III

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. RES. 207

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the tragic humanitarian and

political catastrophe in Rwanda.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 26 (legislative day, APRIL 11), 1994

Mr. SIMON (for himself, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mrs. KASSEBAUM, Mr. KENNEDY,

Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. PELL, Mr. WOFFORD, and Mr. FEINGOLD)

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the tragic

humanitarian and political catastrophe in Rwanda.

Whereas on April 6, 1994, Presidents Juvenal Habyarimana

of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi were

killed when their plane was shot down just outside Kigali,

leading to an eruption of violence in Rwanda;

Whereas the systematic and indiscriminate massacre of civilians, estimated in the tens of thousands, is a crime

against humanity;

Whereas the violence currently being perpetrated by the

Rwandan government forces and their allied militias, as

well as the Rwandan Patriotic Front, against members of

both the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups is deplorable and

violates all standards of human rights;
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Whereas food shortages and lack of medical supplies in

Rwanda, and the evacuation of humanitarian relief workers, has put millions of lives at risk;

Whereas a peace accord signed in Arusha by the

Habyarimana government and the Rwandan Patriotic

Front in August 1993 created the basis for formation of

an integrated transitional government in Rwanda;

Whereas the United Nations Security Council voted in October 1993 to deploy a force of 2,500 peacekeepers, the

United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda

(UNAMIR) to assist in implementation of the Arusha accords;

Whereas tens of thousands of Rwandans have sought the protection of UNAMIR forces and refuge from the continuing violence;

Whereas a number of contributing nations have withdrawn

their troop contingents from the UNAMIR operation and

other nations contributing forces may follow suit; and

Whereas continued unrest and violence in Rwanda threatens

the stability of the entire Central African region: Now,

therefore, be it:

1 Resolved, That the Senate—

2 (1) deplores the brutal and systematic massacre

3 of civilians and individuals sympathetic to the politi4 cal opposition in Rwanda by the Rwandan military

5 and associated groups, as well as the Rwandan Pa6 triotic Front;

7 (2) urges the United Nations and the Organiza8 tion of African Unity to continue efforts to gain
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1 agreement on a credible cease-fire and to facilitate

2 negotiations between the parties to the conflict,

3 based upon the Arusha accords;

4 (3) calls on all parties, including the Rwandan

5 army, related militias, particularly Colonel Bagosora,

6 Colonel Augustin Bisimungu, Captain Pasqual

7 Simbikangwa and Colonel Mpiranya, as well as the

8 Rwandon Patriotic Front—

9 (A) to exercise restraint and control over

10 their forces,

11 (B) to accede to an immediate and uncon12 ditional ceasefire,

13 (C) to respect such cease-fire and ensure

14 the safety of innocent civilians,

15 (D) to guarantee free passage of humani16 tarian assistance to all in need of such aid, and

17 (E) to recommit themselves to the prin18 ciples set forth in the Arusha accords;

19 (4) calls on the United Nations to consider

20 carefully both military and diplomatic options which

21 are consistent with the Arusha accords and will en22 sure the safety of innocent civilians, assist in mon23 itoring an eventual cease-fire or peace agreement, fa24 cilitate the delivery of humanitarian relief, and en25 sure the viability of these options;
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1 (5) commends President Clinton for his swift

2 condemnation of and response to this crisis, and ap3 plauds the efforts of the United States Ambassador

4 to Rwanda, David Rawson, in ensuring the safe and

5 swift evacuation of Americans from Rwanda;

6 (6) urges President Clinton to continue diplo7 matic efforts at the highest levels to achieve prompt

8 resolution of the political and humanitarian crisis in

9 Rwanda.

10 SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit

11 a copy of this resolution to the President.

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