 14 of which enshrines the right to education as a 

fundamental human right; 

Whereas Pakistan ratified the Convention on the Rights of 

the Child (CRC) on November 12, 1990, Article 2 of 

which establishes the principle of nondiscrimination, including on the basis of sex, with respect to rights set 

forth in the CRC, and Article 28 of which obligates 

States Parties to recognize the right of the child to education and, among other things, to make primary education compulsory and available free to all, secondary 

education available and accessible to every child, and 

higher education accessible to all; 

Whereas Pakistan acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on 

March 12, 1996, Article 10 of which obligates States 

Parties to take all appropriate measures to ensure equal 

rights of women with men in the field of education including, among other things, by ensuring women the 

same conditions for access to studies, the same curricula, 

teaching staff with qualifications of the same standard 

and school premises and equipment of the same quality, 

and by taking measures to reduce female student dropout 

rates; 

Whereas, notwithstanding any declarations or reservations 

made upon ratification of these various international conventions, Pakistan is under an obligation not to do anything that might defeat the object and purpose of these 

conventions, pursuant to the Vienna Convention of Treaties, which is widely recognized as embodying customary 

international law; 

Whereas Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan (1973) 

specifies that there shall be no discrimination on the 


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basis of sex, Article 34 obligates Pakistan to take steps 

to ensure full participation of women in all spheres of national life, and Articles 37 (b) and (c) obligate Pakistan 

to ‘‘remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory 

secondary education within the minimum possible period’’ 

and ‘‘make technical and professional education generally 

available and higher education equally accessible to all on 

the basis of merit’’, respectively; 

Whereas in Swat, Pakistan, insurgent Taliban forces are currently imposing restrictions on girls’ access to education, 

without any authority, and by means of force and threats 

of the use of force, and that such actions run directly 

contrary to Pakistan’s obligations under the various 

international instruments ratified by it, as well as under 

its Constitution; 

Whereas this threat to girls’ education by the Taliban in 

Swat, Pakistan, could potentially spread to other parts of 

Pakistan resulting in the Taliban increasing its power in 

Pakistan; and 

Whereas Pakistan is a strategic ally of the United States in 

its war on terror: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) urges the Government of Pakistan to take 

3 swift measures to halt and reverse the obstacles to 

4 girls’ education in Swat, Pakistan, that are being 

5 unconstitutionally imposed by the Taliban, and 

6 which are contrary to longstanding obligations which 

7 Pakistan has freely assumed under a number of 


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1 international instruments, as well as under its Con2 stitution; 

3 (2) encourages the Secretary of State to 

4 promptly consider and address the situation facing 

5 girls in Swat, Pakistan, which could have a dev6 astating impact on the lives of more than 40,000 

7 girls in Swat and potentially spread to other parts 

8 of Pakistan, resulting in the Taliban increasing its 

9 power in Pakistan; and 

10 (3) encourages the Secretary of State to report 

11 to Congress on a timely basis about the progress 

12 that Pakistan is making to enforce the rights of 

13 women and the actions of the United States Govern14 ment to provide targeted support to strengthen 

15 Pakistan’s enforcement of women’s rights across the 

16 country. 

Æ 


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