Bill Text: OH SCR41 | 2013-2014 | 130th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: To condemn the terrorist group Boko Haram for its
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-4)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-14 - To State Government Oversight & Reform [SCR41 Detail]
Download: Ohio-2013-SCR41-Introduced.html
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Senators Tavares, Turner
Cosponsors:
Senators Schiavoni, Gentile, Cafaro, Seitz, Jones, Hughes, Manning, Brown, Smith, Sawyer
| To condemn the terrorist group Boko Haram for its | 1 |
| attacks on civilians, including the abduction of | 2 |
| female students, and to urge the President and | 3 |
| Congress to continue providing assistance in | 4 |
| locating the students. | 5 |
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):
| WHEREAS, On the night of April 14, 2014, 276 female students, | 6 |
| most of them between the ages of 15 and 18, were abducted by the | 7 |
| terrorist group Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary | 8 |
| School, a boarding school located in the northeastern province of | 9 |
| Borno in the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, All public secondary schools in Borno were closed in | 11 |
| March 2014 because of the increased number of attacks over the | 12 |
| past year that have killed hundreds of students, but the young | 13 |
| women at the Government Girls Secondary School were recalled to | 14 |
| take their final exams. Boko Haram burned down several buildings | 15 |
| before opening fire on soldiers and police who were guarding the | 16 |
| Government Girls Secondary School and subsequently forced the | 17 |
| students into trucks; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, According to local officials in Borno, 53 students | 19 |
| were able to flee their captors while the rest remain in | 20 |
| captivity. Reports suggest the abducted girls have been sold by | 21 |
| Boko Haram to Islamist militants as brides for the equivalent of | 22 |
| $12 each; and | 23 |
| WHEREAS, Boko Haram, which loosely translates from the Hausa | 24 |
| language to mean "Western education is sin," is known to oppose | 25 |
| the education of girls. Boko Haram has previously kidnapped girls | 26 |
| for use as cooks and sex slaves and claims responsibility for the | 27 |
| kidnapping in Borno on April 14, 2014; and | 28 |
| WHEREAS, On April 14, 2014, hours before the kidnapping in | 29 |
| Borno, and on May 2, 2014, Boko Haram bombed bus stations in | 30 |
| Abuja, Nigeria, killing at least 94 people and wounding over 160, | 31 |
| making it the deadliest set of attacks ever in Nigeria's capital | 32 |
| city; and | 33 |
| WHEREAS, Late on May 5, 2014, suspected Boko Haram gunmen | 34 |
| kidnapped an additional eight girls, ranging in age from 12 to 15, | 35 |
| from a village in northeast Nigeria; and | 36 |
| WHEREAS, The United States Department of State designated | 37 |
| Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2013, | 38 |
| recognizing the threat posed by the group's large scale and | 39 |
| indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including women and children; | 40 |
| and | 41 |
| WHEREAS, Reports estimate that more than 500 students and 100 | 42 |
| teachers have been killed by Boko Haram and that Boko Haram has | 43 |
| destroyed approximately 500 schools in northern Nigeria, leaving | 44 |
| more than 15,000 students without access to education; and | 45 |
| WHEREAS, Boko Haram has targeted schools, mosques, churches, | 46 |
| villages, agricultural centers, and government facilities in an | 47 |
| armed campaign to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, | 48 |
| prompting the President of Nigeria to declare a state of emergency | 49 |
| in three of the country's northeastern provinces in May 2013; and | 50 |
| WHEREAS, Human rights groups indicate that the Nigerian state | 51 |
| security forces should improve efforts to protect civilians during | 52 |
| offensive operations against Boko Haram. According to | 53 |
| nongovernmental organizations, more than 1,500 people have been | 54 |
| killed in attacks by Boko Haram or reprisals by the Nigerian | 55 |
| security forces this year alone and almost 4,000 people have been | 56 |
| killed in Boko Haram attacks since 2011; and | 57 |
| WHEREAS, The enrollment, retention, and completion of | 58 |
| education for girls in Nigeria remains a major challenge. | 59 |
| According to the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund, some | 60 |
| 4,700,000 children of primary school age are still not enrolled in | 61 |
| school in Nigeria, with attendance rates lowest in the north; and | 62 |
| WHEREAS, Studies have found that school children in Nigeria, | 63 |
| particularly those in the northern provinces, are at a | 64 |
| disadvantage in their education, with 37% of primary school-age | 65 |
| girls in the rural northeast not attending school and 30% of boys | 66 |
| not attending school; and | 67 |
| WHEREAS, Women and girls must be allowed to attend school | 68 |
| without fear of violence and unjust treatment in order to take | 69 |
| their rightful place as equal citizens of and contributors to | 70 |
| society; now therefore be it | 71 |
| RESOLVED, That we, the members of the 130th General Assembly | 72 |
| of the State of Ohio: | 73 |
| -- Condemn Boko Haram for its violent attacks on civilian | 74 |
| targets, including schools, mosques, churches, villages, and | 75 |
| agricultural centers in Nigeria, and for its abduction of female | 76 |
| students; | 77 |
| -- Urge the President of the United States and Congress to | 78 |
| continue to assist the government of Nigeria in the search for the | 79 |
| abducted girls and encourage the government of Nigeria to work | 80 |
| with the United States and the governments of other concerned | 81 |
| countries to resolve this tragic situation; | 82 |
| -- Express strong support for the people of Nigeria, | 83 |
| especially the parents and families of the girls abducted by Boko | 84 |
| Haram in Borno, and call for the girls' immediate safe return; | 85 |
| -- Encourage the government of Nigeria to strengthen efforts | 86 |
| to protect children seeking to obtain an education and to hold | 87 |
| those who conduct violent attacks accountable; | 88 |
| -- Commend efforts by the United States government to hold | 89 |
| terrorist organizations, such as Boko Haram, accountable; | 90 |
| -- Recognize that every individual, regardless of gender, | 91 |
| should have the opportunity to pursue an education without fear of | 92 |
| discrimination; and | 93 |
| -- Encourage the United States Department of State and the | 94 |
| United States Agency for International Development to continue | 95 |
| supporting initiatives that promote the human rights of women and | 96 |
| girls in Nigeria; and be it further | 97 |
| RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate send duly | 98 |
| authenticated copies of this resolution to the President and | 99 |
| Secretary of State of the United States, the Speaker and Clerk of | 100 |
| the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro | 101 |
| Tempore and Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of | 102 |
| the Ohio Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio. | 103 |
