[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 109 Referred in House (RFH)]

  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 109


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 7, 2004

          Referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Commending the United States Institute of Peace on the occasion of its 
20th anniversary and recognizing the Institute for its contribution to 
                   international conflict resolution.

Whereas the United States Institute of Peace (the Institute) was established by 
        Congress in 1984 as an independent, nonpartisan Federal institution 
        dedicated to the prevention, management, and peaceful resolution of 
        international conflict;
Whereas the Institute fulfills its mandate from Congress through programs and 
        projects that support peacemaking and the peaceful resolution of 
        conflict abroad;
Whereas the Institute's broad congressional mandate has allowed the Institute to 
        become a valued source of innovative ideas and practical policy analysis 
        on peacemaking in zones of conflict around the world, thereby enhancing 
        United States foreign policy;
Whereas the Institute is the result of long-term public interest and dedication 
        from Senator Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii, Senator Jennings Randolph of 
        West Virginia, Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, Senator Nancy Kassebaum 
        of Kansas, Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, Representative Pat 
        Williams of Montana, Representative Dante Fascell of Florida, 
        Representative Dan Glickman of Kansas, Representative John Porter of 
        Illinois, as well as Members of Congress today;
Whereas the Institute trains thousands of government officials, military and law 
        enforcement personnel, humanitarian workers, and civic activists from 
        the United States and abroad in the skills of professional peacemaking;
Whereas the Institute works to alleviate religious and ethnic strife through 
        mediation, training programs, research, and opening of dialogue between 
        and among religious factions;
Whereas the Institute promotes the development of the rule of law in post-
        conflict and transitional societies and provides assistance on 
        constitution-drafting, judicial and police reform, law revision, and war 
        crimes accountability;
Whereas the Institute examines the role of the media in international conflict 
        including incitement and freedom of the press;
Whereas the Institute attracts new generations to the practice of peacemaking 
        and has funded more than 150 graduate students as Peace Scholars 
        specializing in the resolution and management of international conflict;
Whereas the Institute brings together practitioners and scholars from around the 
        world as fellows in the distinguished Jennings Randolph Fellows Program 
        to advance knowledge and to publish reports and books on topics related 
        to the peaceful resolution of international conflict;
 Whereas the Institute has trained hundreds of teachers and enhanced curricular 
        materials related to international conflict, and has conducted 
        educational seminars for thousands of educators at schools and 
        universities around the country;
Whereas the Institute is strengthening curricula and instruction, from high 
        school through graduate school, on the changing character of 
        international conflict and nonviolent approaches to managing 
        international disputes and has inspired the creation of dozens of 
        courses and programs dedicated to these topics;
Whereas the Institute has made more than 1,500 grants totaling nearly 
        $50,000,000 to individuals and nonprofit organizations in 48 States in 
        support of educational, training, and research projects that have helped 
        define and build the field of conflict prevention and conflict 
        management in more than 64 foreign countries;
Whereas the Institute contributes to the advancement of conflict resolution 
        education by awarding college scholarships to high school students 
        through the annual National Peace Essay Contest, training and developing 
        teaching guides for high school teachers, awarding grants to university 
        students pursuing doctoral degrees in international conflict resolution, 
        and awarding grants to universities and professors in the United States 
        researching international conflict resolution;
Whereas the Institute works to bridge the divide with the Muslim world and 
        facilitate cross cultural dialogue around the world, including in Russia 
        and China;
Whereas the Institute's Balkans Initiative has made positive contributions to 
        peacebuilding in that region including the facilitation of the 
        Roundtable on Justice and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
        wherein key officials of the 3 ethnic groups--Croats, Serbs, and 
        Muslims--came together to discuss war crimes;
Whereas the Institute has provided assistance to the Afghan judicial system by 
        helping to locate, reproduce, translate, and distribute copies of 
        Afghanistan's legal code, which was destroyed by the Taliban and 
        facilitated discussions among the key institutions in the administration 
        of criminal law and justice in Afghanistan;
Whereas the Institute assisted President Nelson Mandela with the development of 
        South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was instrumental 
        in preventing post-apartheid bloodshed;
Whereas the Institute developed a detailed plan to handle accountability in the 
        wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which became the basis for Rwandan 
        Genocide Law, and assisted the Government of Rwanda in the 
        implementation of the Law;
Whereas the Institute continues to work on the formation of a formal Israeli-
        Palestinian Joint Legal Committee to address legal issues and develop 
        common approaches between the 2 different legal systems;
Whereas the Institute is committed to supporting religious coexistence and 
        understanding in the Middle East, and elsewhere in the world;
Whereas the Institute has served as advisor and principal financial supporter of 
        the Alexandria process, a group of prominent Muslim, Jewish, and 
        Christian leaders from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt, who 
        in January 2002 produced the ``Alexandria Declaration'', a 7-point 
        statement that calls, in the name of the 3 Abrahamic faiths, for the end 
        to bloodshed in the Holy Land;
Whereas the Institute uses its convening power to bring together policymakers 
        and experts on North Korea to discuss issues of security and 
        proliferation on the Korean peninsula and develop policy 
        recommendations;
Whereas the Institute is facilitating peace negotiations between the Government 
        of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front--a Muslim 
        insurgent group operating in the southern island of Mindanao;
Whereas the Institute is organizing programs in Iraq to strengthen the pillars 
        of civil society and to contribute to stabilization and post-conflict 
        peacebuilding, including training in conflict resolution for Iraqi 
        security officials, orientation training for personnel from the United 
        States, grantmaking to Iraqi organizations, collaboration with Iraqi 
        universities, support for interethnic and interreligious dialogue, and 
        assistance with rule of law issues; and
Whereas the Institute endeavors with the support of Congress in a public-private 
        partnership to build a permanent headquarters on the National Mall as a 
        working center on peace, education, training in conflict management 
        skills, and the promotion of applied programs dedicated to resolution of 
        international conflict: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes the importance of the founding of the United 
        States Institute of Peace (the Institute) as a national and 
        international resource for peaceful conflict management and 
        looks forward to continuing to gain from its knowledge, 
        teaching, and practical applications of conflict management as 
        a way to promote United States security and peace in the world;
            (2) recognizes that the Institute has become an important 
        national resource for educational, training, and applied 
        programs in the prevention, management, and resolution of 
        international conflict;
            (3) acknowledges the Institute's contribution to building 
        the Nation's capabilities for the prevention, management, and 
        resolution of international conflict and the advancement of 
        peace and conflict resolution education;
            (4) expresses appreciation to the founding men and women of 
        the Institute and the support from the people of the United 
        States;
            (5) congratulates the Institute on its 20th anniversary and 
        on its achievements in fulfilling its mandate from Congress; 
        and
            (6) directs the Secretary of the Senate to make available 
        an enrolled copy of this resolution to the Institute.

            Passed the Senate July 22, 2004.

            Attest:

                                             EMILY J. REYNOLDS,

                                                             Secretary.