[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 218 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 218

Concerning the urgent need to establish a cease fire in Afghanistan and 
 begin the transition toward a broad-based multiethnic government that 
               observes international norms of behavior.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 12, 1998

 Mr. Bereuter submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Concerning the urgent need to establish a cease fire in Afghanistan and 
 begin the transition toward a broad-based multiethnic government that 
               observes international norms of behavior.

Whereas peace and stability has not returned to Afghanistan despite the February 
        1989 Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan;
Whereas the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights for 1997 
        states: ``The overall human rights situation [in Afghanistan] is poor . 
        . . political killings, torture, rape, arbitrary detention, looting, 
        abductions and kidnappings for ransom were committed by armed units, 
        local commanders, and rogue individuals'';
Whereas the continuing civil conflict in Afghanistan has had a grievous impact 
        upon the Afghan people, where within its borders occurs the highest rate 
        of infant, child, and maternal mortality in the region;
Whereas neighboring countries have provided support in the form of financial 
        assistance and arms to the different groups warring in Afghanistan 
        thereby extending the length and expanding the destruction of this 
        internal conflict;
Whereas due to the chaos and destruction brought about by the extended conflict, 
        Afghanistan is now one of the world's leading producers of opium, and 
        over the past year alone, the production of opiates in Afghanistan has 
        jumped 25 percent and resulted in an increase in drug trade not only in 
        the Central Asian region, but in Russia and the West as well;
Whereas another byproduct of this conflict is the harboring of terrorist leaders 
        in Afghanistan including Usama bin Laden whose group members have been 
        identified as supporting acts of terrorism within their countries of 
        origin;
Whereas continuing instability serves as an obstacle to international investment 
        and the establishment of developmental projects inside Afghanistan, so 
        necessary to Afghanistan's rejuvenation from years of conflict, and 
        central to promoting political cooperation among Afghan factions;
Whereas the continuing conflict in Afghanistan serves as an impediment toward 
        securing economic and political well-being throughout all of South Asia 
        and the newly independent Central Asian nations as well; and
Whereas despite repeated efforts by the United Nations to broker an end to 
        continuing warfare among the country's warring factions, the absence of 
        peace has prevented Afghanistan from addressing the numerous problems 
        facing its citizenry: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) acknowledges that through determination, tenacity, and 
        courage, the Afghan people successfully waged a war against 
        Soviet expansionism and greatly assisted in bringing an end to 
        the cold war;
            (2) welcomes the appointment of Ambassador Lakhbar Brahimi 
        as special envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for 
        Afghanistan and supports his efforts toward attaining a 
        peaceful negotiated settlement with the assistance of the six 
        nations bordering Afghanistan as well as representatives from 
        the United States and Russia;
            (3)(A) deplores continuing human rights violations 
        occurring within Afghanistan, such as the continuing 
        discrimination against women of all ages as well as the 
        discovery of mass graves which contained an alleged 2,000 
        corpses of prisoners of war and civilians in Afghanistan; and
            (B) supports the intention of the United Nations and the 
        International Committee of the Red Cross to continue their 
        investigation into these reported killings;
            (4) calls upon all warring factions and national powers to 
        participate in intra-Afghan dialogue and in the peace process 
        and to actively cooperate in the acceleration of endeavors for 
        peace;
            (5) urges the nations of the region to cooperate in the 
        peace process and to end immediately the supply of arms, 
        ammunition, military equipment, training or any other military 
        support to all parties to the conflict;
            (6) urges appropriate parties in the United Nations and 
        Afghanistan to work toward the eradication of the production of 
        opium linking such efforts to realistic income alternatives;
            (7) calls upon all parties within Afghanistan to prevent 
        the reoccurrence of actions which impede the ability of 
        humanitarian and international organizations to move food 
        shipments and other forms of humanitarian assistance into 
        Afghanistan;
            (8) recognizes the continuing requirement to address the 
        needs of more than 2,000,000 Afghan refugees, three-quarters of 
        whom are women and children;
            (9) acknowledges the necessity of international efforts to 
        clear the estimated 10,000,000 land mines buried in the Afghan 
        countryside; and
            (10) calls for the expulsion of all known terrorist leaders 
        from Afghanistan and to close down any terrorist training camps 
        operating in the country.
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