[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1402 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1402
Supporting a transition to democracy through free, fair, credible,
peaceful, and transparent elections in Bangladesh.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 31, 2008
Mr. Crowley (for himself, Mr. King of New York, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Meeks
of New York, Mr. Payne, Ms. Watson, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr.
Ackerman, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Mr. Serrano,
Mr. Miller of North Carolina, Mr. Hodes, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Nadler, Mr.
Engel, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Delahunt, Mr.
Inslee, Mr. Towns, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Honda, Mr. Carney, Mr.
Tanner, Mr. Shuler, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Sires, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Ms.
Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen,
Mrs. Boyda of Kansas, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. Berman, Mr. Davis of Illinois,
Mr. Scott of Georgia, and Mr. Blumenauer) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting a transition to democracy through free, fair, credible,
peaceful, and transparent elections in Bangladesh.
Whereas the independent, sovereign republic of Bangladesh was first proclaimed
on March 26, 1971, and the Constitution of Bangladesh, ratified in 1972
following a war of independence, established a democracy ruled by and
for the people;
Whereas Bangladesh has a population of 154,000,000 people and is the world's
third most populated Muslim country, and has been known to be a stable,
moderate, democratic Muslim Nation;
Whereas Bangladesh has held what the international community has viewed as three
free and fair elections in 1991, 1996, and 2001;
Whereas in October 2006, as set up by the constitution, power was handed over to
a caretaker government before the January 22, 2007, scheduled election;
Whereas the caretaker Government of Bangladesh imposed a national state of
emergency on January 11, 2007, that suspended fundamental rights
guaranteed by the constitution and detained a large number of
politicians and others on suspicion of involvement in corruption and
other crimes;
Whereas the state of emergency has restricted media reporting and it has been
reported that journalists have been harassed, detained, or threatened by
the authorities;
Whereas the anti-corruption campaign is creating institutions to fight rampant
corruption throughout the government, including in the police and ports,
but also has resulted in the reporting of human rights abuses;
Whereas the caretaker Government of Bangladesh reportedly arrested 18,000
persons with questionable records since May 28, 2008, and subsequently
released most of them;
Whereas the Chief Adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, announced that elections will be
held by the third week of December 2008;
Whereas the current political situation has been exacerbated by food prices that
have doubled within the past year, compounding economic challenges for
the people;
Whereas Bangladesh has established an estimated 6 percent real growth rate in
the last 4 years, and a 6.5 percent growth rate in 2007;
Whereas the Grameen Bank, through microfinancing in Bangladesh, has been able to
provide lending to 7,300,000 stakeholders and has empowered women to
control 97 percent of the Bank, alongside other agencies in rural
Bangladesh creating a new climate of economic growth and increasing
social capital;
Whereas the economic support extended by the United States has helped to create
an opportunity for employment and growth in Bangladesh, with particular
impact on the empowerment of women and strengthening the process of
social moderation and modernization in Bangladesh; and
Whereas Bangladesh's long-term political stability and economic progress are
critical to the security of the South Asian region: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses its strong support to the restoration of
democracy in Bangladesh so it will be able to address economic
and political challenges, and urges all stakeholders to play a
constructive and forward looking role to strengthen such a
process;
(2) appreciates the decision of the caretaker Government of
Bangladesh to hold free, fair, credible, peaceful, and
transparent elections by the third week of December 2008;
(3) welcomes the decision of the Government of Bangladesh
to hold dialogue with all political parties and other civil
society organizations to create a congenial atmosphere for
holding elections and to ensure participation of all political
parties in that process;
(4) urges all political parties to participate in the
elections so that democratic governance can be maintained,
which could continue fight against corruption and institutional
and policy reforms;
(5) calls on the Government of Bangladesh to lift the state
of emergency and remove other restrictions on political
activity to allow free and fair elections to occur;
(6) urges the caretaker Government of Bangladesh to
complete a transparent voter registration process that will
facilitate the enrollment of the maximum number of eligible
voters to protect the voting rights of all eligible voters
regardless of religious affiliations or ethnic background, to
use all practical technical means of ensuring the security of
the ballot, to prevent violence before and after elections, and
to permit and facilitate international and domestic
nongovernmental monitoring of the entire electoral process;
(7) urges the caretaker Government of Bangladesh to invite
foreign nationals to observe and monitor the December 2008
elections;
(8) urges the Government of Bangladesh to ensure the due
process and equal treatment under the rule of law for all
suspects, witnesses, and detainees;
(9) notes the initiatives of the caretaker Government of
Bangladesh to eradicate corruption from all levels of
government and society through institutional and policy
reforms;
(10) expresses concern at the reported abuse of human
rights and urges the Government of Bangladesh to ensure human
rights, freedom of speech, assembly, and association;
(11) urges the caretaker Government of Bangladesh to
protect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities,
particularly Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Ahmadis, and non-
Muslim tribal peoples;
(12) urges the President to work toward the return of
democracy to Bangladesh as a high priority of United States
foreign policy and affirm the willingness of the United States
to provide assistance;
(13) urges the President to use the voice and vote of the
United States in multilateral organizations to strengthen the
rule of law and democracy in Bangladesh; and
(14) urges the President to consider, upon completion of an
internationally-accepted free and fair election, extending
generous economic support to Bangladesh as an incentive.
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