IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 795 

Condemning the ongoing violence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of 

the Congo (‘‘DRC’’) and recognizing the threat such violence poses 

to the overall peace of the Great Lakes region. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2007 

Mr. COOPER (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. 

DOGGETT, Mr. LYNCH, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the ongoing violence in the Eastern Democratic 

Republic of the Congo (‘‘DRC’’) and recognizing the 

threat such violence poses to the overall peace of the 

Great Lakes region. 

Whereas the Democratic Republic of the Congo took the significant step in 2006 of holding the first multi-party, 

democratic elections since independence in 1960; 

Whereas since independence, the Democratic Republic of the 

Congo has been consistently troubled by civil and ethnic 

warfare; 

Whereas since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 nearly 

2,000,000 refugees have fled Rwanda and now reside in 


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•HRES 795 IH 

the Kivu and Goma regions of the Democratic Republic 

of the Congo; 

Whereas since the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo began in 1994, nearly 4,000,000 people 

have been killed and more than 3,400,000 displaced as 

a result of the ongoing and escalating violence; 

Whereas since 2000 the Mission of the United Nations in the 

Democratic Republic of Congo (‘‘MONUC’’) peacekeeping force has stationed 16,640 troops and 644 military observers, from 49 countries in the DRC to maintain 

peace between the government and rebel forces; 

Whereas the United Nations declared 2006 as a ‘‘make or 

break point’’ for the region; 

Whereas General Laurent Nkunda’s rebel faction has operated in the North Kivu region since 2005 in opposition 

to the Kinshasa government; 

Whereas forces loyal to General Nkunda have been responsible for the displacement of nearly 120,000 refugees 

from Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi; 

Whereas in June 2007, the United Nations proclaimed General Nkunda the ‘‘single most serious threat to stability 

in the DR Congo’’; 

Whereas on October 16, 2007, President Joseph Kabila gave 

the forces loyal to General Nkunda 3 weeks to integrate 

into the national army; 

Whereas on October 17, 2007, President Joseph Kabila authorized the national army to disarm General Nkunda; 

Whereas the violence directed at women and girls is unusually extreme, and includes the widespread use of rape as 

a tool of subjugation; 


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•HRES 795 IH 

Whereas on October 18, 2007, Amnesty International issued 

a report accusing state security forces of systematic torture and slaughter of opponents of President Joseph 

Kabila; 

Whereas due to its large size and locality in the Great Lakes 

region, the instability of the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo affects the stability of residents in Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi; and 

Whereas the increase of violence between General Nkunda’s 

forces and the national army has spread into the Virunga 

National Park and threatened the safety of the population of mountain gorillas: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns violent attempts to resist the 

3 freely elected Government of the Democratic Repub4 lic of the Congo and encourages all parties involved 

5 in the conflict to reach a lasting cease-fire; 

6 (2) calls on all private militia to disband to end 

7 the continuing threat to peace and stability in the 

8 Democratic Republic of the Congo; 

9 (3) reaffirms its support for constitutional gov10 ernment, the rule of law, human rights, and demo11 cratic processes in the Democratic Republic of the 

12 Congo and calls upon regional African leaders to 

13 support the preservation of a democratic political 

14 system in the country; 

15 (4) encourages the United States Government 

16 to state publicly its strong support for the disarVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:30 Nov 06, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR795.IH HR795

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•HRES 795 IH 

1 mament and reintegration of forces loyal to General 

2 Nkunda into the national army; and 

3 (5) condemns the infiltration of soldiers into the 

4 Virunga National Forest and the danger it poses to 

5 the mountain gorillas. 

Æ 


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