IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 246

Expressing the sense of the House denouncing and rejecting a resolution

adopted by Foreign Ministers of the Arab League urging the easing

of United Nations sanctions against Libya which were imposed because

of Libya’s refusal to surrender individuals on its territory who are wanted

in connection with the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 26, 1997

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. FROST, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr.

SCHUMER, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. WEXLER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House denouncing and rejecting

a resolution adopted by Foreign Ministers of the Arab

League urging the easing of United Nations sanctions

against Libya which were imposed because of Libya’s

refusal to surrender individuals on its territory who are

wanted in connection with the 1988 terrorist bombing

of Pan Am flight 103.

Whereas the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 748 on March 31, 1992, imposing an embargo on

the sale of arms and on international flights against the

state of Libya and in Security Council Resolution 883 on
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November 11, 1993, further tightened economic sanctions

against Libya for its refusal to surrender individuals suspected in connection with the terrorist bombing in 1988

of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in which

270 individuals were killed and the terrorist bombing in

1989 of the French ATA flight 772 over Niger, in which

160 individuals were killed;

Whereas the Security Council had repeatedly voted to maintain these international sanctions against Libya in view

of the persistent refusal of the Government of Libya to

hand over for trial the two individuals currently in Libya

who are accused of involvement in the terrorist bombing

of Pan Am flight 103 and ATA flight 772;

Whereas the United Nations sanctions provide for legitimate

humanitarian flights to and from Libya for medical and

other reasons, and flights of a religious nature to permit

Libyan residents to participate in the Hadj have been approved routinely under the United Nations sanctions;

Whereas Libya has repeatedly violated the United Nations

sanctions, most egregiously when an aircraft carrying

Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar el-Kaddafi, landed in

Cairo, Egypt, in July 1996 in order for the Libyan leader

to participate in an Arab summit meeting; and

Whereas the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League meeting

in Cairo on September 21, 1997, adopted a resolution in

which the Ministers invited ‘‘Arab countries to undertake

measures to ease the severity of the embargo imposed on

Libya until a final, peaceful, and just solution to the crisis is reached’’, ‘‘to lift measures freezing Libyan accounts involving money, the source of which is other than

the selling or exporting of oil’’, ‘‘to support Libya’s right

to obtain suitable compensation for human and material
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damages and losses it sustains as a result of pertinent

United Nations Security Council resolutions’’, and to exempt from sanctions Libyan ‘‘flights related to participation of the Libyan political leadership and official delegations in regional and international meetings’’: Now therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) denounces and rejects in the strongest

3 terms the resolution adopted on September 21,

4 1997, by the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League

5 in their conference in Cairo which invites Arab

6 states to take action to ease United Nations sanc7 tions against Libya;

8 (2) reaffirms the commitment of the United

9 States to support United Nations sanctions against

10 Libya until the two individuals suspected in connec11 tion with the terrorist bombing of Pam Am flight

12 103 and UTA flight 772 are turned over to appro13 priate judicial authorities in the United States or the

14 United Kingdom and France as required by United

15 Nations Security Council resolutions;

16 (3) calls upon the President to suspend all

17 United States assistance to all countries which vio18 late United Nations Security Council sanctions

19 against Libya; and

20 (4) requests that the Secretary of State trans21 mit a copy of this resolution to the government of
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1 each country which is a member of the Arab League

2 and express to each government the profound con3 cern of the United States about efforts to undermine

4 the international fight against terrorism by weaken5 ing or violating sanctions imposed by the United Na6 tions Security Council.

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