Calls for the President to: (1) direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations (UN) to work to bring before the UN Security Council a resolution imposing sanctions against the sale of diamonds mined in the Congo unless the diamonds are certified as not funding the conflict there; (2) urge the Security Council to give priority to steps to control the illegal harvesting of timber in the Congo; and (3) send U.S. representatives to advise leaders of the Congo, countries whose armed forces occupy it, and countries whose support sustains rebel groups operating there that peace in the Congo is in their national security interests and that continued strife there threatens to impede the war against terrorism.
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the UN and the international community should condemn combatants in the Congo for failing to abide by the 1999 Lusaka Peace Accords and for inflicting suffering on civilians; and (2) the U.S. Government should not grant a visa to any individual (or family members) suspected of committing war crimes in the Congo and should transfer any such individual found in the United States to the jurisdiction of the International War Crimes Tribunal for prosecution.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 410 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 410
Supporting peace and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
and an end to the plunder of its natural resources.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 23, 2002
Mr. Hall of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Royce, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Wolf, and
Mr. Payne) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Supporting peace and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
and an end to the plunder of its natural resources.
Whereas during the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that began in
1998, involving rebel groups in that country as well as armed forces of
Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi, the United
States has supported the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
in their desire for peace and democracy through moral and financial
support of Congolese citizens, and through United Nations and other
initiatives designed to secure peace;
Whereas, despite a peace agreement signed by most parties to the conflict in
1999 (the ``Lusaka Peace Accords''), and despite the efforts of the
United Nations there through peacekeeping forces and otherwise,
suffering caused by the war continues, in significant part because rebel
groups and foreign armies are profiting directly from their control of
the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and are
therefore dissuaded from agreeing to end the war;
Whereas independent reports confirm that most of the more than 2,500,000 deaths
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the war began in 1998 have
been caused by starvation and disease, and are not the direct result of
fighting;
Whereas the human suffering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is extreme;
one-third of the population is in critical need of food, infant
mortality in some isolated regions exceeds 41 percent, maternal
mortality in the country is among the highest in the world, 60 percent
of school-aged children are not being educated, and large numbers of
children are forced to serve as soldiers;
Whereas there have been many reports by United Nations organizations, private
charities, journalists, and others concerning the extent of the human
suffering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and concerning the
role that plunder of natural resources, including diamonds, timber, and
coltan, is playing in preventing an end to the war;
Whereas international efforts to sever the funding that the trade in diamonds
provides for wars that are underway encourage diamond-producing
countries to develop a system of certification to assist international
efforts in excluding ``conflict diamonds'' from international trade;
however, because the United Nations has not imposed sanctions on
diamonds that fund the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
there is no way for consumers to be confident that the money they use to
purchase diamond jewelry is not funding the most deadly ongoing war in
the world; and
Whereas there is growing evidence that the trade in diamonds mined in lawless
areas such as much of the Democratic Republic of the Congo supports not
only terror against Africans, but also acts of terrorism against
Americans: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That--
(1) the Congress joins the international community in
supporting peace and democracy in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, and an end to the plunder of its natural resources;
and
(2) it is the sense of the Congress that--
(A)(i) the President should direct the United
States representative to the United Nations immediately
to work to bring before the United Nations Security
Council a resolution imposing comprehensive sanctions
against the sale of diamonds mined in the territory of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo unless the
diamonds are certified by the government of that
country as not funding the conflict there; and
(ii) sanctions referred to in clause (i) should be
similar to those sanctions relating to conflict
diamonds that have been imposed against rebels in
Angola and UNITA, and against Liberia, taking into
account the recommendations of the report of the United
Nations Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of
Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo;
(B) the President should urge the United Nations
Security Council to give priority to taking steps to
control the illegal harvesting of timber in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo;
(C) combatants in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, whether members of rebel groups within that
country or members of armed forces of other countries,
should be condemned by the United Nations and the
international community for failing to abide by the
1999 Lusaka Peace Accords, and for inflicting
unspeakable suffering on the vast numbers of civilians
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including more
than 2,500,000 people who have died and more than
2,000,000 who have been driven from their homes;
(D) the President should forthwith send
representatives of the United States to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, to countries whose armed forces
occupy the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and to
countries whose support sustains rebel groups operating
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to advise the
leaders of those countries--
(i) that peace in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo is in the national security
interests of all countries, including the
United States; and
(ii) that continued strife in that country
threatens to impede the war against terrorism;
and
(E) the United States Government should not grant a
visa to any individual who is suspected of committing
war crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or
to members of the individual's family, and should
transfer any such individual found in the United States
to the jurisdiction of the International War Crimes
Tribunal for prosecution.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E908-910)
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