IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 554 
Affirming the nature and importance of the support of the United States 
for the religious and ethnic minority survivors of genocide in Iraq. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2023 
Ms. SLOTKIN (for herself, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Mr. BERGMAN, 
Ms. MACE, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. STEVENS, and Mr. ALLRED) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs 
RESOLUTION 
Affirming the nature and importance of the support of the 
United States for the religious and ethnic minority sur-
vivors of genocide in Iraq. 
Whereas national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities 
and indigenous peoples including Yezidis, Turkmen, 
Shabak, Sabaean-Mandeans, Kaka’i, and indigenous 
Christians (including Chaldean, Syriac, Assyrian, Arme-
nian, and Melkite communities), among others, have been 
an integral part of the cultural fabric and history of Iraq 
and the broader Middle East for millennia; 
Whereas these same religious and ethnic minorities commu-
nities have made invaluable contributions to the pros-
perity and well-being of Iraq, and to societies across the 
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•HRES 554 IH 
Middle East and the world, including in the United 
States; 
Whereas the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (‘‘ISIS’’) com-
mitted innumerable atrocities against these ethnic and re-
ligious minorities in Iraq, including murder, subjugation, 
forced conversion, kidnapping, human trafficking, forced 
emigration or expulsion, ethnic cleansing, torture, sexual 
enslavement, rape, and destruction of ancient artifacts 
and sites among other crimes; 
Whereas the Secretary of State declared on March 17, 2016, 
and on August 15, 2017, that ISIS is responsible for 
genocide, crimes against humanity, and other atrocities 
against religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq and 
Syria, including Shia Muslims, Christians, and Yezidis, 
among other religious and ethnic groups; 
Whereas the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Account-
ability Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–300) affirms that 
it is the policy of the United States to ensure that assist-
ance for humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery needs 
of individuals who are or were nationals and residents of 
Iraq or Syria, and of communities in and from those 
countries, is directed toward those individuals and com-
munities with the greatest need, including those individ-
uals from communities of religious and ethnic minorities, 
and communities of religious and ethnic minorities, that 
the Secretary of State declared were targeted for geno-
cide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, and have 
been identified as being at risk of persecution, forced mi-
gration, genocide, crimes against humanity, or war 
crimes; 
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•HRES 554 IH 
Whereas members of these religious and ethnic minority com-
munities in Iraq continue to face daily insecurity, dis-
crimination, and hardship; 
Whereas internally displaced members of these religious and 
ethnic minority communities continue to face significant 
challenges to returning to their ancestral homelands, in-
cluding in Mosul, Baaj, Sinjar, the Nineveh Plain, and 
other Yezidi places, due to security concerns, economic 
hardship, and shifting demographics; 
Whereas the restoration and economic revitalization of these 
regions, as well as the repatriation of the Indigenous 
communities to their ancestral homes in a manner that 
provides an opportunity for diverse ethnic and religious 
communities to flourish, advances Iraq’s stability and the 
security interests of the international community; and 
Whereas local self-determination and security protection for 
the communities of these regions, including Mosul, Baaj, 
Sinjar, and the Nineveh Plain, within the framework of 
the Federal Republic of Iraq would restore and preserve 
the fundamental human rights, including property rights, 
of the Indigenous peoples of these regions: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) protects and upholds that the fundamental 
human right and dignity of the religious and ethnic 
minority communities of Iraq should be a policy pri-
ority of the United States and the international com-
munity; 
(2) supports the restoration of security, sta-
bility, and economic opportunity of, as well as the 
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•HRES 554 IH 
safe, dignified, and voluntary return of the displaced 
Indigenous peoples to the territories of Mosul, Baaj, 
Sinjar, and the Nineveh Plain, and other ancestral 
homelands of minority religious and ethnic commu-
nities, and should be a policy priority of United 
States and the international community; 
(3) supports the restoration of homes, schools, 
churches and other religious sites, and community 
buildings of religious and ethnic minority commu-
nities in these regions should receive a specific and 
enduring budget allocation by the Iraqi Government, 
as well as continued support from international aid 
donors; 
(4) supports the effective representation in con-
sultation with members of the Indigenous popu-
lation, including internally displaced members of re-
ligious and ethnic minority communities is essential 
to restoring and upholding the rights of these com-
munities, in line with article 125 of the Constitution 
of Iraq, which states that the Constitution ‘‘shall 
guarantee the administrative, political, cultural, and 
educational rights of the various nationalities, such 
as Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and all other 
constituents, and this shall be regulated by law’’; 
and 
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•HRES 554 IH 
(5) supports greater regional integration for mi-
nority groups in Iraq and encourages the Secretary 
of State to promote opportunities for affected minor-
ity groups to achieve greater administrative auton-
omy within the federal structure of the Republic of 
Iraq. 
Æ 
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