IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 663 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the current situation 
in Iraq and the urgent need to protect religious minorities from persecu-
tion from the Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group the Islamic 
State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as it expands its control over areas 
in northwestern Iraq. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 10, 2014 
Mr. VARGAS submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on 
the current situation in Iraq and the urgent need to 
protect religious minorities from persecution from the 
Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group the Islamic 
State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) as it expands its control 
over areas in northwestern Iraq. 
Whereas Iraq is currently embroiled in a political and reli-
gious insurrection stemming from an Islamic State in 
Iraq and Levant (ISIL)-led offensive that began in the 
Anbar province and has spread to key locations such as 
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•HRES 663 IH 
Mosul, Tikrit, and Samarra and continues to engulf the 
region in violence and instability; 
Whereas ISIL is a transnational Sunni insurgency whose ide-
ological and organizational roots lie in both al Qaeda in 
Iraq and the Syria-based Jabhat al Nursa and has a 
stated mission of establishing an Islamic state and a ca-
liphate across the Levant through violence against Shi-
ites, non-Muslims, and unsupportive Sunnis; 
Whereas Iraq’s population is approximately 31,300,000 with 
97 percent identifying themselves as Muslim and the ap-
proximately 3 percent of religious minorities groups com-
prising of Christians, Yezidis, Sabean-Mandaeans, Ba-
hais, Shabaks, Kakais, and Jews; 
Whereas the Iraqi Christian population is estimated to be be-
tween 400,000 and 850,000 with two-thirds being 
Chaldean, one-fifth Assyrian, and the remainder con-
sisting of Syriacs, Protestants, Armenians, and Angli-
cans; 
Whereas the Iraqi constitution provides for religious freedom 
by stating— 
(1) ‘‘no law may be enacted that contradicts the 
principles of democracy’’; 
(2) ‘‘no law may be enacted that contradicts the 
rights and basic freedoms stipulated in this Constitu-
tion’’; and 
(3) ‘‘[This Constitution] guarantees the full religious 
rights to freedom of religious belief and practice of all in-
dividuals such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean 
Sabeans’’; 
Whereas over 500,000 people have been displaced by the cur-
rent situation in Iraq and reports have surfaced of tar-
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•HRES 663 IH 
geted harassment, persecution, and killings of Iraqi reli-
gious minorities by ISIL with little to no protection from 
the Iraqi Government and other security forces; 
Whereas the fall of Mosul in particular has sparked enough 
anxiety among the Christian population that for the first 
time in 1,600 years there was no Mass in the city; 
Whereas over 50 percent of Iraq’s Christian population has 
fled since the fall of Saddam Hussein, 1,100,000 people 
of diverse religious backgrounds remain internally dis-
placed and the government under Prime Minister Nouri 
al-Maliki has not upheld its commitment to protect the 
rights of religious minorities; 
Whereas the United States has provided over $73,000,000 of 
cumulative assistance to Iraq’s minority populations since 
2003 through economic development, humanitarian serv-
ices, and capacity development; 
Whereas 84,902 Iraqis have resettled to the United States 
between 2007 and 2013 and over 300,000 Chaldean and 
Assyrians currently reside throughout the country, par-
ticularly in Michigan, California, Arizona, Illinois, and 
Ohio; and 
Whereas President Barack Obama recently declared on Reli-
gious Freedom Day, ‘‘Foremost among the rights Ameri-
cans hold sacred is the freedom to worship as we choose 
. . . we also remember that religious liberty is not just 
an American right; it is a universal human right to be 
protected here at home and across the globe. This free-
dom is an essential part of human dignity, and without 
it our world cannot know lasting peace’’: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 663 IH 
(1) reaffirms its commitments to promoting and 
protecting religious freedom around the world and 
providing relief to minority groups facing persecu-
tion; 
(2) calls on the United States Department of 
State to work with the Kurdistan Regional Govern-
ment, the Iraqi central government, neighboring 
countries, the diaspora community in the United 
States, the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees, and other key stakeholders to help secure 
safe havens for those claiming amnesty in Iraq; 
(3) respectfully requests the addition of a Spe-
cial Representative for Religious Minorities to be in-
cluded in Prime Minister al-Maliki’s newly recon-
structed government; and 
(4) urges the Administration to expedite the 
visa processing for Iraq’s minority groups and to lift 
the quota cap for Iraqi-Christians in order to 
streamline the process of accepting refugees by re-
allocating immigration quotas rather than increasing 
the 70,000 refugee limitation. 
Æ 
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