III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 460 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should increase 

its support to the people of Somalia in their efforts to end decades 

of violence, establish lasting peace, form a democratically elected and 

stable central government, and become an effective partner in eradicating 

radicalism and terrorism from their country and the region. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 2, 2006 

Mr. COLEMAN (for himself, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mr. DAYTON) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States 

should increase its support to the people of Somalia 

in their efforts to end decades of violence, establish lasting peace, form a democratically elected and stable central government, and become an effective partner in 

eradicating radicalism and terrorism from their country 

and the region. 

Whereas General Mohamed Siad Barre, who came to power 

in Somalia through a military coup in 1969, was ousted 

from power by several armed groups of Somalia in 1991; 


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Whereas, following the collapse of the central authority in 

Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, rival groups of Somalia devastated the region by— 

(1) engaging in an armed struggle for personal political power; and 

(2) preventing food and medicine from reaching innocent civilians who were suffering from drought and 

famine; 

Whereas, during the continued internal chaos and destruction 

in Somalia, hundreds of thousands of people have died 

from— 

(1) violence; 

(2) starvation; and 

(3) disease; 

Whereas the people of Somalia witnessed the country splinter 

into— 

(1) the Republic of Somaliland, which— 

(A) is located in the northwest portion of Somalia; and 

(B) seeks independence; 

(2) Puntland, which is an autonomous region located 

in the northeast portion of Somalia; and 

(3) a myriad of warlord-controlled fiefdoms that are 

located in the southern portion of Somalia; 

Whereas, on November 9, 1992, President George H. W. 

Bush authorized Operation Restore Hope, and used the 

Armed Forces to safeguard nongovernmental organizations while the organizations attempted to provide humanitarian assistance to the suffering civilian population 

of Somalia; 


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Whereas the United States led the Unified Task Force (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘UNITAF’’) in an effort to— 

(1) save lives; and 

(2) help create a relatively peaceful environment for 

humanitarian activity in Somalia; 

Whereas, in May 1993, UNITAF handed its operations to 

the United Nations for an operation subsequently known 

as the ‘‘United Nations Operation in Somalia’’, giving the 

people of Somalia hope for peace and stability; 

Whereas the operation was unfortunately unsuccessful in establishing peace and stability in Mogadishu and other 

parts of Somalia; 

Whereas, in March 1994, the Armed Forces withdrew from 

Somalia after a long and bloody battle in Mogadishu on 

October 3, 1993; 

Whereas, 1 year after the withdrawal of the United States, 

the United Nations withdrew all remaining peacekeepers 

because the security conditions in Somalia had further 

deteriorated; 

Whereas the United Nations withdrew United Nations troops 

from Somalia in 1995; 

Whereas 13 conferences dedicated to promoting reconciliation 

or peace have been called in order to end the fighting in 

Somalia; 

Whereas, in October 2002, 21 warring parties in Somalia 

took positive action by— 

(1) agreeing to a cease fire under the auspices of the 

East African organization known as the ‘‘Intergovernmental Authority on Development’’; and 


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(2) beginning a dialogue that was focused on forming a government; 

Whereas, in September 2003, the parties to the Kenyan 

peace process agreed on the Transitional National Charter for Somalia, and thus paved the way for the creation 

of a unified national government in Somalia; 

Whereas, in August 2004, the 275-member Transitional Federal Assembly of Somalia was assembled in Kenya to reunify and heal Somalia and comprised of 61 delegates 

from the 4 major clans of Somalia and 31 delegates from 

an alliance of minority clans located in that country; 

Whereas Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, the former leader of 

Puntland, was elected President of Somalia by the Transitional Federal Government on October 10, 2004; 

Whereas Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed appointed Professor Ali 

Mohamed Gedi as Prime Minister in November 2004; 

Whereas a limited number of countries on the continent of 

Africa have pledged to send peacekeeping troops to Somalia to help protect the Transitional Federal Government as the Government seeks to reestablish peace and 

order; 

Whereas the international community should encourage those 

individuals and organizations that have shown commitment to the peace process, including— 

(1) the African Union; 

(2) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development; 

(3) the Transitional Federal Government; and 

(4) the many clans located in Somalia; 


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Whereas escalating tensions and violence between certain 

clans threaten to weaken the ability of the Transitional 

Federal Government to— 

(1) develop capacity; 

(2) effectively establish stability; and 

(3) enforce the rule of law throughout Somalia; 

Whereas the 2004 Country Reports on Terrorism, produced 

by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 140 

of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 

1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. 2656f), noted that— 

(1) ‘‘a small number of al-Qa’ida operatives in East 

Africa, particularly Somalia, continue to pose the most 

serious threat to American interests in the region’’; 

(2) ‘‘Somalia’s lack of a functioning central government, protracted state of violent instability, long unguarded coastline, porous borders, and proximity to the 

Arabian Peninsula make it a potential location for international terrorists seeking a transit or launching point to 

conduct operations elsewhere’’; and 

(3) ‘‘[t]he U.S. government must identify and 

prioritize actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries. For 

each, it should have a realistic strategy to keep possible 

terrorists insecure and on the run, using all elements of 

national power’’; 

Whereas current political tensions may be exacerbated by the 

ongoing humanitarian crisis that continues to affect hundreds of thousands of individuals in Somalia, thereby 

making the task of creating a stable, central government 

increasingly difficult; 

Whereas the Transitional Federal Government is incapable of 

meeting the fundamental needs of all people of Somalia, 

including— 


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(1) education; 

(2) health care; and 

(3) other essential services; 

Whereas the 2005 Human Rights Report published by the 

Department of State cites significant concerns relating to 

abuses of human rights in Somalia, including— 

(1) female genital mutilation; 

(2) rape; and 

(3) political violence; 

Whereas the Federal Government has provided $476,000,000 

for humanitarian assistance activities since 1990, although a majority of those funds were distributed during 

the early 1990s; 

Whereas it is the desire of the United States that the people 

of Somalia live peaceful, stable, prosperous, and happy 

lives; 

Whereas the United States has historically supported the aspirations of the people of Somalia; and 

Whereas the compassion of the citizens of the United States 

extends across the world to embrace every member of the 

human family: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) the United States is working with the peo3 ple of Somalia to build a stable and enduring demo4 cratic nation in the Horn of Africa that is pros5 perous and free of civil war; 

6 (2) to achieve long-lasting peace in the region, 

7 the nascent leadership and governance structures of 

8 Somalia must— 


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1 (A) commit themselves to the principles of 

2 democracy and the rule of law; and 

3 (B) pledge to hold popular elections as 

4 soon as Somalia has stabilized; 

5 (3) the nascent Transitional Federal Govern6 ment for Somalia should— 

7 (A) organize itself in 1 city as soon as 

8 practicable to— 

9 (i) promote national unity; and 

10 (ii) begin the process of reentering the 

11 international community; and 

12 (B) delay the consideration of the delicate 

13 issue regarding the Republic of Somaliland 

14 until an appropriate level of stability has been 

15 achieved in Somalia, while understanding the 

16 critical importance of that issue for establishing 

17 a peaceful Somalia; 

18 (4) the President should— 

19 (A) commend the efforts of those that have 

20 worked to restore a functioning and inter21 nationally recognized government in Somalia, 

22 including— 

23 (i) the people of Somalia and their 

24 representatives; 

25 (ii) the African Union; 


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1 (iii) the Intergovernmental Authority 

2 on Development; 

3 (iv) friendly countries from the con4 tinent of Africa; and 

5 (v) nongovernmental organizations; 

6 (B) through the Secretary of State, de7 velop a comprehensive interagency stabilization 

8 and reconstruction strategy that— 

9 (i) aligns humanitarian, develop10 mental, economic, political, 

11 counterterrorism, and regional strategies; 

12 (ii) achieves the objectives of the 

13 United States in Somalia in coordination 

14 with the international donor community; 

15 and 

16 (iii) orients current and future pro17 grams to meet the objectives described in 

18 clause (ii); 

19 (C) appoint a special envoy to Somalia 

20 to— 

21 (i) help guide and inform United 

22 States policy and interests in the region; 

23 and 

24 (ii) serve as a liaison between— 

25 (I) the United States; 


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1 (II) nascent Somali governance 

2 institutions; 

3 (III) the international donor 

4 community; and 

5 (IV) the region; 

6 (D) instruct the United States Permanent 

7 Representative to the United Nations to request 

8 that the Security Council take additional meas9 ures to— 

10 (i) evaluate the effectiveness of the ex11 isting arms embargo on Somalia; and 

12 (ii) develop an improved plan to mon13 itor and protect the vast land and mari14 time borders of Somalia from— 

15 (I) smuggling; 

16 (II) dumping; and 

17 (III) piracy; and 

18 (E) through the Secretaries of State and 

19 the Treasury, work with international financial 

20 institutions to incrementally reduce the crip21 pling international debt of Somalia on the con22 dition that Somalia upholds democratic and free 

23 market principles; 

24 (5) the United States Agency for International 

25 Development should increase the assistance that the 


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1 Agency provides to the Transitional Federal Govern2 ment to rebuild the national infrastructure of Soma3 lia, and place particular emphasis on the promotion 

4 of the governmental institutions of Somalia; 

5 (6) the United States should provide training 

6 and support to the Transitional National Govern7 ment of Somalia to— 

8 (A) fight terrorism and extremism; and 

9 (B) strengthen the civil society and grass10 roots efforts in Somalia that will deny terrorist 

11 and extremist groups a fertile ground for re12 cruitment in that country; 

13 (7) the United States, in partnership with the 

14 United Nations and the international donor commu15 nity, must— 

16 (A) heed the calls concerning the signifi17 cant drought affecting the region that have 

18 been placed by— 

19 (i) the United Nations Coordinator 

20 for Humanitarian Assistance; 

21 (ii) the international community of 

22 nongovernmental organizations; and 

23 (iii) regional governments; 

24 (B) provide sufficient humanitarian assist25 ance to those impacted by the drought; and 


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1 (C) realize that a failure to address the hu2 manitarian emergency could have a negative im3 pact on fragile political developments; and 

4 (8) not later than 180 days after the date of 

5 enactment of this resolution, the Secretary of State 

6 should present to Congress a status report on items 

7 referred to in paragraphs (4) through (8) that in8 cludes— 

9 (A) a projection of future challenges re10 garding Somalia; and 

11 (B) resource requirements that could 

12 foreseeably be needed to continue to support 

13 the transition of Somalia to a peaceful and 

14 democratic country. 

Æ 


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