119-sres106

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 106 Reported in Senate

    (RS) ]

<DOC>
 Calendar No. 58
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
S. RES. 106

 Supporting the goals of International Women's Day.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 5, 2025

 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

 April 28, 2025

 Reported by Mr. Risch, without amendment

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Supporting the goals of International Women's Day.

Whereas, as of March 2025, there are approximately 4,100,000,000 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 (Public 
 Law 115-68; 131 Stat. 1202) 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 and National Action Plan on Women, Peace and 
 Security, dated October 2023, recognizes that--

    (1) the ``implementation of the [Women, Peace, and Security] agenda is 
both a moral and a strategic imperative for U.S. foreign policy and 
national security'', reiterating that ``the status of women and the 
stability of nations are inextricably linked'';

    (2) the challenges posed to the United States and the global community 
cannot be solved without addressing the inequities faced by \1/2\ of the 
world's population; and

    (3) the United States must ``eliminate barriers to women's meaningful 
participation . . . in peace and security decision-making processes'' in 
order to ``achieve and safeguard our national security priorities'' and 
achieve ``sustainable peace, international security, and economic 
stability'';

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, every year, approximately 12,000,000 girls are married before they 
 reach the age of 18, which means that, on average--

    (1) nearly 33,000 girls are married every day; or

    (2) nearly 28 girls are married every minute;

Whereas, despite global progress, it is predicted that by 2030 more than 
 100,000,000 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 experiencing 
 humanitarian crises;
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) severely 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 and closing 
public spaces for women, including parks, salons, and gyms;

    (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 Nations Children's Fund (commonly referred to 
 as ``UNICEF'')--

    (1) globally, 1 in 5 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have been 
victims of some form of physical violence;

    (2) approximately 370,000,000 girls and young women worldwide, about 1 
in 8, have experienced forced sexual acts before the age of 18; and

    (3) an estimated 1 in 3 women around the world have 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 26.9 percent of national 
 parliamentarians and 23.3 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, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 
 Organization--

    (1) approximately 122,000,000 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; and

    (5) 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, according to the World Health Organization, global maternal mortality 
 decreased by approximately 34 percent from 2000 to 2020, yet 
 approximately 800 women and girls continue to die from preventable 
 causes relating to pregnancy or childbirth each day, and 95 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 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, 2025, 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. 58

119th CONGRESS

 1st Session

 S. RES. 106

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Supporting the goals of International Women's Day.

_______________________________________________________________________

 April 28, 2025

 Reported without amendment