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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 44 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 44

Supporting democracy, universal rights, and the peaceful transition to 
                 a representative government in Egypt.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 3, 2011

  Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. McCain, Mr. Graham, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Cardin, Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Levin) submitted the 
        following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Supporting democracy, universal rights, and the peaceful transition to 
                 a representative government in Egypt.

Whereas the United States and Egypt have long shared a strong bilateral 
        relationship;
Whereas Egypt plays an important role in global and regional politics as well as 
        in the broader Middle East and North Africa;
Whereas Egypt has been, and continues to be, an intellectual and cultural center 
        of the Arab world;
Whereas on January 25, 2011, demonstrations began across Egypt with thousands of 
        protesters peacefully calling for a new government, free and fair 
        elections, significant constitutional and political reforms, greater 
        economic opportunity, and an end to government corruption;
Whereas on January 28, 2011, the Government of Egypt shut down Internet and 
        mobile phone networks almost entirely and blocked social networking 
        websites;
Whereas on January 29, 2011, President Hosni Mubarak appointed Omar Suleiman, 
        former head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, as Vice 
        President and Ahmed Shafik, former Minister for Civil Aviation, as Prime 
        Minister;
Whereas the demonstrations have continued, making this the longest protest in 
        modern Egyptian history, and on February 1, 2011, millions of protesters 
        took to the streets across the country;
Whereas hundreds of Egyptians have been killed and injured since the protests 
        began;
Whereas on February 1, 2011, President Hosni Mubarak announced that he would not 
        run for reelection later this year, but widespread protests against his 
        government continue;
Whereas on February 1, 2011, President Barack Obama called for an orderly 
        transition, stating that it ``must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, 
        and it must begin now.'' He also affirmed that: ``The process must 
        include a broad spectrum of Egyptian voices and opposition parties. It 
        should lead to elections that are free and fair. And it should result in 
        a government that's not only grounded in democratic principles, but is 
        also responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.'';
Whereas despite President Hosni Mubarak's pledge in 2005 that Egypt's 
        controversial emergency law would be used only to fight terrorism and 
        that he planned to abolish the state of emergency and adopt new 
        antiterrorism legislation as an alternative, in May 2010, the Government 
        of Egypt again extended the emergency law, which has been in place 
        continuously since 1981, for another 2 years, giving police broad powers 
        of arrest and allowing indefinite detention without charge;
Whereas the Department of State's 2009 Human Rights Report notes with respect to 
        Egypt, ``[t]he government's respect for human rights remained poor, and 
        serious abuses continued in many areas. The government limited citizens' 
        right to change their government and continued a state of emergency that 
        has been in place almost continuously since 1967.'';
Whereas past elections in Egypt, including the most recent November 2010 
        parliamentary elections, have seen serious irregularities at polling and 
        counting stations, security force intimidation and coercion of voters, 
        and obstruction of peaceful political rallies and demonstrations; and
Whereas any election must be honest and open to all legitimate candidates and 
        conducted without interference from the military or security apparatus 
        and under the oversight of international monitors: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) acknowledges the central and historic importance of the 
        United States-Egyptian strategic partnership in advancing the 
        common interests of both countries, including peace and 
        security in the broader Middle East and North Africa;
            (2) reaffirms the United States' commitment to the 
        universal rights of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and 
        freedom of access to information, including the Internet, and 
        expresses strong support for the people of Egypt in their 
        peaceful calls for a representative and responsive democratic 
        government that respects these rights;
            (3) condemns any efforts to provoke or instigate violence, 
        and calls upon all parties to refrain from all violent and 
        criminal acts;
            (4) supports freedom of the press and strongly condemns the 
        intimidation, targeting, or detention of journalists;
            (5) urges the Egyptian military to demonstrate maximum 
        professionalism and restraint, and emphasizes the importance of 
        working to peacefully restore calm and order while allowing for 
        free and non-violent freedom of expression;
            (6) calls on President Mubarak to immediately begin an 
        orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political 
        system, including the transfer of power to an inclusive interim 
        caretaker government, in coordination with leaders from Egypt's 
        opposition, civil society, and military, to enact the necessary 
        reforms to hold free, fair, and internationally credible 
        elections this year;
            (7) affirms that a real transition to a legitimate 
        representative democracy in Egypt requires concrete steps to be 
        taken as soon as possible, including lifting the state of 
        emergency, allowing Egyptians to organize independent political 
        parties without interference, enhancing the transparency of 
        governmental institutions, restoring judicial supervision of 
        elections, allowing credible international monitors to observe 
        the preparation and conduct of elections, and amending the laws 
        and Constitution of Egypt as necessary to implement these and 
        other critical reforms;
            (8) pledges full support for Egypt's transition to a 
        representative democracy that is responsive to the needs of the 
        Egyptian people, and calls on all nations to support the people 
        of Egypt as they work to conduct a successful transition to 
        democracy;
            (9) expresses deep concern over any organization that 
        espouses an extremist ideology, including the Muslim 
        Brotherhood, and calls upon all political movements and parties 
        in Egypt, including an interim government, to affirm their 
        commitment to non-violence and the rule of law, the equal 
        rights of all individuals, accountable institutions of justice, 
        religious tolerance, peaceful relations with Egypt's neighbors, 
        and the fundamental principles and practices of democracy, 
        including the regular conduct of free and fair elections;
            (10) underscores the vital importance of any Egyptian 
        Government continuing to fulfill its international obligations, 
        including its commitments under the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty 
        signed on March 26, 1979 and the freedom of navigation through 
        the Suez Canal; and
            (11) ensures that United States assistance to the Egyptian 
        Government, military, and people will advance the goal of 
        ensuring respect for the universal rights of the Egyptian 
        people and will further the national security interests of the 
        United States in the region.
                                 <all>
```