III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 713 

Calling on all parties to the escalating violence in 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 20, 2008 

Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. KERRY, Mr. DODD, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. ISAKSON, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. WYDEN, 

Mr. BOND, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and Mr. NELSON of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed 

to 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on all parties to the escalating violence in 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. 

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 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
2 

•SRES 713 ATS 

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 Communique ́ 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 DemoVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:54 Nov 21, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR713.ATS SR713

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
3 

•SRES 713 ATS 

cratic 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 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
4 

•SRES 713 ATS 

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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
5 

•SRES 713 ATS 

1 (1) condemns the continuing violence, forcible 

2 recruitment of children as soldiers, and abuses 

3 against civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of 

4 Congo; 

5 (2) calls on the national military in Congo, the 

6 National Congress for the Defense of the People, 

7 and all armed groups operating in eastern Congo to 

8 cease hostilities, end all human rights abuses, and 

9 respect an immediate ceasefire based on the prin10 ciples of the Goma agreement; 

11 (3) calls on the Government of the Democratic 

12 Republic of Congo to meet its obligations under the 

13 Lusaka Agreement of 1999, the Pretoria Agreement 

14 of 2002, and the Nairobi Communique ́ of 2007 to 

15 take action to end the threat posed by the Demo16 cratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda; 

17 (4) calls on the Governments of the Democratic 

18 Republic of Congo and Rwanda— 

19 (A) to fully restore bilateral relations; 

20 (B) to work together to mitigate escalating 

21 tensions in the region; and 

22 (C) to break any ties that still exist be23 tween them and illegal armed groups in eastern 

24 Congo; 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
6 

•SRES 713 ATS 

1 (5) calls on all governments in the Great Lakes 

2 region of Africa and those of the Southern African 

3 Development Community to support a peaceful reso4 lution to the crisis while ensuring that the volatile 

5 situation does not spark a wider regional war; 

6 (6) supports the efforts of the United Nations 

7 Secretary-General, his newly appointed United Na8 tions Special Envoy, former President of Nigeria 

9 Olusegun Obasanjo, and the international facilita10 tion team to bring all parties to the negotiating table 

11 and establish a clear roadmap to implement the 

12 signed peace agreements; 

13 (7) encourages the international community to 

14 take immediate measures to enhance the effective15 ness of the United Nations Mission in Congo to pro16 tect civilians, specifically through increased troops 

17 and additional capabilities as requested by the Sec18 retary-General; 

19 (8) urges the President to sustain high-level 

20 diplomatic engagement together with the African 

21 Union, the European Union, and the United Nations 

22 to avert a wider regional war and revive a com23 prehensive peace process in eastern Congo; 

24 (9) urges the United States and the inter25 national community to develop and support moniVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:54 Nov 21, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR713.ATS SR713

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
7 

•SRES 713 ATS 

1 toring and verification mechanisms that can hold the 

2 parties in Congo accountable to the signed peace 

3 agreements, investigate alleged ceasefire violations, 

4 and ultimately challenge the continued culture of im5 punity in Congo; and 

6 (10) urges the President and the international 

7 community to adopt measures to help the regional 

8 governments to identify and ultimately address the 

9 factors underlying the conflict in eastern Congo, es10 pecially weak governance and the exploitation of the 

11 region’s lucrative minerals. 

Æ 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS