[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1013 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1013

Condemning the violent suppression of legitimate political dissent and 
          gross human rights abuses in the Republic of Guinea.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 13, 2010

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Berman, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Smith of 
 New Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the violent suppression of legitimate political dissent and 
          gross human rights abuses in the Republic of Guinea.

Whereas, on December 23, 2008, a military junta calling itself the National 
        Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) seized power in the 
        Republic of Guinea hours after the death of longtime President Lansana 
        Conte, suspended the national legislature and the constitution, and 
        committed to hold free and fair national elections as part of a 
        ``peaceful transition'' to a civilian-led government;
Whereas delays in electoral preparations and statements by CNDD leader Captain 
        Moussa Dadis Camara that he might run for president, in contravention of 
        earlier commitments that neither he nor any other member of the CNDD 
        would run as a candidate in the elections, provoked increasing public 
        discontent with the junta;
Whereas, on September 28, 2009, tens of thousands of unarmed civilians gathered 
        at a the national soccer stadium in Conakry to protest against the CNDD;
Whereas security forces responded by surrounding the stadium and opening fire 
        with live ammunition on the crowd, reportedly killing over 150 people 
        and injuring over 1,000;
Whereas prominent opposition leaders were then beaten and arrested by soldiers, 
        demonstrators and opposition party members were detained without charge, 
        and at least 60 women were brutally raped, sexually molested, or killed 
        by security forces, many of them in public and in full sight of their 
        commanders;
Whereas an investigation by Human Rights Watch indicates that ``the [stadium] 
        massacre and widespread rape were organized and premeditated'' and that 
        armed forces had attempted to ``hide evidence of the crimes by seizing 
        bodies from the stadium and the city's morgues and burying them in mass 
        graves'';
Whereas the security forces responsible for the violence on September 28, 2009, 
        reportedly included troops from the Presidential Guard and gendarmes 
        working with the State Secretariat for Special Services, both of which 
        answer directly to the presidency;
Whereas, on October 30, 2009, the United Nations Secretary-General announced the 
        appointment of an international commission of inquiry to probe the 
        violence of September 28, 2009;
Whereas the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has appointed 
        President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso to mediate between the CNDD, 
        opposition parties, and civil society in an effort to break the current 
        political impasse;
Whereas the African Union, ECOWAS, the European Union, and the United States 
        have imposed targeted sanctions, variously including travel 
        restrictions, financial asset freezes, and an arms embargo, on CNDD 
        members in response to the violent crackdown and perceived CNDD 
        resistance to a democratic transition;
Whereas while others were imposing sanctions against the CNDD, it was announced 
        in October that the China International Fund, a Hong-Kong registered 
        company with ties to Chinese state-owned enterprises and government 
        agencies, has signed a $7,000,000,000 deal with the CNDD to develop 
        Guinea's vast mineral resources;
Whereas the CNDD reportedly has imported millions of dollars worth of weapons 
        since the September 28, 2009, crackdown and junta members reportedly are 
        recruiting militias, adding a troubling and potentially explosive ethnic 
        dimension to the crisis;
Whereas targeted political killings reportedly have been carried out in Conakry 
        since September 2009, opposition members continue to face the threat of 
        arrest and violent assault, and the junta has banned all public 
        protests;
Whereas, on December 3, 2009, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was shot in the head 
        in an apparent assassination attempt by his aid-de-camp Lt. Aboubakar 
        Diakite (Toumba) and flown to Morocco for treatment, prompting analysts 
        to warn of a potential counter-coup and a further deterioration of 
        security in Guinea;
Whereas a further deterioration of the political and security situation in 
        Guinea could have catastrophic consequences not only for Guinea, but 
        also for neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone, both of which only 
        recently emerged from deadly, protracted conflicts;
Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has referred to the September 28, 
        2009, crackdown as ``criminality of the greatest degree'', and stated 
        that Guinea's military leaders must recognize ``that they cannot remain 
        in power, that they must turn back to the people the right to choose 
        their own leaders''; and
Whereas, on January 6, 2010, interim junta leader General Sekouba Konate invited 
        the opposition in Guinea to select a prime minister in advance of the 
        formation of a transitional government and offered security guarantees 
        to opposition leaders who had fled the country: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the violent suppression of legitimate 
        political dissent and gross human rights abuses, including mass 
        murder and extreme sexual violence, perpetrated by forces under 
        the command of the National Council for Democracy and 
        Development (CNDD) in Guinea and demands that the perpetrators 
        of these crimes be brought to justice;
            (2) expresses grave concern about the further deterioration 
        of security and rule of law in Guinea, particularly with regard 
        to ongoing reports of--
                    (A) harassment of opposition figures, members of 
                civil society, and journalists;
                    (B) rising ethnic tensions;
                    (C) growing cleavages within the CNDD and the 
                military which raise the potential of a violent 
                counter-coup;
                    (D) recruitment of militias and other irregular 
                forces from within Guinea and neighboring countries;
                    (E) importation of weapons despite an arms embargo 
                on the region; and
                    (F) uncertainty about the prospects for restoring 
                civilian rule through free, fair, and transparent 
                elections;
            (3) calls on China to cease its material support for the 
        CNDD by publically announcing the cancellation of China 
        International Fund's $7,000,000,000 minerals and infrastructure 
        deal in Guinea;
            (4) urges all Member States of the United Nations to join 
        the United States, the European Union (EU), the African Union 
        (AU), and the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) 
        to impose sanctions against the regime until constitutional 
        order and rule of law has been restored in Guinea;
            (5) supports the efforts of the ECOWAS and the AU to find a 
        resolution to the current political crisis in Guinea;
            (6) urges the leaders of the CNDD to uphold their pledges 
        to form an inclusive transitional government, refrain from 
        standing as candidates in the upcoming national elections, and 
        to facilitate the conduct of free, fair, and transparent 
        elections that meet international standards and reflect the 
        will of the Guinean people; and
            (7) expresses solidarity with the people of Guinea during 
        this time of extreme uncertainty and expresses deep regret for 
        the victims of the September 28, 2009, crackdown and subsequent 
        political impasse.
                                 <all>