[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1270 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1270

 Commending the efforts of those who sought to block an international 
arms transfer destined for Zimbabwe, where the government has unleashed 
    a campaign of violence and intimidation against members of the 
             political opposition, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2008

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Berman, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. 
  Payne, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Royce, Mr. Sherman, Mr. 
  Chabot, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Capuano, and Mr. Fortuno) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Commending the efforts of those who sought to block an international 
arms transfer destined for Zimbabwe, where the government has unleashed 
    a campaign of violence and intimidation against members of the 
             political opposition, and for other purposes.

Whereas following the conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections on 
        March 29, 2008, Zimbabwe's liberator-turned-despot, Robert Mugabe, 
        unleashed a campaign of terror and intimidation against opposition 
        members, supporters, and other civilians in a desperate attempt to cling 
        to power;
Whereas human rights groups have documented numerous incidents of state-
        sponsored political violence in Zimbabwe in recent years, and 
        substantial political violence and human rights violations committed by 
        government agents accompanied parliamentary elections in 2000 and 2005, 
        and the presidential election in 2002;
Whereas reports from the region indicate that the Mugabe regime intends to 
        continue this well-established pattern of state-sponsored and targeted 
        violence and intimidation in the run-up to a second round of voting on 
        June 27, 2008;
Whereas the Department of State found in its 2007 Country Reports on Human 
        Rights Practices that the Mugabe regime ``engaged in the pervasive and 
        systematic abuse of human rights, which increased significantly'' in 
        2007, and reported that ``state-sanctioned use of excessive force 
        increased, and security forces tortured members of the opposition, 
        student leaders, and civil society activists'';
Whereas the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum documented 586 incidents of torture, 
        855 incidents of assault, and 19 incidents of politically-motivated 
        abductions and kidnappings in 2007 alone;
Whereas Freedom House declared the Mugabe regime to be one of ``the world's most 
        repressive'';
Whereas Human Rights Watch reported on April 19, 2008, that the Mugabe regime 
        had established a network of informal detention centers to beat, 
        torture, and intimidate political opponents and other civilians;
Whereas following the March 29 elections in Zimbabwe, a Chinese vessel, the An 
        Yue Jiang, arrived in South Africa carrying a shipment of weapons for 
        the Zimbabwean Defense Force that reportedly included 3,000,000 rounds 
        of AK-47 ammunition, 1,500 rocket-propelled grenades, and 3,000 mortar 
        bombs and tubes;
Whereas the delivery of such arms would only further degrade the security 
        situation in Zimbabwe, which has already been compromised, as the 
        materiel are likely to be used by government security forces and 
        militias to further abuse, torture, and kill members of the political 
        opposition and other civilians;
Whereas the dock and freight workers of the South African Transport and Allied 
        Workers Union refused to unload the shipment or transport its cargo;
Whereas the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) called for an 
        international boycott of the vessel, stating, ``There's no prospect of 
        there being a sudden external invasion of Zimbabwe. And so it is very 
        difficult for anyone to conclude that this ammunition is likely to be 
        used for anything other than to take action against opposition groups'';
Whereas the Congress of Southern African Trade Unions joined in the call by the 
        ITF and others for an international boycott of the vessel;
Whereas the High Court of the South African port city of Durban blocked the 
        reported weapons transfer and ordered South African authorities to 
        prevent the vessel's passage through South African waters;
Whereas press reports suggest that other governments in the region, including 
        those of Mozambique and Tanzania also denied the vessel permission to 
        dock at their ports;
Whereas Zambian President and Southern African Development Community (SADC) 
        Chairman Levy Mwanawasa commended South Africa and Mozambique for 
        blocking the arms shipment, stating, ``I hope this will be the case with 
        all the countries because we do not want a situation which will escalate 
        the situation in Zimbabwe more than what it is'';
Whereas despite the SADC chairman's appeal to member nations to block the 
        delivery of ammunition of Zimbabwe and China's alleged recall of the An 
        Yue Jiang, Zimbabwe's Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga 
        announced the shipment had arrived in Harare on or around May 16, 2008;
Whereas while Beijing has denied that the shipment reached its destination, 
        speculation on the possible surreptitious delivery of weapons to Harare 
        continues;
Whereas the United States has been vocal in its condemnation of the atrocities 
        and violence in Zimbabwe, and has implemented targeted financial and 
        travel sanctions against select members of the Mugabe regime and others 
        who ``have engaged in actions or policies to undermine Zimbabwe's 
        democratic processes or institutions'';
Whereas in violation of the Vienna Convention, American diplomats and officials 
        from other embassies in Harare have been repeatedly harassed by elements 
        of the Mugabe regime in retaliation for their repeated protests against 
        the ongoing state-sponsored campaign of terror ahead of the June 27 
        presidential runoff election, including the detention of the American 
        ambassador's vehicle for several hours on May 13, 2008, and the 
        detention of 5 American embassy staff and 2 local embassy workers on 
        June 5, 2008; and
Whereas Congress expressed its opposition to the Mugabe regime's undemocratic 
        policies in the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, 
        and other subsequent legislation: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes and commends the efforts of southern African 
        trade unions, religious leaders, and advocacy groups to raise 
        awareness about the possible weapons transfer to Zimbabwe as 
        part of a campaign to address the worsening political, 
        economic, and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe;
            (2) recognizes and commends the efforts of those southern 
        African governments which denied access through their national 
        territories for a weapons shipment destined to be received by a 
        regime that continues to perpetuate gross human rights 
        violations against its own citizens;
            (3) urges the United States to continue to work with 
        African governments and multilateral institutions to compel 
        Robert Mugabe's regime to respect the will of its citizens and 
        find a peaceful and timely solution to the current political 
        standoff; and
            (4) urges the Permanent Representative of the United States 
        at the United Nations to advocate for an international 
        moratorium on all shipments of arms, weapons, and related goods 
        and services to Zimbabwe until the current political crisis has 
        been resolved and democracy, human rights, and the rule of law 
        are respected by the Government of Zimbabwe.
                                 <all>