[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 35 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2540-S2541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOMMITTING TO A POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE CONFLICT IN NORTHERN UGANDA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Con. Res. 16, which was 
submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) calling on the 
     Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army to 
     recommit to a political solution to the conflict in northern 
     Uganda and to recommence vital peace talks, and urging 
     immediate and substantial support for the ongoing peace 
     process from the United States and the international 
     community.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the 
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements 
relating thereto be printed in the Record as if read, without 
intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 16) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 16

       Whereas, for nearly two decades, the Government of Uganda 
     has been engaged in an armed conflict with the Lord's 
     Resistance Army (LRA) that has resulted in up to 200,000 
     deaths from violence and disease and the displacement of more 
     than 1,600,000 civilians from eastern and northern Uganda.
       Whereas former United Nations Undersecretary-General for 
     Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan 
     Egeland has called the crisis in northern Uganda ``the 
     biggest forgotten, neglected humanitarian emergency in the 
     world today'';
       Whereas Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, and several of 
     his associates have been indicted by the International 
     Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, 
     including rape, murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement, and 
     the forced recruitment of an estimated 66,000 children;
       Whereas the LRA is a severe and repeat violator of human 
     rights and has continued to attack civilians and humanitarian 
     aid workers despite a succession of ceasefire agreements;
       Whereas the Secretary of State has labeled the LRA 
     ``vicious and cult-like'' and designates it as a terrorist 
     organization;
       Whereas the 2005 Department of State report on the human 
     rights record of the Government of Uganda found that 
     ``security forces committed unlawful killings . . . and were 
     responsible for deaths as a result of torture'' along with 
     other ``serious problems,'' including repression of political 
     opposition, official impunity, and violence against women and 
     children;
       Whereas, in the 2004 Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act 
     (Public Law 108-283; 118 Stat. 912), Congress declared its 
     support for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in northern 
     and eastern Uganda and called for the United States and the 
     international community to assist in rehabilitation, 
     reconstruction, and demobilization efforts;
       Whereas the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, which was 
     mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan and signed by 
     representatives of the Government of Uganda and the LRA on 
     August 20, 2006, and extended on November 1, 2006, requires 
     both parties to cease all hostile military and media 
     offensives and asks the Sudan People's Liberation Army to 
     facilitate the safe assembly of LRA fighters in designated 
     areas for the duration of the peace talks;
       Whereas the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement is set to 
     expire on February 28, 2007, and although both parties to the 
     agreement have indicated that they are willing to continue 
     with the peace talks, no date has been set for resumption of 
     the talks, and recent reports have suggested that both rebel 
     and Government forces are preparing to return to war;
       Whereas a return to civil war would yield disastrous 
     results for the people of northern Uganda and for regional 
     stability, while peace in Uganda will bolster the fragile 
     Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan and de-escalate 
     tensions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
       Whereas continuing violence and instability obstruct the 
     delivery of humanitarian assistance to the people of northern 
     Uganda and impede national and regional trade, development 
     and democratization efforts, and counter-terrorism 
     initiatives; and
       Whereas the Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 
     366, 109th Congress, agreed to February 6, 2006, and Senate 
     Resolution 573, 109th Congress, agreed to September 19, 2006, 
     calling on Uganda, Sudan, the United States, and the 
     international community to bring justice and provide 
     humanitarian assistance to northern Uganda and to support the 
     successful transition from conflict to sustainable peace, 
     while the House of Representatives has not yet considered 
     comparable legislation: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) disapproves of the LRA leadership's inconsistent 
     commitment to resolving the conflict in Uganda peacefully;
       (2) urges the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the 
     Government of Uganda to return to negotiations in order to 
     extend and expand upon the existing ceasefire and to recommit 
     to pursuing a political solution to this conflict;
       (3) entreats all parties in the region to immediately cease 
     human rights violations and

[[Page S2541]]

     address, within the context of a broader national 
     reconciliation process in Uganda, issues of accountability 
     and impunity for those crimes against humanity already 
     committed;
       (4) presses leaders on both sides of the conflict in Uganda 
     to renounce any intentions and halt any preparations to 
     resume violence and to ensure that this message is clearly 
     conveyed to armed elements under their control; and
       (5) calls on the Secretary of State, the Administrator of 
     the United States Agency for International Development, and 
     the heads of other similar governmental agencies and 
     nongovernmental organizations within the international 
     community to continue and augment efforts to alleviate the 
     humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda and to support a 
     peaceful resolution to this crisis by publicly and forcefully 
     reiterating the preceding demands.

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