Senate Resolution 713 passed 20 November 2008

This includes the remarks in the Senate and the text of the resolution.

CALLING FOR A CEASEFIRE AND LASTING SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO — (Senate – November 20, 2008)

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Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 713, which was introduced earlier today.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

A resolution (S. Res. 713) calling on all parties to the escalating violence in the 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 this crisis.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.

Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I wish to express my deep concern about the rapidly deteriorating situation in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over recent weeks, eastern Congo has been making international headlines since new fighting broke out between the Congolese military and rebels loyal to General Laurent Nkunda. The rebels overran several government military bases and major towns as they surrounded the strategic city of Goma. Meanwhile, the Congolese military–a feckless force that often rapes and pillages the very people it is meant to protect–retreated, leaving UN peacekeepers to fend off the rebels’ advance and attempt to protect civilians. Fortunately, the rebels stopped before marching on Goma, but the situation remains extremely volatile.

I traveled last year to the very region, North Kivu Province, where this violence is taking place and saw firsthand the grave suffering of people who have lived through a decade of conflict and humanitarian crisis. The numbers are staggering: an estimated 5.4 million deaths over the last decade and 1,500 people still dying each day. In addition, millions have been displaced from their homes, living in squalid camps where children are subject to forced recruitment and women suffer unspeakable levels of sexual violence.

In my travels to many parts of Africa over the years, the suffering of women and girls in eastern Congo particularly stands out. I met with women and girls who had been gang raped, often leaving them with irreparable physical and psychological damage. I met with women who had lost their husbands, their homes, and their livelihoods and yet against all odds they refused to give up–if only for the sake of their children. There may be no worse place to be female than eastern Congo. And yet it is the strength of these women that continues to give hope.

The renewed fighting in eastern Congo is worrisome not only because it will further exacerbate this humanitarian tragedy, but also because it risks engulfing the neighboring countries in a new regional war. Last month, the Congolese Government accused Rwanda of sending troops across the border in support of Nkunda’s forces. The rebels in turn have recently alleged that Angolan and even Zimbabwean troops are supporting the Congolese military. Despite vows by these governments to avoid another regional conflict, tensions remain high. It is not hard to imagine a minor incident sparking a repeat of 1998 when at least six neighboring countries were drawn into Congo’s war.

Such a scenario would destabilize the Great Lakes region of Africa. Over recent years, the United States and our international partners have made significant investments–both financial and diplomatic–to assist in consolidating peace and restoring the rule of law in this region. No one wants to see those investments lost and the progress made reversed, and we may not have to. If we take bold and strategic action now, we can prevent a new regional conflict and revive the peace process in eastern Congo.

I was pleased that our top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, traveled to the region with high-level diplomats from the UK and France 2 weeks ago. In addition, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon convened an emergency summit of regional leaders in Nairobi. But this diplomatic engagement must remain consistent and get all key actors, including Rwanda, to commit to a clear roadmap for implementing the already signed peace agreements. To be successful, we must also establish monitoring and verification mechanisms to hold the parties accountable and challenge the continued culture of impunity.

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At the same time, while achieving a political solution is vital to ending the crisis in eastern Congo, the international community should also take measures to help protect civilians and enforce a ceasefire in the short term. The UN Secretary General has called for an additional 3,000 troops and police specially trained and equipped for rapid response to reinforce the peacekeeping force in Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC. The United States and other Security Council members should act immediately to fulfill those requests. In addition, the Security Council should clarify MONUC’s mandate to prioritize civilian protection and conflict prevention in the east and ensure it is implemented equally by all brigades. A renewed MONUC will not only save lives, but can also deter military involvement from neighboring countries.

Ultimately though, lasting peace in eastern Congo and the wider region will require measures to transform the underlying causes of conflict. The continued exploitation of Congo’s rich mineral base, particularly cassiterite, coltan, and gold, makes war a profitable enterprise. The international community should work with governments in the region to bring greater transparency and regulation to the trade in these minerals. The next administration and Congress must look seriously at how the United States can contribute meaningfully to this process as it is a critical step toward the larger goal of reforming Congo’s economic and political institutions.

Congo has vast potential and its stability can have a positive impact across Africa. We have made notable progress in that direction over recent years, but we are once again standing at a precipice. In the face of a potential regional war, we can no longer rely on piecemeal tactics and half-measures. It is time for a comprehensive and concerted international effort to ensure protection and basic rights for all Congo’s people. It is for that reason thatÐ I am today introducing a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Congo and a comprehensive solution to this crisis. I am pleased to introduce this resolution with the distinguished senior Senator from Kansas, who has long been a champion on this issue, and I hope our colleagues will join us in this urgent plea for peace.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the measure be printed in the Record.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The resolution (S. Res. 713) was agreed to.

The preamble was agreed to.

The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

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 Communiqué 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 Communiqué 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;

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(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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