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[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 54 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 54

Condemning the escalating violence, the gross violation of human rights 
     and attacks against civilians, and the attempt to overthrow a 
           democratically elected government in Sierra Leone.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 25, 1999

  Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. Frist, Mr. Biden, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. 
     Wellstone, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. 
    Lautenberg, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Kennedy) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

                             March 23, 1999

                Reported by Mr. Helms, without amendment

                              May 5, 1999

                        Considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Condemning the escalating violence, the gross violation of human rights 
     and attacks against civilians, and the attempt to overthrow a 
           democratically elected government in Sierra Leone.

Whereas the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) military junta and the 
        rebel fighters of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone 
        mounted a campaign of ``Operation No Living Thing'' in 1997 and have 
        recently renewed the terror;
Whereas the atrocities and violence against the citizens of Sierra Leone, which 
        include forced amputations, raping of women and children, pillaging 
        farms, and the killing of the civilian population, has continued for 
        more than 8 years;
Whereas the AFRC and RUF continue to kidnap children, forcibly train them, and 
        send them as combatants in the conflict in Sierra Leone;
Whereas the Nigerian-led intervention force, Economic Community Monitoring Group 
        (ECOMOG), which has deployed nearly 15,000 troops to Sierra Leone, has 
        made a considerable contribution towards ending the cycle of violence 
        there, despite the fact that some of its members have engaged in 
        violations of humanitarian law;
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 
        in 1998 more than 210,000 refugees fled Sierra Leone to Guinea, bringing 
        the total number of Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea to 350,000, in 
        addition to some 90,000 Sierra Leonean refugees who sought safe haven in 
        Liberia;
Whereas the refugee camps in Guinea and Liberia are at risk of being used as 
        safe havens for rebels and staging areas for attacks into Sierra Leone;
Whereas the humanitarian crisis in Sierra Leone has reached epic proportions 
        with people dying from lack of food and medicine; and
Whereas the escalating violence in Sierra Leone threatens stability in West 
        Africa and has the immediate potential of spreading to neighboring 
        Guinea: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) urges the President and the Secretary of State to give 
        high priority to aiding in the resolution of the conflict in 
        Sierra Leone and to bringing stability to West Africa, 
        including active participation and leadership in the Sierra 
        Leone Contact Group;
            (2) condemns--
                    (A) the violent atrocities committed by the Armed 
                Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) and the 
                Revolutionary United Front (RUF) throughout the 
                conflict, and in particular its attacks against 
                civilians and its use of children as combatants; and
                    (B) those external actors, including Liberia, 
                Burkina Faso, and Libya, for contributing to the 
                continuing cycle of violence in Sierra Leone by 
                providing financial, political, and other types of 
                assistance to the AFRC or the RUF, often in direct 
                violation of the United Nations arms embargo;
            (3) supports continued efforts by the regional peacekeeping 
        force, ECOMOG, to restore peace and security and to defend the 
        democratically elected government of Sierra Leone;
            (4) recognizes that basic improvements in ECOMOG's 
        performance with respect to human rights and the management of 
        its own personnel would markedly improve its effectiveness in 
        achieving its goals and improve the level of international 
        support needed to meet those goals;
            (5) supports appropriate United States logistical, medical 
        and political support for ECOMOG and notes the contribution 
        that such support has made thus far toward achieving the goals 
        of peace and stability in Sierra Leone;
            (6) calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and 
        respect for human rights, and urges all members of the armed 
        conflict in Sierra Leone to engage in dialogue to bring about a 
        long-term solution to such conflict; and
            (7) expresses support for the people of Sierra Leone in 
        their quest for a democratic, prosperous, and reconciled 
        society.
                                 <all>
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