; Whereas, according to the Department of State’s 2015 International Religious Freedom Report, the Government of Sudan has systematically targeted the Christian community, prosecuting Christian pastors on trumped-up charges, confiscating Christian-owned properties, banning the construction of new Christian houses of worship, destroying numerous religious facilities throughout the country, and targeting human rights defenders for legally representing the Christian community; Whereas, according to the February 2014 report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Human Rights Situation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), there is “an almost complete denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion,” and the Government of the DPRK “considers the spread of Christianity a particularly serious threat” and enforces severe punishments for the practice of Christianity; Whereas the global religious freedom crisis we are experiencing today has created millions of victims and undermines liberty, prosperity, and peace in places vital to United States national interests—posing direct challenges to United States interests in the Middle East, Russia, China, and sub-Saharan Africa; Whereas the absence of fundamental human rights, including religious freedom, contributes to persecution of minorities, religious extremism, terrorism, and instability; Whereas there is greater peace, political and social stability, economic development, democratization, and women’s empowerment when human rights, including religious freedom, are protected and advanced