IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 991 

Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse against ethnic 

minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 

Mr. CARSON (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. THANEDAR, and 

Ms. TITUS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse 

against ethnic minorities in the Democratic Republic of 

the Congo. 

Whereas the Democratic Republic of the Congo (referred to 

as the ‘‘DRC’’) has been beset for decades by various 

challenges, including natural disasters, political unrest, 

abuses against civilians from many communities, and targeted ethnic-based violence; 

Whereas Rwandophones, notably the Banyamulenge ethnic 

group and other Congolese Tutsi, have been the targets 

of an escalation of hate speech and incitement to violence 

nationwide; 

Whereas the United States, credible human rights organizations, and civil society have documented and published 


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•HRES 991 IH 

reports and findings that implicate the Armed Forces of 

the Democratic Republic of the Congo (referred to as the 

‘‘FARDC’’) in aiding and collaborating with armed 

groups and militias, including several that are designated 

for United Nations sanctions due to human rights violations; 

Whereas the return of the March 23 Movement (referred to 

as the ‘‘M23’’) rebel group, who are reportedly backed by 

the Rwandan Government, has exacerbated ethnic tensions within the eastern provinces; 

Whereas reports from the United Nations Group of Experts 

on the Democratic Republic of Congo, including those 

issued on December 16, 2022, and June 13, 2023, have 

consistently found that hate speech specifically targeting 

Rwandophones, who are often portrayed as ‘‘invaders’’, 

has proliferated alongside the crisis brought about by the 

M23 rebels; 

Whereas some Congolese politicians and security force officials have employed anti-Rwandophone rhetoric; 

Whereas the M23’s presence in eastern DRC further destabilizes the region and is responsible for an array of gross 

violations of human rights and the displacement of thousands of civilians; 

Whereas evidence documenting violence against Rwandophone 

communities may meet 1 or more of the criteria under 

Article II of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to 

which the United States and the DRC are parties; 

Whereas militias engage in illicit mining activities to finance 

and sustain themselves, often exploiting child labor and 

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•HRES 991 IH 

dermine the DRC’s economic interests and international 

treaty obligations; 

Whereas the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (referred to as 

‘‘MONUSCO’’) has taken measures to facilitate intercommunal dialogues between rival ethnic groups to promote peace and stability; 

Whereas, in April 2019, the United States and the DRC established the U.S.-DRC Privileged Partnership for Peace 

and Prosperity, to which the 2 countries added the Preservation of the Environment in February 2021, which 

aims to advance democracy and promote human rights, 

improve security, and encourage sustainable development 

and United States investment in the DRC, as underscored and reinforced by Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh’s visit on January 26, 2022; 

Whereas the strategic partnership between the United States 

and the DRC, as well as the DRC’s role in leading a 

global clean energy revolution, requires cooperative efforts to implement governance reforms, combat corruption, provide security, and improve environmental and 

labor standards to ensure the health, safety, and prosperity of future generations; and 

Whereas the United States Department of State Integrated 

Country Strategy for the DRC states that ‘‘the success 

of the DRC’s democracy hinges on stability in the country’s eastern provinces’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns all acts of violence perpetrated 

3 against ethnic minorities by members of the Armed 

4 Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and 


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•HRES 991 IH 

1 armed groups operating throughout the Democratic 

2 Republic of the Congo; 

3 (2) further condemns all human rights viola4 tions perpetrated against the civilian population by 

5 M23, which reportedly include the use of child sol6 diers, killings, sexual violence, and looting; 

7 (3) calls for increased security for the millions 

8 of people forcibly displaced in the DRC; 

9 (4) reaffirms that the United States has held 

10 and continues to hold the Government of the DRC 

11 responsible for upholding the rights of all citizens, 

12 regardless of ethnicity, in accordance with the 

13 DRC’s international obligations; 

14 (5) urges social media companies to curb hate 

15 speech and incitement to violence on their platforms; 

16 (6) appeals to neighboring countries to uphold 

17 their commitment to providing safe harbor for refu18 gees from ethnic minority communities until their 

19 human rights can be guaranteed in the DRC; 

20 (7) recognizes that the United States has an 

21 international obligation to uphold its commitments 

22 to prevent and punish the crime of genocide; 

23 (8) urges the Government of the Democratic 

24 Republic of the Congo to— 


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•HRES 991 IH 

1 (A) hold accountable all state security 

2 forces that perpetrate atrocities against the ci3 vilian population by conducting transparent in4 vestigations and prosecutions and taking all ad5 ditional necessary measures to prevent further 

6 atrocities; 

7 (B) continue progress toward the disar8 mament, demobilization, reintegration, repatri9 ation, and resettlement of armed groups in co10 ordination with the United Nations Organiza11 tion Stabilization Mission in the Democratic 

12 Republic of Congo, as outlined in United Na13 tions Security Council Resolution 2666 (2022); 

14 (C) continue coordinating with the East 

15 African Community Nairobi Process initiative 

16 to encourage peace talks and disarmament of 

17 armed groups in eastern DRC, provided that 

18 the initiative has an overall positive effect on 

19 the security of the populace and all parties in20 volved in the process ensure that it is trans21 parent and well-managed; 

22 (D) allow and facilitate, in accordance with 

23 relevant provisions of international law and con24 sistent with humanitarian principles, the full, 

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•HRES 991 IH 

1 manitarian personnel, equipment and supplies, 

2 and the timely delivery of humanitarian assist3 ance to populations in need, in particular to ref4 ugees and internally displaced persons through5 out the territory of the DRC; 

6 (E) uphold its obligations as a state party 

7 to the United Nations Convention on the Pre8 vention and Punishment of the Crime of Geno9 cide, the International Convention on the Elimi10 nation of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 

11 the International Covenant on Civil and Polit12 ical Rights, the United Nations Convention on 

13 the Rights of the Child, and the Rome Statute 

14 of the International Criminal Court; and 

15 (F) combat all forms of hate speech and 

16 hold accountable any person or group respon17 sible for ethnically charged rhetoric and incite18 ment to violence; 

19 (9) urges the Secretary of State, in coordina20 tion with the heads of other relevant Federal depart21 ments and agencies, to— 

22 (A) work with other Federal departments 

23 and agencies to thoroughly investigate atrocities 

24 committed against ethnic minorities in the DRC 

25 and develop a strategy to address and deter 


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1 such atrocities pursuant to section 3 of the Elie 

2 Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act 

3 of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 

4 (B) engage at the highest level with the 

5 Government of the DRC to mitigate the hu6 manitarian effects of ethnic-based violence; and 

7 (C) coordinate with like-minded partners 

8 and key stakeholders to increase and maintain 

9 engagement on the issue in multilateral fora, 

10 including the United Nations Security Council; 

11 and 

12 (10) calls on the President of the United States 

13 to— 

14 (A) appoint a Special Envoy to the Great 

15 Lakes region of Africa, which will be vital to 

16 addressing the enduring regional security crisis 

17 emanating from eastern DRC; 

18 (B) use all existing authorities to protect 

19 ethnic minorities who flee ethnic-based violence 

20 in the DRC, including the authority to des21 ignate Rwandophones, such as the Congolese 

22 Tutsi and Banyamulenge, who are nationals of 

23 the DRC for Priority 2 access to the United 

24 States Refugee Admissions Program; and 


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1 (C) impose targeted sanctions against 

2 known human rights abusers in the DRC under 

3 existing authorities, such as Executive Order 

4 13413, as amended by Executive Order 13671, 

5 and Executive Order 13818, to deter further 

6 gross violations of human rights against ethnic 

7 minorities in the DRC. 

Æ 


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