IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1725 
Condemning and deploring the murderous attacks, bombings, kidnappings, 
and threats against vulnerable religious communities in Iraq, in par-
ticular the attack against Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad 
on October 31, 2010, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2010 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. WOLF, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. KIRK, 
Mr. PETERS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, and Mr. PITTS) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning and deploring the murderous attacks, bombings, 
kidnappings, and threats against vulnerable religious 
communities in Iraq, in particular the attack against 
Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad on October 
31, 2010, and for other purposes. 
Whereas, on October 31, 2010, gunmen stormed Our Lady 
of Salvation (Sayidat al-Nejat) Church in an historic 
neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, and took hostage more 
than 100 Catholic men, women, and children worshipping 
inside; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:45 Nov 19, 2010
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1725.IH
HR1725
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1725 IH 
Whereas over the course of the hostage crisis and rescue op-
eration, 52 police officers and worshippers, including 2 
priests, were killed and 75 people were wounded; 
Whereas the Islamic State of Iraq, an al Qaeda affiliated 
group, claimed responsibility for the attack; 
Whereas, the Iraqi Human Rights Minister, Wijdan Michael, 
reportedly said at the scene of the attack, ‘‘What hap-
pened was more than a catastrophic and tragic event. In 
my opinion, it is an attempt to force Iraqi Christians to 
leave Iraq and to empty Iraq of Christians.’’; 
Whereas, on November 9, 2010, and November 10, 2010, 
more than a dozen homes inhabited by Christians in 
Baghdad were targeted in coordinated bomb and mortar 
attacks, killing at least 4 people and wounding dozens 
more; 
Whereas the victims of the November 9, 2010, and November 
10, 2010, attacks included at least one family of a victim 
of the Our Lady of Salvation attack, whom terrorists 
may have identified by funeral signs hanging outside the 
home; 
Whereas these attacks are only the latest instances of vio-
lence directed against Iraq’s vulnerable religious commu-
nities, 
including 
Assyrians, 
Chaldeans, 
Mandeans, 
Syriacs, Yazidis, and other religious communities; 
Whereas Iraq’s ancient and once vibrant Christian population 
that numbered an estimated 1,500,000 out of a total 
population in Iraq of 30,000,000 in 2003 has been re-
duced by at least one half, due to Christians fleeing the 
violence; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:45 Nov 19, 2010
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR1725.IH
HR1725
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1725 IH 
Whereas most of Iraq’s ancient Jewish community also has 
fled out of fear and the community has almost dis-
appeared; 
Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli-
gious Freedom noted in its 2010 Annual Report that, 
‘‘despite the overall drop in violence in the country, vio-
lence against religious minorities and their religious sites 
continued in 2009 and 2010, particularly in the Northern 
disputed regions.’’; 
Whereas vulnerable religious communities have been sub-
jected to a specific pattern of violence and discrimination, 
and as such, require a comprehensive and cohesive strat-
egy for their protection and preservation; 
Whereas the survival and prosperity of vulnerable religious 
communities is critical for the long-term stability of Iraq; 
Whereas in fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010, Congress ap-
propriated funding specifically for the protection and de-
velopment of efforts aimed at Iraq’s minority populations, 
with a particular focus on the Nineveh Plains region; and 
Whereas H. Res. 944, passed by the House of Representa-
tives on February 24, 2010, requested that the Secretary 
of State develop and report to Congress on a comprehen-
sive strategy to encourage the protection of the rights of 
members of vulnerable religious and ethnic minority com-
munities in Iraq: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the United States Government should— 
(1) continue to clearly and forcefully denounce 
any form of violence and other human rights viola-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:45 Nov 19, 2010
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR1725.IH
HR1725
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1725 IH 
tions committed against vulnerable religious commu-
nities in Iraq; 
(2) assist the Government of Iraq in developing 
and implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure 
security at places of worship and other sites where 
vulnerable religious communities congregate and to 
include measures to increase the representation of 
vulnerable religious communities in the Government 
of Iraq, including the security forces, and the inclu-
sion of vulnerable religious communities in economic, 
social, and political aspects of Iraqi society; 
(3) assist the Government of Iraq in estab-
lishing, funding, training, and deploying police units 
that include officers representative of vulnerable reli-
gious communities for the protection of vulnerable 
religious communities; 
(4) strongly urge the Government of Iraq to un-
dertake prompt, transparent, and thorough inves-
tigations of all allegations of human rights abuses 
against vulnerable religious communities, including 
those stemming from sectarian, religiously moti-
vated, or other violence by Iraqi security forces, po-
litical factions, militias, or any other para-state ac-
tors; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:45 Nov 19, 2010
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR1725.IH
HR1725
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
•HRES 1725 IH 
(5) strongly encourage the Government of Iraq 
to secure the prosecution of those who perpetrate re-
ligiously motivated violence; 
(6) continue to process Iraqi refugees for reset-
tlement to the United States, taking into account 
the recent and continued targeted violence against 
members of Iraq’s vulnerable religious communities 
and the P2 designation in the Refugee Crisis in Iraq 
Act of 2007; and 
(7) ensure that members of Iraq’s vulnerable 
religious communities scheduled to be resettled to 
the United States are not delayed unnecessarily by 
providing adequate personnel to conduct background 
screening procedures and by enforcing proper appli-
cation of the existing waiver of the material support 
bar to those forced to provide support to terrorists 
under duress. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:45 Nov 19, 2010
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR1725.IH
HR1725
rfrederick on DSKD9S0YB1PROD with BILLS