[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 991 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 991
Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse against ethnic
minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 1, 2024
Mr. Carson (for himself, Mr. Schiff, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. Thanedar, and
Ms. Titus) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse against ethnic
minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Whereas the Democratic Republic of the Congo (referred to as the ``DRC'') has
been beset for decades by various challenges, including natural
disasters, political unrest, abuses against civilians from many
communities, and targeted ethnic-based violence;
Whereas Rwandophones, notably the Banyamulenge ethnic group and other Congolese
Tutsi, have been the targets of an escalation of hate speech and
incitement to violence nationwide;
Whereas the United States, credible human rights organizations, and civil
society have documented and published reports and findings that
implicate the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(referred to as the ``FARDC'') in aiding and collaborating with armed
groups and militias, including several that are designated for United
Nations sanctions due to human rights violations;
Whereas the return of the March 23 Movement (referred to as the ``M23'') rebel
group, who are reportedly backed by the Rwandan Government, has
exacerbated ethnic tensions within the eastern provinces;
Whereas reports from the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic
Republic of Congo, including those issued on December 16, 2022, and June
13, 2023, have consistently found that hate speech specifically
targeting Rwandophones, who are often portrayed as ``invaders'', has
proliferated alongside the crisis brought about by the M23 rebels;
Whereas some Congolese politicians and security force officials have employed
anti-Rwandophone rhetoric;
Whereas the M23's presence in eastern DRC further destabilizes the region and is
responsible for an array of gross violations of human rights and the
displacement of thousands of civilians;
Whereas evidence documenting violence against Rwandophone communities may meet 1
or more of the criteria under Article II of the United Nations
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to
which the United States and the DRC are parties;
Whereas militias engage in illicit mining activities to finance and sustain
themselves, often exploiting child labor and engaging in environmental
degradation practices that undermine the DRC's economic interests and
international treaty obligations;
Whereas the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (referred to as ``MONUSCO'') has taken measures to
facilitate intercommunal dialogues between rival ethnic groups to
promote peace and stability;
Whereas, in April 2019, the United States and the DRC established the U.S.-DRC
Privileged Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, to which the 2
countries added the Preservation of the Environment in February 2021,
which aims to advance democracy and promote human rights, improve
security, and encourage sustainable development and United States
investment in the DRC, as underscored and reinforced by Deputy National
Security Advisor Daleep Singh's visit on January 26, 2022;
Whereas the strategic partnership between the United States and the DRC, as well
as the DRC's role in leading a global clean energy revolution, requires
cooperative efforts to implement governance reforms, combat corruption,
provide security, and improve environmental and labor standards to
ensure the health, safety, and prosperity of future generations; and
Whereas the United States Department of State Integrated Country Strategy for
the DRC states that ``the success of the DRC's democracy hinges on
stability in the country's eastern provinces'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns all acts of violence perpetrated against
ethnic minorities by members of the Armed Forces of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and armed groups operating
throughout the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
(2) further condemns all human rights violations
perpetrated against the civilian population by M23, which
reportedly include the use of child soldiers, killings, sexual
violence, and looting;
(3) calls for increased security for the millions of people
forcibly displaced in the DRC;
(4) reaffirms that the United States has held and continues
to hold the Government of the DRC responsible for upholding the
rights of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, in accordance
with the DRC's international obligations;
(5) urges social media companies to curb hate speech and
incitement to violence on their platforms;
(6) appeals to neighboring countries to uphold their
commitment to providing safe harbor for refugees from ethnic
minority communities until their human rights can be guaranteed
in the DRC;
(7) recognizes that the United States has an international
obligation to uphold its commitments to prevent and punish the
crime of genocide;
(8) urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo to--
(A) hold accountable all state security forces that
perpetrate atrocities against the civilian population
by conducting transparent investigations and
prosecutions and taking all additional necessary
measures to prevent further atrocities;
(B) continue progress toward the disarmament,
demobilization, reintegration, repatriation, and
resettlement of armed groups in coordination with the
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, as outlined in United
Nations Security Council Resolution 2666 (2022);
(C) continue coordinating with the East African
Community Nairobi Process initiative to encourage peace
talks and disarmament of armed groups in eastern DRC,
provided that the initiative has an overall positive
effect on the security of the populace and all parties
involved in the process ensure that it is transparent
and well-managed;
(D) allow and facilitate, in accordance with
relevant provisions of international law and consistent
with humanitarian principles, the full, safe,
immediate, and unhindered access to humanitarian
personnel, equipment and supplies, and the timely
delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in
need, in particular to refugees and internally
displaced persons throughout the territory of the DRC;
(E) uphold its obligations as a state party to the
United Nations Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child, and the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court; and
(F) combat all forms of hate speech and hold
accountable any person or group responsible for
ethnically charged rhetoric and incitement to violence;
(9) urges the Secretary of State, in coordination with the
heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to--
(A) work with other Federal departments and
agencies to thoroughly investigate atrocities committed
against ethnic minorities in the DRC and develop a
strategy to address and deter such atrocities pursuant
to section 3 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities
Prevention Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note);
(B) engage at the highest level with the Government
of the DRC to mitigate the humanitarian effects of
ethnic-based violence; and
(C) coordinate with like-minded partners and key
stakeholders to increase and maintain engagement on the
issue in multilateral fora, including the United
Nations Security Council; and
(10) calls on the President of the United States to--
(A) appoint a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes
region of Africa, which will be vital to addressing the
enduring regional security crisis emanating from
eastern DRC;
(B) use all existing authorities to protect ethnic
minorities who flee ethnic-based violence in the DRC,
including the authority to designate Rwandophones, such
as the Congolese Tutsi and Banyamulenge, who are
nationals of the DRC for Priority 2 access to the
United States Refugee Admissions Program; and
(C) impose targeted sanctions against known human
rights abusers in the DRC under existing authorities,
such as Executive Order 13413, as amended by Executive
Order 13671, and Executive Order 13818, to deter
further gross violations of human rights against ethnic
minorities in the DRC.
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