HR1081 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1081 LRB098 21210 GRL 59234 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Quality education that is free from intimidation and terror is a universal right that is of vital importance to human society and a cornerstone of human rights; and

WHEREAS, On April 14, 2014, Boko Haram militants attacked the Chibok Government Girls Secondary School in Borno State, Nigeria and abducted almost 300 female students from the campus; the terrorists subsequently drove them away from Chibok in pickup trucks into the Sambisa Forest; and

WHEREAS, For the past 3 weeks, the Nigerian military has sought these militants and their captives, with little apparent success; and

WHEREAS, Some of the kidnapped girls have been forced into "marriage" with their Boko Haram abductors, while others have been taken across borders to Cameroon and Chad; two of the girls have died from snakebite and about 20 other girls are ill; and

WHEREAS, The United States government has issued a statement of concern over the fate of the missing students, but sterner action may be required to free the students from their captors and assert the freedom of education for all; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge President Obama to do everything in America's power to assist for the release and return of the young ladies abducted by Boko Haram militants; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to President Barack Obama.