Title: Expressing continued solidarity with the Lebanese people after the devastating explosions at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the continued efforts to form a secure, independent, and democratic Lebanon.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses solidarity with the Lebanese people following the explosions at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and supports their right to peacefully demonstrate to achieve political goals and anti-corruption reforms.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 569 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 569

  Expressing continued solidarity with the Lebanese people after the 
devastating explosions at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the 
    continued efforts to form a secure, independent, and democratic 
                                Lebanon.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2021

 Mr. LaHood (for himself, Mr. Issa, Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Mr. 
   Graves of Louisiana, Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Larsen of 
  Washington, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Rodney Davis of 
Illinois, and Mr. Crist) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing continued solidarity with the Lebanese people after the 
devastating explosions at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, and the 
    continued efforts to form a secure, independent, and democratic 
                                Lebanon.

Whereas the security, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of 
        Lebanon, a pluralistic democracy in the Middle East, is in the interest 
        of the United States and its allies in the region;
Whereas for more than a decade, the United States has provided robust assistance 
        for Lebanon, including training and equipment for the Lebanese Armed 
        Forces (LAF), development assistance through the Economic Support Fund, 
        funding for schools and hospitals in Lebanon through the American 
        Schools and Hospitals Abroad Program, and funding through the Middle 
        East Partnership Initiative;
Whereas the integrity and independence of the LAF serves a United States 
        national security interest;
Whereas the LAF has a longstanding partnership with the United States military;
Whereas the LAF, as the primary institution entrusted with Lebanon's defense, 
        security, and sovereignty, is an important force to support the safety 
        and security of Lebanon;
Whereas the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) must fully 
        implement its mandate in order to counteract destabilizing forces in 
        Lebanon and help lower tensions at the Lebanon-Israel border;
Whereas, on August 28, 2020, the United Nations Security Council unanimously 
        extended and expanded UNIFIL's mandate and called on the Lebanese 
        Government to facilitate prompt and full access to sites requested by 
        United Nations peacekeepers for investigation, urged freedom of movement 
        and unimpeded access for peacekeepers to all parts of the Blue Line 
        between Lebanon and Israel, and condemned in the strongest terms all 
        attempts to restrict United Nations troop movements and attacks on 
        mission personnel;
Whereas United States support for United States institutions in Lebanon, such as 
        the Lebanese American University and the American University of Beirut, 
        through humanitarian and bilateral economic assistance helps foster 
        democratic ideals and principles throughout Lebanon;
Whereas Lebanon hosts an estimated 1,500,000 refugees, the highest refugee-per-
        capita ratio in the world, despite challenges within its own social and 
        economic sectors;
Whereas Hezbollah's multipronged circumvention of legitimate government 
        functions has contributed to endemic corruption and rampant 
        mismanagement by parties in Lebanon;
Whereas the mismanagement and corruption has driven Lebanon to the brink of 
        economic collapse, with one of the highest rates of public debt, food 
        insecurity, and hyperinflation in the world;
Whereas Iran undermines Lebanon's sovereignty and its history as a United States 
        partner and democratic actor in the Middle East;
Whereas Iran's terrorist proxy Hezbollah violates United Nations Security 
        Council Resolution 1701 (2006), stokes sectarian violence, destabilizes 
        the Lebanese economy, and supports corruption and violence within 
        Lebanon and seeks to destroy the pursuit of peace throughout the region;
Whereas, on August 4, 2020, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated at the Port 
        of Beirut, killing approximately 200 people and injuring thousands more;
Whereas the dangerous and highly explosive material had been unsafely stored at 
        the Port of Beirut since 2014, despite repeated warnings over the threat 
        the stockpile posed to the surrounding civilian population;
Whereas the explosions destroyed vast swaths of infrastructure across Beirut and 
        displaced up to 300,000 people;
Whereas the explosions destroyed or damaged the entire Port of Beirut, through 
        which Lebanon imports the bulk of its food, including the destruction of 
        approximately 120,000 metric tons of desperately needed food stocks, 
        according to the United Nations;
Whereas the United States Government has longstanding concerns about Hezbollah's 
        use of and influence over the Beirut Port as a transit and storage point 
        for its terrorist enterprise;
Whereas the people of Lebanon across the political spectrum have renewed demands 
        for a meaningful change in Lebanon's political leadership, government 
        accountability, and transparency;
Whereas the need for humanitarian aid and food assistance continues and there is 
        a rise in public protests to support the ongoing needs of the people of 
        Lebanon;
Whereas the country of Lebanon is on the brink of economic collapse and remains 
        in a months-long government formation stalemate; and
Whereas a secure Lebanon with a credible, transparent, government accountable to 
        the Lebanese people and free from Iranian and Hezbollah interference and 
        based on the rule of law and democratic principles is in the interests 
        of the Lebanese people, the United States, and United States partners 
        and allies: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses continued solidarity with the Lebanese people 
        following the devastating explosions at the Port of Beirut on 
        August 4, 2020, and the continued efforts to form a stable, 
        independent, and democratic Lebanon;
            (2) calls on the Government of Lebanon to advance the 
        interests of the people of Lebanon by rooting out corruption in 
        government, executing structural reforms and anticorruption 
        measures, and working with international financial institutions 
        like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to 
        undertake necessary reforms in order to stabilize the economy;
            (3) supports the right of the people of Lebanon to engage 
        in peaceful demonstration and assembly to achieve 
        accountability in government, democratic political 
        representation, increased civil rights, and anticorruption 
        reforms;
            (4) calls on the Government of Lebanon to address the root 
        causes of instability and mismanagement that allowed the tragic 
        August 4 blast to take place, including by responding to calls 
        for accountability and reform by the people of Lebanon;
            (5) calls on the Lebanese Government, including the 
        Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), to take all appropriate action to 
        fully implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 
        (2006) and any successor resolutions and to secure the safety, 
        freedom of movement, and access for United Nations Interim 
        Force troops in Lebanon;
            (6) recognizes the LAF as the sole institution entrusted 
        with the defense of the sovereignty of Lebanon and supports 
        United States partnerships with the LAF to counter terrorist 
        groups such as Hezbollah, ISIS, and al-Qaida in Lebanon;
            (7) supports United States efforts to provide emergency 
        humanitarian relief in concert with other governments and 
        international partners;
            (8) affirms that United States assistance should be 
        delivered directly to the Lebanese people through properly 
        vetted channels, organizations, and individuals, without risk 
        of diversion to terrorist groups; and
            (9) calls on the Government of Lebanon to conduct a 
        credible, impartial, and transparent investigation into the 
        cause of, and responsibility for, the August 4 explosions, and 
        include impartial international experts as part of the 
        investigation team.
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