[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 460 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 460

   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should 
 increase its support to the people of Somalia in their efforts to end 
  decades of violence, establish lasting peace, form a democratically 
elected and stable central government, and become an effective partner 
  in eradicating radicalism and terrorism from their country and the 
                                region.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 2, 2006

 Mr. Coleman (for himself, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Dayton) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should 
 increase its support to the people of Somalia in their efforts to end 
  decades of violence, establish lasting peace, form a democratically 
elected and stable central government, and become an effective partner 
  in eradicating radicalism and terrorism from their country and the 
                                region.

Whereas General Mohamed Siad Barre, who came to power in Somalia through a 
        military coup in 1969, was ousted from power by several armed groups of 
        Somalia in 1991;
Whereas, following the collapse of the central authority in Mogadishu, the 
        capital of Somalia, rival groups of Somalia devastated the region by--

    (1) engaging in an armed struggle for personal political power; and

    (2) preventing food and medicine from reaching innocent civilians who 
were suffering from drought and famine;

Whereas, during the continued internal chaos and destruction in Somalia, 
        hundreds of thousands of people have died from--

    (1) violence;

    (2) starvation; and

    (3) disease;

Whereas the people of Somalia witnessed the country splinter into--

    (1) the Republic of Somaliland, which--

                    (A) is located in the northwest portion of Somalia; and
                    (B) seeks independence;

    (2) Puntland, which is an autonomous region located in the northeast 
portion of Somalia; and

    (3) a myriad of warlord-controlled fiefdoms that are located in the 
southern portion of Somalia;

Whereas, on November 9, 1992, President George H. W. Bush authorized Operation 
        Restore Hope, and used the Armed Forces to safeguard nongovernmental 
        organizations while the organizations attempted to provide humanitarian 
        assistance to the suffering civilian population of Somalia;
Whereas the United States led the Unified Task Force (referred to in this 
        preamble as the ``UNITAF'') in an effort to--

    (1) save lives; and

    (2) help create a relatively peaceful environment for humanitarian 
activity in Somalia;

Whereas, in May 1993, UNITAF handed its operations to the United Nations for an 
        operation subsequently known as the ``United Nations Operation in 
        Somalia'', giving the people of Somalia hope for peace and stability;
Whereas the operation was unfortunately unsuccessful in establishing peace and 
        stability in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia;
Whereas, in March 1994, the Armed Forces withdrew from Somalia after a long and 
        bloody battle in Mogadishu on October 3, 1993;
Whereas, 1 year after the withdrawal of the United States, the United Nations 
        withdrew all remaining peacekeepers because the security conditions in 
        Somalia had further deteriorated;
Whereas the United Nations withdrew United Nations troops from Somalia in 1995;
Whereas 13 conferences dedicated to promoting reconciliation or peace have been 
        called in order to end the fighting in Somalia;
Whereas, in October 2002, 21 warring parties in Somalia took positive action 
        by--

    (1) agreeing to a cease fire under the auspices of the East African 
organization known as the ``Intergovernmental Authority on Development''; 
and

    (2) beginning a dialogue that was focused on forming a government;

Whereas, in September 2003, the parties to the Kenyan peace process agreed on 
        the Transitional National Charter for Somalia, and thus paved the way 
        for the creation of a unified national government in Somalia;
Whereas, in August 2004, the 275-member Transitional Federal Assembly of Somalia 
        was assembled in Kenya to reunify and heal Somalia and comprised of 61 
        delegates from the 4 major clans of Somalia and 31 delegates from an 
        alliance of minority clans located in that country;
Whereas Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the former leader of Puntland, was elected 
        President of Somalia by the Transitional Federal Government on October 
        10, 2004;
Whereas Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed appointed Professor Ali Mohamed Gedi as Prime 
        Minister in November 2004;
Whereas a limited number of countries on the continent of Africa have pledged to 
        send peacekeeping troops to Somalia to help protect the Transitional 
        Federal Government as the Government seeks to reestablish peace and 
        order;
Whereas the international community should encourage those individuals and 
        organizations that have shown commitment to the peace process, 
        including--

    (1) the African Union;

    (2) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development;

    (3) the Transitional Federal Government; and

    (4) the many clans located in Somalia;

Whereas escalating tensions and violence between certain clans threaten to 
        weaken the ability of the Transitional Federal Government to--

    (1) develop capacity;

    (2) effectively establish stability; and

    (3) enforce the rule of law throughout Somalia;

Whereas the 2004 Country Reports on Terrorism, produced by the Secretary of 
        State in accordance with section 140 of the Foreign Relations 
        Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f), noted 
        that--

    (1) ``a small number of al-Qa'ida operatives in East Africa, 
particularly Somalia, continue to pose the most serious threat to American 
interests in the region'';

    (2) ``Somalia's lack of a functioning central government, protracted 
state of violent instability, long unguarded coastline, porous borders, and 
proximity to the Arabian Peninsula make it a potential location for 
international terrorists seeking a transit or launching point to conduct 
operations elsewhere''; and

    (3) ``[t]he U.S. government must identify and prioritize actual or 
potential terrorist sanctuaries. For each, it should have a realistic 
strategy to keep possible terrorists insecure and on the run, using all 
elements of national power'';

Whereas current political tensions may be exacerbated by the ongoing 
        humanitarian crisis that continues to affect hundreds of thousands of 
        individuals in Somalia, thereby making the task of creating a stable, 
        central government increasingly difficult;
Whereas the Transitional Federal Government is incapable of meeting the 
        fundamental needs of all people of Somalia, including--

    (1) education;

    (2) health care; and

    (3) other essential services;

Whereas the 2005 Human Rights Report published by the Department of State cites 
        significant concerns relating to abuses of human rights in Somalia, 
        including--

    (1) female genital mutilation;

    (2) rape; and

    (3) political violence;

Whereas the Federal Government has provided $476,000,000 for humanitarian 
        assistance activities since 1990, although a majority of those funds 
        were distributed during the early 1990s;
Whereas it is the desire of the United States that the people of Somalia live 
        peaceful, stable, prosperous, and happy lives;
Whereas the United States has historically supported the aspirations of the 
        people of Somalia; and
Whereas the compassion of the citizens of the United States extends across the 
        world to embrace every member of the human family: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the United States is working with the people of Somalia 
        to build a stable and enduring democratic nation in the Horn of 
        Africa that is prosperous and free of civil war;
            (2) to achieve long-lasting peace in the region, the 
        nascent leadership and governance structures of Somalia must--
                    (A) commit themselves to the principles of 
                democracy and the rule of law; and
                    (B) pledge to hold popular elections as soon as 
                Somalia has stabilized;
            (3) the nascent Transitional Federal Government for Somalia 
        should--
                    (A) organize itself in 1 city as soon as 
                practicable to--
                            (i) promote national unity; and
                            (ii) begin the process of reentering the 
                        international community; and
                    (B) delay the consideration of the delicate issue 
                regarding the Republic of Somaliland until an 
                appropriate level of stability has been achieved in 
                Somalia, while understanding the critical importance of 
                that issue for establishing a peaceful Somalia;
            (4) the President should--
                    (A) commend the efforts of those that have worked 
                to restore a functioning and internationally recognized 
                government in Somalia, including--
                            (i) the people of Somalia and their 
                        representatives;
                            (ii) the African Union;
                            (iii) the Intergovernmental Authority on 
                        Development;
                            (iv) friendly countries from the continent 
                        of Africa; and
                            (v) nongovernmental organizations;
                    (B) through the Secretary of State, develop a 
                comprehensive interagency stabilization and 
                reconstruction strategy that--
                            (i) aligns humanitarian, developmental, 
                        economic, political, counterterrorism, and 
                        regional strategies;
                            (ii) achieves the objectives of the United 
                        States in Somalia in coordination with the 
                        international donor community; and
                            (iii) orients current and future programs 
                        to meet the objectives described in clause 
                        (ii);
                    (C) appoint a special envoy to Somalia to--
                            (i) help guide and inform United States 
                        policy and interests in the region; and
                            (ii) serve as a liaison between--
                                    (I) the United States;
                                    (II) nascent Somali governance 
                                institutions;
                                    (III) the international donor 
                                community; and
                                    (IV) the region;
                    (D) instruct the United States Permanent 
                Representative to the United Nations to request that 
                the Security Council take additional measures to--
                            (i) evaluate the effectiveness of the 
                        existing arms embargo on Somalia; and
                            (ii) develop an improved plan to monitor 
                        and protect the vast land and maritime borders 
                        of Somalia from--
                                    (I) smuggling;
                                    (II) dumping; and
                                    (III) piracy; and
                    (E) through the Secretaries of State and the 
                Treasury, work with international financial 
                institutions to incrementally reduce the crippling 
                international debt of Somalia on the condition that 
                Somalia upholds democratic and free market principles;
            (5) the United States Agency for International Development 
        should increase the assistance that the Agency provides to the 
        Transitional Federal Government to rebuild the national 
        infrastructure of Somalia, and place particular emphasis on the 
        promotion of the governmental institutions of Somalia;
            (6) the United States should provide training and support 
        to the Transitional National Government of Somalia to--
                    (A) fight terrorism and extremism; and
                    (B) strengthen the civil society and grassroots 
                efforts in Somalia that will deny terrorist and 
                extremist groups a fertile ground for recruitment in 
                that country;
            (7) the United States, in partnership with the United 
        Nations and the international donor community, must--
                    (A) heed the calls concerning the significant 
                drought affecting the region that have been placed by--
                            (i) the United Nations Coordinator for 
                        Humanitarian Assistance;
                            (ii) the international community of 
                        nongovernmental organizations; and
                            (iii) regional governments;
                    (B) provide sufficient humanitarian assistance to 
                those impacted by the drought; and
                    (C) realize that a failure to address the 
                humanitarian emergency could have a negative impact on 
                fragile political developments; and
            (8) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this resolution, the Secretary of State should present to 
        Congress a status report on items referred to in paragraphs (4) 
        through (8) that includes--
                    (A) a projection of future challenges regarding 
                Somalia; and
                    (B) resource requirements that could foreseeably be 
                needed to continue to support the transition of Somalia 
                to a peaceful and democratic country.
                                 <all>