[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 252 Referred in Senate (RFS)]


109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 252


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 15, 2005

                                Received

                            January 27, 2006

             Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of the United 
 States should support democracy, the rule of law, and human rights in 
  the Republic of Nicaragua and work cooperatively with regional and 
international organizations to bolster Nicaraguan efforts to establish 
  the requisite conditions for free, fair, transparent, and inclusive 
            presidential and legislative elections in 2006.

Whereas the United States is strongly committed to promoting democracy and the 
        rule of law through the democratically elected government and the civil 
        society of Nicaragua;
Whereas the Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States, of which 
        the United States and Nicaragua are signatories, stipulates that ``[t]he 
        peoples of

the Americas have a right to democracy and their governments have an 
obligation to promote and defend it'';

Whereas after experiencing a revolution, loss of personal liberties, destruction 
        of property, and economic instability a quarter century ago, the people 
        of Nicaragua are committed to maintaining a democratic form of 
        government that functions democratically and whose branches of 
        government respect the rule of law and human rights;
Whereas in November 2001, during the last national election, approximately 90 
        percent of voters in Nicaragua turned out to vote, indicating a strong 
        commitment to a free electoral process and self determination;
Whereas international observers, including representatives from the National 
        Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, the Carter 
        Center, and the Organization of American States, monitored the 
        Nicaraguan elections of November 2001 and determined that the elections 
        met minimum international standards and that the outcome reflected the 
        will of the Nicaraguan people;
Whereas ex-President Arnoldo Aleman and Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN) 
        leader Daniel Ortega entered into an agreement, which is widely known 
        throughout Nicaragua as ``the Pact,'' to exploit the legislative powers 
        of the National Assembly to undermine the Nicaraguan Constitution, the 
        Presidency of Enrique Bolanos Geyer, and key institutions of 
        representative democratic governance;
Whereas polls indicate that an overwhelming percentage of Nicaraguans oppose the 
        Aleman-Ortega Pact, and tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have taken to 
        the streets in the past year to call for an end to the Pact;
Whereas in September 2005, the Secretary General of the Organization of American 
        States warned that the attempt by the Nicaraguan national legislature to 
        strip President Enrique Bolanos Geyer's ministers and other senior 
        government officials of their official immunity had created 
        circumstances that would have made the country ungovernable and 
        generated endless conflict;
Whereas with regard to the attempt by the National Assembly through the 
        operation of the Aleman-Ortega Pact to undermine the privileges of the 
        Nicaraguan executive branch, the Organization of American States urged, 
        in the strongest possible terms, that ``the parties concerned enter into 
        a broad and constructive dialogue, free of pressures and threats'' and 
        that the parties ``respect the mandate freely conferred upon President 
        Enrique Bolanos Geyer and the other elected officials by the Nicaraguan 
        people'';
Whereas the National Assembly, in reaction to pressure from the international 
        community, in October 2005, voted unanimously to delay until after the 
        term of President Enrique Bolanos Geyer expires in January 2007, the 
        enactment of these constitutional amendments by approving the Framework 
        Law for the Stability and Governability of the Country (Framework Law);
Whereas, although the enactment and implementation of the Framework Law has 
        reduced the political tensions in Nicaragua, the practical effect of the 
        Pact remains largely intact as Arnoldo Aleman and Daniel Ortega continue 
        to wield near total control over the National Assembly, the Supreme 
        Court, the Electoral Council, and the Comptroller's Office, and the 
        Human Rights ombudsman's office;
Whereas free, fair, transparent, and inclusive electoral processes, in 
        conjunction with strong adherence to the constitution and democratic 
        institutions, are the bulwark against anti-democratic forces;
Whereas presidential and legislative elections in Nicaragua are scheduled to be 
        held in October 2006; and
Whereas the prerequisites for free, fair, transparent, and inclusive elections 
        have not yet been met, including securing a sufficient number of 
        credible national and international observers, completing the 
        distribution of voter identification cards, and ensuring that all 
        qualified and willing candidates are permitted to contest the elections: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That--
            (1) Congress--
                    (A) condemns the continued operation of the Aleman-
                Ortega Pact as detrimental to democracy in the Republic 
                of Nicaragua, the future of democracy in Nicaragua, and 
                the stability of the entire region;
                    (B) denounces the previous attempts by the National 
                Assembly to encroach unconstitutionally upon the powers 
                of the executive branch, undermine the governability of 
                the country, and advance the personal ambitions of some 
                of its current and former members;
                    (C) applauds the diplomatic efforts of the 
                Organization of American States (OAS) and the 
                Secretary-General of the OAS for demonstrating the 
                viability of the Inter-American Charter as an 
                increasingly effective instrument in the Western 
                Hemisphere for overcoming obstacles that impede 
                institutions, whether such institutions are executive, 
                legislative, or judicial in nature, from governing 
                democratically;
                    (D) concurs with the convening of a broad National 
                Dialogue to address the challenges that confront the 
                Nicaraguan people as they attempt to build a more 
                effective democracy; and
                    (E) supports the efforts of the Government of 
                Nicaragua and civil society to create the necessary 
                conditions for free, fair, transparent, and inclusive 
                elections in 2006, including by having effective and 
                robust monitoring missions by the Organization of 
                American States and other international observers, 
                supporting the training of domestic election observers, 
                assisting in the auditing of voter rolls to ensure 
                accuracy, promoting the complete distribution without 
                discrimination of proper voter identification 
                documents, and encouraging the lawful inclusion of all 
                qualified candidates in the electoral contests; and
            (2) it is the sense of Congress that--
                    (A) it should be the policy of the United States to 
                support democracy, the rule of law, and human rights in 
                Nicaragua and work cooperatively with regional and 
                international organizations to bolster Nicaraguan 
                efforts to establish the requisite conditions for free, 
                fair, transparent, and inclusive presidential and 
                legislative elections in 2006;
                    (B) it should be the policy of the United States to 
                work through the Organization of American States and 
                other regional and international organizations to 
                encourage political elements within Nicaragua to 
                preserve, protect, and defend the letter and spirit of 
                that country's constitution; and
                    (C) to the extent that electoral or democracy and 
                governance assistance is provided, the President of the 
                United States should ensure that such assistance is 
                provided only for the purposes of training election 
                observers and ensuring the integrity of the electoral 
                process as requested by the President of Nicaragua, 
                that such assistance be provided through 
                nongovernmental organizations on a non-partisan basis 
                in the United States and Nicaragua, and that the 
                details of such assistance be made public on a timely 
                basis to promote transparency and accountability in 
                both countries.

            Passed the House of Representatives December 14, 2005.

            Attest:

                                                 KAREN L. HAAS,

                                                                 Clerk.