Congressional Hearings/Resolutions

House condemns Taliban move against minorities

107th Congress, 1st Session
May 25, 2001

On May 25, the United States House of Representatives International Relations Committee unanimously condemned the Afghanistan Taliban's move to require Hindus to wear symbols identifying their religious identity. On June 13, the Resolution, which was cosponsored by over 80 lawmakers, was passed by the House by a vote of 420 to 0.

Text of Resolution

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Leach, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Berman, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. Frost, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Mr. Menendez, Mr. King, Mr. Wexler, Mr. Horn, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Davis of Florida, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Crowley, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Cantor, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Holt, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Pallone, Mr. McDermott, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Honda, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Solis, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. English, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Obey, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Farr of California, Mrs. Morella, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Stark, Mrs. Northup, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Israel, and Ms. Slaughter)
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Condemning the recent order by the Taliban regime of Afghanistan to require Hindus in Afghanistan to wear symbols identifying them as Hindu.

Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee the freedom of religion;

Whereas on May 22, 2001, the Taliban regime of Afghanistan directed Hindus and other non-Muslims to wear a yellow identity symbol and for Hindu women to fully cover themselves in a veil;

Whereas this proposal is reminiscent of the yellow Star of David that Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied areas;

Whereas Department of State spokesperson Richard Boucher condemned the Taliban action, stating that 'forcing social groups to wear distinctive clothing or identifying marks stigmatizes and isolates those groups and can never, never be justified;

Whereas the Taliban regime recently offended the world by ordering the destruction of all pre-Islamic statues in Afghanistan, among them a pair of 1,600-year-old, 100-foot-tall statues of Buddha that were carved out of a mountainside;

Whereas the reprehensible policies of the Taliban are exacerbating the suffering of the people of Afghanistan who are already besieged by a devastating drought and the continued fighting in the region; and

Whereas the American people feel a great deal of sympathy for the people of Afghanistan and continue to provide humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Afghan people:

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress--

1. strongly condemns the Taliban's use of Nazi tactics to force Hindus in Afghanistan to wear symbols identifying them as Hindu;
2. joins with people of all faiths around the world in standing against the religious persecution by the Taliban regime;
3. demands the Taliban regime immediately revoke its order stigmatizing Hindus and other non-Muslims in Afghanistan and conform its laws to all basic international civil and human rights standards; and
4. calls on the Government of Pakistan to use its influence with the Taliban regime to demand that the Taliban revoke the reprehensible policy of forcing Afghan Hindus and other non-Muslims to wear a yellow identity symbol.

Discussion Notes

Rep. Gilman was the first of the committee members to offer his strong support for the resolution introduced by Rep. Engel (D-NY). Rep. Gilman started his remarks by stating that he is "appalled and deeply concerned" by the recent order of the Taliban regime. He stated that the world has not seen "anything like this since Nazi Germany required the Jews to wear yellow badges."

In mentioning Pakistan, Rep. Gilman said in many different ways Pakistan supports the Taliban and, therefore, it is appropriate that this resolution calls on Pakistan to use their influence with the Taliban to get them to revoke the edict.

Rep. Lantos declared his support for the resolution; calling the Taliban a "despicable regime" and this order another on a long list of human rights violations. He reminded the committee that the Taliban order also calls for the homes of Hindus to be identified as such, stating that such an order echoes Nazi Germany policies stigmatizing Jews. Rep. Lantos called the Taliban order "beyond rational comprehension, offensive, sickening, and inhuman."

In discussing the part of the resolution that calls on Pakistan, Rep. Lantos stated that Pakistan is the one country left that can influence and affect the Taliban and yet the government of Pakistan is reluctant to use its influence with the Taliban.

Rep. Lantos announced that next week he is receiving the Foreign Minister of Pakistan and he will strongly urge him to stand with the international community and help get the Taliban to call a halt to the policy.

Rep. Engel, the sponsor of the resolution, announced that he was wearing a yellow ribbon and voiced his concern that this order is the start of something much bigger that is reminiscent of Nazi Germany policies. He also stated that the Taliban justification that the ribbons are simply to protect non-Muslims only adds insult to injury.

In mentioning Pakistan, Rep. Engel stated Pakistan is one of three countries that recognizes the Taliban regime and the only country with military ties to Taliban. Last week Pakistan issued a statement that said in part "we deplore any discriminating practices against religious or minority groups and we see such practices as against the spirit of Islam." This resolution calls on Pakistan to use its influence to get the Taliban to revoke the edict.

Rep. Rohrabacher, identifying himself as an early sponsor of the resolution, discussed some of the history and growth of the Taliban and the threat the Taliban poses to the security of the Middle East and all of central Asia. In turning his comments to Pakistan, Rep. Rohrabacher stated that he was happy to hear Mr. Lantos will put the Pakistan Foreign Minister on the spot next week, not only on Pakistan's acquiescence, but on their direct involvement in the creation and support of the Taliban.

Rep. Rohrabacher declared that we need to make sure as Americans that we stand against fanaticism like the Taliban, for it is fanaticism that will bring down Pakistan and our friends in that area.