Mr. Carson (for himself, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Doggett) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse against ethnic minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
(1) condemns all acts of violence and human rights violations perpetrated against ethnic minorities and civilians by members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, M23, and other armed groups operating throughout the eastern DRC, including killings, sexual violence, looting, forced displacement, and the use of child soldiers, as has been documented by credible sources;
(2) calls for increased security for the millions of people forcibly displaced in the DRC;
(3) reaffirms that the United States holds the Government of the DRC responsible for upholding the rights of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, in accordance with the DRC’s international obligations;
(4) urges social media companies to curb hate speech and incitement to violence on their platforms;
(5) appeals to neighboring countries to uphold their commitment to providing safe harbor for refugees from all communities, including ethnic minority communities, until the human rights of such refugees can be guaranteed in the DRC;
119th Congress
H.Res.1025
Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse against ethnic minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mr. Carson (for himself, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Doggett) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse against ethnic minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
(1) condemns all acts of violence and human rights violations perpetrated against ethnic minorities and civilians by members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, M23, and other armed groups operating throughout the eastern DRC, including killings, sexual violence, looting, forced displacement, and the use of child soldiers, as has been documented by credible sources;
(2) calls for increased security for the millions of people forcibly displaced in the DRC;
(3) reaffirms that the United States holds the Government of the DRC responsible for upholding the rights of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, in accordance with the DRC’s international obligations;
(4) urges social media companies to curb hate speech and incitement to violence on their platforms;
(5) appeals to neighboring countries to uphold their commitment to providing safe harbor for refugees from all communities, including ethnic minority communities, until the human rights of such refugees can be guaranteed in the DRC;
(6) recognizes that the United States has an international obligation to uphold its commitments to prevent and punish the crime of genocide;
(7) calls for the DRC and Rwanda to uphold their commitments stipulated in the June 2025 peace agreement, which aims to ensure the de-risking of mineral supply chains and facilitate bilateral trade and United States economic investment in the region’s minerals, and to ensure that these commitments are accompanied by additional measures to promote justice and accountability for atrocities perpetrated by all parties to the conflicts in the DRC while affirming that acknowledgment of historical patterns of discrimination, poverty, or marginalization may not be used to justify, excuse, or legitimize acts of violence against civilian populations;
(8) calls on all regional actors to cease attacks on civilians and displaced persons camps in accordance with international humanitarian law;
(9) urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to, in accordance with and in addition to its commitments made in the June 2025 peace agreement, take meaningful measures to—
(A) cease support to nonstate armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and militias known as “Wazelendo,” and hold accountable all state security forces that perpetrate atrocities against the civilian population by conducting transparent investigations and prosecutions and taking all additional necessary measures to prevent further atrocities;
(B) continue progress toward the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, repatriation, and resettlement of armed groups in coordination with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2666 (2022);
(C) continue coordinating with the joint East African Community and Southern African Development Community Nairobi/Luanda peace process to encourage peace talks and disarmament of armed groups in eastern DRC, provided that the initiative has an overall positive effect on the security of the populace and all parties involved in the process ensure that it is transparent and well-managed;
(D) allow and facilitate, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and consistent with humanitarian principles, the full, safe, immediate, and unhindered access to humanitarian personnel, equipment and supplies, and the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in need, in particular to refugees and internally displaced persons throughout the territory of the DRC;
(E) uphold its obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Polit- ical Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; and
(F) combat all forms of hate speech and hold accountable any person or group responsible for ethnically charged rhetoric and incitement to violence;
(10) urges the Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to—
(A) work with other Federal departments and agencies to thoroughly investigate atrocities committed against ethnic minorities in the DRC and develop a strategy to address and deter such atrocities pursuant to section 3 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 ( 22 U.S.C. 2656 note);
(B) engage at the highest level with the Government of the DRC to mitigate the humanitarian effects of ethnic-based violence; and
(C) coordinate with like-minded partners and key stakeholders to increase and maintain engagement on the issue in multilateral fora, including the United Nations Security Council; and
(11) calls on the President to—
(A) appoint a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa, which will be vital to addressing the enduring regional security crisis emanating from eastern DRC;
(B) use all existing authorities to protect ethnic minorities who flee ethnic-based violence in the DRC, including the authority to designate ethnic minorities who are nationals of the DRC for Priority 2 access to the United States Refugee Admissions Program; and
(C) impose targeted sanctions against known human rights abusers in the DRC under existing authorities, such as Executive Order 13413, as amended by Executive Order 13671, and Executive Order 13818, to deter further gross violations of human rights against ethnic minorities in the DRC.
(6) recognizes that the United States has an international obligation to uphold its commitments to prevent and punish the crime of genocide;
(7) calls for the DRC and Rwanda to uphold their commitments stipulated in the June 2025 peace agreement, which aims to ensure the de-risking of mineral supply chains and facilitate bilateral trade and United States economic investment in the region’s minerals, and to ensure that these commitments are accompanied by additional measures to promote justice and accountability for atrocities perpetrated by all parties to the conflicts in the DRC while affirming that acknowledgment of historical patterns of discrimination, poverty, or marginalization may not be used to justify, excuse, or legitimize acts of violence against civilian populations;
(8) calls on all regional actors to cease attacks on civilians and displaced persons camps in accordance with international humanitarian law;
(9) urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to, in accordance with and in addition to its commitments made in the June 2025 peace agreement, take meaningful measures to—
(A) cease support to nonstate armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and militias known as “Wazelendo,” and hold accountable all state security forces that perpetrate atrocities against the civilian population by conducting transparent investigations and prosecutions and taking all additional necessary measures to prevent further atrocities;
(B) continue progress toward the disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, repatriation, and resettlement of armed groups in coordination with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2666 (2022);
(C) continue coordinating with the joint East African Community and Southern African Development Community Nairobi/Luanda peace process to encourage peace talks and disarmament of armed groups in eastern DRC, provided that the initiative has an overall positive effect on the security of the populace and all parties involved in the process ensure that it is transparent and well-managed;
(D) allow and facilitate, in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and consistent with humanitarian principles, the full, safe, immediate, and unhindered access to humanitarian personnel, equipment and supplies, and the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to populations in need, in particular to refugees and internally displaced persons throughout the territory of the DRC;
(E) uphold its obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Polit- ical Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; and
(F) combat all forms of hate speech and hold accountable any person or group responsible for ethnically charged rhetoric and incitement to violence;
(10) urges the Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to—
(A) work with other Federal departments and agencies to thoroughly investigate atrocities committed against ethnic minorities in the DRC and develop a strategy to address and deter such atrocities pursuant to section 3 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 ( 22 U.S.C. 2656 note);
(B) engage at the highest level with the Government of the DRC to mitigate the humanitarian effects of ethnic-based violence; and
(C) coordinate with like-minded partners and key stakeholders to increase and maintain engagement on the issue in multilateral fora, including the United Nations Security Council; and
(11) calls on the President to—
(A) appoint a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa, which will be vital to addressing the enduring regional security crisis emanating from eastern DRC;
(B) use all existing authorities to protect ethnic minorities who flee ethnic-based violence in the DRC, including the authority to designate ethnic minorities who are nationals of the DRC for Priority 2 access to the United States Refugee Admissions Program; and
(C) impose targeted sanctions against known human rights abusers in the DRC under existing authorities, such as Executive Order 13413, as amended by Executive Order 13671, and Executive Order 13818, to deter further gross violations of human rights against ethnic minorities in the DRC.
