BILL NUMBER: SJR 14 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Gaines
JULY 1, 2015
Relative to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SJR 14, as introduced, Gaines. Islamic State in Iraq and Syria:
religious and other persecution.
This measure would declare that there is an urgent need to protect
religious minorities and other vulnerable groups from persecution by
the Sunni Islamist terrorist group the Islamic State in Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) as it exercises its control over areas in Syria and
Iraq. This measure would urge the President of the United States to
expedite visa processing for Syria and Iraq's minority groups and to
lift the refugee quota cap in order to streamline the process of
accepting them into the United States as refugees, would urge the
Congress of the United States to pass House Resolution 1568, and
would urge the United States Department of State to work with, among
others, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi central
government, and neighboring countries to help secure safe havens for
those claiming amnesty from Iraq.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Iraq is currently embroiled in a political and religious
insurrection stemming from an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria
(ISIS)-led offensive that began in the Anbar Province and has spread
to key locations such as Mosul, Tikrit, and Samarra and continues to
engulf the region in violence and instability; and
WHEREAS, ISIS is a transnational Sunni insurgency whose
ideological and organizational roots lie in both al-Qaeda in Iraq and
the Syria-based Jabhat al-Nusra and has a stated mission of
establishing an Islamic state and a caliphate across the Levant
through violence towards Shiites, non-Muslims, and unsupportive
Sunnis; and
WHEREAS, ISIS has instituted a policy of suppression and
discrimination against women and against persons based on their
perceived sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, Iraq's population is approximately 31,300,000 with 97
percent of that population identifying themselves as Muslim while the
approximately 3 percent of religious minorities groups consist of
Christians, Yezidis, Sabean Mandaeans, Baha'is, Shabaks, Kakais, and
Jews; and
WHEREAS, The Iraqi Christian population is estimated to be between
400,000 and 850,000 with two-thirds being Chaldean, one-fifth
Assyrian, and the remainder consisting of Syriacs, Protestants,
Armenians, and Anglicans; and
WHEREAS, The Iraqi Constitution provides for religious freedom by
stating all of the following:
(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 Constitution";
(3) " This Constitution] guarantees the full religious rights
to freedom of religious belief and practice of all individuals such
as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans"; and
WHEREAS, Over 500,000 people have been displaced by the current
ongoing violence in Iraq while reports have surfaced of targeted
harassment, persecution, and killings of Iraqi religious minorities
by ISIS with little to no protection from the Iraqi government or
other security forces; and
WHEREAS, ISIS recently issued a decree to all religious minorities
stating: "We offer them three choices: Islam; the dhimma contract -
involving payment of jizya; if they refuse this they will have
nothing but the sword"; and
WHEREAS, The fall of Mosul has sparked terror among the Christian
population because for the first time in 1,600 years there was no
mass held in the city; and
WHEREAS, Over 50 percent of Iraq's Christian population has fled
since the fall of Saddam Hussein, and 1,100,000 people of diverse
religious backgrounds remain internally displaced while the
government under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has not upheld its
commitment to protect the rights of religious minorities; and
WHEREAS, Eighty-four thousand nine hundred two Iraqis resettled in
the United States between 2007 and 2013 and over 300,000 Chaldean
and Assyrians currently reside throughout the country; especially in
California; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California,
on behalf of its citizens, declares that there is an urgent need to
protect religious minorities and other vulnerable groups from
persecution by the Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group the
Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as it expands its control over
areas in northwestern Iraq; and be it further
Resolved, That the California Legislature calls on the United
States Department of State to work with the Kurdistan Regional
Government, the Iraqi central government, neighboring countries, the
diaspora community in the United States, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, Chaldean representative leaders in the
United States, and other key stakeholders to help secure safe havens
for those claiming amnesty from Iraq; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Congress of the United
States to pass House Resolution 1568, which also urges the United
States to act swiftly on behalf of religious minorities that are
under the constant threat of persecution; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Congress to amend House
Resolution 1568 to include calls for the protection of victims of
persecution based on biological or preferred sexuality, gender,
ethnicity, race, nationality, or religious affiliation; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Legislature urges President Barack Obama's
administration to expedite 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; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority
Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from
California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author
for appropriate distribution.