[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 410 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 410

   Condemning the assassination of Father John Kaiser and others who 
  worked to promote human rights and justice in the Republic of Kenya.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2000

Mr. Lantos (for himself, Mr. Royce, Mr. Payne, Mr. Porter, Mr. Peterson 
of Minnesota, Mr. Minge, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Luther, Mrs. Maloney of New 
  York, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Morella, Mr. 
Rush, and Mr. Gutknecht) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Condemning the assassination of Father John Kaiser and others who 
  worked to promote human rights and justice in the Republic of Kenya.

Whereas Father John Kaiser, a Catholic of the Order of the Mill Hill 
        Missionaries and a native of Minnesota who served as a missionary in the 
        Kisii and Ngong Dioceses in the Republic of Kenya for 36 years 
        advocating the rights of all Kenyans, was shot dead on August 23, 2000;
Whereas Father Kaiser was a frequently outspoken advocate on issues of human 
        rights and against the injustice of government corruption in Kenya;
Whereas fellow priests have stated that Father Kaiser had told them the night 
        before he was killed that he feared for his life;
Whereas the brutal murders of Father Stallone, Father Graiff, and Father Luigi 
        Andeni, all of the Marsabit Diocese, and the circumstances of the murder 
        of Brother Larry Timons of the Nakuru Diocese, and that of Father Martin 
        Boyle of the Eldoret Diocese have not yet been satisfactorily 
        investigated nor have the perpetrators of the murders been brought to 
        justice, raising growing concern over the rule of law and the justice 
        system in Kenya;
Whereas Father Kaiser's death is one more example of the hostile actions being 
        directed against Kenyan civil society and in particular human rights 
        groups and advocates;
Whereas the report of a Kenyan governmental commission, known as the Akiwumi 
        Commission, on the investigation into the politically motivated ethnic 
        violence between 1992-1997 in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, has not yet 
        been released, in spite of several requests by numerous church leaders 
        and human rights organizations to have the Commission's findings 
        released to the public;
Whereas documents were found on Father Kaiser's body that he had intended to 
        hand over to the Akiwumi Commission;
Whereas the Kenyan Human Rights Commission has expressed the fear that the 
        progress in the struggle for democracy, the rule of law, respect for 
        human rights, and the basic needs of all Kenyans achieved during the 
        last few years is jeopardized by the current Kenyan Government;
Whereas the Kenyan Human Rights Commission has expressed concern over the 
        continued blatant violations of the rule of law and the constitution, 
        acts of torture, and murder and rape by the Kenyan security forces;
Whereas private armies that work with the police are known to exist in Kenya and 
        the Government of Kenya encourages informal repression as a means of 
        intimidating and denying citizens their rights; and
Whereas the human rights movement in Kenya is in need of international support 
        and solidarity for the important work they are doing: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) condemns the violent deaths of Father John Kaiser and 
        others who worked to promote human rights and justice in the 
        Republic of Kenya and expresses its outrage with respect to 
        such deaths;
            (2) calls for an independent investigation of such deaths, 
        in addition to the initiatives of the Government of Kenya;
            (3) calls on the Secretary of State, acting through the 
        Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, And Labor, to 
        prepare and submit to the Congress, not later than December 15, 
        2000, a report on the progress of the independent investigation 
        and initiatives of the Government of Kenya described in 
        paragraph (2);
            (4) calls for the findings of such independent 
        investigation to be made public; and
            (5) calls on the President to support such independent 
        investigation through all diplomatic means.
                                 <all>