Title: Urging the Government of Côte d'Ivoire, opposition leaders, and all citizens to respect democratic principles, refrain from violence, and hold free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections in October 2020.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution calls on Côte d'Ivoire to publicly commit to free, fair, peaceful, and transparent elections, and it reaffirms that the United States will continue to stand with the people of Côte d'Ivoire in support of peace, democracy, religious and ethnic tolerance, and stability.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1150 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1150

  Urging the Government of Cote d'Ivoire, opposition leaders, and all 
 citizens to respect democratic principles, refrain from violence, and 
 hold free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections in October 2020.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 24, 2020

   Mr. Phillips (for himself, Ms. Bass, and Mr. Yoho) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Urging the Government of Cote d'Ivoire, opposition leaders, and all 
 citizens to respect democratic principles, refrain from violence, and 
 hold free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections in October 2020.

Whereas it is in the interest of the United States to maintain a strong 
        relationship with a democratic, peaceful, stable, and economically 
        prosperous Cote d'Ivoire whose leaders prioritize good governance, the 
        rule of law, and respect for human rights;
Whereas the United States and Cote d'Ivoire have a strong bilateral relationship 
        with important cooperation on economic interests, regional stability, 
        and counterterrorism priorities, and efforts to advance health and 
        development objectives;
Whereas Cote d'Ivoire has a presidential election scheduled for October 31, 
        2020;
Whereas previous transitions of power have been marred by conflict and violence 
        against civilians, including most recently in 2010-2011, when 3,000 
        civilians were killed during an election-related dispute;
Whereas the root causes of past political violence--including religious and 
        ethnoregional tensions, contestation over land, politicization of the 
        judiciary and concerns over due process, and a lack of professionalism, 
        adequate training, and civilian control over the security forces--have 
        not been adequately addressed;
Whereas political leaders have previously manipulated and exploited religious, 
        ethnic, and regional identities and economic grievances to incite 
        violence including through incidents of hateful and divisive speech 
        occurring both in person and online;
Whereas President Ouattara's decision to stand for a third term, despite a two-
        term limit in the constitution, has heightened tensions, and several 
        citizens have been killed and dozens more injured or arrested amid 
        protests against his candidacy;
Whereas political violence in Cote d'Ivoire could threaten the region's 
        stability and economic development prospects, and undermine efforts to 
        counter violent extremism and terrorist activity;
Whereas the Government of Cote d'Ivoire must protect the health and safety of 
        its citizens and prevent the spread of COVID-19 while also ensuring 
        credible elections and enabling the participation of all voters;
Whereas the Government of the United States is deeply committed to efforts to 
        prevent conflict and atrocities and address the root causes of 
        fragility, as evidenced by the enactment of the Global Fragility Act of 
        2019 and the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018; 
        and
Whereas the United States Embassy in Cote d'Ivoire issued a statement on August 
        25, 2020, ``supporting free, transparent, and inclusive elections in 
        Cote d'Ivoire'' and urging ``all parties, groups and individuals to 
        refrain from violence and hateful/divisive speech and to choose dialogue 
        to find peaceful solutions to their disagreements'': Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms that the United States will continue to stand 
        with the people of Cote d'Ivoire in support of peace, 
        democracy, religious and ethnic tolerance, and stability;
            (2) calls upon the Government of Cote d'Ivoire and all 
        political parties to--
                    (A) protect all civilians from violence and support 
                their right to peacefully demonstrate;
                    (B) condemn all forms of hate speech and incitement 
                of violence while maintaining citizens' open access to 
                information;
                    (C) publicly commit to free, fair, peaceful, and 
                transparent elections and make clear that all Ivorians, 
                including security forces, government officials, 
                political opposition members, and the media, will be 
                held accountable for inciting or perpetrating violence;
                    (D) support an independent investigation into the 
                killings of civilians during demonstrations;
                    (E) support efforts to implement public health 
                protocols to prevent further spread of COVID-19 and 
                ensure safe participation of all voters on election 
                day; and
                    (F) request the electoral observation services of 
                the African Union or the Economic Community of West 
                African States, and grant full access to election 
                observers;
            (3) encourages civil society organizations, local 
        communities, and religious leaders to--
                    (A) remain united in calls for peace, nonviolence, 
                tolerance, and democracy; and
                    (B) work to educate voters about the electoral 
                process in order to combat disinformation and violence; 
                and
            (4) calls upon the United States Government and 
        international partners to--
                    (A) continue to condemn violence against peaceful 
                demonstrators and hate speech that promotes such 
                actions, including posts on social media, and urge all 
                political parties to publicly commit to free, fair, 
                peaceful, and transparent elections;
                    (B) continue to support election preparation 
                efforts, including through assistance to the 
                Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), capacity 
                building for civil society and local leaders, voter 
                education programs, development of election day 
                protocols, violence prevention programs, support for 
                election observation, and human rights and atrocities 
                prevention monitoring; and
                    (C) call for and support an independent 
                investigation into the killings of civilians during 
                demonstrations.
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