[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S10753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S10753]]
    SENATE RESOLUTION 713--CALLING ON ALL PARTIES TO THE ESCALATING 
   VIOLENCE IN EASTERN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO TO IMPLEMENT AN 
  IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE AND WORK WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL 
  COMMUNITY TOWARD A COMPREHENSIVE AND LASTING SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Harkin, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Menendez, 
Mr. Isakson, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Bond, Mr. 
Coleman, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mr. Nelson of Florida) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 713

       Whereas the Democratic Republic of Congo was devastated by 
     civil wars lasting from 1996 to 1997 and 1998 to 2003, 
     spawning some of the world's worst human rights violations 
     and involving at least 6 neighboring countries;
       Whereas, despite the signing of a peace agreement and 
     subsequent withdrawal of foreign forces in 2003, eastern 
     Congo has continued to suffer from high levels of poverty, 
     insecurity, and absent or inadequate institutions, allowing 
     armed and criminal groups to operate freely;
       Whereas continuing abuses committed by the national 
     military against civilians in Congo and apparent ties between 
     the military and armed groups in the region have tainted 
     attempts to restore the rule of law in the eastern region of 
     the country;
       Whereas, according to a study by the International Rescue 
     Committee released in January 2008, the conflict and related 
     humanitarian crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo have 
     taken the lives of an estimated 5,400,000 people since 1998 
     and continue to cause as many as 45,000 deaths each month;
       Whereas sexual violence and rape remain a pervasive tool of 
     warfare used by all parties in eastern Congo to terrorize 
     communities, affecting hundreds of thousands of women and 
     girls and frequently resulting in traumatic fistula and other 
     severe genital injuries;
       Whereas the continued plunder and trade of eastern Congo's 
     rich mineral base, notably cassiterite, coltan, and gold, by 
     armed groups and members of the national military make war 
     profitable and undermine peace efforts;
       Whereas the Governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo 
     and Rwanda signed the Nairobi Communique in November 2007, 
     committing to work together to address the continued activity 
     of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and 
     other armed groups operating in their shared border region;
       Whereas, on January 23, 2008, with the active support of 
     the international community, the Government of the Democratic 
     Republic of Congo, and 22 armed groups in the eastern region 
     signed the Goma accord, committing to an immediate ceasefire 
     and buffer zones for troop disengagement and ultimately 
     disarmament;
       Whereas these agreements together provided the first 
     working framework in years for peace and lasting stability in 
     eastern Congo, but a continued culture of impunity and 
     suspicion has impeded their implementation;
       Whereas the United Nations reported more than 200 
     violations of these agreements between January and July of 
     2008, as well as 2,000 cases of rape and hundreds of people 
     killed;
       Whereas hate speech inciting ethnic violence by local and 
     national leaders in Congo continued during this period, 
     feeding the concerns and perceived insecurity of minority 
     Tutsi communities;
       Whereas, since August 28, 2008, fighting has resumed in 
     North Kivu Province between the national military and the 
     forces of General Laurent Nkunda, known as the National 
     Congress for the Defense of the People, the latter of which 
     has taken control of several government military bases and 
     major towns around the city of Goma;
       Whereas, according to Human Rights Watch, an estimated 
     250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as a 
     result of this renewed fighting in eastern Congo, often 
     without access to shelter, water, food, and medicine, and 
     adding to the over 1,000,000 people already displaced from 
     North and South Kivu;
       Whereas the United Nations Mission in Congo, known by its 
     French acronym MONUC, has proven unable to protect civilians 
     in light of this new offensive by General Nkunda's forces, 
     causing resentment and protests by local communities;
       Whereas allegations of troops from Angola, Rwanda, and 
     Zimbabwe crossing into eastern Congo have strained existing 
     regional tensions and increased fears of a wider war that 
     could draw other countries from the region into the fighting, 
     as happened in 1998;
       Whereas the United Nations' Special Representative of the 
     Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Alan 
     Doss, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have 
     called for more troops and better capabilities for MONUC to 
     stop the rebel offensive and protect civilians;
       Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon 
     traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, on November 7, 2008, and convened 
     a summit of regional leaders, including the heads of state of 
     the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, which led to a 
     joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire and the 
     creation of humanitarian corridors; and
       Whereas, in 2006, Congress passed the Democratic Republic 
     of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act of 
     2006, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush 
     on December 22, 2006 (Public Law 109-456), stating that it is 
     the policy of the United States to work for peace and 
     security throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo by 
     supporting efforts to protect civilians, to disarm illegal 
     armed groups, and to hold accountable individuals, entities, 
     and countries working to destabilize the country: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the continuing violence, forcible recruitment 
     of children as soldiers, and abuses against civilians in 
     eastern Democratic Republic of Congo;
       (2) calls on the national military in Congo, the National 
     Congress for the Defense of the People, and all armed groups 
     operating in eastern Congo to cease hostilities, end all 
     human rights abuses, and respect an immediate ceasefire based 
     on the principles of the Goma agreement;
       (3) calls on the Government of the Democratic Republic of 
     Congo to meet its obligations under the Lusaka Agreement of 
     1999, the Pretoria Agreement of 2002, and the Nairobi 
     Communique of 2007 to take action to end the threat posed by 
     the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda;
       (4) calls on the Governments of the Democratic Republic of 
     Congo and Rwanda--
       (A) to fully restore bilateral relations;
       (B) to work together to mitigate escalating tensions in the 
     region; and
       (C) to break any ties that still exist between them and 
     illegal armed groups in eastern Congo;
       (5) calls on all governments in the Great Lakes region of 
     Africa and those of the Southern African Development 
     Community to support a peaceful resolution to the crisis 
     while ensuring that the volatile situation does not spark a 
     wider regional war;
       (6) supports the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-
     General, his newly appointed United Nations Special Envoy, 
     former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo, and the 
     international facilitation team to bring all parties to the 
     negotiating table and establish a clear roadmap to implement 
     the signed peace agreements;
       (7) encourages the international community to take 
     immediate measures to enhance the effectiveness of the United 
     Nations Mission in Congo to protect civilians, specifically 
     through increased troops and additional capabilities as 
     requested by the Secretary-General;
       (8) urges the President to sustain high-level diplomatic 
     engagement together with the African Union, the European 
     Union, and the United Nations to avert a wider regional war 
     and revive a comprehensive peace process in eastern Congo;
       (9) urges the United States and the international community 
     to develop and support monitoring and verification mechanisms 
     that can hold the parties in Congo accountable to the signed 
     peace agreements, investigate alleged ceasefire violations, 
     and ultimately challenge the continued culture of impunity in 
     Congo; and
       (10) urges the President and the international community to 
     adopt measures to help the regional governments to identify 
     and ultimately address the factors underlying the conflict in 
     eastern Congo, especially weak governance and the 
     exploitation of the region's lucrative minerals.

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