[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 42 (Thursday, March 13, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1668-S1669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONCERNING CRISIS IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 324, S. Res. 375.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 375) concerning the crisis in the
Central African Republic and supporting United States and
international efforts to end the violence, protect civilians,
and address root causes of the conflict.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign
Relations, with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble, as
follows:
(Insert the part printed in italic.)
(Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic.)
S. Res. 375
Whereas, for more than 50 years, successive governments in
the Central African Republic have struggled to build a
durable system of democratic institutions, to effectively
secure and control the country's territory and borders, and
to ensure a basic level of socio-economic development for the
country's people;
Whereas, despite its natural resource wealth, the Central
African Republic remains one of the poorest countries in the
world and one of the lowest ranking countries in terms of
human development according to the United Nations Development
Program;
Whereas, in January 2013, regional leaders brokered the
Libreville Agreements between the government of then-
President Francois Bozize and the loosely allied rebel
militia known as Seleka, which resulted in the formation of a
government of national unity;
Whereas, despite the Libreville Agreements, President
Bozize was ousted in March 2013 by the Seleka coalition, and
the Seleka leader, Michel Djotodia, declared himself
president;
Whereas, in April 2013, regional leaders issued the
N'djamena Declaration in an effort to pursue a return to
constitutional order based on the Libreville Agreements;
Whereas an influx of foreign fighters, especially from Chad
and Sudan, has been a major factor in the increased number of
Seleka fighters, from approximately 5,000 in March 2013, to
an estimated 20,000 as of December 2013;
Whereas both Seleka forces and armed militia groups known
as ``anti-balakas'', some of which formed initially as a
means of protecting communities against Seleka, have been
implicated in ethnically-motivated violence and grave and
systemic human rights abuses against civilians;
Whereas, over the course of the crisis, Seleka and anti-
balaka groups have displayed weak control and command
structures, and committed crimes against humanity with
impunity;
Whereas, according to UNICEF, thousands of child soldiers
are involved in armed groups in the Central African Republic,
amid the near-total collapse of the country's primary
education system;
Whereas interethnic, intercommunal, and interreligious
tensions and violence have risen to alarming levels and led
to systematic human rights abuses in the Central African
Republic, including targeted killings, rapes, acts of
torture, looting, and arbitrary detention;
Whereas the United States Embassy in Bangui suspended
operations on December 28, 2012, and the ordered departure of
country team staff has temporarily suspended the diplomatic
presence and consular services of the United States in the
Central African Republic;
Whereas more than 700,000 civilians have been internally
displaced; another 290,000 have sought refuge in neighboring
countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Chad, Cameroon, and South Sudan; 2,600,000 people, or over
half of the population of the Central African Republic, are
in need of humanitarian assistance; and 60 percent of
households have no available food stocks;
Whereas a failure of the international community to
appropriately respond to and address the rapidly
deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic could
result in further atrocities, mass displacement, and
protracted instability with significant repercussions for
regional and international security;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 2127
(2013) called for urgent and increased international
assistance to the African Union International Support Mission
in the Central African Republic (MISCA) to ensure that the
force can fulfill its mandate to restore security and protect
civilians, and placed an arms embargo on the Central African
Republic;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 2127
requested the Secretary-General to establish an international
commission of inquiry to investigate reports of human rights
abuses in the Central African Republic in order to ensure
accountability for perpetrators of violence;
Whereas the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office
in the Central African Republic has been hindered by a lack
of resources and constrained by insecurity;
Whereas, consistent with United Nations Security Council
Resolution 2127, the Government of France launched a
stabilization operation, Operation Sangaris, in the Central
African Republic to assist MISCA in fulfilling its mandate;
Whereas, on March 3, 2014, United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon recommended to the United Nations Security
Council a transition to a United Nations peacekeeping mission
with a primary mandate to protect civilians; and
Whereas the United States Government has provided crisis
and humanitarian assistance commitments totaling $182,500,000
in response to instability in the Central African Republic,
including support for conflict resolution efforts,
humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced
persons, and assistance to troop contributing countries to
MISCA such as airlift, non-lethal equipment, military
logistics, and training, as well as logistical support for
French forces: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) condemns the violence, atrocities, abuses, and human
rights violations committed by all parties to the conflict in
the Central African Republic;
(2) commends the efforts of religious and community leaders
in the Central African Republic condemning violence and
engaging in conflict prevention and conflict resolution
activities;
(3) welcomes the mobilization of international
peacekeeping, conflict mitigation, humanitarian, and
diplomatic resources, and encourages continued efforts to
help address humanitarian needs, bring an end to the
violence, and develop sustainable democratic institutions in
the Central African Republic;
(4) welcomes the January 2014 decision of the Transitional
National Council on the election of Catherine Samba-Panza as
the Central African Republic's new transitional president;
(5) commends the African Union and its troop and police
contributing countries for their work establishing and
supporting MISCA;
(6) recognizes the Economic Community of Central African
States (CEEAS) for its leadership in the political transition
process;
(7) commends France for its swift intervention under United
Nations Security Council Resolution 2127, and for its
contributions to stabilization efforts and other forms of
assistance;
(8) welcomes the United Nations Security Council support
for MISCA and the Department of Peacekeeping Operation's
ongoing contingency planning for a possible transition to a
United Nations peacekeeping operation;
(9) affirms support for multilateral peacekeeping and
policing capacities and recognizes the important
contributions these efforts have made in protecting civilians
in the Central African Republic and promoting international
peace and stability;
(10) calls on the President to work with international
partners to develop a short-term strategy to support a full
and immediate cessation of armed conflict in the Central
African Republic, including attacks targeting civilians and
the recruitment of child soldiers;
(11) calls on the President to develop a long-term United
States strategy, in support of international and domestic
efforts, to establish a durable peace and greater security
for the Central African Republic and to enhance regional
stability, including--
(A) engagement and coordination with the international
community, including the African Union, the Economic
Community of Central African States, the United Nations, and
other partners;
(B) appropriate assistance to help provide emergency relief
and support reconciliation for the people of the Central
African Republic;
[[Page S1669]]
(C) technical, logistical and other forms of assistance, as
appropriate, in support of effective disarmament,
demobilization, and reintegration of fighters; and
(D) support for appropriate mechanisms to ensure
accountability for perpetrators of human rights abuses and
violence; and
(12) urges the Secretary of State to consider the
expeditious reestablishment of a United States diplomatic
presence in the Central African Republic.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I further ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported amendment to the resolution be agreed to, the
resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the committee-reported amendment
to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to,
and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the
table, with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendment to the resolution was agreed to.
The resolution (S. Res. 375), as amended, was agreed to.
The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute to the
preamble was agreed to.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
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