Page 1 of 3
Regular Session, 2014 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 137
BY SENATORS PETERSON, ADLEY, ALARIO, ALLAIN, AMEDEE, APPEL,
BROOME, BROWN, BUFFI NGTON, CHABERT, CL AITOR,
CORTEZ, CROWE, DONAHUE, DORSEY-COLOMB, ERDEY,
GALLOT, GUILLORY, HEITMEIER, JOHNS, KOSTELKA,
LAFLEUR, LONG, MARTINY, MILLS, MORRELL, MORRISH,
MURRAY, NEVERS, PEACOCK, PERRY, RISER, GARY SMITH,
JOHN SMITH, TARVER, THOMPSON, WALSWORTH, WARD AND
WHITE
A RESOLUTION
To condemn the abduction of female students by armed militants from the Government Girls
Secondary School in the northeastern 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 militants 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 and forcing the students into trucks; and
WHEREAS, according to local officials in Borno state, about 43 students were able
to flee their captors, and the rest remain missing; and
WHEREAS, all public secondary schools in Borno state were closed in March 2014
because of increasing attacks in the past year that 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, has kidnapped girls in the past to use as cooks and sex slaves, and is thought to be
responsible for the April 14, 2014, kidnapping in Borno state; and
WHEREAS, there are reports that the abducted girls have been sold as brides to SR NO. 137 ENROLLED
Page 2 of 3
Islamist militants for the equivalent of twelve dollars 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 three of the country's northeastern states in May 2013; and
WHEREAS, according to the Brookings Institution, Boko Haram burned down or
destroyed fifty schools and killed approximately thirty 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 seventy-five people and
wounding over one hundred, making it the deadliest attack ever in Nigeria's capitol; and
WHEREAS, Amnesty International estimates that more than 1,500 people have been
killed in attacks by Boko Haram or reprisals by Nigerian security forces this year alone, and
the Council on Foreign Relations estimates that almost 4,000 people have been killed in
Boko Haram attacks since 2011; and
WHEREAS, according to the United Nations, girls' education is a major challenge
in Nigeria and 4,700,000 children of primary school age are still not in school with
attendance rates lowest in the north; and
WHEREAS, the advancement of women around the world is a foreign policy priority
for the United States; and
WHEREAS, women and girls must be allowed to go to school without fear of
violence and unjust treatment so that they can take their rightful place as equal citizens of
and contributors to the world.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby:
(1) Express 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.
(2) Condemn Boko Haram for its violent attacks on civilian targets, including
schools, mosques, churches, villages, and agricultural centers in Nigeria. SR NO. 137 ENROLLED
Page 3 of 3
(3) Encourage the government of Nigeria to strengthen efforts to protect the ability
of children to obtain an education and to hold those who conduct such violent attacks
accountable.
(4) Encourage efforts by the United States Government to support the capacity of the
government of Nigeria to provide security for schools and to hold terrorist organizations,
such as Boko Haram, accountable.
(5) Urge timely civilian assistance from the United States and allied African nations
in rescuing and reintegrating the abducted girls.
(6) Recognize that every individual, regardless of gender, should have the
opportunity to pursue an education without fear of discrimination.
(7) Reaffirm 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 that
guarantee the basic human rights of women and girls statewide.
(9) Encourages the Department of State, the United States Agency for International
Development, and the Department of Defense to continue their support for initiatives that
positively impact the ability of women and girls to fully access their human rights.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the United States Department of State, the secretary of the United States
Department of Defense, and to the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE