[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 99 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 54
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 99
Supporting the goals of International Women's Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 8, 2023
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Ms. Collins, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Baldwin, Mr.
Kaine, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Coons) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
May 4, 2023
Reported by Mr. Menendez, without amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals of International Women's Day.
Whereas, as of March 2023, there are approximately 3,990,000,000 women and girls
in the world, making up \1/2\ of the world's population;
Whereas women and girls around the world--
(1) have fundamental human rights;
(2) play a critical role in providing and caring for their families and
driving positive change in their communities;
(3) contribute substantially to food security, economic growth, the
prevention and resolution of conflict, and the sustainability of peace and
stability;
(4) are affected in different and often disproportionate ways by
global, country, and community circumstances, including economic downturns,
global health concerns, conflict, and migration; and
(5) must have meaningful protections and opportunities to more fully
participate in and lead the political, social, and economic lives of their
communities and countries;
Whereas the advancement and empowerment of women and girls around the world is a
foreign policy priority for the United States and is critical to the
achievement of global peace, prosperity, and sustainability;
Whereas, on October 6, 2017, the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (22
U.S.C. 2152j et seq.) was enacted into law, which includes requirements
for a government-wide ``Women, Peace, and Security Strategy'' to promote
and strengthen the participation of women in peace negotiations and
conflict prevention overseas, enhanced training for relevant United
States Government personnel, and follow-up evaluations of the
effectiveness of the strategy;
Whereas the United States Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security, dated June
2019, recognizes that--
(1) the ``[s]ocial and political marginalization of women strongly
correlates with the likelihood that a country will experience conflict'';
(2) there is a ``tremendous amount of untapped potential among the
world's women and girls to identify, recommend, and implement effective
solutions to conflict'', and there are ``benefits derived from creating
opportunities for women and girls to serve as agents of peace via
political, economic, and social empowerment''; and
(3) barriers to the meaningful participation of women and girls in
conflict prevention and resolution efforts ``include under-representation
in political leadership, pervasive violence against women and girls, and
persistent inequality in many societies'';
Whereas, according to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (commonly referred to as ``UN Women''), peace
negotiations are more likely to end in a peace agreement when women and
women's groups play a meaningful role in the negotiation process;
Whereas, according to a study by the International Peace Institute, a peace
agreement is 35 percent more likely to last at least 15 years if women
participate in the development of the peace agreement;
Whereas, according to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs of the Department of State, the full and meaningful
participation of women in criminal justice professions and security
forces vastly enhances the effectiveness of the resulting workforces;
Whereas, despite the contributions of women to society, hundreds of millions of
women and girls around the world continue to be denied the right to
participate freely in civic and economic life, lack fundamental legal
protections, and remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse;
Whereas, every year, approximately 12,000,000 girls are married before they
reach the age of 18, which means that--
(1) nearly 33,000 girls are married every day; or
(2) nearly 23 girls are married every minute;
Whereas, despite global progress, it is predicted that by 2030 more than
150,000,000 more girls will marry before reaching the age of 18, and
approximately 2,400,000 girls who are married before reaching the age of
18 are under the age of 15;
Whereas girls living in countries affected by conflict or other humanitarian
crises are often the most vulnerable to child marriage, and 9 of the 10
countries with the highest rates of child marriage are considered
fragile or extremely fragile;
Whereas, on August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, Afghanistan, and toppled
the elected government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, resulting
in de facto Taliban rule over the people of Afghanistan;
Whereas the Taliban continues to restrict the ability of women and girls to
exist in Afghan society, including by--
(1) prohibiting girls from going to school past sixth grade, including
banning women from attending university;
(2) limiting the employment that women can pursue outside of their
households;
(3) mandating that women cover their heads and faces in public and
punishing those who wear brightly colored clothing;
(4) restricting the independent movement of women and girls;
(5) closing domestic abuse shelters, sometimes forcing residents to
return to their abusive families;
(6) preventing women aid workers from operating in Afghanistan, thus
restricting operations in support of humanitarian assistance for all
Afghans;
(7) jailing women human rights defenders; and
(8) limiting access to women's healthcare, including preventative and
emergency services, and requiring a male chaperone at most clinics and
hospitals;
Whereas, according to the United Nation's Children's Fund (commonly referred to
as ``UNICEF'')--
(1) approximately \1/4\ of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have
been victims of some form of physical violence;
(2) approximately 120,000,000 girls worldwide, about 1 in 10, have
experienced forced sexual acts; and
(3) an estimated 1 in 3 women around the world has experienced some
form of physical or sexual violence;
Whereas the overall level of violence against women is a better predictor of the
peacefulness of a country, the compliance of a country with
international treaty obligations, and the relations of a country with
neighboring countries than indicators measuring the level of democracy,
level of wealth, or level of institutionalization of the country;
Whereas women around the world remain vastly underrepresented in government
positions, as women account for only 25.6 percent of national
parliamentarians and 21 percent of government ministers;
Whereas the ability of women and girls to realize their full potential is
critical to the ability of a country to achieve strong and lasting
economic growth, self-reliance, and political and social stability;
Whereas, although the United Nations Millennium Project reached the goal of
achieving gender parity in primary education in most countries in 2015,
the COVID-19 global pandemic has deepened gender inequality in education
and more work remains to be done to achieve gender equality in primary
and secondary education, particularly in secondary education worldwide
as gender gaps persist and widen, by addressing--
(1) discriminatory practices;
(2) harmful cultural and social norms;
(3) inadequate sanitation facilities, including facilities to manage
menstruation;
(4) child, early, and forced marriage;
(5) poverty;
(6) food insecurity and malnutrition;
(7) early pregnancy and motherhood;
(8) conflict and insecurity; and
(9) other factors that favor boys or devalue girls' education;
Whereas, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization--
(1) approximately 118,500,000 girls between the ages of 6 and 17 remain
out of school;
(2) girls living in countries affected by conflict are 2.5 times more
likely to be out of primary school than boys;
(3) girls are twice as likely as boys to never set foot in a classroom;
and
(4) up to 30 percent of girls who drop out of school do so because of
adolescent pregnancy or child marriage;
Whereas women around the world face a variety of constraints that severely limit
their economic participation and productivity and remain
underrepresented in the labor force;
Whereas, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations--
(1) agriculture and food systems are a major source of livelihoods,
particularly for rural women;
(2) wage and productivity gaps persist in agriculture and food systems,
despite the crucial role that women play in those sectors;
(3) the work of women in agriculture and food systems is more likely
than that of men to be part-time, irregular, informal, vulnerable, labor-
intensive, and low-skilled;
(4) in countries reporting on Sustainable Development Goal 5.a.1, more
men than women are owners or have rights to agricultural land;
(5) the gender gap in food insecurity is growing and has reached 4.3
percentage points, with more women experiencing severe and moderate food
insecurity in all regions than men; and
(6) the empowerment of women can have important benefits for
agricultural productivity, nutrition, and food security;
Whereas the economic empowerment of women is inextricably linked to a myriad of
other internationally recognized human rights that are essential to the
ability of women to thrive as economic actors, including--
(1) living lives free of violence and exploitation;
(2) achieving the highest possible standard of health and well-being;
(3) enjoying full legal and human rights, such as access to
registration, identification, and citizenship documents, and freedom of
movement;
(4) access to formal and informal education;
(5) access to, and equal protection under, land and property rights;
(6) access to fundamental labor rights;
(7) the implementation of policies to address disproportionate care
burdens; and
(8) receiving business and management skills and leadership
opportunities;
Whereas the Millennium Challenge Corporation (commonly referred to as the
``MCC''), an independent United States foreign assistance agency,
recognizes that inequality and the exclusion of women from economic
opportunities can inhibit efforts to promote economic growth and reduce
poverty and decrease a country's economic growth trajectory, which is
why the gender policy of the MCC requires gender inequalities to be
identified and considered in every stage of agreements with
participating countries;
Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, global maternal mortality
decreased by approximately 38 percent from 2000 to 2017, yet
approximately 810 women and girls continue to die from preventable
causes relating to pregnancy or childbirth each day, and 94 percent of
all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, putting the global
community off-track to meeting Sustainable Development Goal 3.1 for
reducing maternal deaths;
Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports
that women and girls comprise approximately \1/2\ of the 78,900,000
refugees and internally displaced or stateless individuals in the world;
Whereas the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022, has
resulted in a disproportionate number of women and children seeking
safety outside of Ukraine;
Whereas those women and girls, like women and girls in all humanitarian
emergencies, including those subject to forced displacement, face
increased and exacerbated vulnerabilities to--
(1) gender-based violence, including rape, child marriage, domestic
violence, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation and assault;
(2) disruptions in education and livelihood;
(3) lack of access to health services; and
(4) food insecurity and malnutrition;
Whereas malnutrition poses a variety of threats to women and girls specifically,
as malnutrition can weaken their immune systems, making them more
susceptible to infections, and affects their capacity to survive
childbirth, and children born of malnourished women and girls are more
likely to have cognitive impairments and higher risk of disease
throughout their lives;
Whereas it is imperative--
(1) to alleviate violence and discrimination against women and girls;
and
(2) to afford women and girls every opportunity to be equal members of
their communities; and
Whereas, March 8, 2023, is recognized as International Women's Day, a global
day--
(1) to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of
women in the past, present, and future; and
(2) to recognize the obstacles that women face in the struggle for
equal rights and opportunities: Now, therefore, be it
Whereas, as of March 2023, there are approximately 3,990,000,000 women and girls
in the world, making up \1/2\ of the world's population;
Whereas women and girls around the world--
(1) have fundamental human rights;
(2) play a critical role in providing and caring for their families and
driving positive change in their communities;
(3) contribute substantially to food security, economic growth, the
prevention and resolution of conflict, and the sustainability of peace and
stability;
(4) are affected in different and often disproportionate ways by
global, country, and community circumstances, including economic downturns,
global health concerns, conflict, and migration; and
(5) must have meaningful protections and opportunities to more fully
participate in and lead the political, social, and economic lives of their
communities and countries;
Whereas the advancement and empowerment of women and girls around the world is a
foreign policy priority for the United States and is critical to the
achievement of global peace, prosperity, and sustainability;
Whereas, on October 6, 2017, the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (22
U.S.C. 2152j et seq.) was enacted into law, which includes requirements
for a government-wide ``Women, Peace, and Security Strategy'' to promote
and strengthen the participation of women in peace negotiations and
conflict prevention overseas, enhanced training for relevant United
States Government personnel, and follow-up evaluations of the
effectiveness of the strategy;
Whereas the United States Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security, dated June
2019, recognizes that--
(1) the ``[s]ocial and political marginalization of women strongly
correlates with the likelihood that a country will experience conflict'';
(2) there is a ``tremendous amount of untapped potential among the
world's women and girls to identify, recommend, and implement effective
solutions to conflict'', and there are ``benefits derived from creating
opportunities for women and girls to serve as agents of peace via
political, economic, and social empowerment''; and
(3) barriers to the meaningful participation of women and girls in
conflict prevention and resolution efforts ``include under-representation
in political leadership, pervasive violence against women and girls, and
persistent inequality in many societies'';
Whereas, according to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women (commonly referred to as ``UN Women''), peace
negotiations are more likely to end in a peace agreement when women and
women's groups play a meaningful role in the negotiation process;
Whereas, according to a study by the International Peace Institute, a peace
agreement is 35 percent more likely to last at least 15 years if women
participate in the development of the peace agreement;
Whereas, according to the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs of the Department of State, the full and meaningful
participation of women in criminal justice professions and security
forces vastly enhances the effectiveness of the resulting workforces;
Whereas, despite the contributions of women to society, hundreds of millions of
women and girls around the world continue to be denied the right to
participate freely in civic and economic life, lack fundamental legal
protections, and remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse;
Whereas, every year, approximately 12,000,000 girls are married before they
reach the age of 18, which means that--
(1) nearly 33,000 girls are married every day; or
(2) nearly 23 girls are married every minute;
Whereas, despite global progress, it is predicted that by 2030 more than
150,000,000 more girls will marry before reaching the age of 18, and
approximately 2,400,000 girls who are married before reaching the age of
18 are under the age of 15;
Whereas girls living in countries affected by conflict or other humanitarian
crises are often the most vulnerable to child marriage, and 9 of the 10
countries with the highest rates of child marriage are considered
fragile or extremely fragile;
Whereas, on August 15, 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, Afghanistan, and toppled
the elected government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, resulting
in de facto Taliban rule over the people of Afghanistan;
Whereas the Taliban continues to restrict the ability of women and girls to
exist in Afghan society, including by--
(1) prohibiting girls from going to school past sixth grade, including
banning women from attending university;
(2) limiting the employment that women can pursue outside of their
households;
(3) mandating that women cover their heads and faces in public and
punishing those who wear brightly colored clothing;
(4) restricting the independent movement of women and girls;
(5) closing domestic abuse shelters, sometimes forcing residents to
return to their abusive families;
(6) preventing women aid workers from operating in Afghanistan, thus
restricting operations in support of humanitarian assistance for all
Afghans;
(7) jailing women human rights defenders; and
(8) limiting access to women's healthcare, including preventative and
emergency services, and requiring a male chaperone at most clinics and
hospitals;
Whereas, according to the United Nation's Children's Fund (commonly referred to
as ``UNICEF'')--
(1) approximately \1/4\ of girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have
been victims of some form of physical violence;
(2) approximately 120,000,000 girls worldwide, about 1 in 10, have
experienced forced sexual acts; and
(3) an estimated 1 in 3 women around the world has experienced some
form of physical or sexual violence;
Whereas the overall level of violence against women is a better predictor of the
peacefulness of a country, the compliance of a country with
international treaty obligations, and the relations of a country with
neighboring countries than indicators measuring the level of democracy,
level of wealth, or level of institutionalization of the country;
Whereas women around the world remain vastly underrepresented in government
positions, as women account for only 25.6 percent of national
parliamentarians and 21 percent of government ministers;
Whereas the ability of women and girls to realize their full potential is
critical to the ability of a country to achieve strong and lasting
economic growth, self-reliance, and political and social stability;
Whereas, although the United Nations Millennium Project reached the goal of
achieving gender parity in primary education in most countries in 2015,
the COVID-19 global pandemic has deepened gender inequality in education
and more work remains to be done to achieve gender equality in primary
and secondary education, particularly in secondary education worldwide
as gender gaps persist and widen, by addressing--
(1) discriminatory practices;
(2) harmful cultural and social norms;
(3) inadequate sanitation facilities, including facilities to manage
menstruation;
(4) child, early, and forced marriage;
(5) poverty;
(6) early pregnancy and motherhood;
(7) conflict and insecurity; and
(8) other factors that favor boys or devalue girls' education;
Whereas, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization--
(1) approximately 118,500,000 girls between the ages of 6 and 17 remain
out of school;
(2) girls living in countries affected by conflict are 2.5 times more
likely to be out of primary school than boys;
(3) girls are twice as likely as boys to never set foot in a classroom;
and
(4) up to 30 percent of girls who drop out of school do so because of
adolescent pregnancy or child marriage;
Whereas women around the world face a variety of constraints that severely limit
their economic participation and productivity and remain
underrepresented in the labor force;
Whereas the economic empowerment of women is inextricably linked to a myriad of
other internationally recognized human rights that are essential to the
ability of women to thrive as economic actors, including--
(1) living lives free of violence and exploitation;
(2) achieving the highest possible standard of health and well-being;
(3) enjoying full legal and human rights, such as access to
registration, identification, and citizenship documents, and freedom of
movement;
(4) access to formal and informal education;
(5) access to, and equal protection under, land and property rights;
(6) access to fundamental labor rights;
(7) the implementation of policies to address disproportionate care
burdens; and
(8) receiving business and management skills and leadership
opportunities;
Whereas the Millennium Challenge Corporation (commonly referred to as the
``MCC''), an independent United States foreign assistance agency,
recognizes that inequality and the exclusion of women from economic
opportunities can inhibit efforts to promote economic growth and reduce
poverty and decrease a country's economic growth trajectory, which is
why the gender policy of the MCC requires gender inequalities to be
identified and considered in every stage of agreements with
participating countries;
Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, global maternal mortality
decreased by approximately 38 percent from 2000 to 2017, yet
approximately 810 women and girls continue to die from preventable
causes relating to pregnancy or childbirth each day, and 94 percent of
all maternal deaths occur in developing countries, putting the global
community off-track to meeting Sustainable Development Goal 3.1 for
reducing maternal deaths;
Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports
that women and girls comprise approximately \1/2\ of the 78,900,000
refugees and internally displaced or stateless individuals in the world;
Whereas the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022, has
resulted in a disproportionate number of women and children seeking
safety outside of Ukraine;
Whereas those women and girls, like women and girls in all humanitarian
emergencies, including those subject to forced displacement, face
increased and exacerbated vulnerabilities to--
(1) gender-based violence, including rape, child marriage, domestic
violence, human trafficking, and sexual exploitation and assault;
(2) disruptions in education and livelihood;
(3) lack of access to health services; and
(4) food insecurity and malnutrition;
Whereas malnutrition poses a variety of threats to women and girls specifically,
as malnutrition can weaken their immune systems, making them more
susceptible to infections, and affects their capacity to survive
childbirth, and children born of malnourished women and girls are more
likely to have cognitive impairments and higher risk of disease
throughout their lives;
Whereas it is imperative--
(1) to alleviate violence and discrimination against women and girls;
and
(2) to afford women and girls every opportunity to be equal members of
their communities; and
Whereas March 8, 2023, is recognized as International Women's Day, a global
day--
(1) to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of
women in the past, present, and future; and
(2) to recognize the obstacles that women face in the struggle for
equal rights and opportunities: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) supports the goals of International Women's Day;
(2) recognizes that the fundamental human rights of women
and girls have intrinsic value that affect the quality of life
of women and girls;
(3) recognizes that the empowerment of women and girls is
inextricably linked to the potential of a country to generate--
(A) economic growth and self-reliance;
(B) sustainable peace and democracy; and
(C) inclusive security;
(4) recognizes and honors individuals in the United States
and around the world, including women human rights defenders,
activists, and civil society leaders, who have worked
throughout history to ensure that women and girls are
guaranteed equality and fundamental human rights;
(5) applauds the women around the world who stand against
oppression in any form and fight for a better future,
especially in Ukraine, Iran, and Afghanistan;
(6) recognizes the unique cultural, historical, and
religious differences throughout the world and urges the United
States Government to act with respect and understanding toward
legitimate differences when promoting any policies;
(7) reaffirms the commitment--
(A) to end discrimination and violence against
women and girls;
(B) to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of
women and girls;
(C) to pursue policies that guarantee the
fundamental human rights of women and girls worldwide;
and
(D) to promote meaningful and significant
participation of women in every aspect of society and
community, including conflict prevention, protection,
peacemaking, and peacebuilding;
(8) supports sustainable, measurable, and global
development that seeks to achieve gender equality and the
empowerment of women and girls; and
(9) encourages the people of the United States to observe
International Women's Day with appropriate programs and
activities.
Calendar No. 54
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 99
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals of International Women's Day.
_______________________________________________________________________
May 4, 2023
Reported without amendment and an amendment to the preamble