[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 50 (Tuesday, May 2, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3901-S3902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 460--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
 UNITED STATES SHOULD INCREASE ITS SUPPORT TO THE PEOPLE OF SOMALIA IN 
THEIR EFFORTS TO END DECADES OF VIOLENCE, ESTABLISH LASTING PEACE, FORM 
 A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED AND STABLE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT, AND BECOME AN 
 EFFECTIVE PARTNER IN ERADICATING RADICALISM AND TERRORISM FROM THEIR 
                         COUNTRY AND THE REGION

  Mr. COLEMAN (for himself, Mr. Feingold, and Mr. Dayton) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 460

       Whereas General Mohamed Siad Barre, who came to power in 
     Somalia through a military coup in 1969, was ousted from 
     power by several armed groups of Somalia in 1991;
       Whereas, following the collapse of the central authority in 
     Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, rival groups of Somalia 
     devastated the region by--
       (1) engaging in an armed struggle for personal political 
     power; and
       (2) preventing food and medicine from reaching innocent 
     civilians who were suffering from drought and famine;
       Whereas, during the continued internal chaos and 
     destruction in Somalia, hundreds of thousands of people have 
     died from--
       (1) violence;
       (2) starvation; and
       (3) disease;
       Whereas the people of Somalia witnessed the country 
     splinter into--
       (1) the Republic of Somaliland, which--
       (A) is located in the northwest portion of Somalia; and
       (B) seeks independence;
       (2) Puntland, which is an autonomous region located in the 
     northeast portion of Somalia; and
       (3) a myriad of warlord-controlled fiefdoms that are 
     located in the southern portion of Somalia;
       Whereas, on November 9, 1992, President George H. W. Bush 
     authorized Operation Restore Hope, and used the Armed Forces 
     to safeguard nongovernmental organizations while the 
     organizations attempted to provide humanitarian assistance to 
     the suffering civilian population of Somalia;
       Whereas the United States led the Unified Task Force 
     (referred to in this preamble as the ``UNITAF'') in an effort 
     to--
       (1) save lives; and
       (2) help create a relatively peaceful environment for 
     humanitarian activity in Somalia;
       Whereas, in May 1993, UNITAF handed its operations to the 
     United Nations for an operation subsequently known as the 
     ``United Nations Operation in Somalia'', giving the people of 
     Somalia hope for peace and stability;
       Whereas the operation was unfortunately unsuccessful in 
     establishing peace and stability in Mogadishu and other parts 
     of Somalia;
       Whereas, in March 1994, the Armed Forces withdrew from 
     Somalia after a long and bloody battle in Mogadishu on 
     October 3, 1993;
       Whereas, 1 year after the withdrawal of the United States, 
     the United Nations withdrew all remaining peacekeepers 
     because the security conditions in Somalia had further 
     deteriorated;
       Whereas the United Nations withdrew United Nations troops 
     from Somalia in 1995;
       Whereas 13 conferences dedicated to promoting 
     reconciliation or peace have been called in order to end the 
     fighting in Somalia;
       Whereas, in October 2002, 21 warring parties in Somalia 
     took positive action by--
       (1) agreeing to a cease fire under the auspices of the East 
     African organization known as the ``Intergovernmental 
     Authority on Development''; and
       (2) beginning a dialogue that was focused on forming a 
     government;
       Whereas, in September 2003, the parties to the Kenyan peace 
     process agreed on the Transitional National Charter for 
     Somalia, and thus paved the way for the creation of a unified 
     national government in Somalia;
       Whereas, in August 2004, the 275-member Transitional 
     Federal Assembly of Somalia was assembled in Kenya to reunify 
     and heal Somalia and comprised of 61 delegates from the 4 
     major clans of Somalia and 31 delegates from an alliance of 
     minority clans located in that country;
       Whereas Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the former leader of 
     Puntland, was elected President of Somalia by the 
     Transitional Federal Government on October 10, 2004;
       Whereas Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed appointed Professor Ali 
     Mohamed Gedi as Prime Minister in November 2004;
       Whereas a limited number of countries on the continent of 
     Africa have pledged to send peacekeeping troops to Somalia to 
     help protect the Transitional Federal Government as the 
     Government seeks to reestablish peace and order;
       Whereas the international community should encourage those 
     individuals and organizations that have shown commitment to 
     the peace process, including--
       (1) the African Union;
       (2) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development;
       (3) the Transitional Federal Government; and
       (4) the many clans located in Somalia;
       Whereas escalating tensions and violence between certain 
     clans threaten to weaken the ability of the Transitional 
     Federal Government to--
       (1) develop capacity;
       (2) effectively establish stability; and
       (3) enforce the rule of law throughout Somalia;
       Whereas the 2004 Country Reports on Terrorism, produced by 
     the Secretary of State in accordance with section 140 of the 
     Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 
     1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f), noted that--
       (1) ``a small number of al-Qa'ida operatives in East 
     Africa, particularly Somalia, continue to pose the most 
     serious threat to American interests in the region'';
       (2) ``Somalia's lack of a functioning central government, 
     protracted state of violent instability, long unguarded 
     coastline, porous borders, and proximity to the Arabian 
     Peninsula make it a potential location for international 
     terrorists seeking a transit or launching point to conduct 
     operations elsewhere''; and
       (3) ``[t]he U.S. government must identify and prioritize 
     actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries. For each, it 
     should have a realistic strategy to keep possible terrorists 
     insecure and on the run, using all elements of national 
     power'';
       Whereas current political tensions may be exacerbated by 
     the ongoing humanitarian crisis that continues to affect 
     hundreds of thousands of individuals in Somalia, thereby 
     making the task of creating a stable, central government 
     increasingly difficult;

[[Page S3902]]

       Whereas the Transitional Federal Government is incapable of 
     meeting the fundamental needs of all people of Somalia, 
     including--
       (1) education;
       (2) health care; and
       (3) other essential services;
       Whereas the 2005 Human Rights Report published by the 
     Department of State cites significant concerns relating to 
     abuses of human rights in Somalia, including--
       (1) female genital mutilation;
       (2) rape; and
       (3) political violence;
       Whereas the Federal Government has provided $476,000,000 
     for humanitarian assistance activities since 1990, although a 
     majority of those funds were distributed during the early 
     1990s;
       Whereas it is the desire of the United States that the 
     people of Somalia live peaceful, stable, prosperous, and 
     happy lives;
       Whereas the United States has historically supported the 
     aspirations of the people of Somalia; and
       Whereas the compassion of the citizens of the United States 
     extends across the world to embrace every member of the human 
     family: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States is working with the people of Somalia 
     to build a stable and enduring democratic nation in the Horn 
     of Africa that is prosperous and free of civil war;
       (2) to achieve long-lasting peace in the region, the 
     nascent leadership and governance structures of Somalia 
     must--
       (A) commit themselves to the principles of democracy and 
     the rule of law; and
       (B) pledge to hold popular elections as soon as Somalia has 
     stabilized;
       (3) the nascent Transitional Federal Government for Somalia 
     should--
       (A) organize itself in 1 city as soon as practicable to--
       (i) promote national unity; and
       (ii) begin the process of reentering the international 
     community; and
       (B) delay the consideration of the delicate issue regarding 
     the Republic of Somaliland until an appropriate level of 
     stability has been achieved in Somalia, while understanding 
     the critical importance of that issue for establishing a 
     peaceful Somalia;
       (4) the President should--
       (A) commend the efforts of those that have worked to 
     restore a functioning and internationally recognized 
     government in Somalia, including--
       (i) the people of Somalia and their representatives;
       (ii) the African Union;
       (iii) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development;
       (iv) friendly countries from the continent of Africa; and
       (v) nongovernmental organizations;
       (B) through the Secretary of State, develop a comprehensive 
     interagency stabilization and reconstruction strategy that--
       (i) aligns humanitarian, developmental, economic, 
     political, counterterrorism, and regional strategies;
       (ii) achieves the objectives of the United States in 
     Somalia in coordination with the international donor 
     community; and
       (iii) orients current and future programs to meet the 
     objectives described in clause (ii);
       (C) appoint a special envoy to Somalia to--
       (i) help guide and inform United States policy and 
     interests in the region; and
       (ii) serve as a liaison between--

       (I) the United States;
       (II) nascent Somali governance institutions;
       (III) the international donor community; and
       (IV) the region;

       (D) instruct the United States Permanent Representative to 
     the United Nations to request that the Security Council take 
     additional measures to--
       (i) evaluate the effectiveness of the existing arms embargo 
     on Somalia; and
       (ii) develop an improved plan to monitor and protect the 
     vast land and maritime borders of Somalia from--

       (I) smuggling;
       (II) dumping; and
       (III) piracy; and

       (E) through the Secretaries of State and the Treasury, work 
     with international financial institutions to incrementally 
     reduce the crippling international debt of Somalia on the 
     condition that Somalia upholds democratic and free market 
     principles;
       (5) the United States Agency for International Development 
     should increase the assistance that the Agency provides to 
     the Transitional Federal Government to rebuild the national 
     infrastructure of Somalia, and place particular emphasis on 
     the promotion of the governmental institutions of Somalia;
       (6) the United States should provide training and support 
     to the Transitional National Government of Somalia to--
       (A) fight terrorism and extremism; and
       (B) strengthen the civil society and grassroots efforts in 
     Somalia that will deny terrorist and extremist groups a 
     fertile ground for recruitment in that country;
       (7) the United States, in partnership with the United 
     Nations and the international donor community, must--
       (A) heed the calls concerning the significant drought 
     affecting the region that have been placed by--
       (i) the United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian 
     Assistance;
       (ii) the international community of nongovernmental 
     organizations; and
       (iii) regional governments;
       (B) provide sufficient humanitarian assistance to those 
     impacted by the drought; and
       (C) realize that a failure to address the humanitarian 
     emergency could have a negative impact on fragile political 
     developments; and
       (8) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
     this resolution, the Secretary of State should present to 
     Congress a status report on items referred to in paragraphs 
     (4) through (8) that includes--
       (A) a projection of future challenges regarding Somalia; 
     and
       (B) resource requirements that could foreseeably be needed 
     to continue to support the transition of Somalia to a 
     peaceful and democratic country.

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