[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 43 (Friday, March 22, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2338-S2339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 90--STANDING WITH THE PEOPLE OF KENYA FOLLOWING THEIR 
 NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS ON MARCH 4, 2013, AND URGING A PEACEFUL 
      AND CREDIBLE RESOLUTION OF ELECTORAL DISPUTES IN THE COURTS

  Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Flake) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                               S. Res. 90

       Whereas the Government and people of the United States 
     stand with the people of Kenya following their national and 
     local elections on March 4, 2013;
       Whereas the Governments of the United States and Kenya have 
     long shared a strong bilateral partnership, and Kenya plays a 
     critically important role as a cornerstone of stability in 
     East Africa and as a valued ally of the United States;
       Whereas Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election 
     threatened the country's stability and its democratic 
     trajectory, triggering an explosion of violence that resulted 
     in the deaths of some 1,140 civilians and displaced nearly 
     600,000, some of whom have still not returned home;
       Whereas a mediation effort by former United Nations 
     Secretary-General Kofi Annan and an African Union Panel of 
     Eminent African Personalities, supported by the United 
     States, led to the signing of the National Accord on February 
     28, 2008, which facilitated a power-sharing arrangement and 
     led to a series of constitutional, electoral, and 
     institutional reforms to address underlying causes of the 
     crisis;
       Whereas, as part of that reform process, the citizens of 
     Kenya participated in a national referendum in August 2010, 
     approving a new constitution that mandated significant 
     institutional and structural changes to the government;
       Whereas those constitutional changes have led to important 
     reforms in the judicial sector and the electoral system in 
     Kenya that aim to build greater public confidence in 
     government institutions, and which demonstrate meaningful 
     progress;
       Whereas Kenya's Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 
     Post-Election Violence (the ``Waki Commission'') concluded 
     from its investigation in 2008 that there had been ``no 
     serious effort by any government'' to punish perpetrators of 
     previous incidents of ethnic and political violence, leading 
     to a culture of impunity that contributed to the crisis that 
     followed the 2007 elections, and, since then, despite 
     laudable judicial reforms, few perpetrators or organizers of 
     that violence have been held accountable for their crimes in 
     Kenyan courts;
       Whereas, based on the findings of the Waki Commission, 
     mediator Kofi Annan submitted a list of key suspects to the 
     Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court 
     (ICC) in 2009, and several have been subsequently charged at 
     the ICC with crimes against humanity;
       Whereas the Department of State's 2011 Human Rights Report 
     on Kenya notes, ``Widespread impunity at all levels of 
     government continued to be a serious problem. The government 
     took only limited action against security forces suspected of 
     unlawful killings, and impunity in cases of corruption was 
     common. Although the government took action in some cases to 
     prosecute officials who committed abuses, impunity . . . was 
     pervasive'';
       Whereas President Barack Obama's Strategy on Sub-Saharan 
     Africa, released in June 2012, states that the United States 
     will not stand by while actors ``. . . manipulate the 
     fairness and integrity of democratic processes, and we will 
     stand in steady partnership with those who are committed to 
     the principles of equality, justice and the rule of law'';
       Whereas, prior to the March 2013 elections, concerns about 
     political violence in Kenya were high, and in the months 
     preceding there had been strong indications that local 
     politicians in various parts of the country were involved in 
     organizing or inciting violence in order to influence local 
     electoral outcomes;
       Whereas, in a February 2013 message to the people of Kenya, 
     President Obama highlighted the power Kenyan communities have 
     to reject intimidation and violence surrounding the upcoming 
     election, resolve disputes in the courts as opposed to the 
     streets, and ``move forward towards prosperity and 
     opportunity that unleashes the extraordinary talents of your 
     people'';
       Whereas, five years after Kenya's post-election crisis, the 
     country held its first general elections under the new 
     constitution on March 4, 2013, which were largely peaceful; 
     and
       Whereas Kenya's presidential candidates and their political 
     parties committed themselves to a peaceful electoral process, 
     and to resolving any resulting disputes through the judicial 
     process, which is now underway with

[[Page S2339]]

     the filing of cases before the Kenyan Supreme Court on March 
     16, 2013: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates the people of Kenya on their commitment 
     to peaceful elections, as demonstrated on March 4, 2013;
       (2) calls on the people of Kenya to continue to reject 
     intimidation and violence, and encourages the peaceful and 
     credible resolution of electoral disputes in the courts;
       (3) urges restraint on all sides, while recognizing the 
     right of the people of Kenya to peacefully exercise their 
     constitutional rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and 
     demonstration;
       (4) urges accountability for anyone found to be complicit 
     in promoting violence or manipulating electoral processes or 
     results;
       (5) notes that many of the underlying grievances that have 
     underpinned ethnic divisions and fueled the 2007-2008 
     violence remain largely unaddressed;
       (6) affirms that accountability for the 2007-2008 post-
     election violence is a critical element to ensure Kenya's 
     democracy, peace, and long-term stability;
       (7) calls on the Government of Kenya to respect commitments 
     to seek justice for the victims of political violence, 
     including by honoring its obligations under the Rome Statute 
     to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court with 
     regard to the three cases that remain before the Court slated 
     to go to trial in 2013;
       (8) recognizes that, while the Government of Kenya has made 
     important progress since the 2007 election, aspects of the 
     Kenyan reform agenda specified in the National Accord and 
     2010 constitution remain unfinished, particularly with regard 
     to police reform, devolution, land reform, and security;
       (9) encourages the people and Government of Kenya to 
     support ongoing implementation of constitutional reforms, 
     rule of law, and efforts to strengthen governing, security, 
     and judicial institutions that respect the dignity and rights 
     of all the people of Kenya and ensure protection for judges;
       (10) congratulates the many candidates elected to office in 
     the March 2013 election--including those at the newly-formed 
     county level--and expresses hope that newly-elected members 
     of government will herald a new generation of responsible 
     leadership in Kenya; and
       (11) reaffirms that the people of the United States will 
     continue to stand with the people of Kenya in support of 
     democracy, partnership, and peace.

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