PRINTER'S NO. 1819
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
332
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY RAPP, SCHLOSSBERG, RYAN, LONGIETTI, KULIK,
ROTHMAN, JAMES, HELM, BOBACK, HERSHEY, METCALFE, KAUFFMAN,
BROWN, SONNEY, MILLARD, BERNSTINE, MACKENZIE, PICKETT,
OBERLANDER, DeLUCA, SAYLOR, TOPPER, BARRAR, READSHAW, HILL-
EVANS, PYLE, ZIMMERMAN, B. MILLER AND STRUZZI, MAY 14, 2019
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MAY 14, 2019
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 nations' 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, Every month, on average, 345 Christians are killed
for their faith, 105 churches and Christian properties are
destroyed and 219 Christians are detained without trial,
arrested, sentenced and imprisoned; and
WHEREAS, Christians are currently being persecuted in more
than 50 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 total number of persecuted Christians has risen
from 215 million in 2018, to 245 million in 2019; and
WHEREAS, One in nine Christians experience high levels of
persecution worldwide; 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, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya,
Pakistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran and India; and
WHEREAS, North Korea heads the World Watch List for the
l8th consecutive year and there are currently approximately
300,000 Christians living in fear of being discovered and
deported to labor camps as political criminals or killed; 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 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
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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 nations' borders.
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