Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) introduced a resolution that condemns the migrant slave auctions in Libya that were exposed in a recent CNN International report. This resolution calls upon the Trump Administration to develop strategies to rapidly respond to the migrant and refugee situation in Libya and also demands that the government of Libya conduct an immediate investigation into the slave auctions taking place in the country. It also recommends that the African Union conduct its own investigation into this human rights crisis.
“Congress cannot sit idly by as news of the Libya slave trade spreads,” said Rep. Bass, top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Africa. “Slavery is a crime against humanity. This resolution calls for a comprehensive response, both domestically and internationally, to this report, which is what we’ll need going forward to take an effective stand against this tragedy. Thank you to my colleagues for standing together against the heinous act.”
Read the full text of the resolution here. This bill has been cosponsored by a bipartisan coalition of 40 Members of Congress (Reps. Eliot Engel (NY), Ted Poe (TX), Barbara Lee (CA), Cedric Richmond (LA), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (NJ), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX), John Lewis (GA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia), Sanford Bishop Jr. (GA), James “Jim” Clyburn (SC), Alcee L. Hastings (FL), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX), Bennie G. Thompson (MS), Earl Blumenauer (OR), James P. McGovern (MA), Lacy Clay, Jr. (MO), Wm. Lacy Clay (MO), Emanuel Cleaver II (MO), Gwen Moore (WI), Steve Cohen (TN), Andre Carson (IN), Marcia Fudge (OH), Terri Sewell (AL), Joyce Beatty (OH), Hakeem Jeffries (NY), Beto O’Rourke (TX), Mark Pocan (WI), Marc Veasey (TX), Robin Kelly (IL), Stacey Plaskett (Virgin Islands), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), Lisa Rochester (DE), Val Demings (FL), Adriano Espaillat (NY), Brenda Lawrence (MI), Mia Love (UT), Ro Khanna (CA), Lloyd Doggett (TX), Bobby L. Rush (IL), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ), and Alma Adams (NC).)
