H. Res. 115
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
April 17, 1997.
Whereas Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko’s 31-year rule
has turned his potentially prosperous country into one of
the world’s poorest, where human suffering long has been
widespread;
Whereas the Mobutu Government has systematically violated
the human rights and undermined the security of Zaire’s
46,000,000 people;
Whereas the Mobutu Government has proven itself unwilling
to allow a genuine transition to multi-party democracy
and continues to cling to power against the best interests
of Zaire’s people;
Whereas the Mobutu Government permitted the circulation of
extremist propaganda in the refugee camps that under-
mined voluntary repatriation efforts of the United Na-
tions High Commission on Refugees;
Whereas the international community is concerned about the
humanitarian needs of the hundreds of thousands of refu-
gees and displaced Zairians;
Whereas many thousands of Rwandans seeking to return
home are now too ill to walk and scores succumb each
day to cholera, malnutrition, malaria, dehydration, and
other diseases while awaiting final agreements among
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parties to the conflict, the Government of Rwanda, and
international humanitarian organizations, to permit the
organization and implementation of a speedy air evacu-
ation and the regular supply of urgently needed relief
supplies and medical care;
Whereas in Zaire there have been numerous attempts to ob-
struct humanitarian relief to these populations at risk
and to hinder relocation of civilians and the repatriation
of refugees wishing to return home;
Whereas there are continuing reports of human rights viola-
tions by all parties that stem from the continued fighting
in Zaire;
Whereas representatives of the Zairian Government and the
Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Congo-Zaire (ADFL) negotiated in South Africa, under
the supervision of the United Nations and the Organiza-
tion of African Unity, with no cease-fire agreement; and
Whereas the objectives of the United States Government,
achieving the cessation of hostilities and achieving politi-
cal reforms in Zaire, continue to be stymied: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved, That—
(1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives
that—
(A) President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire
should immediately resign from the office of the
Presidency of Zaire, leave Zaire, and withdraw from
all political activity;
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(B) the United States Government should un-
equivocally call on Mobutu Sese Seko to imme-
diately leave Zaire and withdraw from all political
activity;
(C) the United States should continue to dis-
tance itself and its foreign policy from President
Mobutu and his government in order to hasten his
departure from Zaire’s government and political
life;
(D) the United States should work with all in-
terested African and European nations to oppose
the presence in Zaire of foreign government and
mercenary forces, halt the flow of arms into the
country, and encourage the warring parties to nego-
tiate a cease-fire leading to a lasting peace;
(E) the United States Government should play
a leading role in the international effort in support-
ing the creation of a broad-based transitional gov-
ernment of national unity composed of all demo-
cratic forces in Zaire; and
(F) the United States should actively pursue
an immediate agreement among the various parties
to permit the immediate and unhindered provision
of humanitarian relief and the presence of inter-
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national humanitarian workers to aid refugees and
displaced persons in the Zaire; and
(2) the House of Representatives supports the cre-
ation in Zaire of the enabling environment necessary to
conduct democratic, multi-party elections at the earliest
feasible time, as well as the necessary conditions to es-
tablish the rule of law, respect for human rights, and the
effective provision of humanitarian assistance.
Attest:
Clerk.