,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #aca  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,march #ba1 #bjac   
,ms4 ,bass 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,smith of 
,new ,jersey1 ,mr4 ,meeks1 ,mr4 ,sires1 
,mr4 ,connolly1 ,mr4 ,deutch1 ,mr4      
,keating1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,mr4 ,vargas1
 ,mr4 ,lowenthal1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 
,mc,dermott1 ,mr4 ,rangel1 ,mr4 ,smith  
of ,washington1 ,mr4 ,johnson of        
,georgia1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,mr4
 ,lewis1 ,mr4 ,moran1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4
 ,payne1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,mrs4
 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new ,york1   
,mr4 ,honda1 ,ms4 ,edwards1 ,mrs4       
,beatty1 ,mr4 ,capuano1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1  
,mrs4 ,christensen1 ,mr4 ,danny ,k4     
,davis of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,eddie        
,bernice ,johnson of ,texas1 ,ms4       
,wilson of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,david ,scott 
of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,hastings of ,florida1
 ,mr4 ,clyburn1 ,mr4 ,veasey1 ,mr4      
,thompson of ,mississippi1 ,mr4 ,watt1  
,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,ms4 ,speier1 ,ms4    
,jackson ,lee1 ,ms4 ,hahn1 ,ms4 ,fudge1 

,ms4 ,moore1 ,mr4 ,ellison1 ,ms4        
,clarke1 ,mr4 ,larsen of ,washington1   
,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1 ,ms4 ,waters1 
and ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia7 submitted 
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,affairs  ,,resolution  ,concerning the 
ongoing conflict in the ,democratic     
,republic of the ,congo and the need for
 international efforts toward long-term 
peace1 stability1 and observance of     
human rights4  ,whereas since the       
#aiijs1 an estimated #e1jjj1jjj people  
have died and more than #b1jjj1jjj      
people have been displaced due to       
repeated cycles of conflict and         
atrocities1 particularly those in ,north
 and ,south ,kivu provinces2 ,whereas   
the ,united ,nations and humanitarian   
groups have reported staggering rates of
 sexual violence indicating tens of     
thousands of cases perpetrated by the   
,congolese army and armed groups1       
including the ,m#bc and the ,democratic 
,forces for the ,liberation of ,rwanda1 

which continue to operate with nearly   
total impunity2 ,whereas human rights   
defenders in the ,democratic ,republic  
of the ,congo have been subject to      
intimidation and attack2 ,whereas the   
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo's   
wealth of natural resources1 including  
minerals and high-value wildlife        
products such as elephant ivory1 have   
been a key driver of insurrection and   
violence1 and the discovery and         
exploitation of oil could motivate      
further conflict2 ,whereas the deeply   
flawed ,november #bjaa elections in the 
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo laid
 bare significant political1 economic1  
and social challenges2 ,whereas the     
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo is  
home to one of the world's longest      
enduring and most expensive             
international peacekeeping operations2  
,whereas the ,november #bj1 #bjab1      
seizure of the city of ,goma by the     
,m#bc rebel group1 despite bilateral and
 multilateral efforts to address        

longstanding humanitarian crises1 forge 
lasting peace1 and pursue security      
sector reform and accountability1       
demonstrates that the underlying causes 
of the recurring conflicts in the       
eastern provinces of the ,democratic    
,republic of the ,congo remain          
unresolved2 ,whereas on ,november #ae1  
#bjab1 the ,united ,nations ,group of   
,experts provided compelling evidence1  
in report findings corroborated by the  
,united ,states ,assistant ,secretary of
 ,state for ,african ,affairs in        
testimony before the ,united ,states    
,house of ,representatives on ,december 
#aa1 #bjab1 and ,december #ai1 #bjab1   
that the ,m#bc crisis is fueled and     
exacerbated by the ,government of       
,rwanda1 including through ,rwandan     
,government provision of significant    
military and logistical assistance1 and 
of operational and political guidance   
and support1 to the ,m#bc2 and ,whereas 
the ,united ,nations and ,united ,states
 have imposed sanctions on the ,m#bc and

 its leaders for human rights atrocities
 including rape1 massacres1 and the     
recruitment and physical and            
psychological torture of child soldiers3
 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the      
,house of ,representatives--  7#a7      
asserts that the region's leaders and   
the international community should break
 the cycle of violence and impunity in  
the ,democratic ,republic of the ,congo 
and surrounding region and urgently     
address the root causes of the ,m#bc    
conflict and previous crises2  7#b7     
calls on the signatories of the         
,february #bd1 #bjac1 ,peace1 ,security 
and ,cooperation ,framework for the     
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo and 
the ,region to abide by the provisions  
outlined in the framework agreement in  
addition to ensuring that those troops  
being re-integrated into the ,congolese 
army are not those accused of human     
rights violations2  7#c7 calls on       
governments of the ,great ,lakes region 
of ,africa to respect the national      

security and territorial integrity of   
the ,democratic ,republic of the ,congo1
 and to immediately halt and prevent any
 and all forms of support to the ,m#bc  
and other non-state armed groups1       
including any support provided by       
individuals independently of government 
policy2  7#d7 recognizes the recent     
efforts by the ,government of the       
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo to  
end the recruitment of children into the
 armed forces and demands the immediate 
cessation of the recruitment and        
exploitation of children by militias1   
and further calls on all armed groups to
 free children and other civilians held 
against their will2  7#e7 calls on the  
,obama ,administration1 in close        
coordination with international and     
regional partners1 to mobilize a        
comprehensive response to prevent       
further deterioration of regional peace 
and stability and to ensure that        
life-saving humanitarian assistance be  
unhindered and provided to populations  

in need1 particularly displaced persons 
and conflict-affected communities2  7#f7
 acknowledges the good work of the      
,united ,states ,special ,advisor on the
 ,great ,lakes and the ,democratic      
,republic of the ,congo1 and finds that 
the challenges of helping to resolve the
 cycle of violence and impunity in the  
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo     
requires higher-level ,united ,states   
diplomatic and political engagement2    
7#g7 requests that ,secretary of ,state 
,john ,kerry demonstrate the high-level 
concern that the ,united ,states        
attaches to ensuring stability and      
security in the ,democratic ,republic of
 the ,congo by appointing a ,special    
,envoy who will help lead the ,united   
,states and international efforts to end
 the ,m#bc conflict and secure permanent
 peace1 stability1 and safety for the   
people of the ,democratic ,republic of  
the ,congo2  7#h7 calls on all nations  
to increase cooperation in order to     
cease the trade of illegal goods1       

including poached ivory and conflict    
minerals1 that continues to fuel        
violence in the ,democratic ,republic of
 the ,congo2  7#i7 calls on the ,obama  
,administration1 including the          
,atrocities ,prevention ,board1 in close
 coordination with international and    
regional partners1 to develop and make  
actionable recommendations to address1  
prevent1 and ensure accountability for  
serious violations of international     
humanitarian law and human rights abuses
 by all actors in the ,democratic       
,republic of the ,congo1 including by   
fully implementing sanctions outlined in
 section #abhd of the ,national ,defense
 ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year  
#bjac1 notwithstanding transactions that
 are customary1 necessary1 and          
incidental to the provision of critical1
 life-saving aid to civilian            
populations1 and the policy goals set   
out under the ,democratic ,republic of  
the ,congo ,relief1 ,security1 and      
,democracy ,promotion ,act of #bjjf1    

introduced by then-,senator ,barack     
,obama2  7#aj7 urges the ,government of 
the ,democratic ,republic of the ,congo1
 with close support from the            
international community1 to investigate 
and prosecute those who have committed  
war crimes1 crimes against humanity1 and
 violations of international            
humanitarian law and human rights1      
including those against women and       
children2  7#aa7 calls on the           
,government of the ,democratic ,republic
 of the ,congo to meaningfully engage in
 electoral reforms1 in addition to      
security sector reforms to prevent      
militia combatants1 particularly ,m#bc  
members1 accused of abuses from         
integrating into the military1 and to   
host inclusive inter-,congolese         
dialogues to address critical internal  
political issues and strengthen         
processes of state institution building 
in the ,democratic ,republic of the     
,congo2  7#ab7 urges the ,obama         
,administration to address alleged      

support for militias operating in the   
,democratic ,republic of the ,congo from
 foreign governments or entities2  7#ac7
 acknowledges the ,united ,nations'     
appointment of the ,special ,envoy for  
the ,great ,lakes region of ,africa2 and
  7#ad7 urges the ,united ,nations      
,security ,council to lead efforts to   
reinforce and strengthen the ,united    
,nations ,organization ,stabilization   
,mission in the ,democratic ,republic of
 the ,congo 7,,monusco7 and its capacity
 to protect civilians1 including        
preventing any future ,m#bc advances on 
,goma1 as evidenced by the temporary    
seizure of ,goma and other areas1 and to
 support measures to strengthen the     
ability of ,,monusco to help ensure     
peace and security in the future4