Resolution offers comprehensive solution to violence in DRC

Contact: Brian Hart, Becky Ogilvie; both with Sam Brownback, United States Senator - Kansas, 202-224-6521

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 /Standard Newswire/ -- U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) applauded yesterday's Senate passage of a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following escalating violence in the country. 

The bipartisan measure introduced by Brownback and Feingold condemns the violence against civilians and encourages the international community to work for a comprehensive and lasting solution to the crisis.  The resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire as a critical step toward reviving the dialogue between warring parties, while also allowing humanitarian assistance to get to those who desperately need it. 

"Senate passage of the ceasefire resolution is a great step toward ending the suffering of millions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," said Brownback.  "With more international aid and attention focused on that region of the world, I am hopeful for a resolution to the conflict in the DRC.  The global community can no longer ignore the suffering of those in the DRC; more than 250,000 people were displaced in the last two months, and the many accounts of rape and sexual violence are horrific.  Exploited minerals, used in our daily electronics, are being smuggled out of eastern Congo which in turn are funding armed groups and allow this conflict to continue.  With Senate passage of the resolution, we call on the electronics industry for transparency in their products, we call for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations towards a political solution to this conflict, and we call on the international community to act to help end the crisis."

Feingold said, "I am pleased the U.S. Senate is now on record calling for a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The renewed violence has only worsened the suffering of the people in the DRC and has left thousands displaced from their homes.  By passing this resolution, the Senate sends a message about the serious nature of the situation in eastern Congo and acknowledges that we must act to bring a lasting and comprehensive solution to the conflict there.  I am pleased that the U.N. Security Council today authorized more troops and police for the peacekeeping force in eastern Congo, but that should just be the beginning.  The international community must now work collectively with countries in the region to ensure all sides develop and implement a political solution."

According to an International Rescue Committee report in January 2008, the conflict and related humanitarian crisis in the DRC have led to an estimated 5.4 million deaths since 1998 and the toll continues to rise by as many as 45,000 deaths each month.  The resolution is cosponsored by 15 other senators.

The Feingold-Brownback resolution:

Condemns the continuing violence against civilians

Calls for a ceasefire

Calls on the DRC government to end the threat posed by the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

Calls on the governments of DRC and Rwanda to restore bilateral relations

Calls on the governments in the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa Development Community to support a peaceful resolution and ensure the volatile situation does not spark a wider regional war

Supports efforts to bring all parties to negotiating table to implement peace agreement

Encourages the international community to enhance effectiveness of the U.N. Mission in Congo

Urges U.S. government to sustain high-level diplomatic engagement with the A.U., E.U. and U.N. to avert wider regional war

Urges U.S. and international community to develop mechanisms to hold parties accountable to signed peace agreements

Urges U.S. and international community to adopt measures to help regional governments to identify and address factors underlying the conflict, like weak governance and exploitation of the region's lucrative materials.

The resolution is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of senators including Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), Chris Dodd (D-CT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kit Bond (R-MO), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).