[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8802-S8803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING THE UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 
                            20TH ANNIVERSARY

  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 109) commending the United 
States Institute of Peace on the occasion of its 20th anniversary and 
recognizing the Institution for its contribution to international 
conflict resolution was considered and agreed to, as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 109

       Whereas the United States Institute of Peace (the 
     Institute) was established by Congress in 1984 as an 
     independent, nonpartisan Federal institution dedicated to the 
     prevention, management, and peaceful resolution of 
     international conflict;
       Whereas the Institute fulfills its mandate from Congress 
     through programs and projects that support peacemaking and 
     the peaceful resolution of conflict abroad;
       Whereas the Institute's broad congressional mandate has 
     allowed the Institute to become a valued source of innovative 
     ideas and practical policy analysis on peacemaking in zones 
     of conflict around the world, thereby enhancing United States 
     foreign policy;
       Whereas the Institute is the result of long-term public 
     interest and dedication from Senator Spark Matsunaga of 
     Hawaii, Senator Jennings Randolph of West Virginia, Senator 
     Mark Hatfield of Oregon, Senator Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas, 
     Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, Representative Pat 
     Williams of Montana, Representative Dante Fascell of Florida, 
     Representative Dan Glickman of Kansas, Representative John 
     Porter of Illinois, as well as Members of Congress today;
       Whereas the Institute trains thousands of government 
     officials, military and law enforcement personnel, 
     humanitarian workers, and civic activists from the United 
     States and abroad in the skills of professional peacemaking;
       Whereas the Institute works to alleviate religious and 
     ethnic strife through mediation, training programs, research, 
     and opening of dialogue between and among religious factions;
       Whereas the Institute promotes the development of the rule 
     of law in post-conflict and transitional societies and 
     provides assistance on constitution-drafting, judicial and 
     police reform, law revision, and war crimes accountability;
       Whereas the Institute examines the role of the media in 
     international conflict including incitement and freedom of 
     the press;
       Whereas the Institute attracts new generations to the 
     practice of peacemaking and has funded more than 150 graduate 
     students as Peace Scholars specializing in the resolution and 
     management of international conflict;
       Whereas the Institute brings together practitioners and 
     scholars from around the world as fellows in the 
     distinguished Jennings Randolph Fellows Program to advance 
     knowledge and to publish reports and books on topics related 
     to the peaceful resolution of international conflict;
        Whereas the Institute has trained hundreds of teachers and 
     enhanced curricular materials related to international 
     conflict, and has conducted educational seminars for 
     thousands of educators at schools and universities around the 
     country;
       Whereas the Institute is strengthening curricula and 
     instruction, from high school through graduate school, on the 
     changing character of international conflict and nonviolent 
     approaches to managing international disputes and has 
     inspired the creation of dozens of courses and programs 
     dedicated to these topics;
       Whereas the Institute has made more than 1,500 grants 
     totaling nearly $50,000,000 to individuals and nonprofit 
     organizations in 48 States in support of educational, 
     training, and research projects that have helped define and 
     build the field of conflict prevention and conflict 
     management in more than 64 foreign countries;
       Whereas the Institute contributes to the advancement of 
     conflict resolution education by awarding college 
     scholarships to high school students through the annual 
     National Peace Essay Contest, training and developing 
     teaching guides for high school teachers, awarding grants to 
     university students pursuing doctoral degrees in 
     international conflict resolution, and awarding grants to 
     universities and professors in the United States researching 
     international conflict resolution;
       Whereas the Institute works to bridge the divide with the 
     Muslim world and facilitate cross cultural dialogue around 
     the world, including in Russia and China;
       Whereas the Institute's Balkans Initiative has made 
     positive contributions to peacebuilding in that region 
     including the facilitation of the Roundtable on Justice and 
     Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina wherein key 
     officials of the 3 ethnic groups--Croats, Serbs, and 
     Muslims--came together to discuss war crimes;

[[Page S8803]]

       Whereas the Institute has provided assistance to the Afghan 
     judicial system by helping to locate, reproduce, translate, 
     and distribute copies of Afghanistan's legal code, which was 
     destroyed by the Taliban and facilitated discussions among 
     the key institutions in the administration of criminal law 
     and justice in Afghanistan;
       Whereas the Institute assisted President Nelson Mandela 
     with the development of South Africa's Truth and 
     Reconciliation Commission that was instrumental in preventing 
     post-apartheid bloodshed;
       Whereas the Institute developed a detailed plan to handle 
     accountability in the wake of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, 
     which became the basis for Rwandan Genocide Law, and assisted 
     the Government of Rwanda in the implementation of the Law;
       Whereas the Institute continues to work on the formation of 
     a formal Israeli-Palestinian Joint Legal Committee to address 
     legal issues and develop common approaches between the 2 
     different legal systems;
       Whereas the Institute is committed to supporting religious 
     coexistence and understanding in the Middle East, and 
     elsewhere in the world;
       Whereas the Institute has served as advisor and principal 
     financial supporter of the Alexandria process, a group of 
     prominent Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders from Israel, 
     the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt, who in January 2002 
     produced the ``Alexandria Declaration'', a 7-point statement 
     that calls, in the name of the 3 Abrahamic faiths, for the 
     end to bloodshed in the Holy Land;
       Whereas the Institute uses its convening power to bring 
     together policymakers and experts on North Korea to discuss 
     issues of security and proliferation on the Korean peninsula 
     and develop policy recommendations;
       Whereas the Institute is facilitating peace negotiations 
     between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro 
     Islamic Liberation Front--a Muslim insurgent group operating 
     in the southern island of Mindanao;
       Whereas the Institute is organizing programs in Iraq to 
     strengthen the pillars of civil society and to contribute to 
     stabilization and post-conflict peacebuilding, including 
     training in conflict resolution for Iraqi security officials, 
     orientation training for personnel from the United States, 
     grantmaking to Iraqi organizations, collaboration with Iraqi 
     universities, support for interethnic and interreligious 
     dialogue, and assistance with rule of law issues; and
       Whereas the Institute endeavors with the support of 
     Congress in a public-private partnership to build a permanent 
     headquarters on the National Mall as a working center on 
     peace, education, training in conflict management skills, and 
     the promotion of applied programs dedicated to resolution of 
     international conflict: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) recognizes the importance of the founding of the United 
     States Institute of Peace (the Institute) as a national and 
     international resource for peaceful conflict management and 
     looks forward to continuing to gain from its knowledge, 
     teaching, and practical applications of conflict management 
     as a way to promote United States security and peace in the 
     world;
       (2) recognizes that the Institute has become an important 
     national resource for educational, training, and applied 
     programs in the prevention, management, and resolution of 
     international conflict;
       (3) acknowledges the Institute's contribution to building 
     the Nation's capabilities for the prevention, management, and 
     resolution of international conflict and the advancement of 
     peace and conflict resolution education;
       (4) expresses appreciation to the founding men and women of 
     the Institute and the support from the people of the United 
     States;
       (5) congratulates the Institute on its 20th anniversary and 
     on its achievements in fulfilling its mandate from Congress; 
     and
       (6) directs the Secretary of the Senate to make available 
     an enrolled copy of this resolution to the Institute.

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