H.Res. 1025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1025 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1025

Condemning all acts of violence, oppression, and abuse against ethnic 
minorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 30, 2026

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.

Whereas the Democratic Republic of the Congo (referred to in this Resolution as 
the ``DRC'') has been beset for decades by various challenges, including 
natural disasters, political unrest, abuses against civilians from many 
communities, and targeted ethnic-based violence;
Whereas ethnic minorities in the DRC have been the targets of an escalation of 
hate speech and incitement to violence nationwide, including in anti-
minority rhetoric employed by some politicians and security force 
officials;
Whereas hate speech against certain ethnic minorities in the eastern DRC has 
included rhetoric from politicians and other public figures 
characterizing entire ethnic groups as ``foreigners'' or ``invaders'' 
despite many families having resided in the region for generations, 
thereby creating a climate that facilitates atrocities;
Whereas the United States, the United Nations, credible human rights 
organizations, the UN Group of Experts, and civil society have 
documented and published reports or findings that implicate the armed 
forces of the DRC (referred to in this Resolution as ``FARDC'') in 
aiding and collaborating with armed groups and militias, including the 
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has been 
designated for United Nations sanctions due to human rights violations;
Whereas the return and expansion of M23, which maintains that it represents 
minority communities facing persecution and operates in response to 
FDLR, has coincided with large-scale displacement, and whereas credible 
reports document that minority communities have faced targeted violence 
and discrimination that M23 cites as justification for its existence;
Whereas the United States strongly urges Rwanda to fully withdraw Rwandan 
Defense Force troops from the DRC and cease all financial and military 
support for M23, in accordance with its commitment in the June 2025 
peace agreement to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of 
the DRC;
Whereas in January and February 2025, M23 forces seized the city of Goma and 
large areas of North and South Kivu, committing extrajudicial killings, 
sexual violence, and abductions, and forcibly closing displaced persons 
camps in February 2025, leaving thousands of civilians exposed to dire 
living conditions, as documented by credible human rights organizations 
including Human Rights Watch;
Whereas violence against ethnic minority communities perpetrated by the FARDC 
and government-backed militias including Rwanda-backed M23 and other DRC 
armed groups may constitute ethnic cleansing or meet one or more of the 
criteria under Article II of the United Nations Convention on the 
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which the United 
States and the DRC are parties, particularly in cases where attacks have 
reportedly been accompanied by genocidal rhetoric;
Whereas militias engage in illicit mining activities to finance and sustain 
themselves, often exploiting child labor and engaging in environmental 
degradation practices that undermine the DRC's economic interests and 
international treaty obligations;
Whereas in April 2019, the United States and the DRC established the United 
States-DRC Privileged Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, to which the 
2 countries added the Preservation of the Environment in February 2021, 
which aims to advance democracy, combat corruption and impunity, promote 
human rights, improve security, and encourage sustainable development 
and United States investment in the DRC; and
Whereas the Department of State Integrated Country Strategy for the DRC states 
that ``the success of the DRC's democracy hinges on stability in the 
coun-try's eastern provinces'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(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.
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