[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 321 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 321

  Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Nelson Rolihlahla 
           Mandela and expressing condolences on his passing.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            December 13 (legislative day, December 11), 2013

    Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Coons, Mr. Flake, Mr. 
  Menendez, Mr. Alexander, Ms. Ayotte, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. 
Baucus, Mr. Begich, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Booker, 
Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Brown, Mr. Burr, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Cardin, 
   Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Coats, Mr. Coburn, Mr. 
Cochran, Ms. Collins, Mr. Corker, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. 
   Donnelly, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Enzi, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. 
  Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Hagan, Mr. 
Harkin, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Heitkamp, Mr. Heller, Ms. Hirono, 
   Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Johanns, Mr. Johnson of 
Wisconsin, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Kaine, Mr. King, Mr. Kirk, 
    Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lee, Mr. Levin, Mr. 
   Manchin, Mr. Markey, Mr. McCain, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Merkley, Ms. 
   Mikulski, Mr. Moran, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
  Nelson, Mr. Paul, Mr. Portman, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Reed, Mr. Risch, Mr. 
   Roberts, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. 
    Schumer, Mr. Scott, Mr. Sessions, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Shelby, Ms. 
Stabenow, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Toomey, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. 
     Udall of New Mexico, Mr. Vitter, Mr. Warner, Ms. Warren, Mr. 
    Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, and Mr. Wyden) submitted the following 
             resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Nelson Rolihlahla 
           Mandela and expressing condolences on his passing.

Whereas Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, as Rolihlahla Mandela, to 
        Nonqaphi Nosekeni and Nkosi Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela in Transkei, 
        South Africa;
Whereas Nelson Mandela's defiance of injustice, and his commitment to peace and 
        reconciliation, played critical roles in the negotiation process that 
        led South Africa to abolish apartheid, a system of racially focused 
        social, political, and economic discrimination, and to ultimately adopt 
        in its place a system of multiparty democracy and universal suffrage for 
        all South Africans;
Whereas Nelson Mandela became a political activist as a young man and rose 
        through the leadership ranks of the African National Congress (ANC), 
        becoming the ANC President;
Whereas, on August 5, 1962, Nelson Mandela was arrested for his political 
        activism to end the discriminatory policies of apartheid;
Whereas, despite calls for clemency on behalf of Nelson Mandela by the 
        international community, including the Security Council, the General 
        Assembly, and the Secretary General of the United Nations, he was found 
        guilty of all charges against him and sentenced to life in prison;
Whereas, during 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment on Robben Island, Nelson 
        Mandela was permitted only one visitor a year, and for only 30 minutes;
Whereas Nelson Mandela remained resolute, refusing offers to renounce his 
        struggle against the Government of South Africa in exchange for his 
        freedom, and became widely viewed as a martyr for the anti-apartheid 
        movement;
Whereas, during his imprisonment, Nelson Mandela was confined to a small cell 
        where he slept on the floor, and he was sentenced to hard labor while 
        being gravely mistreated by prison officials;
Whereas, on February 11, 1990, under growing international pressure and national 
        campaign efforts, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, marking the 
        end of his 27 years, 6 months, and 1 week of continuous incarceration;
Whereas, upon his release, Nelson Mandela resumed a top leadership role in the 
        ANC and led the party in negotiations that resulted in South Africa's 
        first multiracial elections;
Whereas, in 1994, following the first fully representative, multiracial national 
        elections, Nelson Mandela was elected on May 9 and inaugurated on May 10 
        as President of the Democratic Republic of South Africa under a 
        Government of National Unity;
Whereas President Nelson Mandela led the transition from minority rule and 
        apartheid to multicultural, multiracial democracy, and played a critical 
        role in initiating South Africa's ongoing efforts to foster national 
        reconciliation and end the diverse, deep-rooted, and enduring social, 
        political, and economic inequalities created by apartheid;
Whereas President Nelson Mandela sought to promote equal opportunity for jobs 
        and education, access to social services, and quality-of-life 
        improvements for all South Africans;
Whereas, during the presidency of Nelson Mandela, South Africa established the 
        Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate gross human rights 
        violations committed under the apartheid regime;
Whereas Nelson Mandela's decision to step down after one term as South Africa's 
        elected President serves as a commendable example of commitment to 
        democratic principles for elected national leaders in new democracies 
        around the globe;
Whereas Nelson Mandela continued his social justice and human rights work upon 
        his retirement in 1999, primarily through the Nelson Mandela Foundation 
        and its two sister organizations, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and 
        the Mandela-Rhodes Foundation;
Whereas, on July 18, 2007, Nelson Mandela convened the Elders, a group of world 
        leaders including Desmond Tutu, Graca Machel, and former United States 
        President Jimmy Carter, to contribute their wisdom and insight towards 
        addressing some of the world's toughest problems;
Whereas the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to Nelson Mandela and 
        Frederik Willem de Klerk ``for their work for the peaceful termination 
        of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new 
        democratic South Africa'';
Whereas Congress contributed to the attainment of the political ideals and goals 
        for which Nelson Mandela struggled, by enacting the Comprehensive Anti-
        Apartheid Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-440) on October 2, 1986, and has 
        honored Nelson Mandela by passing the Mandela Freedom Resolution in the 
        House of Representatives on September 18, 1984 (H. Res. 430, 98th 
        Congress), and in the Senate on October 10, 1984 (S. Res. 386, 98th 
        Congress), by adopting the resolution concerning United States support 
        for the new South Africa on October 5, 1994 (H. Res. 560, 103rd 
        Congress), and by awarding Nelson Mandela the Congressional Gold Medal 
        on July 29, 1998;
Whereas former United States President Bill Clinton honored Nelson Mandela with 
        the Philadelphia Liberty Medal in 1993, and former United States 
        President George W. Bush honored Nelson Mandela with the Presidential 
        Medal of Freedom in 2002;
Whereas, on July 18 of each year, people around the world celebrate Nelson 
        Mandela Day, in recognition of Nelson Mandela's birthday, by devoting 
        their time to community service in honor of his legacy;
Whereas, in 1995, Nelson Mandela wrote: ``I have walked that long road to 
        freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. 
        But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one 
        only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a 
        moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that 
        surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only 
        rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare 
        not linger, for my long walk is not ended.''; and
Whereas Nelson Mandela leaves a legacy that transcends his time and place in 
        history, which will guide and inspire generations to come: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the life, accomplishments, and legacy of former 
        South African President Nelson Mandela;
            (2) extends its heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the 
        members of the family of the late President Nelson Mandela and 
        his fellow citizens;
            (3) requests the Secretary of State to communicate these 
        expressions of honor and condolence to Nelson Mandela's family 
        and to the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa; and
            (4) requests the President to identify an appropriate and 
        lasting program of the United States Government to honor Nelson 
        Mandela's legacy.
                                 <all>