Washington, DC: In Defense of Christians (IDC), the nation’s leading advocacy organization for Christians and religious minorities in Africa and the Middle East, commends the Senate on passing S.Res.682 - A resolution recognizing the devastating explosion that rocked the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and expressing solidarity with the Lebanese people.

On December 22, the Senate unanimously passed the resolution by voice vote. S.Res. 682 was introduced by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senator James Risch (R-ID), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It was co-sponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), and Rob Portman (R-OH).

It calls for emergency humanitarian relief, led by the United States Agency for International Development, to be delivered to the Lebanese people. S.Res. 682 also calls on the Government of Lebanon to advance policies and programs that serve the interests of the Lebanese people.

“IDC is grateful to Chairman Risch and Ranking Member Menendez for their leadership on passing this resolution,” said IDC President Toufic Baaklini. “Our team in Washington and thousands of grassroots activists across the country have been advocating for this resolution since it was introduced shortly after the August 4th explosion. Moving forward, we will work to advocate for the incoming Biden Administration to advance the objectives outlined in this resolution,” he added.