[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 59 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 447
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 59
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 18, 2022
Received and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Condemning the October 25, 2021, military coup in Sudan and standing
with the people of Sudan.
Whereas the people of the Republic of Sudan suffered for three decades under the
despotic rule of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, whose government
was responsible for the suppression of civil liberties, grand
corruption, support for international terrorism, and the commission of
crimes against humanity and genocide;
Whereas, throughout 2019, a coalition of Sudanese civic groups, including
professional associations, labor unions, community groups, democracy
activists, and opposition parties, led a mass protest movement to demand
the end of Bashir's reign and the transition to democracy in Sudan;
Whereas, on April 11, 2019, Sudanese military officers deposed Bashir, and,
following continued protests, agreed to form a transitional government
in partnership with a civilian pro-democracy coalition on July 17, 2019;
Whereas, on June 3, 2019, Sudanese forces led by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),
largely comprised of Janjaweed militia involved in genocidal campaigns
across Darfur for decades, opened fire on protesters at an army command
headquarters in Khartoum, killing at least 127 people, at least 40 of
whom were found in the Nile River;
Whereas the military and civilian elements agreed to a 39-month transition to
democracy, with a Civilian-Led Transitional Government (CLTG) comprised
of a predominantly civilian cabinet led by Prime Minister Abdallah
Hamdok, a Sovereign Council, an executive body with civilian and
military members chaired for the first half of the transitional period
by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and a Transitional
Legislative Council, which has yet to be formed;
Whereas the United States and the international community supported Sudan's
transition to democracy, with the United States identifying more than
$1,000,000,000 in foreign assistance, and the multilateral Friends of
Sudan group pledging $1,800,000,000 from roughly 50 countries and
international organizations;
Whereas the CLTG made progress in human rights reforms, including guaranteeing
the people of Sudan freedom of religion and gender equality under the
transitional constitution, banning female genital mutilation, and
decriminalizing apostasy;
Whereas, in August 2021, when the Sudanese Cabinet ratified the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court (ICC), the CLTG made progress towards
ending impunity for abusers of human rights, stating its intention to
deliver Omar al-Bashir to the ICC to stand trial for genocide, war
crimes, and crimes against humanity, and formed civilian committees to
investigate corruption and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the
Bashir regime;
Whereas the transitional government negotiated a peace agreement with several
rebel groups, a step towards ending decades of conflict in the regions
of Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile, which killed hundreds of
thousands of civilians and left more than 3,000,000 people displaced
within Sudan;
Whereas Sudan continues to face a serious humanitarian situation, with an
estimated 13,400,000 people, or 29 percent of the population, in need of
humanitarian assistance in 2021;
Whereas Sudan faces a severe economic crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19
pandemic, which caused the price of food and consumer goods to increase
significantly, while austerity measures imposed to stabilize the economy
resulted in the reduction or elimination of subsidies for commodities
including wheat and fuel;
Whereas the political tensions between the civilian and military elements and
within factions of the civilian coalition undermined the CLTG and
contributed to widespread unrest within the Sudanese population relating
to a range of issues, including the economic crisis, ethnic and tribal
conflict in peripheral regions, and the unsatisfactory pace of reforms;
Whereas, on September 21, 2021, some members of the military reportedly
attempted a coup d'etat against the transitional government, which
failed to depose the government but succeeded in precipitating the most
serious political crisis of the transition period;
Whereas, on October 21, 2021, hundreds of thousands of people across Sudan
demonstrated in support of democratic civilian rule, to counter a
smaller protest days prior demanding the military take complete control
of the government;
Whereas, on October 25, 2021, Lieutenant General Burhan, with the support of
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as ``Hemedti'', seized control
of the government, deployed the military to the streets of Khartoum and
Omdurman, and arrested and detained Prime Minister Hamdok and other
civilian officials;
Whereas the African Union Peace and Security Council convened on October 27,
2021, strongly condemned the coup, reaffirmed the mandate of the CLTG,
and subsequently suspended Sudan from the regional body ``with immediate
effect * * * until the effective restoration'' of the CLTG;
Whereas the actions of Lieutenant General Burhan and the Sudanese military
violate Sudan's Constitutional Charter and threaten to plunge Sudan into
isolation and instability;
Whereas the United States Government publicly condemned the coup, suspended its
foreign assistance to Sudan, and urged Lieutenant General Burhan and his
accomplices to restore the CLTG and return Sudan to the path to
democracy; and
Whereas, the Troika (the United States, United Kingdom, Norway), the European
Union, and Switzerland ``continue to recognize the Prime Minister and
his cabinet as the constitutional leaders of the transitional
government'' and ``confirm once again the international calls for the
immediate return to the roadmap for democratic transition of Sudan'':
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) condemns the October 25, 2021, coup in Sudan;
(2) stands with the people of Sudan in their democratic
aspirations;
(3) recognizes the Prime Minister and his cabinet as the
constitutional leaders of Sudan's transitional government;
(4) calls for Sudan's military junta to--
(A) immediately release all civilian government
officials, civil society members, and other individuals
detained in connection with the coup;
(B) return to constitutional rule under the
transitional constitution as the starting point for
negotiations with civilians toward full civilian rule;
(C) lift the state of emergency, including complete
restoration of all means of communication;
(D) remove all roadblocks and checkpoints, and
order the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and RSF to stand
down and comply with international recognized rules of
engagement;
(E) ensure security forces respect the right to
peaceful protest and hold those who used excessive
force and committed other abuses accountable in a
transparent, credible process;
(F) cease all attempts to change the civilian
composition of the cabinet, Sovereign Council, and
other government bodies; and
(G) transfer leadership of the Sovereign Council to
a civilian member of the Sovereign Council in keeping
with the transitional constitution;
(5) calls on the Secretary of State to--
(A) immediately identify coup leaders, their
accomplices, and enablers for consideration for
targeted sanctions;
(B) urge junta leaders to return immediately to the
rule of law as set forth by the transitional
constitution;
(C) monitor, discourage, and deter any effort by
external parties to support the coup and the military
junta;
(D) coordinate with--
(i) the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development and other
Federal Government agencies to pause all non-
humanitarian bilateral assistance to Sudan
until restoration of the transitional
constitutional order;
(ii) the Department of the Treasury to use
the voice and vote of the United States in
international financial institutions to suspend
all actions related to non-humanitarian loans
or debt relief to Sudan until restoration of
the transitional constitutional order; and
(iii) the United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations to ensure
the United Nations Security Council is seized
of the matter on an ongoing basis; and
(E) work with the Troika to engage members of the
international community to join these United States
actions; and
(6) calls on international partners to--
(A) join United States efforts to impose targeted
sanctions on the junta and other accomplices to the
coup, monitor, discourage, and deter any effort by
external parties to support the junta, and urge junta
leaders to return to the rule of law as set forth by
the transitional constitution; and
(B) suspend Sudan's participation in all regional
multilateral organizations until Sudan is returned to
constitutional rule under the transitional
constitution.
Passed the House of Representatives July 14, 2022.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.
Calendar No. 447
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 59
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Condemning the October 25, 2021, military coup in Sudan and standing
with the people of Sudan.
_______________________________________________________________________
July 18, 2022
Received and placed on the calendar