106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 146

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas Father John Kaiser, a Catholic of the Order of the

Mill Hill Missionaries and a native of Minnesota, who for

36 years served as a missionary in the Kisii and Ngong

Dioceses in the Republic of Kenya and advocated the

rights of all Kenyans, was shot dead on Wednesday, August 23, 2000;

Whereas Father Kaiser was a frequently outspoken advocate

on issues of human rights and against the injustice of

government corruption in Kenya;

Whereas fellow priests report that Father Kaiser spoke to

them of his fear for his life on the night before his assassination;

Whereas the murders of Father Stallone, Father Graife, and

Father Luigi Andeni, all of Marsabit Diocese in Kenya,

the circumstances of the murder of Brother Larry

Timors of Nakaru Diocese in Kenya, the murder of Father Martin Boyle of Eldoret Diocese, and the murders

of other local human rights advocates in Kenya have not

yet been fully explained, nor have the perpetrators of

these murders been brought to justice;

Whereas the report of a Kenyan governmental commission,

known as the Akiwumi Commission, on the government’s

investigation into tribal violence between 1992 and 1997
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SCON 146 ES

in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley has not yet been released

in spite of several requests by numerous church leaders

and human rights organizations to have the Commission’s findings released to the public;

Whereas, after Father Kaiser’s assassination, documents

were found on his body that he had intended to present

to the Akiwumi Commission;

Whereas the nongovernmental Kenyan Human Rights Commission has expressed fear that the progress achieved in

Kenya during the last few years in the struggle for democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and

meeting the basic needs of all Kenyans is jeopardized by

the current Kenyan government; and

Whereas the 1999 Country Report on Human Rights released

by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

of the Department of State reports that the Kenyan Government’s ‘‘overall human rights record was generally

poor, and serious problems remained in many areas;

while there were some signs of improvement in a few

areas, the situation worsened in others.’’: Now, therefore,

be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) condemns the violent deaths of Father John

4 Kaiser and others who have worked to promote

5 human rights and justice in the Republic of Kenya

6 and expresses its outrage at those deaths;
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SCON 146 ES

1 (2) calls for a thorough investigation of those

2 deaths that includes other persons in addition to the

3 Kenyan authorities;

4 (3) calls on the Secretary of State, acting

5 through the Assistant Secretary of State for Democ6 racy, Human Rights, and Labor, to prepare and

7 submit to Congress, by December 15, 2000, a report

8 on the progress made on investigating these killings,

9 including, particularly, a discussion of the actions

10 taken by the Kenyan government to conduct an in11 vestigation as described in paragraph (2);

12 (4) calls on the President to support investiga13 tion of these killings through all diplomatic means;

14 and

15 (5) calls for the final report of such an inves16 tigation to be made public.

Passed the Senate October 18 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. CON. RES. 146

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Condemning the assassination of Father John Kaiser and others in Kenya, and calling for a thorough investigation to be conducted in those cases,

a report on the progress made in such an investigation to be submitted to Congress by December 15, 2000, and a final report on such an investigation to be made public, and for other purposes.