III
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 218
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
APRIL 29, 1998
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Concerning the urgent need to establish a cease fire in Af-
ghanistan and begin the transition toward a broad-based
multiethnic government that observes international
norms of behavior.
Whereas peace and stability has not returned to Afghanistan
despite the February 1989 Soviet withdrawal from Af-
ghanistan;
Whereas the Department of State’s Country Reports on
Human Rights for 1997 states: ‘‘The overall human
rights situation [in Afghanistan] is poor * * * political
killings, torture, rape, arbitrary detention, looting, abduc-
HCON 218 RFS
tions and kidnappings for ransom were committed by
armed units, local commanders, and rogue individuals’’;
Whereas the continuing civil conflict in Afghanistan has had
a grievous impact upon the Afghan people, where within
its borders occurs the highest rate of infant, child, and
maternal mortality in the region;
Whereas neighboring countries have provided support in the
form of financial assistance and arms to the different
groups warring in Afghanistan, thereby extending the
length and expanding the destruction of this internal con-
flict;
Whereas another byproduct of this conflict is the harboring
of Islamic militants and terrorist leaders in Afghanistan;
Whereas due to the tyranny and destruction caused by
Taliban rule, Afghanistan is now one of the world’s lead-
ing producers of opium, and over the past year alone, the
production of opiates in Afghanistan has increased and
resulted in a growth in the drug trade not only in the
Central and South Asian regions but in Russia and the
West as well;
Whereas continuing instability serves as an obstacle to inter-
national investment and the establishment of develop-
mental projects inside Afghanistan, so necessary to Af-
ghanistan’s rejuvenation from years of conflict, and cen-
tral to promoting political cooperation among Afghan fac-
tions;
Whereas the continuing conflict in Afghanistan serves as an
impediment to economic prosperity and political develop-
ment throughout all of South Asia and the newly inde-
pendent Central Asian nations as well; and
HCON 218 RFS
Whereas despite repeated efforts by the United Nations to
broker an end to continuing warfare among the country’s
warring factions, the absence of peace has prevented Af-
ghanistan from addressing the numerous problems facing
its citizenry: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) acknowledges that, through determination,
tenacity, and courage, the Afghan people success-
fully waged a war against Soviet expansionism and
greatly assisted in bringing an end to the cold war;
(2) calls upon all warring factions and national
powers to participate in intra-Afghan dialogue (the
‘‘Frankfurt Process’’) and in the peace process and
to actively cooperate in the acceleration of endeavors
for peace;
(3)(A) deplores continuing human rights viola-
tions 
occurring 
within 
Afghanistan, 
especially
against women and female children, who have suf-
fered condoned discrimination and harassment, and
the reported widespread execution of prisoners of
war and civilians evidenced by the discovery of mass
graves which contained an estimated 2,000 corpses;
and
(B) supports the intention of the United Na-
tions and the International Committee of the Red
HCON 218 RFS
Cross to continue their investigation into these re-
ported killings;
(4)(A) welcomes the appointment of Ambas-
sador Lakhbar Brahimi as special envoy of the
United Nations Secretary General for Afghanistan
and supports his efforts toward attaining a peaceful
negotiated settlement with the assistance of the six
nations bordering Afghanistan as well as representa-
tives from the United States and Russia; and
(B) encourages a role for Afghan leaders of all
factions and ethnic groups in the United Nations ne-
gotiation efforts, based on the fact that peace and
national reconciliation cannot be imposed on the Af-
ghan people by their neighbors;
(5) urges the nations of the region to cooperate
in the peace process and to end immediately the sup-
ply of arms, ammunition, military equipment, train-
ing or any other military support to all parties to
the conflict;
(6) urges appropriate parties in the United Na-
tions, Afghanistan, and its neighbors to work toward
the eradication of the production of opium, especially
in southern Afghanistan, and to link such efforts
wherever possible to realistic income alternatives;
HCON 218 RFS
(7) calls upon all parties within Afghanistan to
prevent the reoccurrence of actions which impede the
ability of humanitarian and international organiza-
tions to move food shipments and other forms of hu-
manitarian assistance into Afghanistan;
(8) acknowledges that due to the death and de-
struction wrought by the February 4, 1998, earth-
quake in northeastern Afghanistan, where approxi-
mately 5,000 people have died and an estimated
30,000 have been left homeless, there is a continuing
need for international emergency aid of food, cloth-
ing, and shelter;
(9) recognizes the continuing requirement to
address the needs of more than 2,500,000 Afghan
refugees in neighboring countries, three-quarters of
whom are women and children;
(10) acknowledges the necessity of international
efforts to clear the estimated 10,000,000 land mines
buried in the Afghan countryside; and
(11) calls for the expulsion of all known terror-
ist leaders from Afghanistan and the closing down of
all terrorist training camps operating in the country.
Passed the House of Representatives April 28, 1998.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.