IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 640 
Condemning the global persecution of Christians. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 18, 2019 
Mr. PALMER (for himself, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. HICE of Geor-
gia, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. BUCK, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. 
FULCHER, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. WRIGHT, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. BILIRAKIS, 
Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. HILL of Arkansas, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BYRNE, Mr. 
FLEISCHMANN, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. BUDD, Mr. ROY, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. 
BABIN, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. BROOKS of Alabama, 
Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. RUTHERFORD, Mr. SPANO, Mr. 
KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. RATCLIFFE, Mr. 
WALKER, Mr. BIGGS, Mrs. MILLER, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. SMITH of New 
Jersey, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mr. MOOLENAAR, 
Mr. WESTERMAN, and Ms. FOXX of North Carolina) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning the global persecution of Christians. 
Whereas Christian persecution remains a global problem; 
Whereas, according to the Pew Research Center, Christians 
remain the most persecuted religious group in the world; 
Whereas persecution includes acts such as physical violence, 
forced exile, imprisonment, torture, rape, and death; 
Whereas, according to Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch 
List, the 50 most dangerous countries for Christians 
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were responsible for 4,136 Christians killed for faith-re-
lated reasons, 1,266 church or Christian building attacks, 
and the detention without trial, arrest, sentencing, and 
imprisonment of 2,625 Christians; 
Whereas, in 2010, Asia Bibi, a Christian mother and field la-
borer, was charged with blasphemy and sentenced to 
death by hanging in Pakistan; 
Whereas, after nine years of imprisonment, Pakistan’s Su-
preme Court acquitted Asia Bibi based on insufficient 
evidence and she was finally allowed to leave the country 
in May 2019; 
Whereas, since 2014, discrimination and violence toward 
Christians, Muslims, and other religious minorities in 
India have significantly increased using anticonversion 
laws, anti-cow-slaughter laws, forced conversions, and in-
justice within law enforcement; 
Whereas, in Nigeria on February 15, 2014, Boko Haram 
militants attacked a farming village in Borno State, kill-
ing 106 people while targeting male residents of the 
Christian community; 
Whereas, in August 2014, ISIS swept into the Nineveh Plain 
in Iraq, forcing thousands of Christian families to flee 
their homes; 
Whereas, in 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry stated that 
a genocide was being committed against Christians and 
Yazidis in Northern Iraq and Syria; 
Whereas, in 2016, United States Pastor Andrew Brunson 
was wrongfully imprisoned by the Government of Turkey 
for two years until his release in 2018; 
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Whereas, on April 9, 2017, Palm Sunday, two Egyptian Cop-
tic Christian churches were bombed, killing 45 and injur-
ing 126 churchgoers; 
Whereas, in Nigeria on June 23, 2018, Fulani militants in 
Plateau State killed 120 Christians as they returned 
from a funeral; 
Whereas, in December 2018, police officers in Chengdu, 
China, arrested Protestant Pastor Wang Yi and more 
than 100 Early Rain Covenant Church members; 
Whereas Chinese authorities searched and sealed each of the 
Early Rain Covenant Church’s properties and forced 
members to sign a pledge that they would not attend the 
church or church school again; 
Whereas China banned the online sale of the Bible; 
Whereas Chinese authorities are forcing Christians to replace 
pictures of Jesus with pictures of Chinese government of-
ficials; 
Whereas an estimated 60 million Christians reside in China 
and most worship in underground churches to avoid gov-
ernment control; 
Whereas, on April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday, more than 180 
people were killed while worshipping at Christian church-
es in three separate locations in Sri Lanka; 
Whereas the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the 
Easter attacks, stating it was carried out by seven ISIS 
fighters and targeted Christians and ‘‘citizens of Cru-
sader coalition states’’; and 
Whereas, in May 2019, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy 
Hunt issued an interim report finding that ‘‘the over-
whelming majority (estimated at 80 percent) of per-
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secuted religious believers are Christians.’’: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns persecution of members of any 
faith; 
(2) calls for every government to recognize the 
right of Christians to practice their faith without 
fear of persecution, including physical violence, 
death, or imprisonment; and 
(3) calls on the Department of State to 
prioritize freedom of conscience and religious free-
dom in United States foreign policy consideration. 
Æ 
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