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[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 54 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 54

                      Paying tribute to John Hume.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 14, 2005

Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Biden) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
                      Paying tribute to John Hume.

Whereas John Hume is one of the greatest advocates of peace and non-violence of 
        our time;
Whereas throughout the long and difficult years of civil strife and turmoil, 
        John Hume has dedicated his life to achieving a peaceful, just, and 
        lasting settlement of the conflict in Northern Ireland;
Whereas throughout the turbulent years in Northern Ireland, John Hume never lost 
        faith in the belief that violence and terrorism are wrong, that a 
        negotiated settlement is the only realistic hope for peace, and that 
        ancient antagonisms cannot be settled by bombs and bullets;
Whereas John Hume deserves enormous credit for the peace process in Northern 
        Ireland, which led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement;
Whereas John Hume's enduring vision of reconciliation, based on equal respect 
        and recognition for both the Protestant and Catholic traditions in 
        Northern Ireland, has served as an inspiration to those seeking peaceful 
        resolution of conflicts in many other parts of the world;
Whereas John Hume has worked consistently for the rights of the members of his 
        community, beginning with the launching of a credit union to provide 
        assistance to the minority community to purchase housing;
Whereas John Hume's commitment was to effective programs and peaceful works, at 
        a time when others in his community increasingly urged or acquiesced to 
        bombs and bullets;
Whereas John Hume's ideas and eloquence lit a candle in the darkness of the 
        violence in Northern Ireland, kindled an increasing sense of hope in the 
        minority community, and created new possibilities for understanding 
        between the opposing sides of the conflict;
Whereas John Hume's community activity and involvement led directly to his long 
        and distinguished political career;
Whereas John Hume brought together a broad coalition of leaders who advocated 
        non-violence and together they founded the Social Democratic and Labour 
        Party in 1970, which has been at the forefront of years of significant 
        efforts to achieve peace in Northern Ireland;
Whereas John Hume was the first to emphasize the necessity of establishing an 
        on-going Anglo-Irish framework as the cornerstone for institutionalizing 
        the process of reconciliation to heal the divisions within Northern 
        Ireland, between North and South in Ireland, and between Great Britain 
        and Ireland;
Whereas in 1983, largely as a result of the efforts of John Hume, the principal 
        political parties in Ireland and the Social Democratic and Labour Party 
        in Northern Ireland established the far-reaching New Ireland Forum;
Whereas the New Ireland Forum developed alternatives for progress and prepared 
        the report that laid the groundwork for an unprecedented new dialogue on 
        Northern Ireland between Britain and Ireland, culminating in November 
        1985 with the signing of the historic Anglo-Irish Agreement by Prime 
        Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom and Taoiseach Garret 
        FitzGerald of Ireland;
Whereas John Hume conducted talks with Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, 
        before the Irish Republican Army agreed to a cease-fire, showing great 
        courage by taking significant personal and political risks to achieve a 
        lasting peace;
Whereas those talks, together with the December 1993 Joint Declaration by the 
        British and Irish Governments, led to the August 1994 cease-fire by the 
        Irish Republican Army and the October 1994 cease-fire by the Loyalist 
        paramilitaries and ultimately to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998;
Whereas John Hume served as the Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and 
        Labour Party in Northern Ireland until 1979, and its leader from 1979 to 
        2001;
Whereas John Hume's political career has also included serving as a member of 
        the Northern Ireland Assembly, the European Parliament, and the British 
        House of Commons;
Whereas in his many visits to the United States, John Hume has been a consistent 
        ambassador for peace, urging the cause of reconciliation and educating 
        Congress and the country about the issues in Northern Ireland;
Whereas John Hume is well respected in the United States and has had an 
        important influence on United States policy and on the American 
        dimension of the Northern Ireland question;
Whereas John Hume is a courageous leader of exceptional achievement and was 
        honored for his leadership in the cause of peace in Northern Ireland 
        with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998, along with the leader of the Ulster 
        Unionist Party, David Trimble;
Whereas respect for John Hume was the single most important influence in the 
        development of the Friends of Ireland in the United States Congress and 
        in convincing leaders of the Irish-American community throughout the 
        United States to oppose political, financial, or other support for the 
        violence in Northern Ireland; and
Whereas John Hume is retiring this year after a long and brilliant career 
        dedicated to the people of Northern Ireland and to the cause of peace: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) pays tribute to John Hume for his lifetime commitment 
        to promoting reconciliation and achieving a lasting peace in 
        Northern Ireland; and
            (2) calls on all the parties in Northern Ireland to 
        redouble their effort to restore the trust that is necessary to 
        fully implement the Good Friday Agreement and to achieve stable 
        democratic institutions, peace, and justice in Northern 
        Ireland.
                                 <all>
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