LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION condemning the abduction of female students by
armed militants from the Government Girls Secondary School in the north-
eastern province of Borno in the Federal Republic of Nigeria

WHEREAS, On the night of April 14, 2014, as many as 234 female students,
most of them between 16 and 18 years old, were abducted by armed mili-
tants from the Government Girls Secondary School, a boarding school
located in the northeastern province of Borno in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria; and
WHEREAS, The militants burned down several buildings before opening
fire on soldiers and police who were guarding the school; they then
forced the students into trucks; and
WHEREAS, According to local officials in Borno state, approximately 43
students were able to flee their captors, unfortunately, the rest remain
missing; and
WHEREAS, All public secondary schools in Borno state were closed in
March 2014 due to the increasing attacks in the past year which have
killed hundreds of students, but the young women at the Government Girls
Secondary School were recalled to take their final exams; and
WHEREAS, The group popularly known as "Boko Haram", which loosely
translates from the Hausa language to "Western education is sin", is
known to oppose the education of girls, and has kidnapped girls in the
past to use as cooks and sex slaves; Boko Haram is thought to be respon-
sible for the April 14th kidnapping in Borno state; and
WHEREAS, There are reports that the abducted girls have been sold as
brides to Islamist militants for the equivalent of $12 each; and
WHEREAS, Boko Haram has targeted schools, mosques, churches, villages,
and agricultural centers, as well as government facilities in an armed
campaign to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, prompting the
president of Nigeria to declare a state of emergency in May of 2013 in
three of the country's northeastern states; and
WHEREAS, According to the Brookings Institution, Boko Haram burned
down or destroyed 50 schools and killed approximately 30 teachers in
Nigeria in 2013, leaving tens of thousands of children unable to attend
school; and
WHEREAS, On April 14, 2014, hours before the kidnapping in Borno
state, Boko Haram bombed a bus station in Abuja, Nigeria, killing at
least 75 people and wounding over 100, making it the deadliest attack
ever in Nigeria's capital; and
WHEREAS, Amnesty International estimates that more than 1,500 people
have been killed in attacks by Boko Haram or reprisals by Nigerian secu-
rity forces this year alone, and since 2011, the Council on Foreign
Relations estimates that almost 4,000 people have been killed in Boko
Haram attacks; and
WHEREAS, The Department of State designated Boko Haram as a Foreign
Terrorist Organization in November of 2013, recognizing the threat posed
by the group's large-scale and indiscriminate attacks against women and
children; and
WHEREAS, According to the United Nations, girls' education is a major
challenge in Nigeria; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reports
some 4,700,000 children of primary school age are still not in school in
Nigeria, with attendance rates lowest in the north; and
WHEREAS, A study conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scien-
tific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found that school children in
Nigeria, particularly those in the northern provinces, are at a disad-

vantage in their education, with 37 percent of primary-age girls and 30
percent of boys in the rural northeast not attending school; and
WHEREAS, According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap
Index, Nigeria is ranked 106 out of 136 countries based on women's
economic participation, educational attainment, and political empower-
ment; and
WHEREAS, As reported by the United Nations, women held only 6.7
percent of the seats in Nigeria's parliament in 2013; and
WHEREAS, The advancement of women around the world is a foreign policy
priority for the United States; and
WHEREAS, The United States Agency for International Development, found
broader, more equitable access to education encourages political partic-
ipation, enhances governance, strengthens civil society, and promotes
transparency and accountability; and
WHEREAS, A 100-country study by the World Bank shows increasing the
share of women with a secondary education by 1 percent boosts annual per
capita income growth by 0.3 percentage points; and
WHEREAS, According to UNICEF, adolescent girls who attend school are
less likely to be married as children, are less vulnerable to disease
including HIV and AIDS, and acquire information and skills which lead to
increased earning power; evidence shows the return to a year of second-
ary education for girls correlates to a 25 percent increase in wages
later in life; and
WHEREAS, The World Bank reported the benefits of women's education go
beyond higher productivity for 50 percent of the population; more
educated women also tend to be healthier, participate more in the formal
labor market, earn more income, and provide better health care and
education to their children, all of which eventually improve the well-
being of all individuals and lift households out of poverty; these bene-
fits cross generations as well as communities at large; and
WHEREAS, Women and girls must be allowed to go to school without fear
of violence and unjust treatment so they can take their rightful place
as equal citizens of and contributors to the world; now, therefore, be
it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
expresses its strong support for the people of Nigeria, especially the
parents and families of the girls abducted by Boko Haram in Borno state,
and calls for the immediate, safe return of the girls; condemns Boko
Haram for its violent attacks on civilian targets, including schools,
mosques, churches, villages, and agricultural centers in Nigeria;
encourages the Government of Nigeria to strengthen efforts to protect
.SO DOC S R5113 RESO TEXT 2013
the ability of children to obtain an education and to hold those who
conduct such violent attacks accountable; encourages efforts by the
United States Government to support the capacity of the Government of
Nigeria to provide security for schools and to hold terrorist organiza-
tions, such as Boko Haram, accountable; urges timely civilian assistance
from the United States and allied African nations in rescuing and rein-
tegrating the abducted girls; recognizes every individual, regardless of
gender, should have the opportunity to pursue an education without fear
of discrimination; reaffirms its commitment to ending discrimination and
violence against women and girls, to ensuring the safety and welfare of
women and girls, and to pursuing policies which guarantee the basic
human rights of women and girls worldwide; recognizes the empowerment of
women is inextricably linked to the potential of countries to generate
economic growth, sustainable democracy, and inclusive security; and
encourages the Department of State, the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development, and the Department of Defense to continue their

support for initiatives which positively impact the ability of women and
girls to fully access their human rights.