Representatives Lee, Honda and Pittenger Pen Bi-Partisan Letter to President Obama on Nigeria
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 9, 2014 Contact: Katherine Jolly, (510) 763-0370
Washington, D.C. – Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA13), Mike Honda (D-CA17) and Robert Pittenger (R-NC09) today sent a letter to President Obama applauding the administration’s response to the kidnapping of over 250 Nigerian girls, and to seek “action at the United Nations to unite the global community behind this cause.”
The letter also urges the State Department to “use every avenue possible” to assist in the recovery of the girls who were kidnapped by the militant group Boko Haram, and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Global leaders must come together to employ every available resource to safely return the kidnapped Nigerian students home to their families and bring the perpetrators to justice. The right to an unencumbered education and an existence free from the threat of slavery are basic human rights and need to be protected with vigilance,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “Unfortunately, this tragic incident is not isolated. It highlights the regional instability and violence caused by Boko Haram which is why I stand with my bi-partisan Congressional colleagues, calling for President Obama to work with the United Nations and the African Union to bring accountability and sustainable peace to the region.”
In the letter, the Representatives write, “The mass kidnapping and threat of human trafficking are human right violations that cannot be tolerated. Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery, which America must proactively seek to end.”
The letter, which is co-signed by over 160 Members of the House from both parties, also points out that these girls were kidnapped because they were pursing their educations. “Boko Haram has continually condemned education for young women—their name loosely translates as ‘Western education is forbidden,’” the letter says. “Boko Haram seeks to prevent access to education for these young people, which is vital to keeping communities productively employed, and in preventing and resolving conflict.”
Representatives Honda and Lee are original cosponsors of Congressman Frederico Wilson’s House Resolution 573, introduced Tuesday, April 6, titled “Condemning the abduction of female students by armed militants from the terrorist group known as Boko Haram in northeastern provinces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
A copy of the letter can be found here.
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force.