1.1A Senate resolution
1.2expressing the sense of the Minnesota Senate concerning the abduction of over 250
1.3Nigerian girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram.
1.4WHEREAS, on April 14, 2014, in the small town of Chibok, Nigeria, more than 250
1.5girls, age 16 to 18, were captured and kidnapped from their boarding school by the terrorist
1.6group Boko Haram; and
1.7WHEREAS, Boko Haram has been accused of abducting scores of women and girls, some
1.8as young as 12, to traffic them as sex slaves or force them to marry combatants; and
1.9WHEREAS, according to the International Crisis Group, Boko Haram's five-year
1.10insurgency has grown more ruthless, violent, and destructive, and has claimed the lives of more
1.11than 4,000 people and forced almost half a million others to flee their homes; and
1.12WHEREAS, more than three weeks have passed since the abductions, but little progress
1.13has been made towards freeing the girls and Boko Haram has openly threatened to sell the girls
1.14into slavery; and
1.15WHEREAS, this outrage demands a significant worldwide response to help rescue the
1.16abducted girls, combat Boko Haram in Africa, and stand against the broader threat of modern
1.17day slavery; NOW, THEREFORE,
1.18BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of Minnesota that it condemns the horrific
1.19abductions of the Nigerian girls by the terrorist group Boko Haram and calls for their immediate
1.20release and increased efforts worldwide to combat human trafficking, particularly against women
1.21and girls.