[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 5, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4817-S4818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONDEMNING THE ESCALATING VIOLENCE, THE GROSS VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 
     AND ATTACKS AGAINST CIVILIANS, AND THE ATTEMPT TO OVERTHROW A 
           DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT IN SIERRA LEONE

  Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed immediately to the consideration of Calendar No. 74, S. Res. 
54.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative assistant read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 54) condemning the escalating 
     violence, the gross violation of human rights and attacks 
     against civilians, and the attempt to overthrow a 
     democratically elected government in Sierra Leone.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, and that any statements relating thereto be placed in 
the Record at the appropriate place as if read.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 54) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 54), with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 54

       Whereas the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) 
     military junta and the rebel fighters of the Revolutionary 
     United Front

[[Page S4818]]

     (RUF) in Sierra Leone mounted a campaign of ``Operation No 
     Living Thing'' in 1997 and have recently renewed the terror;
       Whereas the atrocities and violence against the citizens of 
     Sierra Leone, which include forced amputations, raping of 
     women and children, pillaging farms, and the killing of the 
     civilian population, has continued for more than 8 years;
       Whereas the AFRC and RUF continue to kidnap children, 
     forcibly train them, and send them as combatants in the 
     conflict in Sierra Leone;
       Whereas the Nigerian-led intervention force, Economic 
     Community Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), which has deployed 
     nearly 15,000 troops to Sierra Leone, has made a considerable 
     contribution towards ending the cycle of violence there, 
     despite the fact that some of its members have engaged in 
     violations of humanitarian law;
       Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
     (UNHCR) estimates that in 1998 more than 210,000 refugees 
     fled Sierra Leone to Guinea, bringing the total number of 
     Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea to 350,000, in addition to 
     some 90,000 Sierra Leonean refugees who sought safe haven in 
     Liberia;
       Whereas the refugee camps in Guinea and Liberia are at risk 
     of being used as safe havens for rebels and staging areas for 
     attacks into Sierra Leone;
       Whereas the humanitarian crisis in Sierra Leone has reached 
     epic proportions with people dying from lack of food and 
     medicine; and
       Whereas the escalating violence in Sierra Leone threatens 
     stability in West Africa and has the immediate potential of 
     spreading to neighboring Guinea: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) urges the President and the Secretary of State to give 
     high priority to aiding in the resolution of the conflict in 
     Sierra Leone and to bringing stability to West Africa, 
     including active participation and leadership in the Sierra 
     Leone Contact Group;
       (2) condemns--
       (A) the violent atrocities committed by the Armed Forces 
     Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the Revolutionary United 
     Front (RUF) throughout the conflict, and in particular its 
     attacks against civilians and its use of children as 
     combatants; and
       (B) those external actors, including Liberia, Burkina Faso, 
     and Libya, for contributing to the continuing cycle of 
     violence in Sierra Leone by providing financial, political, 
     and other types of assistance to the AFRC or the RUF, often 
     in direct violation of the United Nations arms embargo;
       (3) supports continued efforts by the regional peacekeeping 
     force, ECOMOG, to restore peace and security and to defend 
     the democratically elected government of Sierra Leone;
       (4) recognizes that basic improvements in ECOMOG's 
     performance with respect to human rights and the management 
     of its own personnel would markedly improve its effectiveness 
     in achieving its goals and improve the level of international 
     support needed to meet those goals;
       (5) supports appropriate United States logistical, medical 
     and political support for ECOMOG and notes the contribution 
     that such support has made thus far toward achieving the 
     goals of peace and stability in Sierra Leone;
       (6) calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and 
     respect for human rights, and urges all members of the armed 
     conflict in Sierra Leone to engage in dialogue to bring about 
     a long-term solution to such conflict; and
       (7) expresses support for the people of Sierra Leone in 
     their quest for a democratic, prosperous, and reconciled 
     society.

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