PRINTER'S NO. 1212
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
203
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY RAPP, STAATS, KAUFFMAN, BAKER, HEFFLEY, DUSH,
JAMES, COX, PICKETT, McGINNIS, TOEPEL, B. MILLER, HICKERNELL,
MENTZER, WARD, CUTLER, READSHAW, RYAN AND GROVE,
APRIL 3, 2017
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
APRIL 3, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Condemning the global persecution of Christians and calling on
world leaders to implement policies that protect the
religious liberty of Christians and all other faiths within
their borders.
WHEREAS, Christian persecution is any hostility experienced
as a result of one's identification as a Christian; and
WHEREAS, Persecution comes in many forms, including beatings,
physical torture, confinement, isolation, rape, severe
punishment, imprisonment, slavery, discrimination in education
and employment, loss of basic fundamental rights, violence and
execution; and
WHEREAS, Each month, more than 300 Christians are killed for
their faith, more than 200 churches and Christian properties are
destroyed and more than 750 forms of violence are committed
against Christians; and
WHEREAS, Christians are currently being persecuted in more
than 65 countries for their faith; and
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WHEREAS, The United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom finds systematic persecution of religious
minorities, which includes many Christians, to be a global
problem that is not contained in one specific region of the
world; and
WHEREAS, The most rapidly growing areas of persecution are
the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia; and
WHEREAS, The top 10 countries where Christians face the most
severe persecution are North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Eritrea; and
WHEREAS, North Korea heads the World Watch List for the
l5th consecutive year and there are currently 50,000 to 70,000
Christians subjected to torture in North Korean labor camps; and
WHEREAS, Egyptians with a Muslim background who abandon the
Islamic faith often face beatings or house explosions; and
WHEREAS, Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011,
more than 7.5 million Christians have been displaced; and
WHEREAS, Syrian refugees are now finding themselves in other
countries where persecution persists; and
WHEREAS, In Algeria, where the law prohibits public assembly
to practice a faith other than Islam, Catholic churches and one
Protestant church may conduct services without government
interference; and
WHEREAS, In Algeria, where 99% of the population is Muslim,
those who are Christian converts face domestic violence and
house arrest for their faith; and
WHEREAS, In Oman, individuals who convert from Islam to
Christianity will lose custody of their children upon divorce;
and
WHEREAS, In Burma, Christians are subject to extrajudicial
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killings, sexual violence and forced labor; and
WHEREAS, In 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations
adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights entitling
every person to basic human rights regardless of their race,
color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status; and
WHEREAS, In 1966, the General Assembly of the United Nations
developed the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights to broaden the focus of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights relating to four elements of religious freedom;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives condemn the
global persecution of Christians and call on world leaders to
implement policies that protect the religious liberty of
Christians and all other faiths within their borders.
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