[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 44 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 44
Supporting democracy, universal rights, and the peaceful transition to
a representative government in Egypt.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 3, 2011
Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Graham, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr.
Cardin, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Levin) submitted the
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting democracy, universal rights, and the peaceful transition to
a representative government in Egypt.
Whereas the United States and Egypt have long shared a strong bilateral
relationship;
Whereas Egypt plays an important role in global and regional politics as well as
in the broader Middle East and North Africa;
Whereas Egypt has been, and continues to be, an intellectual and cultural center
of the Arab world;
Whereas on January 25, 2011, demonstrations began across Egypt with thousands of
protesters peacefully calling for a new government, free and fair
elections, significant constitutional and political reforms, greater
economic opportunity, and an end to government corruption;
Whereas on January 28, 2011, the Government of Egypt shut down Internet and
mobile phone networks almost entirely and blocked social networking
websites;
Whereas on January 29, 2011, President Hosni Mubarak appointed Omar Suleiman,
former head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, as Vice
President and Ahmed Shafik, former Minister for Civil Aviation, as Prime
Minister;
Whereas the demonstrations have continued, making this the longest protest in
modern Egyptian history, and on February 1, 2011, millions of protesters
took to the streets across the country;
Whereas hundreds of Egyptians have been killed and injured since the protests
began;
Whereas on February 1, 2011, President Hosni Mubarak announced that he would not
run for reelection later this year, but widespread protests against his
government continue;
Whereas on February 1, 2011, President Barack Obama called for an orderly
transition, stating that it ``must be meaningful, it must be peaceful,
and it must begin now.'' He also affirmed that: ``The process must
include a broad spectrum of Egyptian voices and opposition parties. It
should lead to elections that are free and fair. And it should result in
a government that's not only grounded in democratic principles, but is
also responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.'';
Whereas despite President Hosni Mubarak's pledge in 2005 that Egypt's
controversial emergency law would be used only to fight terrorism and
that he planned to abolish the state of emergency and adopt new
antiterrorism legislation as an alternative, in May 2010, the Government
of Egypt again extended the emergency law, which has been in place
continuously since 1981, for another 2 years, giving police broad powers
of arrest and allowing indefinite detention without charge;
Whereas the Department of State's 2009 Human Rights Report notes with respect to
Egypt, ``[t]he government's respect for human rights remained poor, and
serious abuses continued in many areas. The government limited citizens'
right to change their government and continued a state of emergency that
has been in place almost continuously since 1967.'';
Whereas past elections in Egypt, including the most recent November 2010
parliamentary elections, have seen serious irregularities at polling and
counting stations, security force intimidation and coercion of voters,
and obstruction of peaceful political rallies and demonstrations; and
Whereas any election must be honest and open to all legitimate candidates and
conducted without interference from the military or security apparatus
and under the oversight of international monitors: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) acknowledges the central and historic importance of the
United States-Egyptian strategic partnership in advancing the
common interests of both countries, including peace and
security in the broader Middle East and North Africa;
(2) reaffirms the United States' commitment to the
universal rights of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and
freedom of access to information, including the Internet, and
expresses strong support for the people of Egypt in their
peaceful calls for a representative and responsive democratic
government that respects these rights;
(3) condemns any efforts to provoke or instigate violence,
and calls upon all parties to refrain from all violent and
criminal acts;
(4) supports freedom of the press and strongly condemns the
intimidation, targeting, or detention of journalists;
(5) urges the Egyptian military to demonstrate maximum
professionalism and restraint, and emphasizes the importance of
working to peacefully restore calm and order while allowing for
free and non-violent freedom of expression;
(6) calls on President Mubarak to immediately begin an
orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political
system, including the transfer of power to an inclusive interim
caretaker government, in coordination with leaders from Egypt's
opposition, civil society, and military, to enact the necessary
reforms to hold free, fair, and internationally credible
elections this year;
(7) affirms that a real transition to a legitimate
representative democracy in Egypt requires concrete steps to be
taken as soon as possible, including lifting the state of
emergency, allowing Egyptians to organize independent political
parties without interference, enhancing the transparency of
governmental institutions, restoring judicial supervision of
elections, allowing credible international monitors to observe
the preparation and conduct of elections, and amending the laws
and Constitution of Egypt as necessary to implement these and
other critical reforms;
(8) pledges full support for Egypt's transition to a
representative democracy that is responsive to the needs of the
Egyptian people, and calls on all nations to support the people
of Egypt as they work to conduct a successful transition to
democracy;
(9) expresses deep concern over any organization that
espouses an extremist ideology, including the Muslim
Brotherhood, and calls upon all political movements and parties
in Egypt, including an interim government, to affirm their
commitment to non-violence and the rule of law, the equal
rights of all individuals, accountable institutions of justice,
religious tolerance, peaceful relations with Egypt's neighbors,
and the fundamental principles and practices of democracy,
including the regular conduct of free and fair elections;
(10) underscores the vital importance of any Egyptian
Government continuing to fulfill its international obligations,
including its commitments under the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty
signed on March 26, 1979 and the freedom of navigation through
the Suez Canal; and
(11) ensures that United States assistance to the Egyptian
Government, military, and people will advance the goal of
ensuring respect for the universal rights of the Egyptian
people and will further the national security interests of the
United States in the region.
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