[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 303 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 303

 Calling for the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough judicial 
       review of the Ken Saro-Wiwa case, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 10, 2005

Mr. Leahy (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Obama, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Dodd, 
and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Calling for the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough judicial 
       review of the Ken Saro-Wiwa case, and for other purposes.

Whereas on November 10, 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian writer, environmental 
        activist, and nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, along with 8 
        colleagues, together known as the ``Ogoni 9'', were hanged by the 
        military government of Nigeria, based on charges widely regarded as 
        false;
Whereas the Ogoni 9 had been nonviolently campaigning for improved living 
        standards and a clean environment for the Ogoni People, whose Niger 
        Delta land, air, and water was, and remains, severely polluted from oil 
        extraction, and whose standard of living, despite the great mineral 
        wealth their land has yielded since the early 1960s, is among the lowest 
        in the world;
Whereas the international condemnation that followed the executions included the 
        suspension of Nigeria from the British Commonwealth of Nations;
Whereas in 1996 a United Nations mission to Nigeria found the military tribunal 
        in contravention of international and domestic law, and recommended 
        financial relief for the survivors of the Ogoni 9 and improvements in 
        the socioeconomic conditions of the Ogoni and other minorities in the 
        Delta;
Whereas 10 years later, none of the United Nations recommendations have been 
        implemented, and the environmental and social situations have 
        deteriorated for the Ogoni and other Delta communities;
Whereas the Ogoni 9 remain convicted of a crime of which they were unfairly 
        tried;
Whereas Ogoniland remains severely polluted and gas flaring continues unabated;
Whereas the security and stability in the Niger Delta are threatened by a 
        proliferation of small arms, armed gangs, and black market oil 
        bunkering;
Whereas despite these pressures, Ogoniland remains an island of nonviolence, and 
        the Ogoni voted in high numbers in the 1999 elections;
Whereas stability in the Niger Delta is necessary to prevent an increase in 
        global oil costs; and
Whereas in the interest of the protection of human rights, justice, and 
        stability in the Delta, redress should be given to the Ogonis and their 
        use of nonviolent means should be recognized: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) urges the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough 
        judicial review of the trial of the Ogoni 9 and to provide just 
        compensation to the survivors of the Ogoni 9 if a miscarriage 
        of justice is found;
            (2) urges the Government of Nigeria, international donors, 
        and international oil companies operating in the Delta to 
        increase assistance significantly to improve the lives of the 
        Ogoni and other affected communities and for pollution 
        abatement and cleanup in the Niger Delta region, in close 
        consultation with local communities;
            (3) urges the Government of Nigeria to ensure that all 
        members of the security forces receive training in 
        international standards on the use of force and firearms, 
        particularly the 1979 United Nations Code of Conduct for Law 
        Enforcement Officials and the 1990 United Nations Basic 
        Principles on the Use of Force and Fire Arms by Law Enforcement 
        Officials;
            (4) calls upon the Department of State to seek urgently to 
        ensure that American oil companies operating in the Niger Delta 
        comply, at a minimum, with the Voluntary Principles for 
        Security and Human Rights; and
            (5) urges the Secretary General of the United Nations to 
        institute a 10-year followup mission to Ogoniland.
                                 <all>