HRES 889 IH
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 889
Condemning the December 11, 2007, terrorist bombings on the people of Algeria and United Nations personnel, and expressing sympathy to the victims of these terrorist attacks.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 18, 2007
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. POE, and Mr. COHEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Condemning the December 11, 2007, terrorist bombings on the people of Algeria and United Nations personnel, and expressing sympathy to the victims of these terrorist attacks.
Whereas on December 11, 2007, two suicide bombers launched terrorist attacks against the people of Algeria and the United Nations, killing and injuring, in twin-car bombs, dozens of people in Algiers, Algeria, at the supreme court, and the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and of the United Nations Development Program;
Whereas reports indicate that the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the 2 attacks in Algiers;
Whereas the toll of victims from these terrorist attacks stands at more than 37 dead, over 200 wounded (including school children and college students), and others are missing;
Whereas at least 17 United Nations personnel were killed in the attacks;
Whereas these latest attacks follow multiple suicide attacks in Algeria and Morocco in April 2007, which claimed 33 lives in Algiers, killed a Moroccan police officer, and caused numerous injuries to others;
Whereas Algeria and Morocco are Mediterranean Partners of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe which has among its highest priorities a commitment to combating terrorism;
Whereas Algeria and Morocco have been unwavering in their determination to defeat terrorism, a goal shared by the United States;
Whereas this is not the first time that United Nations personnel have been the deliberate target of terrorists;
Whereas the attacks of December 11, 2007, came 4 years after a truck bomb attack destroyed the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003, taking the lives of 22 United Nations staff and wounding more than 150;
Whereas Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, was among the victims in the 2003 attack;
Whereas the December 11, 2007, terrorist bombings destroyed the offices of the United Nations Development Program and severely damaged the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Algiers;
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said, `The UN is an entity that works for world peace, an entity that tries to be an honest broker, especially when dealing with the humanitarian needs of refugees and other victims of violence and persecution.';
Whereas the United Nations is on the front lines of the war-torn and devastated areas in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South Americas, helping to bring stability to volatile and conflict-ridden regions and promoting humanitarian ideals; and
Whereas, even in the face of this most recent targeted attack, the United Nations will hold firm to its mandate of promoting peace, stability, and human rights: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns the December 11, 2007, terrorist attacks in Algiers, Algeria, and other such attacks against innocents and those who would assist the most vulnerable;
(2) expresses its heartfelt sympathy for the victims of these terrorist attacks and their families;
(3) calls on the President to make available all appropriate assistance requested by the Algerian authorities for those affected by this tragedy;
(4) reaffirms its support for the people of Algeria as they recover from these cowardly and inhumane attacks, and for their continued struggle against extremism and violence;
(5) expresses its readiness to support and assist the Algerian authorities in their efforts to bring to justice those individuals responsible for the December 11, 2007, attacks in Algiers, Algeria, and to detect, pursue, disrupt, and dismantle the networks that plan and carry out such attacks; and
(6) supports the United Nations in its efforts to promote peace and to help people who are most in need around the world.
U.S. Congress - Text of H.Res.889 as Introduced in House Condemning the December 11, 2007, terrorist bombings on the people of Algeria and Unite...
