[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 991 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






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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