HR 944 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on the protection of members of vulnerable religious and ethnic minority communities in Iraq

About HR-944

Expresses the sense of the Senate that:

• (1) the United States remains deeply concerned about the plight of members of vulnerable religious and ethnic minority communities of Iraq;
• (2) the Secretary of State should develop and report to Congress on a comprehensive strategy to encourage the protection of the rights of such members; and
• (3) the U.S. government should urge the Iraqi government to enhance security at places of worship in Iraq, particularly where members of religious minority communities are known to be at risk

Urges the U.S. government to continue to work with the government of Iraq to integrate religious and ethnic minorities into the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Security Forces, with the goal of ensuring that members of such communities:

• (1) suffer no discrimination in recruitment, employment, or advancement; and
• (2) are initially assigned in reasonable numbers to their locations of origin

Urges the government of Iraq, with U.S. government assistance, to:

• (1) ensure that the upcoming national elections in Iraq are safe, fair, and free of intimidation and violence; and
• (2) permit and facilitate election monitoring by experts from local and international nongovernmental organizations, the international community, and the United Nations

Urges the U.S. government:

• (1) to encourage the Iraqi government to work with religious and ethnic minority communities to develop and implement effective measures to protect their rights and reverse their marginalization;
• (2) in providing assistance to Iraq, to continue to take into account the needs of religious and ethnic minority communities and expand efforts to work with local organizations that serve those communities;
• (3) to continue to fund capacity building programs for the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights, the independent national Human Rights Commission, and the newly-created independent minorities committee; and
• (4) to strongly encourage the Iraqi government to direct the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights to investigate, report on, and make recommendations to address abuses against, and the marginalization of, members of religious and ethnic minority communities in Iraq

Urges the Iraqi government, with the assistance of the U.S. government and international organizations, to help ensure that displaced Iraqis considering returning to Iraq have the information needed to make informed decisions.