IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 240
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the urgency of providing 
support for the ‘‘Agreement on Ceasefire and Cessation of Hostilities 
Between the Government of the Republic of Liberia and Liberians United 
for Reconciliation and Democracy and the Movement for Democracy 
of Liberia’’, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 8, 2003
Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Ms. LEE, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. LANTOS, 
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. RANGEL, and Ms. WATSON) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the urgency 
of providing support for the ‘‘Agreement on Ceasefire 
and Cessation of Hostilities Between the Government 
of the Republic of Liberia and Liberians United for 
Reconciliation and Democracy and the Movement for 
Democracy of Liberia’’, and for other purposes.
Whereas on June 17, 2003, the Government of Liberia, Libe-
rians United for Reconciliation and Democracy, and the 
Movement for Democracy in Liberia reached an ‘‘Agree-
ment on Ceasefire and Cessation of Hostilities Between 
the Government of the Republic of Liberia and Liberians 
United for Reconciliation and Democracy and the Move-
•HCON 240 IH 
ment for Democracy of Liberia’’ (hereinafter referred to 
as the ‘‘Ceasefire Agreement’’), to halt Liberia’s brutal 
civil war and bring renewed hope for a peace agreement 
for the people of Liberia and progress toward ending the 
political destabilization, massive economic disruption, and 
humanitarian devastation of West Africa; 
Whereas President Charles Taylor of Liberia has announced 
that, if he were an impediment to peace in Liberia and 
the region, he would step aside and allow the formation 
of a transitional national government to pursue peace 
and reconciliation in Liberia and the establishment of a 
transitional government that would organize elections 
leading to a new democratic government; 
Whereas the Ceasefire Agreement states that immediately fol-
lowing the signing of the Agreement, the Government of 
Liberia , Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democ-
racy (LURD), and Movement for Democracy in Liberia 
(MODEL), with all other Liberian political parties and 
stakeholders will participate in a dialogue to seek, within 
a period of 30 days, a comprehensive peace agreement 
and the formation of a transitional government, which 
will not include the current President Charles Taylor; 
Whereas the United States Government and Liberia have a 
long, historical relationship beginning in 1820 when free 
Black Americans from the United States founded the Re-
public of Liberia with a grant of $100,000 from Presi-
dent James Monroe and in 1847 thousands of free Black 
Americans from the United States immigrated to Liberia 
and declared their independence; 
Whereas in 1926 the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company 
opened a rubber plantation on 400,000 hectares 
(1,000,000 acres) of land granted by the Liberian Gov-
•HCON 240 IH 
ernment allowing rubber production to become the main-
stay of the Liberian economy and in 1936 the new gov-
ernment of former slaves succeeded in abolishing forced-
labor practices on the Firestone plantations; 
Whereas in spite of its troubled domestic political history and 
disappointing political leadership, Liberia has been a 
strong political ally of the United States, including by its 
declaration of war on Germany on August 14, 1917, 
which gave the Allies an additional base in West Africa 
during World War I, by allowing United States troops to 
be based in the country in 1942 during World War II, 
and by permitting the construction of a Voice of America 
transmitter to cover the entire African continent to ex-
pose Soviet propaganda during the Cold War; 
Whereas Liberians have suffered from repressive political 
leadership, whether elected or installed by force, including 
Samuel Doe who led a coup that ousted President Wil-
liam Tolbert in 1980, who in 1985 won the presidency 
in a contested election and proceeded to form a govern-
ment in Liberia that was brutal, violent, and highly cor-
rupt; 
Whereas in 1989, Charles Taylor, an accused embezzler and 
United States prison escapee, led an insurrection and fo-
mented a devastating civil war that claimed more than 
200,000 Liberian lives, resulted in innumerable and se-
vere human rights abuses, and forced half of the Liberian 
population to flee as refugees to neighboring countries or 
to become internally displaced persons within Liberia; 
Whereas as a result of mediation and the deployment of a 
peacekeeping mission by the Economic Community of 
West African States (ECOWAS), the signing of a peace 
agreement in 1995 and an addendum thereof in 1996,
•HCON 240 IH 
elections were held in 1997 in which Charles Taylor was 
elected President of Liberia; 
Whereas President Charles Taylor and his government failed 
to effectively pursue postwar national political reconcili-
ation, build institutions, or improve socio-economic post-
war conditions, and continued to aid and abet an insur-
rection against the Government of Sierra Leone by the 
Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a brutal rebel group 
known for amputating the limbs of innocent children, 
which waged a war and prolonged the suffering of Sierra 
Leoneans until January 2002; 
Whereas President Taylor and officials within his government 
profited openly from the illicit trade in ‘‘blood dia-
monds’’, despoiled the tropical forests of Liberia by 
unsustainably and indiscriminately harvesting their tim-
ber for private gain, corrupted and provided military 
training, arms, and safe haven to RUF members, and 
employed them as members of one of his numerous vio-
lent security forces, most notably the Anti-Terrorist Unit; 
Whereas the Taylor regime disrespected the rule of law, re-
pressed the independent press, created an atmosphere of 
public intimidation, operated an administration with little 
or no accountability or transparency, harassed and im-
prisoned civil society leaders, and routinely violated 
human rights; 
Whereas ongoing civil war and unrest in Liberia have dev-
astated the country’s economy, social fabric, and the live-
lihoods of its people, leaving Liberians with a ruined 
economy and barely functioning physical infrastructure, 
few resources or the basic necessities to maintain life, 
and an insolvent government regarded as a pariah by 
many states;
•HCON 240 IH 
Whereas immediate emergency food assistance to the people 
of Liberia is urgently needed to meet the basic nutri-
tional sustenance of its people, especially mothers and 
children, to relieve the extreme physical suffering of the 
people of Liberia, including their rapidly increasing sus-
ceptibility to diseases, including cholera, dysentery, HIV/
AIDS, and high rates of maladies such as malaria, acute 
respiratory infection, fever, anaemia, and pneumonia, and 
to assist internally displaced persons and refugees to re-
turn to their homes and native countries; 
Whereas there are 9 percent of Liberians living with HIV/
AIDS in a country with a population of only 3,288,198 
and 13,000 Liberians die annually from HIV/AIDS com-
plications; 
Whereas 157 out of every 1,000 infants die annually, the 
under 5 mortality rate is 235 per 1,000 births, and the 
life expectancy is only 51.4 years in Liberia; 
Whereas the unemployment rate in Liberia is 80 percent in 
the formal sector and only 15 percent of Liberians are 
literate; 
Whereas Liberia is among the countries most richly endowed 
with natural resources in Africa, with enormous tropical 
forests which, if preserved, may be directed toward build-
ing Liberia’s economy through natural resource manage-
ment and trade; 
Whereas an end to the civil war, and enhanced stability in 
Liberia through improved security will lead to stability 
within the surrounding West African sub-region; and 
Whereas United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has 
called on the United States to contribute to a multi-
national stabilization force, including ECOWAS troops,
•HCON 240 IH 
to work toward bringing peace to Liberia: Now, therefore, 
be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress—
(1) commends the Economic Community of 
West African States (ECOWAS) for successfully ne-
gotiating and signing in Accra, Ghana, on June 17, 
2003, the ‘‘Agreement on Ceasefire and Cessation of 
Hostilities Between the Government of the Republic 
of Liberia and Liberians United for Reconciliation 
and Democracy and the Movement for Democracy of 
Liberia’’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Ceasefire 
Agreement’’), an accord that is critical to ending the 
conflict in Liberia, bringing peace to the sur-
rounding countries, and establishing an environment 
in West Africa conducive to the maintenance of re-
gional security, political stability, democracy and 
governance, the observation of human rights, and 
the pursuit of economic growth, development and 
trade; 
(2) commends the Parties to the Ceasefire 
Agreement, including ECOWAS, the Republic of 
Ghana, the United Nations Peace-Building Support 
Office in Liberia, the African Union (AU), and the 
members of the International Contact Group on Li-
beria (ICGL) for consistent and sustained efforts
•HCON 240 IH 
during the course of the negotiations to bring the 
parties to the final agreement; 
(3) commends the Liberian civil society and Li-
berian communities in exile for continuing to strive 
for peace and democracy in their country and for 
sustaining families unable to survive economically 
under President Taylor’s corrupt regime with finan-
cial remittances and for steadfast advocacy for their 
country; 
(4) calls on all parties to the Ceasefire Agree-
ment to refrain from committing, aiding, abetting, 
or permitting, any acts in violation of the Agree-
ment; 
(5) forcefully calls on the parties to facilitate 
and support the sustained delivery of humanitarian 
relief supplies throughout the country, ensure the 
safety and freedom of movement of all humanitarian 
workers throughout the Liberian territory, abide by 
the timetable set forth in the Ceasefire Agreement, 
and to move swiftly toward inclusive, national, polit-
ical reconciliation by forming a transitional national 
government; 
(6) calls on President Charles Taylor to imple-
ment his June 4, 2003, statement that he would 
seek ‘‘a national unity government immediately’’ and
•HCON 240 IH 
be willing to remove himself from power in the inter-
est of transition to peace for the Liberian people; 
(7) commends the Special Court for Sierra 
Leone for its work to bring justice to the people of 
Sierra Leone who suffered unspeakable harm as a 
result of the vicious civil war sponsored by President 
Charles Taylor and that was fueled by the trade in 
‘‘conflict diamonds’’; 
(8) calls upon the United States Government—
(A) to assume a leadership role in the 
international community through its member-
ship in the International Contact Group for Li-
beria to help guide the Ceasefire Agreement 
and subsequent peace agreement, political tran-
sition and establishment of a sustainable de-
mocracy with good governance, and economic 
reconstruction processes; 
(B) to play a strong and proactive role in 
supporting the Ceasefire Agreement and peace 
and reconciliation initiatives in furtherance of 
an enduring solution to the on-going crisis in 
Liberia through an all-inclusive process for 
these purposes, including—
•HCON 240 IH 
(i) the cantonment of militants, and 
their disarmament, demobilization, and re-
integration (‘‘DDR’’) into society; 
(ii) the establishment as a matter of 
priority in the DDR process, of programs 
to meet the special needs of former child 
soldiers, including girls, paying particular 
attention to their psychological, social, and 
educational needs, and consult with all or-
ganizations available to determine the best 
methods for achieving this result; 
(iii) to support civil society reconcili-
ation initiatives that seek to improve ca-
pacity of grassroots and nongovernmental 
organizations in Liberia to promote con-
flict resolution and restore civil order; and 
(iv) to support the role of civil society 
in the peace process, particularly women 
and the most vulnerable citizens, and in 
the reconstruction and future of Liberia; 
(9) calls upon the Secretary of State—
(A) to take a lead role in collaboration 
with ECOWAS in negotiating the establishment 
of the Joint Verification Team established by 
the Ceasefire Agreement;
•HCON 240 IH 
(B) to provide leadership and participate 
in negotiations to establish the Joint Moni-
toring Committee to supervise the ceasefire 
along with representatives from the parties, as 
well as representatives from the United Na-
tions, the AU, and the ICGL, to which the 
United States is party; and 
(C) together with the United Nations, 
ECOWAS, and the AU, to establish and deploy 
an International Stabilization Force that will 
initially monitor the peace agreement between 
the parties and provide security for humani-
tarian relief efforts, and subsequently, through 
protocols and a mode of operations to be deter-
mined, monitor Liberia’s borders, to prevent the 
trans-border passage of arms and unauthorized 
persons; 
(10) calls upon the Secretary of Defense to—
(A) provide military experts, personnel, 
logistical support, equipment and funds as nec-
essary to support the Joint Verification Team; 
(B) provide financial, logistical, personnel, 
and technical support, and to participate in, as 
necessary, the Joint Monitoring Committee; and
•HCON 240 IH 
(C) play a lead role in creating and deploy-
ing an international stabilization force to Libe-
ria. 
(11) calls on the United States Agency for 
International Development (USAID) to—
(A) commit to providing humanitarian as-
sistance to the people of Liberia to save lives, 
alleviate suffering, and mitigate the impact of 
the emergency situations emerging from the 
war, including providing emergency food, sup-
plies, and commodities; 
(B) focus on the most vulnerable popu-
lations, including internally displaced persons 
and war-affected persons in Monrovia; and 
(C) coordinate relief efforts with national 
and international nongovernmental organiza-
tions and other donors; 
(12) calls on the international community to—
(A) support humanitarian efforts to meet 
the urgent and dire needs of the Liberian peo-
ple, and to consult and cooperate closely with 
the appropriate Liberian leaders and civil soci-
ety representatives as well as other governments 
and international organizations participating in 
rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts and
•HCON 240 IH 
significantly incorporate their views into the 
policymaking process; 
(B) to support efforts that advance the de-
velopment of democratic civil institutions in Li-
beria and support the establishment of a broad-
based and fully representative government, in 
which all Liberians, without regard to their eth-
nicity, race, religion, or gender, can participate; 
and 
(C) to assist in the establishment of a gov-
ernment that respects the sovereignty, terri-
torial integrity, and political independence of its 
neighbors; 
(13) calls upon Liberian indigenous private and 
voluntary organizations active in local grassroots re-
habilitation, reconstruction, and development efforts 
and Liberians living overseas to engage fully in the 
international efforts to help restore Liberia as a via-
ble country in which present and future generations 
can live peacefully; 
(14) calls upon the United Nations—
(A) to provide peacekeeping troops for 
such time as necessary to enforce the Ceasefire 
Agreement, protect humanitarian efforts, and 
maintain a stable transitional environment; and
•HCON 240 IH 
(B) to provide adequate repatriation pack-
ages for refugees and resettlement packages for 
internally displaced persons that include food 
sufficient to meet international nutritional 
standards, household items, materials for tem-
porary shelter, inputs for farming for household 
consumption and income, and grants to pay the 
cost of transportation for relocation; and 
(15) urges the President to report regularly to 
Congress on progress being made by all parties to-
ward the full implementation of the Ceasefire Agree-
ment.
Æ