IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 926 
Recognizing the growing threats against women and children, religious and 
ethnic minorities, and LGBTQI persons in Afghanistan and against 
allies of such individuals, such as civil society leaders and activists, 
scholars, former government officials, journalists, and media workers, 
and expressing solidarity with and reaffirming the dire need to protect 
vulnerable and minority populations and their allies in Afghanistan under 
Taliban rule. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2022 
Mr. CARSON (for himself, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Mr. LYNCH, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. MOULTON) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the growing threats against women and children, 
religious and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQI persons 
in Afghanistan and against allies of such individuals, 
such as civil society leaders and activists, scholars, 
former government officials, journalists, and media work-
ers, and expressing solidarity with and reaffirming the 
dire need to protect vulnerable and minority populations 
and their allies in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. 
Whereas the Taliban have a history of prohibiting women 
from receiving an education and pursuing jobs outside 
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•HRES 926 IH 
their homes and have publicly executed women who were 
accused of adultery; 
Whereas a 2001 report by the Department of State noted 
that, from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ‘‘perpetrated egre-
gious acts of violence against women’’ as part of a ‘‘war 
against women’’; 
Whereas in some Afghan provinces taken over by the Taliban 
beginning in May 2021, there are reports that the 
Taliban have forced women into marriage with Taliban 
fighters and have led targeted killings against women; 
Whereas United Nations High Commissioner for Human 
Rights Michelle Bachelet has expressed concern with the 
Taliban’s contradiction of ‘‘stated commitments’’, their 
exclusion of women from the public sector, and their re-
strictions on women, such as not allowing women to ap-
pear in public without a male chaperone; 
Whereas, since 2018, the Secretary of State has designated 
the Taliban as an entity of particular concern for reli-
gious freedom pursuant to section 301 of the Frank R. 
Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (22 U.S.C. 
6442a) for having engaged in ‘‘particularly severe viola-
tions of religious freedom’’; 
Whereas, in October 2021, the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom reported on deterio-
rating conditions for religious minorities in Afghanistan, 
noting growing fear among Hazara Sh’ia Muslims, Hin-
dus, Sikhs, Christians, Ahmadi Muslims, Baha’is, and 
nonbelievers, and stating, ‘‘Afghans who do not adhere to 
the Taliban’s harsh and strict interpretation of Sunni 
Islam and adherents of other faiths or beliefs are at 
grave threat’’; 
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Whereas the Hazaras constitute approximately 10 to 15 per-
cent of the national population in Afghanistan and are 
considered a minority religious group; 
Whereas the Hazaras specifically, along with other religious 
and ethnic minorities, have historically been explicitly tar-
geted by the Taliban and have been abused with impu-
nity; 
Whereas Amnesty International reported that on August 30, 
2021, 13 Hazaras were unlawfully killed in the village of 
Kahor in the Khider district by Taliban fighters, with 
one of the victims being a 17-year-old girl; 
Whereas, in 2021, the Taliban forcibly displaced approxi-
mately 4,000 Hazaras from their homes and ancestral 
lands in Daykundi province while a Taliban court ex-
pelled approximately 2,000 families from the city of 
Mazar-e-Sharif; 
Whereas, in 2021, more than 30 instances of violence and 
threats of violence against Afghan journalists were re-
corded; 
Whereas activists, journalists, civil society actors, and schol-
ars face threats and intimidation and risk being unlaw-
fully detained or tortured or becoming a victim of tar-
geted killings by the Taliban; 
Whereas adherence to the rule of law and protection of 
human rights is rapidly deteriorating under the Taliban, 
which are reportedly targeting judges, prosecutors, law-
yers, human rights defenders, journalists, former parlia-
mentarians, and individuals who previously advocated for 
human rights and the rule of law, particularly women; 
Whereas there are reports of the Taliban conducting house- 
to-house searches and tracking individuals who served the 
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previous authorities and then carrying out targeted re-
venge killings; 
Whereas during the previous period of rule of the Taliban, 
the Taliban reportedly executed Afghan men alleged to 
have engaged in sexual activity with other men; 
Whereas the current Acting Prime Minister of the Taliban re-
portedly stated in 1996 that ‘‘homosexuality is a great 
sin’’ and ‘‘some say we should take these sinners to a 
high roof and throw them down, while others say we 
should dig a hole beside a wall, bury them, then push the 
wall down on top of them’’; 
Whereas a Taliban judge, Gul Rahim, stated in July 2021 
that ‘‘[f]or homosexuals, there can only be two punish-
ments: either stoning or he must stand behind a wall that 
will fall down on him’’, and a spokesman for the Ministry 
of Finance of Afghanistan noted that LGBT rights would 
not be respected under the Taliban’s interpretation of 
Sharia law; and 
Whereas, in 2022, many LGBTQI individuals in Afghanistan 
are forced to live in hiding due to reports of threats and 
attacks against such individuals in the community: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) stands in solidarity with the people of Af-
ghanistan and with vulnerable groups including 
women and children, religious and ethnic minorities, 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and 
intersex (LGBTQI) persons, civil society actors, 
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journalists, and other at-risk populations in Afghani-
stan; 
(2) reaffirms the longstanding commitment of 
the United States to advance human rights world-
wide; 
(3) calls on the Taliban to uphold the protec-
tion of universal human rights, including the com-
mitments set forth in the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights and enshrined in the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Af-
ghanistan is a party; 
(4) encourages the executive branch to continue 
to call for the protection of women and children, re-
ligious and ethnic minorities, civil society actors, 
journalists, and LGBTQI persons under Taliban 
rule; 
(5) calls for the international community to 
condemn human rights violations committed by the 
Taliban; 
(6) reaffirms the commitment of the United 
States to support Afghan civil society, individuals 
who assisted with the war efforts of the United 
States and allies of the United States, and individ-
uals who advocate for universal human rights; and 
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(7) calls on the United States Government to 
work closely with the international community and 
nongovernmental organizations, particularly such or-
ganizations based in Afghanistan, to support at-risk 
Afghan minority populations and other vulnerable 
communities, including through efforts to stem the 
growing humanitarian crisis that will disproportion-
ately impact already vulnerable groups. 
Æ 
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