[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 218 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 218


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 29, 1998

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign 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, 
        abduc- 
    tions 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 another byproduct of this conflict is the harboring of Islamic militants 
        and terrorist leaders in Afghanistan;
Whereas due to the tyranny and destruction caused by Taliban rule, 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 increased and 
        resulted in a growth in the drug trade not only in the Central and South 
        Asian regions but in Russia and the West as well;
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 to 
        economic prosperity and political development 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) calls upon all warring factions and national powers to 
        participate in intra-Afghan dialogue (the ``Frankfurt 
        Process'') and in the peace process and to actively cooperate 
        in the acceleration of endeavors for peace;
            (3)(A) deplores continuing human rights violations 
        occurring within Afghanistan, especially against women and 
        female children, who have suffered condoned discrimination and 
        harassment, and the reported widespread execution of prisoners 
        of war and civilians evidenced by the discovery of mass graves 
        which contained an estimated 2,000 corpses; 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)(A) 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; and
            (B) encourages a role for Afghan leaders of all factions 
        and ethnic groups in the United Nations negotiation efforts, 
        based on the fact that peace and national reconciliation cannot 
        be imposed on the Afghan people by their neighbors;
            (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, 
        Afghanistan, and its neighbors to work toward the eradication 
        of the production of opium, especially in southern Afghanistan, 
        and to link such efforts wherever possible 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) acknowledges that due to the death and destruction 
        wrought by the February 4, 1998, earthquake in northeastern 
        Afghanistan, where approximately 5,000 people have died and an 
        estimated 30,000 have been left homeless, there is a continuing 
        need for international emergency aid of food, clothing, and 
        shelter;
            (9) recognizes the continuing requirement to address the 
        needs of more than 2,500,000 Afghan refugees in neighboring 
        countries, three-quarters of whom are women and children;
            (10) acknowledges the necessity of international efforts to 
        clear the estimated 10,000,000 land mines buried in the Afghan 
        countryside; and
            (11) calls for the expulsion of all known terrorist leaders 
        from Afghanistan and the closing down of all terrorist training 
        camps operating in the country.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 28, 1998.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.