IV
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 218
Concerning the urgent need to establish a cease fire in Afghanistan and
begin the transition toward a broad-based multiethnic government that
observes international norms of behavior.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 12, 1998
Mr. BEREUTER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on International 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-
tions and kidnappings for ransom were committed by
armed units, local commanders, and rogue individuals’’;
•HCON 218 IH
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 due to the chaos and destruction brought about by
the extended conflict, Afghanistan is now one of the
world’s leading producers of opium, and over the past
year alone, the production of opiates in Afghanistan has
jumped 25 percent and resulted in an increase in drug
trade not only in the Central Asian region, but in Russia
and the West as well;
Whereas another byproduct of this conflict is the harboring
of terrorist leaders in Afghanistan including Usama bin
Laden whose group members have been identified as sup-
porting acts of terrorism within their countries of origin;
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 toward securing economic and political well-
being throughout all of South Asia and the newly inde-
pendent Central Asian nations as well; and
•HCON 218 IH
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) welcomes the appointment of Ambassador
Lakhbar Brahimi as special envoy of the United Na-
tions Secretary General for Afghanistan and sup-
ports his efforts toward attaining a peaceful nego-
tiated settlement with the assistance of the six na-
tions bordering Afghanistan as well as representa-
tives from the United States and Russia;
(3)(A) deplores continuing human rights viola-
tions occurring within Afghanistan, such as the con-
tinuing discrimination against women of all ages as
well as the discovery of mass graves which contained
an alleged 2,000 corpses of prisoners of war and ci-
vilians in Afghanistan; and
(B) supports the intention of the United Na-
tions and the International Committee of the Red
•HCON 218 IH
Cross to continue their investigation into these re-
ported killings;
(4) calls upon all warring factions and national
powers to participate in intra-Afghan dialogue and
in the peace process and to actively cooperate in the
acceleration of endeavors for peace;
(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 and Afghanistan to work toward the eradi-
cation of the production of opium linking such ef-
forts to realistic income alternatives;
(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) recognizes the continuing requirement to
address the needs of more than 2,000,000 Afghan
refugees, three-quarters of whom are women and
children;
•HCON 218 IH
(9) acknowledges the necessity of international
efforts to clear the estimated 10,000,000 land mines
buried in the Afghan countryside; and
(10) calls for the expulsion of all known terror-
ist leaders from Afghanistan and to close down any
terrorist training camps operating in the country.
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