Full Text of HR0365 98th General Assembly
HR0365 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, During the Japanese colonial and wartime | 3 | | expansion of Asia and the Pacific Islands from 1932 through the | 4 | | duration of World War II, approximately 200,000 women and girls | 5 | | were coerced into a system of forced military prostitution; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The term "comfort women" was a euphemism used by | 7 | | the Japanese government to describe women and girls forced into | 8 | | sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese military at camps, | 9 | | known as "comfort stations"; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The majority of "comfort women" were of Korean or | 11 | | Chinese descent, but women from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, | 12 | | Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, and the Netherlands were | 13 | | also interned in military camps run directly by the Imperial | 14 | | Japanese military or private agents working for the military; | 15 | | and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Some of the women were sold to these military | 17 | | camps as minors, others were deceptively recruited by middlemen | 18 | | with the promise of employment and financial security, and | 19 | | still others were forcibly kidnapped and forced to become | 20 | | "sexual slaves" for soldiers stationed throughout the Japanese | 21 | | occupied territories; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Approximately three-quarters of the "comfort | 2 | | women" have died as a direct result of the brutality inflicted | 3 | | on them during their internment; some of those who survived | 4 | | were left infertile due to sexual violence or sexually | 5 | | transmitted diseases and many are now dying without an official | 6 | | acknowledgement or apology by the Japanese government of the | 7 | | suffering they endured during their forced internment in | 8 | | military comfort stations; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, The stories of the "comfort women" are an | 10 | | essential part of the history of human trafficking; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The United Nations reports that 2.4 million people | 12 | | across the globe are victims of human trafficking at any one | 13 | | time, and 80 percent of them are being exploited as sexual | 14 | | slaves; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, At least 16,000 women and girls are involved in | 16 | | the sex trade every year in Chicago, many of whom are victims | 17 | | of human trafficking; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois stands against human | 19 | | trafficking in all its forms, as evidenced by the 2005 | 20 | | formation of the Illinois Rescue and Restore Coalition, a | 21 | | partnership between the Illinois Department of Human Services | 22 | | and the federal government to combat labor and sex trafficking |
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| 1 | | in Illinois; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois further showed its | 3 | | commitment to fighting human trafficking when this year the | 4 | | Illinois House of Representatives passed House Bill 2640, which | 5 | | creates a process for trafficking victims to receive financial | 6 | | assistance to remove "trafficking tattoos" that traffickers | 7 | | often use to brand their victims as their property; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, It is fitting for this House to support H.R. 121 | 9 | | passed by the United States House of Representatives that | 10 | | called upon the Japanese government to accept historical | 11 | | responsibility for the sexual enslavement of "comfort women" by | 12 | | the Imperial Japanese Army and educate future generations about | 13 | | these crimes; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That | 16 | | we recognize and support "comfort women" by acknowledging as | 17 | | historical fact the suffering they endured during their forced | 18 | | internment in Japanese military comfort stations; and be it | 19 | | further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That we urge all Illinois educators to share with | 21 | | students of an appropriate age the story of "comfort women" | 22 | | when discussing the history of Asia or World War II, or the |
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| 1 | | issue of human trafficking; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That we further commit to exploring ways to | 3 | | develop an Asian American social science and history curriculum | 4 | | for public schools that would provide one centralized structure | 5 | | the shared history of events, such as the story of "comfort | 6 | | women" or the forced incarceration of Japanese-Americans | 7 | | during World War II, along with many other examples of Asian | 8 | | American experiences in the United States; and be it further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That we reaffirm our commitment to ending all | 10 | | forms of violence and trafficking of women in the State of | 11 | | Illinois; and be it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to the executive directors of the Korean American | 14 | | Resource & Cultural Center, Korean American Voter Organizing | 15 | | Initiative & Community Empowerment, Korean American Women in | 16 | | Need, the Japanese American Service Committee, the Cambodian | 17 | | Association of Illinois, and Asian Americans Advancing | 18 | | Justice-Chicago.
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