[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 345 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 345

 Deploring the rape and assault of women in Guinea and the killing of 
              political protesters on September 28, 2009.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 9, 2009

 Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Stabenow, 
    Mrs. Shaheen, Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Hutchison, Ms. Landrieu, Mrs. 
Feinstein, Ms. Snowe, Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Corker, and Mr. 
 Leahy) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

                           November 18, 2009

                Reported by Mr. Kerry, without amendment

                           February 22, 2010

  Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble and an 
                         amendment to the title

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Deploring the rape and assault of women in Guinea and the killing of 
              political protesters on September 28, 2009.

Whereas, on December 23, 2008, a group of military officers calling itself the 
        National Council for Democracy and Development (referred to in this 
        preamble as the ``CNDD'') seized power in a coup in Guinea, installed as 
        interim President Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, and promised to hold 
        elections;
Whereas, on September 28, 2009, authorities of the Government of Guinea opened 
        fire on a crowd of thousands of unarmed opposition protesters who were 
        gathered in and around an outdoor stadium to protest statements made by 
        Captain Camara that he may run for president, after he said that he 
        would not;
Whereas, on September 29, 2009, the United States Department of State condemned 
        the brazen and inappropriate use of force by the military against 
        civilians in Guinea, and demanded the immediate release of opposition 
        leaders and a return to civilian rule as soon as possible;
Whereas according to the United Nations Security Council Report of the 
        International Commission of Inquiry Mandated to Establish the Facts and 
        Circumstances of the Events of 28 September 2009 in Guinea, 156 people 
        were killed or disappeared and at least 109 women and girls ``were 
        subjected to rape and other sexual violence, including sexual mutilation 
        and sexual slavery'';
Whereas according to Human Rights Watch, these killings and assaults were part 
        of a ``premeditated massacre'' in which the ``level, frequency, and 
        brutality of sexual violence that took place at and after the protests 
        strongly suggests that it was part of a systematic attempt to terrorize 
        and humiliate the opposition, not just random acts by rogue soldiers'';
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights characterized the 
        events as a ``blood bath'' and stated that they ``must not become part 
        of the fabric of impunity that has enveloped Guinea for decades'';
Whereas according to the humanitarian organization CARE, ``What happened in 
        Guinea is an outrage--and a stark reminder of a larger epidemic of 
        violence against women and girls around the world.'';
Whereas Amnesty International reports that violence against women knows few 
        bounds, and that ``in armed conflicts, countless women and girls are 
        raped and sexually abused by security forces and opposition groups as an 
        act of war, and often face additional violence in refugee camps. 
        Government sponsored violence also exists in peacetime, with women 
        assaulted while in police custody, in prison, and at the hands of any 
        number of state actors.'' and that ``violence against women is a 
        violation of human rights that cannot be justified by any political, 
        religious, or cultural claim'';
Whereas the International Commission of Inquiry of the United Nations concluded 
        that ``the crimes perpetrated on 28 September 2009 and in the immediate 
        aftermath can be described as crimes against humanity'' and that there 
        is sufficient evidence that Captain Camara ``incurred individual 
        criminal liability and command responsibility for the events that 
        occurred during the attack and related events in their immediate 
        aftermath'';
Whereas, on January 15, 2010, General Sekouba Konate and Captain Camara of the 
        Republic of Guinea and President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso signed 
        the Joint Declaration of Ouagadougou pledging to form a transitional 
        government of national unity in Guinea, to hold elections within six 
        months without the participation of candidates from the military junta, 
        and to permit the entry of an international observer mission from the 
        Economic Community of West African States; and
Whereas, in accordance with the Joint Declaration of Ouagadougou, a prime 
        minister from the coalition of opposition forces, Forces Vives, has been 
        named to the transitional government: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) deplores the rape and assault of women and the killing 
        of political protestors in Guinea;
            (2) urges the prosecution, by the appropriate authorities, 
        of those responsible for orchestrating or carrying out the 
        violence in Guinea;
            (3) urges the President, in coordination with leaders from 
        the European Union and the African Union, to continue to 
        consider punitive measures that could be taken against senior 
        officials in Guinea found to be complicit in the violence, and 
        in particular, the atrocities perpetrated against women and 
        other gross human rights violations;
            (4) encourages the President to remain actively engaged in 
        the political situation in Guinea, and to continue to convey 
        that the blatant abuse of women will not be tolerated;
            (5) calls on President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso to 
        ensure that Captain Camara does not return to Guinea in order 
        to allow a peaceful transition to civilian rule;
            (6) notes that the first steps set forth in the Joint 
        Declaration of Ouagadougou have been initiated with the naming 
        of a prime minister and urges all parties to continue to adhere 
        to the agreement to see the process through free, fair, and 
        timely elections; and
            (7) recognizes the importance of the multilateral observer 
        mission to help ensure peace and security in Guinea during the 
        period of transition.
                                 <all>