[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 237 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 237

Condemning Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army for continuing to 
 perpetrate crimes against humanity, war crimes, and mass atrocities, 
  and supporting ongoing efforts by the United States Government, the 
 African Union, and governments and regional organizations in central 
Africa to remove Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance Army commanders from 
    the battlefield and promote protection and recovery of affected 
                              communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 2015

  Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Isakson, Mr. 
 Rounds, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Peters, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Hatch) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army for continuing to 
 perpetrate crimes against humanity, war crimes, and mass atrocities, 
  and supporting ongoing efforts by the United States Government, the 
 African Union, and governments and regional organizations in central 
Africa to remove Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance Army commanders from 
    the battlefield and promote protection and recovery of affected 
                              communities.

Whereas the Lord's Resistance Army, which first formed in northern Uganda, 
        continues its reign of terror in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 
        the Central African Republic, and South Sudan, destabilizing the region 
        and deliberately killing at least 2,400 civilians since 2008, many of 
        whom were targeted in schools and churches;
Whereas atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army have resulted in the 
        rape and brutal mutilation of countless men, women, and children; the 
        abduction of over 70,000 civilians, including at least 30,000 children, 
        many of whom were forced to become child soldiers or sex slaves; the 
        continued displacement of more than 200,000 civilians from their homes, 
        many of whom do not have access to essential humanitarian assistance; 
        and the general deterioration of governance and security in affected 
        areas;
Whereas insecurity caused by the Lord's Resistance Army has undermined efforts 
        by the African Union and governments in the region, which have been 
        supported by the United States and the international community, to 
        consolidate peace and stability in each of the countries affected by the 
        Lord's Resistance Army;
Whereas the Lord's Resistance Army engages in elephant poaching and the violent 
        pillaging of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 
        and the Central African Republic, using the profits from its sales of 
        ivory, gold, and diamonds to fund its operations and the purchase of 
        munitions;
Whereas the senior core command structure of the Lord's Resistance Army remains 
        functional and the 2005 arrest warrant issued by the International 
        Criminal Court against Joseph Kony for war crimes and crimes against 
        humanity remains pending, as testimony to the continued threat faced by 
        the region;
Whereas the Senate remains dedicated to the commitment established in the Lord's 
        Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 
        (Public Law 111-172; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) by working with regional 
        governments toward a comprehensive and permanent resolution to the 
        conflict in northern Uganda and other affected areas through the 
        provision of political, economic, military, and intelligence support to 
        protect civilians, apprehend or remove Joseph Kony and his top 
        commanders from the battlefield, and disarm and demobilize the remaining 
        Lord's Resistance Army fighters;
Whereas, in June 2012, the United Nations Security Council endorsed the Regional 
        Strategy of the United Nations to bring an end to the Lord's Resistance 
        Army by focusing on the implementation of the Regional Cooperation 
        Initiative of the African Union and to support the governments affected 
        by the ongoing conflict;
Whereas, on September 18 and 19, 2012, the Governments of the Central African 
        Republic, South Sudan, and the Republic of Uganda dedicated contingents 
        of their armed forces to a unified African Union Regional Task Force 
        mandated to permanently end the Lord's Resistance Army threat, with the 
        Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo following suit on 
        February 14, 2013;
Whereas Joseph Kony remains a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and, on 
        January 15, 2013, the Department of State under its Rewards for Justice 
        Program announced a reward for information leading to Kony's arrest or 
        conviction;
Whereas, on December 10, 2014, the United Nations Security Council issued a 
        presidential statement welcoming the continued advisory and logistical 
        support provided by the United States to the African Union Regional Task 
        Force, while noting continued reports of the presence of senior Lord's 
        Resistance Army leaders in the disputed Kafia Kingi enclave and reports 
        of opportunistic collaboration between the Lord's Resistance Army and 
        ex-Seleka forces in the Central African Republic;
Whereas, on March 25, 2014, President Barack Obama notified Congress of the 
        increased commitment of approximately 250 members of the United States 
        Armed Forces to the Regional Task Force to assist regional forces in 
        their efforts to protect civilians, encourage defections from the Lord's 
        Resistance Army, and bring Joseph Kony and his senior leadership to 
        justice;
Whereas reports from nongovernmental organizations operating on the ground 
        indicate that local communities and civil society leaders in the region 
        have welcomed and continue to support the presence and continued 
        assistance of United States military advisors;
Whereas, due to the continued efforts of the Regional Task Force of the African 
        Union and United States military advisors, killings carried out by the 
        Lord's Resistance Army have dropped 90 percent since 2011 and 
        approximately 25 percent of the core fighting force of the Lord's 
        Resistance Army has defected or been otherwise removed from the 
        battlefield since January 2013;
Whereas over 120 women and children held in long-term captivity by the Lord's 
        Resistance Army escaped from the rebel group in 2014;
Whereas reports from nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations Office 
        for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs demonstrate an increase in 
        attacks and abductions by the Lord's Resistance Army in 2014 compared to 
        2013, as well as an increase in internally displaced persons in the 
        northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in late 
        2014;
Whereas the African Union Regional Task Force reported in January 2015 that Okot 
        Odhiambo, a senior Lord's Resistance Army officer indicted by the 
        International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against 
        humanity, was killed in battle in 2013;
Whereas, on January 5, 2015, Dominic Ongwen, a senior Lord's Resistance Army 
        officer indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war 
        crimes and crimes against humanity, defected to forces from the United 
        States and African Union Regional Task Force;
Whereas the inability of the Central African Republic and the Democratic 
        Republic of the Congo to defuse violence, establish legitimate and 
        effective governance, or achieve basic development objectives throughout 
        their countries has provided safe haven for the Lord's Resistance Army 
        and the failure to immediately de-escalate and resolve the broader 
        national crisis risks eclipsing gains made by United States efforts to 
        prevent atrocities in the southeastern region of the Central African 
        Republic; and
Whereas targeted United States assistance and leadership has made a significant 
        impact on preventing further mass atrocities and curtailing humanitarian 
        suffering in central Africa and must be reinforced to maintain these 
        gains: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army for 
        continuing to perpetrate crimes against humanity and mass 
        atrocities, and supports ongoing efforts by the United States, 
        the African Union, the international community, and governments 
        in central Africa to remove Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance 
        Army commanders from the battlefield and promote protection and 
        recovery for affected communities;
            (2) commends the continued efforts by the African Union, 
        the United Nations, and regional partners to end the threat 
        posed by the Lord's Resistance Army;
            (3) supports efforts to provide the Regional Task Force 
        with the logistics support and authorizations needed to access 
        all areas of suspected Lord's Resistance Army activity in the 
        Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the 
        Congo;
            (4) urges the President to reauthorize the deployment of 
        United States Armed Forces personnel in support of Operation 
        Observant Compass until senior Lord's Resistance Army 
        commanders are removed from the battlefield and the group no 
        longer poses a significant threat to civilians;
            (5) urges the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 
        Defense to support the African Union and the Regional Task 
        Force, as well as regional partners, in their efforts to deny 
        the Lord's Resistance Army safe haven in Sudan and in the 
        disputed Kafia Kingi enclave, by expanding defection messaging 
        initiatives, urging the African Union to engage more 
        proactively in diplomatic outreach to the Government of Sudan, 
        and removing Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the 
        battlefield through the sharing of intelligence and other 
        military assistance;
            (6) urges the African Union and the Regional Task Force, 
        with the support of the European Union, as well as the 
        Governments of Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African 
        Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to 
        implement the Regional Strategy of the United Nations by--
                    (A) fully implementing the Regional Cooperation 
                Initiative developed by the African Union to bring an 
                end to the Lord's Resistance Army;
                    (B) enhancing efforts to promote the protection of 
                civilians in all areas in which the Lord's Resistance 
                Army operates; and
                    (C) broadening current efforts of disarmament, 
                demobilization, repatriation, resettlement, and 
                reintegration to all areas affected by the Lord's 
                Resistance Army, as well as humanitarian and child 
                protection efforts;
            (7) welcomes the continued defections of men, women, and 
        children from the Lord's Resistance Army, and calls on 
        governments in the region and the international community to 
        support their demobilization and safe return;
            (8) calls on the Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
        Defense, the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
        International Development, and the heads of other relevant 
        United States Government agencies to utilize authorized and 
        appropriated funds--
                    (A) to continue efforts to enhance intelligence, 
                surveillance, and reconnaissance support to the African 
                Union Regional Task Force, and specifically to 
                encourage additional enablers and actionable 
                intelligence to increase the effectiveness of partner 
                operations;
                    (B) to work with the United Nations, the African 
                Union, and regional government partners to encourage 
                and help non-indicted Lord's Resistance Army members, 
                abductees, and noncombatants to defect safely from the 
                group through the distribution of aerial leaflets, the 
                broadcast of ``come home'' radio programs, and the 
                continuation of flights utilizing helicopter-based 
                speaker systems over known areas of Lord's Resistance 
                Army operation;
                    (C) to expand efforts to prevent the Lord's 
                Resistance Army from funding its operations through the 
                theft and trade of illicit ivory, gold, and diamonds; 
                and
                    (D) to support rehabilitation and reintegration 
                programs led by nongovernmental organizations and 
                regional government partners for children, youth, and 
                adults that have been abducted and indoctrinated by the 
                Lord's Resistance Army;
            (9) commends those members of the United States Armed 
        Forces previously or currently deployed to serve in support of 
        Operation Observant Compass for their critical contributions to 
        efforts to remove Joseph Kony and Lord's Resistance Army 
        commanders from the battlefield, protect civilians, and 
        encourage members of the Lord's Resistance Army to peacefully 
        defect; and
            (10) urges the President, with input from United States 
        Government agencies, regional governments, multilateral 
        partners, and nongovernmental organizations, to develop a 
        strategy aimed at supporting sustainable recovery and security 
        within areas affected by the Lord's Resistance Army, with 
        existing resources, and in partnership with other donors and 
        multilateral bodies, including the World Bank, the European 
        Union, and others.
                                 <all>