[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 283 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 283


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 8 (legislative day, February 6), 2008

      Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Calling for a peaceful resolution to the current electoral crisis in 
                                 Kenya.

Whereas on December 27, 2007, the citizens of Kenya went peacefully to the polls 
        to elect a new parliament and a new President and signaled their 
        commitment to democracy by turning out in large numbers and, in some 
        instances, waiting in long lines to vote;
Whereas on December 29, 2007, the opposition presidential candidate, Raila 
        Odinga, was reportedly over

              

 300,000 votes ahead of the incumbent with 90 percent of the precincts 
reporting;

Whereas on December 30, 2007, the head of the Electoral Commission of Kenya 
        (``ECK'') declared that Mwai Kibaki won the presidential election by 
        197,000 votes;
Whereas Mr. Kibaki was sworn in as President within an hour of the announcement 
        of the election results, despite serious concerns raised about the 
        legitimacy of the election results by domestic and international 
        observers;
Whereas the lack of transparency in vote tallying, serious irregularities 
        reported by election observers, the implausibility of the margin of 
        victory, and the swearing in of the Party of National Unity presidential 
        candidate with undue haste, all serve to undermine the credibility of 
        the presidential election results;
Whereas the Government of Kenya imposed a ban on live media that day, and 
        shortly after the election results were announced, in contravention of 
        Kenyan law, the Government also announced a blanket ban on public 
        assembly and gave police the authority to use lethal force;
Whereas on January 1, 2008, 4 commissioners on the ECK issued a statement which 
        called into question the election results announced by the Commission 
        and called for a judicial review;
Whereas the head of the European Union Election Observation Mission stated that 
        ``Lack of transparency as well as a number of verified irregularities . 
        . . cast doubt on the accuracy of the results of the presidential 
        election as announced by the ECK'' and called for an international audit 
        of the results;
Whereas observers from the East African Community have called for an 
        investigation into irregularities during the tallying process and for 
        those responsible for such irregularities to be held accountable;
Whereas in 1991 President Daniel Arap Moi agreed to move from one party rule to 
        multi-party politics, and in 1992, Kenyans voted in record numbers in 
        the country's first multi-party election in almost 26 years;
Whereas in 1997 Kenya held its second multi-party elections, despite extremely 
        high levels of tension between the opposition and the ruling party;
Whereas in 2002 the opposition succeeded in forming and holding together a 
        coalition that for the first time in history ousted the ruling party 
        from power, demonstrating to Kenyans and Africans that incumbency and 
        the entrenched clout of a ruling party can be defeated through the 
        ballot box;
Whereas the violence and unrest in Kenya threatens to roll back the democratic 
        gains made over the past 17 years;
Whereas more than 900 people have died and an estimated 250,000 people, 80,000 
        of whom are children, have been displaced as a result of the violence;
Whereas Kenya has been a valuable United States ally since independence, 
        providing the United States with access to its military facilities and 
        political support in the United Nations, and has been an important ally 
        in the war against terrorism, especially since the United States embassy 
        bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998;
Whereas the political instability in Kenya is connected to a larger struggle for 
        democracy and is not merely the result of tribal violence;
Whereas continued violence and unrest could have serious political, economic, 
        and security implications for the entire region; and
Whereas the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs has stated that 
        ``serious flaws in the vote tallying process damaged the credibility of 
        the process'' and that the United States should not ``conduct business 
        as usual'' in Kenya: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) commends the Kenyan people for their commitment to 
        democracy and respect for the democratic process as evidenced 
        by the high voter turnout and peaceful voting on election day;
            (2) strongly condemns the ongoing violence in Kenya and 
        urges all parties concerned to immediately end use of violence 
        as a means to achieve their political objectives;
            (3) calls for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the 
        conflict in Kenya;
            (4) calls on the 2 leading presidential candidates to 
        continue to accept external and internal assistance to help 
        find a solution to the current crisis which has the support of 
        the people of Kenya;
            (5) calls on Kenyan security forces to refrain from use of 
        excessive force and respect the human rights of Kenyan 
        citizens;
            (6) calls for those who are found guilty of committing 
        human rights violations to be held accountable for their 
        actions;
            (7) calls for an immediate end to the restrictions on the 
        media, and on the rights of peaceful assembly and association;
            (8) condemns threats to civil society groups, journalists, 
        religious leaders, human rights activists, and all those who 
        are making every effort to achieve a peaceful, just, and 
        equitable political solution to the current electoral crisis;
            (9) calls on the international community, United Nations 
        aid organizations, and all neighboring countries to provide 
        assistance to those affected by violence and encourages the use 
        of all the diplomatic means at their disposal to persuade 
        relevant political actors to commit to a peaceful resolution to 
        the current crisis; and
            (10) urges the President of the United States to--
                    (A) continue to support diplomatic efforts to 
                facilitate a dialogue between leaders of the Party of 
                National Unity, the Orange Democratic Movement, and 
                other relevant actors that will lead to the 
                establishment of an interim or coalition government in 
                order to implement necessary constitutional reforms, 
                establish a mechanism to investigate the election 
                crisis, and address its root causes;
                    (B) consider the imposition of targeted sanctions, 
                including a travel ban and asset freeze, on political 
                leaders and other relevant actors who refuse to engage 
                in mediation efforts to end the political crisis in the 
                country; and
                    (C) conduct a review of current United States aid 
                to Kenya for the purposes of restricting all non-
                essential assistance to Kenya unless the parties are 
                able to establish a peaceful political resolution to 
                the current crisis which is credible to the Kenyan 
                people.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 7, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.