118 HRES 1396 IH: Recognizing a half century of the independence of the Republic of Cabo Verde and celebrating the contributions of Cabo Verdean-Americans to democracy in Cabo Verde and the United States.
U.S. House of Representatives
2024-07-30
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IV
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1396
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 30, 2024
Mr. Jeffries (for himself, Mr. Meeks, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Pressley, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Amo, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Magaziner, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, and Mr. Keating) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Recognizing a half century of the independence of the Republic of Cabo Verde and celebrating the contributions of Cabo Verdean-Americans to democracy in Cabo Verde and the United States.
Whereas the Portuguese arrived in Cabo Verde in 1456 and settled in Cidade Velha on the Island of Santiago in 1462, and Cabo Verde became an epicenter of the early transatlantic slave trade;
Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu, the maternal language of Cabo Verde, a mix of Portuguese and various African languages, became the world’s first European and African creole language and is the oldest living and widely spoken creole language;
Whereas British influence significantly shaped the archipelago’s economic development and cultural landscape, particularly through the establishment of trade routes and maritime commerce facilitated by British traders and merchants;
Whereas the spirit of Cabo Verdeans’ resistance to the colonial rule of Portugal was embodied by the Badiu community and culture on the Island of Santiago, which was made up of escaped formerly enslaved Africans who lived removed from the Portuguese colonial administration;
Whereas the United States and the archipelago of Cabo Verde share strong historical links dating to the whaling trade in the 18th century;
Whereas the emigration of Cabo Verdeans to the United States began in the 18th century and continues today, with a significant number of communities concentrated in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York;
Whereas, in 1818, the first consulate of the United States in sub-Saharan Africa opened in what is now the Republic of Cabo Verde;
Whereas, in the 19th century, the archipelago of Cabo Verde was the base of the Africa Squadron of the United States Navy, which worked to suppress the transatlantic slave trade across West Africa to the Americas and beyond;
Whereas the archipelago of Cabo Verde has long been a refuge for communities seeking a better life, as exemplified by the migration to the Cabo Verde islands of Sephardic Jewish refugees during and after the Inquisition and Moroccan and Gibraltarian immigration during the 19th century, an integral part of Cabo Verde’s national heritage;
Whereas the State Ship of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the schooner Ernestina-Morrissey, originally launched in 1894 as the Effie M. Morrissey, was the last sailing vessel to bring immigrants to the United States from the archipelago of Cabo Verde and was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior in 1990;
Whereas, between 1800 and 1921, more than 70 percent of all Cabo Verdean–immigrants to the United States arrived via the Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts;
Whereas the labor of Cabo Verdeans became integral to the commercial cultivation of cranberries in the United States in the 19th century, as the whaling industry declined, and remains so today;
Whereas, with the decline of the whaling industry, Cabo Verdean-American mariners developed a strong packet trade between the archipelago of Cabo Verde and New England, bringing goods and thousands of immigrants with them;
Whereas, on January 20, 1973, Amilcar Cabral, the founder and leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde, was assassinated;
Whereas, on July 5, 1975, the archipelago of Cabo Verde gained independence from Portugal and was officially recognized by the United States;
Whereas, on July 19, 1975, the United States established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cabo Verde;
Whereas the first multiparty elections were held in 1991, ending the previous one-party rule in the Republic of Cabo Verde since independence;
Whereas Kriolu Kabuverdianu can still be heard today in various towns and cities across New England and New York;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde has several sister city and town relationships with counterparts in the United States, such as pairings of Praia with Boston, Massachusetts, and with Providence, Rhode Island, Mosteiros with Brockton, Massachusetts, and Mindelo with New Bedford, Massachusetts;
Whereas Cabo Verdean–Americans continue to contribute to the social fabric of the United States, particularly in New England, and are active in politics, entertainment, sports, academia, and others;
Whereas many Cabo Verdean–Americans were involved in the civil rights movement in the United States and in Cabo Verde’s struggle for independence during the 20th century;
Whereas more than 150 Peace Corps volunteers served in the Republic of Cabo Verde from 1988 to 2013, and, in 2019, the Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde formally invited the Peace Corps to return;
Whereas José Maria Pereira Neves, the former Prime Minister and current President of the Republic of Cabo Verde, met with United States President Barack Obama at the White House in 2013 to discuss and strengthen bilateral relations, emphasizing mutual interests in economic development, democracy, and regional security;
Whereas the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies at Bridgewater State University, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, is the only academic research institute in the world solely dedicated to the archipelago of Cabo Verde and Cabo Verdeans and serves as a bridge between Massachusetts, the archipelago of Cabo Verde, and the Cabo Verdean diaspora;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde upholds the principles of freedom and democracy;
Whereas, in 2021, New Hampshire and the Republic of Cabo Verde established a relationship under the State Partnership Program, administered by the National Guard Bureau, which deepens United States-Cabo Verde relations and supports joint learning and exercise exchanges between United States and Cabo Verdean military personnel;
Whereas, in 2019, the traditional Cabo Verdean musical genre Morna, popularized by the world-renowned late singer and “Barefoot Diva”, Cesaria Evora, was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization;
Whereas, in June 2022, according to the World Food Program of the United Nations, almost 10 percent of the Republic of Cabo Verde’s population faced acute food insecurity as a result of drought, the COVID–19 pandemic, and disruptions in global food and energy markets caused by the Russian Federation’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine;
Whereas, in December 2023, the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation selected the Republic of Cabo Verde as eligible to develop a regional compact for the purpose of regional economic integration;
Whereas the selection was made in recognition of the Republic of Cabo Verde’s clear commitment to democratic governance, high marks on the country’s Millennium Challenge Corporation scorecard, successful prior partnerships with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, lingering development and poverty reduction needs, and the potential opportunities to strengthen regional economic integration;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde’s initial $110,000,000 compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, initiated in 2005 and closed in 2010, supported the construction of several new roads and bridges and helped expand and modernize the Port of Praia, which boosted its competitiveness by decreasing cargo processing times and shipping costs;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde’s subsequent $66,000,000 compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, initiated in 2012 and closed in 2017, improved access to clean water and sanitation, strengthened land rights, and facilitated ambitious policy and institutional reforms to improve the country’s overall investment climate;
Whereas, in December 2023, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cabo Verde, Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva, met with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to emphasize Cabo Verde’s support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine dating back to the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014;
Whereas, on January 22, 2024, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Republic of Cabo Verde to highlight how the United States has accelerated the United States-Africa partnership since the United States-Africa Leaders Summit held in December 2022;
Whereas members of the Cabo Verdean-American community have served in United States conflicts, from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas, in March 2024, the New Hampshire National Guard and the Cabo Verdean Armed Forces held the GRANITE FALCO Combined Exercise, the first major United States-Cabo Verde combined exercise under the bilateral State Partnership Program;
Whereas, in June 2024, Prime Minister Jose Ulisses Correia e Silva attended Ukraine’s Peace Summit in Switzerland and met with President Zelenskyy and the President of the Swiss Confederation, Viola Patricia Amherd;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde has a close relationship with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to address common challenges, such as small arms proliferation, maritime security, and terrorism;
Whereas the Republic of Cabo Verde remains an integral member of the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, and numerous other international organizations; and
Whereas July 5, 2025, will mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Cabo Verde and will be celebrated by diaspora communities across the United States: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)
extends sincere congratulations and best wishes to the people of the Republic of Cabo Verde with regard to their commemoration and celebration of a half century of the independence of the archipelago of Cabo Verde;
(2)
expresses support for the principles of freedom, democracy, and good governance, to which the people and Government of the Republic of Cabo Verde are committed;
(3)
commends the Cabo Verdean-American community for its contributions to the United States and service as a bridge between the two countries, both before and following independence, based on shared bilateral history, diasporic ties, and common values;
(4)
notes the important role that the Republic of Cabo Verde has played in African and broader transatlantic affairs since gaining independence on July 5, 1975; and
(5)
commends the Republic of Cabo Verde’s support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and people of Ukraine, and its condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.