[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 176 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 176

 Expressing the sense of the Senate on United States policy during the 
       political transition in Zimbabwe, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 9, 2009

  Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. 
Burris, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Nelson of Nebraska, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cardin, 
   and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following resolution; which was 
                        considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate on United States policy during the 
       political transition in Zimbabwe, and for other purposes.

Whereas, over the course of the last decade, the Zimbabwean African National 
        Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), led by Robert Mugabe, increasingly 
        turned to violence and intimidation to maintain power amidst government-
        directed economic collapse and a growing humanitarian crisis;
Whereas the Department of State's 2008 Country Report on Human Rights Practices 
        states that the Government of Zimbabwe ``continued to engage in the 
        pervasive and systematic abuse of human rights, which increased during 
        the year,'' including unlawful killings, politically-motivated 
        abductions, state-sanctioned use of excessive force and torture by 
        security forces against opposition, student leaders, and civil society 
        activists;
Whereas Zimbabwe held presidential and parliamentary elections on March 29, 
        2008, with official results showing that Mr. Mugabe won 43.2 percent of 
        the vote, while Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition party 
        Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), won 47.9 percent of the vote;
Whereas, in the wake of those elections, Mr. Mugabe and his allies launched a 
        brutal campaign of violence against members and supporters of the MDC, 
        voters and journalists, and other citizens of Zimbabwe, leading Mr. 
        Tsvangirai to withdraw from the June 27, 2008, runoff presidential 
        election, which Mr. Mugabe, the only remaining candidate, then won with 
        85 percent of the vote;
Whereas, on September 15, 2008, ZANU-PF and the MDC signed a ``Global Political 
        Agreement'' (GPA) to form a transitional government under which Mr. 
        Mugabe would remain President, Mr. Tsvangirai would become Prime 
        Minister, and the parties would divide control of the ministries;
Whereas the Global Political Agreement, as written, included provisions to 
        restore the rule of law and economic stability and growth, establish a 
        new constitution, end violence by state and non-state actors, and 
        promote freedom of assembly, association, expression, and communication;
Whereas the installation of the transitional government stalled for five months 
        as Mr. Mugabe and his allies refused to compromise on control of key 
        ministries and security agencies and continued to use the state security 
        apparatus to intimidate and commit violence against political opponents;
Whereas, according to the United Nations, the humanitarian situation during that 
        time deteriorated to unprecedented levels, with an estimated 5,000,000 
        people in Zimbabwe susceptible to food insecurity, and collapsing water 
        and sewerage services giving rise to a cholera epidemic that has 
        resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 people;
Whereas, on February 11, 2009, the parties finally formed the transitional 
        government;
Whereas there has since been some progress toward the implementation of the 
        Global Political Agreement, including positive steps by the Ministry of 
        Finance, such as the issuance of a Short Term Economic Recovery Program 
        (STERP) and the abandonment of the Zimbabwe dollar in favor of foreign 
        currencies;
Whereas many of the reform-minded individuals within the new transitional 
        government are limited by a severe lack of qualified personnel and 
        material resources;
Whereas the full implementation of the Global Political Agreement continues to 
        be obstructed by hardliners in the government, and important issues 
        regarding senior government appointments remain unresolved, notably the 
        status of the current Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General;
Whereas ZANU-PF officials have made efforts to obstruct implementation of the 
        Global Political Agreement as they continue to arrest legitimate 
        journalists and human rights activists and delay the swearing into 
        office of properly designated officials nominated by MDC; and
Whereas the security forces continue to operate outside the rule of law, 
        condoning land invasions, restrictions on media access and freedoms, and 
        harassment, arbitrary arrests, and detention of civil society activists 
        in Zimbabwe: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States 
Government, in coordination with other democratic governments and 
international institutions desiring to help the people of Zimbabwe, 
should--
            (1) continue to provide humanitarian assistance to meet the 
        urgent needs of the people of Zimbabwe;
            (2) make available increased resources for nongovernmental 
        entities to provide assistance and to pay salaries or fees to 
        appropriately qualified people in Zimbabwe to enable progress 
        to be made in the critical areas of education, health, water, 
        and sanitation;
            (3) welcome and encourage responsible efforts by the 
        international community to support, strengthen, and extend 
        reforms made by ministries within the Government of Zimbabwe, 
        especially the Ministry of Finance;
            (4) provide concrete financial and technical assistance in 
        response to requests from the people of Zimbabwe and civil 
        society organizations in their efforts to draft and enact a new 
        constitution based on democratic values and principles that 
        would enable the country to hold fair and free elections at an 
        early date;
            (5) work with and encourage regional governments and 
        leaders to promote human rights, the restoration of the rule of 
        law, and economic growth in Zimbabwe;
            (6) maintain the existing ban on the transfer of defense 
        items and services and the suspension of most non-humanitarian 
        government-to-government assistance until there is demonstrable 
        progress toward restoring the rule of law, civilian control 
        over security forces, and respect for human rights in Zimbabwe; 
        and
            (7) support the continuation and updating of financial 
        sanctions and travel bans targeted against those individuals 
        responsible for the deliberate breakdown of the rule of law, 
        politically motivated violence, and other ongoing illegal 
        activities in Zimbabwe.
                                 <all>