[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 146 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 146


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 19, 2000

          Referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the assassination of Father John Kaiser and others in Kenya, 
   and calling for a thorough investigation to be conducted in those 
  cases, a report on the progress made in such an investigation to be 
submitted to Congress by December 15, 2000, and a final report on such 
      an investigation to be made public, and for other purposes.

Whereas Father John Kaiser, a Catholic of the Order of the Mill Hill 
        Missionaries and a native of Minnesota, who for 36 years served as a 
        missionary in the Kisii and Ngong Dioceses in the Republic of Kenya and 
        advocated the rights of all Kenyans, was shot dead on Wednesday, 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 report that Father Kaiser spoke to them of his fear for 
        his life on the night before his assassination;
Whereas the murders of Father Stallone, Father Graife, and Father Luigi Andeni, 
        all of Marsabit Diocese in Kenya, the circumstances of the murder of 
        Brother Larry Timors of Nakaru Diocese in Kenya, the murder of Father 
        Martin Boyle of Eldoret Diocese, and the murders of other local human 
        rights advocates in Kenya have not yet been fully explained, nor have 
        the perpetrators of these murders been brought to justice;
Whereas the report of a Kenyan governmental commission, known as the Akiwumi 
        Commission, on the government's investigation into tribal violence 
        between 1992 and 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, after Father Kaiser's assassination, documents were found on his body 
        that he had intended to present to the Akiwumi Commission;
Whereas the nongovernmental Kenyan Human Rights Commission has expressed fear 
        that the progress achieved in Kenya during the last few years in the 
        struggle for democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and 
        meeting the basic needs of all Kenyans is jeopardized by the current 
        Kenyan government; and
Whereas the 1999 Country Report on Human Rights released by the Bureau of 
        Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the Department of State reports 
        that the Kenyan Government's ``overall human rights record was generally 
        poor, and serious problems remained in many areas; while there were some 
        signs of improvement in a few areas, the situation worsened in 
        others.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) condemns the violent deaths of Father John Kaiser and 
        others who have worked to promote human rights and justice in 
        the Republic of Kenya and expresses its outrage at those 
        deaths;
            (2) calls for a thorough investigation of those deaths that 
        includes other persons in addition to the Kenyan authorities;
            (3) calls on the Secretary of State, acting through the 
        Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and 
        Labor, to prepare and submit to Congress, by December 15, 2000, 
        a report on the progress made on investigating these killings, 
        including, particularly, a discussion of the actions taken by 
        the Kenyan government to conduct an investigation as described 
        in paragraph (2);
            (4) calls on the President to support investigation of 
        these killings through all diplomatic means; and
            (5) calls for the final report of such an investigation to 
        be made public.

            Passed the Senate October 18 (legislative day, September 
      22), 2000.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.