[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 119 (Monday, July 16, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4967-S4968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO TO 
            FULFILL ITS AGREEMENT TO HOLD CREDIBLE ELECTIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 436, S. Res. 
386.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 386) urging the Government of the 
     Democratic Republic of the Congo to fulfill its agreement to 
     hold credible elections, comply with constitutional limits on 
     presidential terms, and fulfill its constitutional mandate 
     for a democratic transition of power by taking concrete and 
     measurable steps towards holding elections not later than 
     December 2018 as outlined in the existing election calendar, 
     and allowing for freedom of expression and association.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, with an amendment to strike all after the resolving clause 
and insert the part

[[Page S4968]]

printed in italic, and with an amendment to strike the preamble and 
insert the part printed in italic, as follows:

                              S. Res. 386

       Whereas the people of the United States have a strong 
     relationship with the people of the Democratic Republic of 
     the Congo (DRC) and a strong commitment to the principles of 
     democracy and adherence to the rule of law;
       Whereas, in 2006, the Government of the DRC adopted a new 
     constitution that limited the President to two consecutive 
     five-year terms, which for President Joseph Kabila expired on 
     December 19, 2016;
       Whereas President Kabila swore to uphold the constitution 
     of the DRC as part of his oath of office;
       Whereas the constitutionally required elections have not 
     yet taken place;
       Whereas citizens of the DRC have repeatedly demanded that 
     their constitutional right to elect a new President after two 
     terms be upheld and that President Kabila must therefore step 
     down;
       Whereas, on December 31, 2016, the National Episcopal 
     Conference of Congolese Bishops mediated a political 
     agreement between the ruling coalition and main opposition 
     parties under which President Kabila is prohibited from 
     running for a third term, constitutional changes which would 
     extend the President's time in office are prohibited, and 
     elections were to be held before the end of 2017;
       Whereas, on March 31, 2017, the United Nations Security 
     Council adopted Resolution 2348, which called for a ``swift 
     implementation'' of the December 2016 political agreement, 
     including ``peaceful, credible, inclusive and timely 
     elections no later than December 2017, leading to a peaceful 
     transition of power'';
       Whereas, on June 21, 2017, the United Nations Security 
     Council adopted Resolution 2360, which stressed ``the 
     importance of the DRC and its national partners taking all 
     necessary steps to accelerate preparations for the elections 
     without further delays'';
       Whereas, on November 5, 2017, the Congolese electoral 
     commission released a calendar that would delay elections 
     until at least December 23, 2018, while noting numerous 
     ``constraints'' that could impact respect of this calendar;
       Whereas the failure to hold constitutionally required 
     elections has increased political uncertainty, violence, and 
     instability inside the DRC, and the United Nations Under-
     Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency 
     Relief Coordinator said that amid the political stalemate, 
     ``conflict is rapidly spreading across the country and in 
     appalling ways, even in a country blighted by violence and 
     insecurity for decades'';
       Whereas, despite contributions in billions of dollars in 
     development, peacekeeping, humanitarian, and diplomatic 
     support from the United States and the international 
     community over the past two decades, persistent insecurity 
     has plagued the DRC and a perpetual humanitarian crisis is 
     devolving rapidly further as a result of President Kabila's 
     continued effort to maintain the presidency;
       Whereas the natural wealth of the DRC is monopolized by a 
     narrow few and enabled by endemic corruption, regional proxy 
     conflict, and poor governance, which together have promoted 
     insecurity and resulted in rates of internal displacement, 
     disease, and mortality approaching the highest in the world;
       Whereas political space in the DRC continues to be heavily 
     restricted, as evidenced by arrests and detention of members 
     of the political opposition, democratic activists, and 
     journalists, and by restrictions on fundamental freedoms such 
     as speech and assembly, and Congolese state security forces 
     have repeatedly responded to peaceful protestors with 
     violence including assaults on Catholic communities;
       Whereas American Michael Sharp and Swede Zaida Catalan, 
     members of the United Nations Group of Experts, were 
     assassinated in 2017 while investigating reports of 
     atrocities by state security forces in the Kasai region, and 
     there has been little effort made by the Government of the 
     DRC to cooperate with any independent investigation into 
     these murders; and
       Whereas members of the opposition have been targeted, 
     arrested, harassed, and violently attacked by security 
     forces: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,
     That the Senate--
       (1) expresses concern that the Government of the Democratic 
     Republic of the Congo failed to hold elections in 2016 as 
     required by its Constitution and later failed to fulfill its 
     political commitment to hold elections in 2017;
       (2) expresses concern that the growing security, 
     humanitarian, and human rights crisis in the DRC is 
     exacerbated by the lack of a duly elected leadership;
       (3) recognizes that impunity and the lack of effective rule 
     of law undermine democracy, and that the arrest and detention 
     of civil society activists and the harassment of political 
     opponents close political space and repress peaceful dissent;
       (4) calls on the Government of the Democratic Republic of 
     the Congo to complete concrete steps towards holding 
     elections, including--
       (A) issuance of district-level voter registration data;
       (B) completion of legislation to enable redistricting;
       (C) fulfillment of the constitutionally required step of 
     ``calling the electorate'';
       (D) publication of the final list of presidential and 
     parliamentary candidates; and
       (E) holding presidential, parliamentary, and provincial 
     elections by December 23, 2018;
       (5) calls on the opposition to take all steps possible 
     within the DRC to support and promote immediate free, fair, 
     and inclusive elections;
       (6) welcomes United States Government sanctions targeting 
     several senior security officials and other individuals 
     responsible for human rights abuses, impeding democracy, and 
     gross corruption in the DRC;
       (7) encourages the careful vetting of all planned United 
     States assistance to Congolese state security forces to 
     ensure that its impact and importance to United States 
     national security objectives outweigh the potential damage to 
     United States interests that might result in working with the 
     state security services of the DRC;
       (8) notes the importance of continued unity among the 
     international community that untested, un-piloted technology, 
     such as electronic voting machines, given their high cost, 
     risk of failure, and potential for manipulation, should not 
     be used if a credible election process is intended to benefit 
     all Congolese citizens;
       (9) calls on the Government of the Democratic Republic of 
     the Congo to cooperate with United States, Swedish, and 
     United Nations officials to enable a credible and independent 
     investigation of the killing of Michael Sharp and Zaida 
     Catalan, and to identify and bring to justice those 
     responsible for their murder;
       (10) calls on the Government of the Democratic Republic of 
     the Congo to end political arrests and free political 
     detainees, including youth activists, in support of a 
     credible and inclusive electoral environment; and
       (11) urges the President of the United States, in close 
     coordination with regional and other international partners, 
     to use appropriate means--
       (A) to provide appropriate electoral assistance to support 
     the organization of credible elections in the DRC by December 
     23, 2018; and
       (B) to deter further electoral calendar slippage and abuses 
     against the people of Congo, including through the 
     consideration of targeted sanctions against high-level DRC 
     officials, including close associates of President Joseph 
     Kabila responsible for further delay of or impediment to 
     elections or otherwise maintaining President Kabila's rule 
     beyond the constitution's two-term limit.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported amendment be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment in the nature of a substitute was 
agreed to.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I know of no further debate on the 
resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
  Hearing none, the question is on adoption of the resolution, as 
amended.
  The resolution (S. Res. 386), as amended, was agreed to.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that 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.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported amendment to the preamble in the nature of a 
substitute was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.

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