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“SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S3796 on April 6, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 322--OBSERVING THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RWANDAN
GENOCIDE OF 1994
Mr. FEINGOLD submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 332
Whereas 10 years ago, during a 3-month period in 1994, 800,000 Rwandans were killed in an organized campaign of genocide that targeted ethnic Tutsis and political moderates;
Whereas the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda was dramatically scaled back as the genocide occurred;
Whereas by mid-July 2004, 2,000,000 Rwandans became refugees and another 1,000,000 were internally displaced due to the genocide and civil war;
Whereas in 1994, the United Nations Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to hold accountable those responsible for the atrocities;
Whereas in March 1998, President William Jefferson Clinton acknowledged that ``we in the United States and the world community did not do as much as we could have and should have done to try to limit what occurred in Rwanda in 1994'';
Whereas in 1999, the Independent Inquiry into the Actions of the United Nations during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda found that ``the failure by the United Nations to prevent, and subsequently, to stop the genocide in Rwanda was a failure by the United Nations system as a whole'';
Whereas the Rwandan genocide and its aftermath played a significant part in the destabilization of the entire Great Lakes region over the last decade; and
Whereas today, the vast majority of Rwandan refugees have returned to their country, and the Government of Rwanda is working to address the backlog of genocide-related cases awaiting trial through the formal justice sector and through community-based gacaca courts: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) solemnly observes the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide of 1994;
(2) recognizes and is saddened by the failure of the international community, including the United States, to prevent the genocide;
(3) reaffirms its commitment to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, done at Paris on December 9, 1948;
(4) supports ongoing efforts to educate the people of the United States and of the world about the Rwandan genocide;
(5) commits to continuing efforts to strengthen institutions working to bring to justice those responsible for the genocide; and
(6) urges the President and the international community to seize on the occasion of this anniversary to focus attention on the future of Rwanda, and to support the people of Rwanda so that they may--
(A) be free from the fear of ethnic violence, mob violence, or state-sponsored violence;
(B) enjoy full civil and political rights and feel free to voice legitimate disagreements honestly and publicly without fear of violence or intimidation;
(C) have confidence in the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Rwanda; and
(D) experience sustained economic growth and development that improves the standard of living in Rwanda.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Ten years ago, a deliberate, centrally-planned, and organized campaign of violence was set in motion, and eventually it took the lives of some 800,000 Rwandans. The campaign targeted ethnic Tutsis, but also ethnic Hutus who espoused moderate political beliefs and paid for their commitment to equal rights for all Rwandans with their lives. Millions were displaced, and the institutions and infrastructure of the country were shattered.
As this horror unfolded, the international community, including the United States, failed to act. The United Nations Mission for Rwanda was scaled down when the massacres started rather than being reinforced. The U.S. engaged in semantic strategies of avoidance, referring to massacres and atrocities and finally ``acts of genocide,'' but refusing to acknowledge the truth for fear it should make plain our responsibility.
If some of the Rwandan voices that will be heard during this time of commemoration and reflection sound angry, well, we have to accept that their anger is justified. The world had said ``never again'' to genocide. And then we abandoned the people of Rwanda to an unspeakable national nightmare.
Today, the people of Rwanda still struggle to cope with the legacy of the genocide, with the trauma of their national experience, and with the search for justice and accountability. And they still struggle with fear.
The United States can and should insist that those who devised and implemented the plan for genocide be held accountable for their actions. Four years ago I was proud to introduce legislation that extended the Rewards for Justice program, so that today the U.S. is helping to track down those who have been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and are still at large. In addition, we can and do assist the Government of Rwanda in strengthening its own capacity to address the backlog of genocide-related cases awaiting trial, sometimes through the formal justice system, and sometimes through the community-based gacaca courts.
But today I want to urge my colleagues to seize on this moment not only to reflect on the past, not only to honor the dead, but to think about the future and to care for the living. And the people of Rwanda today do need assistance. Too many Rwandans live in a context of crushing poverty. Approximately 9 percent of the adult population is HIV positive, and life expectancy is about 40 years. There is much development work yet to be done.
In Rwanda today, basic human rights are still not guaranteed. The most recent State Department human rights report on Rwanda makes reference to ``politically motivated disappearances; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of opposition supporters.''
No one with even a cursory grasp of Rwanda's history could fault the government for being sensitive to ethnically divisive forces. But, not all dissent is divisive, and history teaches us that imposing order alone is not enough to guarantee stability and security. Order without justice tends to crumble. Suppressing legitimate disagreements, allowing intimidation to silence citizens--these acts undermine security rather than enhance it. The people of Rwanda, including the leadership of the country, find themselves in a tremendously difficult position. I can imagine, but I cannot know, the challenges of governing in the wake of a tragedy of this magnitude. But I do know that those of us in the international community only compound our past mistakes when we do not interest ourselves in the future of the Rwandan people today, when we do not concern ourselves with freeing the next generation from fear.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution of solemn commemoration. It acknowledges the terrible past, but it also expresses hope for the future. The people of Rwanda have picked themselves up and have set about rebuilding their lives and their country. The world failed them ten years ago. Let us resolve not to fail them again.
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