IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1424 
Supporting humanitarian assistance, the protection of civilians, and account-
ability for abuses in Somalia, and urging concrete progress in line with 
the Transitional Federal Charter of Somalia toward the establishment 
of a viable government of national unity. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2008 
Mr. ELLISON (for himself and Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting humanitarian assistance, the protection of civil-
ians, and accountability for abuses in Somalia, and urg-
ing concrete progress in line with the Transitional Fed-
eral Charter of Somalia toward the establishment of a 
viable government of national unity. 
Whereas despite the formation of the internationally recog-
nized Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004, 
there has been little improvement in the governance or 
stability of southern and central Somalia, and stability in 
the northern region of Puntland has deteriorated; 
Whereas governance failures in Somalia have permitted and 
contributed to escalating violence, egregious human 
rights abuses, and violations of international humani-
tarian law, including rape and other forms of sexual and 
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•HRES 1424 IH 
gender-based violence against women and girls committed 
by the TFG, Ethiopian, and opposition armed forces; 
Whereas these atrocities occur with impunity and have led to 
an independent system of roadblocks, checkpoints, and 
extortion that hinders trade, business, and the delivery of 
desperately needed humanitarian assistance; 
Whereas the Government of Ethiopia intervened in December 
2006 against Somalia’s Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and 
continues to serve as the primary security force for the 
TFG; 
Whereas a report of the United Nations Monitoring Group on 
Somalia presented to the United Nations Security Coun-
cil on July 20, 2007, alleged that Eritreans have pro-
vided arms to insurgents in Somalia as part of a long- 
standing dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea that in-
cludes a series of interlocking proxy wars in the Horn of 
Africa; 
Whereas the United Nations estimates that 2,000,000 people 
in Somalia, with women and children disproportionately 
represented, need humanitarian assistance or livelihood 
support for at least the next 6 months, including 745,000 
people who have fled ongoing insecurity and sporadic vio-
lence in Mogadishu over the past 16 months, adding to 
more than 275,000 long-term internally displaced Soma-
lis, as of April 2008; 
Whereas Somali refugees and internally displaced persons are 
especially vulnerable to rape and other forms of sexual 
and gender-based violence, and receive virtually no pro-
tection against such attacks; 
Whereas the incidence and brutality of rape and other sexual 
violence in Somalia continues to increase, and the suf-
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•HRES 1424 IH 
fering of women and girls under such circumstances is 
compounded by societal discrimination and acceptance of 
violence against women and girls, including underrep-
resentation in politics, severe inequality in access to edu-
cation, domestic violence, and the widespread use of fe-
male genital mutilation; 
Whereas survivors fear retribution for reporting attacks, and 
journalists and other human rights defenders, including 
women, have been increasingly targeted by all sides in the 
conflict, inhibiting reporting and monitoring of sexual vi-
olence and other human rights abuses; 
Whereas, despite Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein’s pub-
lic commitment to humanitarian operations, local and 
international aid agencies remain hindered by extortion, 
harassment, and administrative obstructions; 
Whereas, in March 2008, United Nations Secretary General 
Ban Ki-moon presented a report on Somalia based on re-
cent strategic assessments and fact-finding missions, 
which offered recommendations for increasing United Na-
tions engagement while decreasing the presence of foreign 
troops, including the establishment of a maritime task 
force to deter piracy and support the 1992 international 
arms embargo; 
Whereas, while the United States Government has allocated 
nearly $50,000,000 to support the African Union Mission 
in Somalia and continues to be the leading contributor of 
humanitarian assistance in Somalia, providing approxi-
mately $140,000,000 in fiscal year 2007 and fiscal year 
2008 to date, there is no comprehensive strategy to build 
a sustainable peace; 
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•HRES 1424 IH 
Whereas, over the last 5 years, the House of Representatives 
has repeatedly called upon the President to develop and 
implement a comprehensive strategy to contribute to last-
ing peace and security throughout the Horn of Africa by 
helping to establish a legitimate, stable central govern-
ment in Somalia capable of maintaining the rule of law 
and preventing the country from becoming a safe haven 
for terrorists through resolutions, amendments, bills, 
oversight letters, and hearings; 
Whereas a February 2008 Government Accountability Office 
report found that United States and international ‘‘ef-
forts have been limited by lack of security, access to vul-
nerable populations, and effective government institu-
tions’’ as well as the fact that the United States ‘‘strat-
egy for Somalia, outlined in the Administration’s 2007 
report to Congress on its Comprehensive Regional Strat-
egy on Somalia, is incomplete’’; 
Whereas the recent designation by the Department of State 
of Somalia’s al-Shabaab militia as a foreign terrorist or-
ganization under section 219 of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act and as a specially designated global terrorist 
by Executive order highlights the growing need for a 
strategic, multifaceted, and coordinated approach to So-
malia; and 
Whereas it is in the interest of the United States, the people 
of Somalia, and the citizens and governments of countries 
worldwide to work toward a legitimate peace and a sus-
tainable resolution to the crisis in Somalia that includes 
and embodies civilian protection, access to services, the 
rule of law, and accountability: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 1424 IH 
(1) remains committed to the people of Somalia 
and to helping build the institutions necessary for a 
stable nation free of civil war and violent extremism; 
(2) encourages the President, in partnership 
with the African Union, the United Nations, and the 
international community as a whole, to— 
(A) provide sufficient humanitarian assist-
ance to those most seriously affected by the 
armed conflict, drought, and flooding through-
out Somalia, and call on the Transitional Fed-
eral Government to actively facilitate dispersal 
of such assistance; 
(B) ensure accountability for all state, 
nonstate, and external parties responsible for 
violations of human rights and international hu-
manitarian law in Somalia, including rape and 
other forms of sexual and gender-based violence 
against women and girls, through the deploy-
ment of United Nations human rights monitors 
and the establishment of a United Nations 
Commission of Inquiry to investigate abuses; 
(C) call on all parties to recommit to an 
inclusive dialogue with international support in 
the interest of promoting sustainable peace and 
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•HRES 1424 IH 
security in Somalia and across the Horn of Af-
rica; 
(D) urge the Government of Ethiopia, in 
coordination with the United Nations Political 
Office in Somalia, to develop a clear timeline 
for the responsible withdrawal of its armed 
forces from Somalia, to honor its obligation 
under the Geneva Conventions to ensure protec-
tion of civilians under its control, and to ob-
serve the distinction between civilians and mili-
tary combatants and their assets; 
(E) urge the Government of Eritrea to 
play a productive role in helping to bring about 
stability to Somalia, including ceasing to pro-
vide financial and material support, such as 
arms and ammunition, to insurgent groups in 
and around Mogadishu and throughout the re-
gion; and 
(F) call on all countries in the region and 
wider international community to provide in-
creased support for African Union Mission in 
Somalia (AMISOM) and ensure a robust civil-
ian protection mandate for AMISOM and any 
future peacekeeping mission, including the 
adoption of a strategy to address and end wide-
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•HRES 1424 IH 
spread sexual and gender-based violence in in-
ternally displaced person camps and at check-
points, consistent with United Nations Security 
Council Resolutions 1325 and 1814 and related 
laws and policies on the protection of women 
and girls; and 
(3) encourages the Transitional Federal Gov-
ernment, including the newly appointed Prime Min-
ister and his cabinet, to work to achieve sustainable 
peace in the region by— 
(A) taking necessary steps to protect civil-
ians from dangers related to military oper-
ations; investigating and prosecuting human 
rights abuses, including rape and other forms of 
sexual 
and 
gender-based 
violence 
against 
women and girls; providing basic services to all 
the people of Somalia; and ensuring that hu-
manitarian organizations have full access to 
vulnerable populations; 
(B) recommitting to the Transitional Fed-
eral Charter, including its promotion of peace, 
democracy, the rule of law, fundamental free-
doms, and protection of the human rights of all 
Somalis, including women; 
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•HRES 1424 IH 
(C) setting a detailed timeline and dem-
onstrating observable progress for completing 
the political transition laid out in the Transi-
tional Federal Charter by 2009, including con-
crete and immediate steps toward scheduling 
elections as a means of establishing a democrat-
ically elected government that represents the 
people of Somalia; and 
(D) agreeing to participate in a political 
process that is both transparent and inclusive, 
particularly of women, and has international 
support that leads to the formation of a govern-
ment of national unity based on the principles 
of democracy, accountability, and the rule of 
law. 
Æ 
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