III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 321 

Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 

and expressing condolences on his passing. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 13 (legislative day, DECEMBER 11), 2013 

Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. COONS, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. ALEXANDER, Ms. AYOTTE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

BLUNT, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

BURR, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr. 

CHAMBLISS, Mr. COATS, Mr. COBURN, Mr. COCHRAN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

CORKER, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mr. ENZI, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mrs. HAGAN, Mr. HARKIN, 

Mr. HATCH, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HEITKAMP, Mr. HELLER, Ms. HIRONO, 

Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. JOHNSON

of Wisconsin, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Mr. 

KIRK, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. LEE, Mr. 

LEVIN, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MCCAIN, Mrs. MCCASKILL, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. MORAN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. MURPHY, 

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON, Mr. PAUL, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. 

REED, Mr. RISCH, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. SESSIONS, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, Mr. SHELBY, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TESTER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. 

TOOMEY, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. WICKER, and 

Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was considered 

and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life, accomplishments, and legacy of Nelson 


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•SRES 321 ATS 

Rolihlahla Mandela and expressing condolences on his 

passing. 

Whereas Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, as 

Rolihlahla Mandela, to Nonqaphi Nosekeni and Nkosi 

Mphakanyiswa Gadla Mandela in Transkei, South Africa; 

Whereas Nelson Mandela’s defiance of injustice, and his commitment to peace and reconciliation, played critical roles 

in the negotiation process that led South Africa to abolish apartheid, a system of racially focused social, political, and economic discrimination, and to ultimately 

adopt in its place a system of multiparty democracy and 

universal suffrage for all South Africans; 

Whereas Nelson Mandela became a political activist as a 

young man and rose through the leadership ranks of the 

African National Congress (ANC), becoming the ANC 

President; 

Whereas, on August 5, 1962, Nelson Mandela was arrested 

for his political activism to end the discriminatory policies 

of apartheid; 

Whereas, despite calls for clemency on behalf of Nelson 

Mandela by the international community, including the 

Security Council, the General Assembly, and the Secretary General of the United Nations, he was found 

guilty of all charges against him and sentenced to life in 

prison; 

Whereas, during 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment on 

Robben Island, Nelson Mandela was permitted only one 

visitor a year, and for only 30 minutes; 

Whereas Nelson Mandela remained resolute, refusing offers 

to renounce his struggle against the Government of 

South Africa in exchange for his freedom, and became 


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widely viewed as a martyr for the anti-apartheid movement; 

Whereas, during his imprisonment, Nelson Mandela was confined to a small cell where he slept on the floor, and he 

was sentenced to hard labor while being gravely mistreated by prison officials; 

Whereas, on February 11, 1990, under growing international 

pressure and national campaign efforts, Nelson Mandela 

was released from prison, marking the end of his 27 

years, 6 months, and 1 week of continuous incarceration; 

Whereas, upon his release, Nelson Mandela resumed a top 

leadership role in the ANC and led the party in negotiations that resulted in South Africa’s first multiracial elections; 

Whereas, in 1994, following the first fully representative, 

multiracial national elections, Nelson Mandela was elected on May 9 and inaugurated on May 10 as President 

of the Democratic Republic of South Africa under a Government of National Unity; 

Whereas President Nelson Mandela led the transition from 

minority rule and apartheid to multicultural, multiracial 

democracy, and played a critical role in initiating South 

Africa’s ongoing efforts to foster national reconciliation 

and end the diverse, deep-rooted, and enduring social, political, and economic inequalities created by apartheid; 

Whereas President Nelson Mandela sought to promote equal 

opportunity for jobs and education, access to social services, and quality-of-life improvements for all South Africans; 

Whereas, during the presidency of Nelson Mandela, South 

Africa established the Truth and Reconciliation CommisVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:36 Dec 14, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR321.ATS SR321

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sion to investigate gross human rights violations committed under the apartheid regime; 

Whereas Nelson Mandela’s decision to step down after one 

term as South Africa’s elected President serves as a commendable example of commitment to democratic principles for elected national leaders in new democracies 

around the globe; 

Whereas Nelson Mandela continued his social justice and 

human rights work upon his retirement in 1999, primarily through the Nelson Mandela Foundation and its 

two sister organizations, the Nelson Mandela Children’s 

Fund and the Mandela-Rhodes Foundation; 

Whereas, on July 18, 2007, Nelson Mandela convened the Elders, a group of world leaders including Desmond Tutu, 

Graca Machel, and former United States President 

Jimmy Carter, to contribute their wisdom and insight towards addressing some of the world’s toughest problems; 

Whereas the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize was jointly awarded to 

Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk ‘‘for their 

work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa’’; 

Whereas Congress contributed to the attainment of the political ideals and goals for which Nelson Mandela struggled, 

by enacting the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 

1986 (Public Law 99–440) on October 2, 1986, and has 

honored Nelson Mandela by passing the Mandela Freedom Resolution in the House of Representatives on September 18, 1984 (H. Res. 430, 98th Congress), and in 

the Senate on October 10, 1984 (S. Res. 386, 98th Congress), by adopting the resolution concerning United 


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States support for the new South Africa on October 5, 

1994 (H. Res. 560, 103rd Congress), and by awarding 

Nelson Mandela the Congressional Gold Medal on July 

29, 1998; 

Whereas former United States President Bill Clinton honored 

Nelson Mandela with the Philadelphia Liberty Medal in 

1993, and former United States President George W. 

Bush honored Nelson Mandela with the Presidential 

Medal of Freedom in 2002; 

Whereas, on July 18 of each year, people around the world 

celebrate Nelson Mandela Day, in recognition of Nelson 

Mandela’s birthday, by devoting their time to community 

service in honor of his legacy; 

Whereas, in 1995, Nelson Mandela wrote: ‘‘I have walked 

that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I 

have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered 

the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds 

that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a 

moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista 

that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have 

come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom 

come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long 

walk is not ended.’’; and 

Whereas Nelson Mandela leaves a legacy that transcends his 

time and place in history, which will guide and inspire 

generations to come: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the life, accomplishments, and legacy 

3 of former South African President Nelson Mandela; 


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1 (2) extends its heartfelt sympathies and condo2 lences to the members of the family of the late 

3 President Nelson Mandela and his fellow citizens; 

4 (3) requests the Secretary of State to commu5 nicate these expressions of honor and condolence to 

6 Nelson Mandela’s family and to the Parliament of 

7 the Republic of South Africa; and 

8 (4) requests the President to identify an appro9 priate and lasting program of the United States 

10 Government to honor Nelson Mandela’s legacy. 

Æ 


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