H. Res. 407 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
December 12, 2017. 
Whereas the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 
(22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.) found that religious persecution 
is not confined to a particular region or regime and re-
affirmed the commitment of the United States that reli-
gious freedom, which is the freedom of thought and con-
science and the right to practice theistic and non-theistic 
beliefs, is the right of every individual and should never 
be arbitrarily abridged by any government; 
Whereas the persecution of Christians is a global problem, oc-
curring in countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, 
and the Americas; 
Whereas Christians face persecution not only from Islamic 
extremist groups, like the Islamic State and Boko 
Haram, but also from other religious extremist groups 
and from officials at all levels of government; 
Whereas the Middle East has been a home to Christians since 
the first century A.D., but the Christian population in 
the Middle East has significantly decreased over the past 
few decades as a result of persecution, displacement, and 
genocide;
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Whereas such persecution ranges from social harassment and 
discrimination to physical violence, imprisonment, tor-
ture, enslavement, rape, and death; 
Whereas Christians in Syria and Iraq have faced assault, tor-
ture, imprisonment, enslavement, and execution in a gen-
ocidal campaign by the Islamic State; 
Whereas according to 2017 reports from international non- 
governmental organizations, the Christian population in 
Iraq decreased from 1,400,000 people in 2003 to just 
275,000 people in 2016, as a result of displacement and 
genocide caused by religious extremism; 
Whereas Christian holy sites in Syria have been destroyed by 
the Islamic State; 
Whereas in 2016, approximately 200 Christians in Iran were 
arrested, while others have been beaten, tortured, sub-
jected to feigned public executions, and even sentenced to 
death for their faith, and at least 90 remain in illegal de-
tention; 
Whereas in Saudi Arabia, Christians as well as other reli-
gious minorities face imprisonment, torture, and deporta-
tion and must practice their faith in secrecy because their 
houses of worship are not allowed; 
Whereas on April 9, 2017, Palm Sunday, 44 people were 
killed in bomb attacks by the Islamic State on Coptic 
churches in Egypt; 
Whereas the Islamic State has also claimed responsibility for 
the attack on a bus on May 26, 2017, in which 29 Coptic 
Christians were killed while traveling to a monastery in 
Minya, Egypt; 
Whereas since the fall of the Gaddafi regime, Libya has 
served as a haven for militant Islamist extremist groups,
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like the Islamic State, which has resulted in more violent 
forms of Christian persecution; 
Whereas the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the kill-
ing of 51 Coptic Christians in Libya in February and 
March of 2015; 
Whereas Christian migrants from northern Africa traveling 
through Libya on their way to Europe have been ab-
ducted, trafficked, and forced to convert to Islam at the 
hands of the Islamic State; 
Whereas in Afghanistan there are reports that converts to 
Christianity have been murdered or sent to mental hos-
pitals; 
Whereas Christians in Pakistan face accusations of blas-
phemy, punishable by death, and convictions and sen-
tences for blasphemy are given despite little or no evi-
dence; 
Whereas according to Open Doors USA, approximately 600 
Christian churches were attacked in Pakistan in 2016; 
Whereas both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria have been 
massacred by Islamic extremist groups like Boko Haram; 
Whereas Christian converts in Somalia often face public exe-
cution; 
Whereas in 2017, a mob of 100 men attacked a Christian 
church in Uganda, beating and raping members of the 
congregation; 
Whereas in May 2017, a Christian governor in Indonesia was 
found guilty of blasphemy and sentenced to 2 years in 
prison, in what was widely seen as a challenge to reli-
gious pluralism in Indonesia;
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Whereas communist regimes have a strong history of oppress-
ing and persecuting Christians as well as other religious 
minorities; 
Whereas since 2013, in the Zhejiang Province of China, 
crosses have been removed from over 1,500 churches as 
part of that province’s anti-cross campaign; 
Whereas in China, members of Christian churches, as well as 
other religious minorities, that are not registered with the 
government face increased persecution from the Chinese 
state, including the risk of imprisonment and torture; 
Whereas in North Korea, the practice of Christianity is pro-
hibited and if caught, Christians are sent to forced labor 
camps; 
Whereas in November 2016, Vietnam adopted a new ‘‘Law 
on Belief and Religion’’ that falls dramatically short of 
internationally accepted standards for human rights and 
curtails the right to religious freedom for over 8 million 
Christians in that country; 
Whereas in Mexico and Colombia, Christian church leaders 
have been assaulted, threatened, and in some cases killed 
by transnational criminal organizations and paramilitary 
armed groups attempting to intimidate and silence them; 
Whereas religious discrimination, including the persecution of 
Christians, is a global human rights problem; and 
Whereas the right to religious freedom is a universal right 
recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns all violations of religious freedom and 
affirms that religious freedom is a fundamental right of
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every individual that should never be arbitrarily abridged 
by any government; 
(2) condemns the persecution of Christians around 
the world; 
(3) calls on discriminatory countries to cease their 
persecution of Christians and religious minorities and 
combat religious persecution carried out by extremist 
non-state actors; and 
(4) urges the President and the heads of the gov-
ernments of all countries around the world to uphold the 
right to religious freedom and condemn the global perse-
cution of Christians and other religious minorities. 
Attest: 
Clerk.