Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on Nelson Mandela International Day.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 501 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on Nelson Mandela International Day. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 17, 2019 Mr. LEWIS (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CON- NOLLY, Mr. COSTA, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illi- nois, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. THOMP- SON of California, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. WATERS, and Mrs. WATSON COLE- MAN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives on Nelson Mandela International Day. Whereas Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born to the Thembo Dynasty in Mvezo in the Umtata District of Transkei, South Africa, on July 18, 1918; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR501.IH HR501 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HRES 501 IH Whereas, as a young man, Nelson Mandela became an activ- ist through acts of boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience, and other forms of noncooperation during the fight against apartheid, a system of racial segregation in South Africa; Whereas, as a leader of the African National Congress (ANC) and the African National Congress Youth League, Nelson Mandela and 9 of his fellow ANC leaders were arrested, charged, and tried for plotting the violent overthrow of the Government of South Africa; Whereas, on June 12, 1964, 8 of the accused, including Nel- son Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment; Whereas, from 1964 to 1982, Nelson Mandela was incarcer- ated at Robben Island Prison, off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, before being moved to the max- imum-security Pollsmoor Prison in the Cape Town sub- urb of Tokai; Whereas, during the years of his imprisonment, Nelson Mandela became widely accepted as the most significant Black leader in South Africa and a symbol of resistance against apartheid, discrimination, and injustice; Whereas a global movement to release Nelson Mandela and end the South African system of apartheid included inter- national economic sanctions like Public Law No. 99–440, the Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, and the condemnation of apartheid by countless leaders, artists, intellectuals, and activists; Whereas at 4:14 p.m. on February 11, 1990, Mandela was released from the Victor Verster prison in Paarl after being a political prisoner for 27 years, 6 months, and 1 week; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR501.IH HR501 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HRES 501 IH Whereas the release of Nelson Mandela was a defining mo- ment in the global effort to end apartheid; Whereas, in 1993, Nelson Mandela and South African Presi- dent F.W. de Klerk accepted the Nobel Peace Prize and pledged to continue working towards a democratic, non- racial South Africa; Whereas a series of negotiations between the Government of South Africa and the ANC resulted in the abolishment of apartheid and an election in which almost 20,000,000 South Africans of all ethnicities cast their vote under a national policy of universal suffrage; Whereas Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as President of the Republic of South Africa on May 10, 1994, and pledged to lead a ‘‘united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist government’’ for all people of South Africa; Whereas, during President Mandela’s tenure, there were dis- tinct advancements in racial relations as South Africa transitioned from apartheid and minority rule to a coun- try that aspired to achieve reconciliation, equality, and peace; Whereas, through President Mandela’s leadership, the spirit of ‘‘ubuntu’’, the African philosophy of the interconnect- edness, caring, sharing, and harmony of humanity, has spread throughout the world; Whereas, in 1999, President Mandela retired to private life in his town of birth, Qunu, Transkei; Whereas upon leaving elected office, President Mandela con- tinued to fight for peace, reconciliation, and social justice causes including championing HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment; VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR501.IH HR501 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HRES 501 IH Whereas Nelson Mandela established a number of organiza- tions, which include the Nelson Mandela Foundation and The Elders, an independent group of public figures com- mitted to addressing global problems and easing human suffering; Whereas, on September 21, 2013, the South African Em- bassy, led by Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool, unveiled a Washington, DC, statue of President Mandela that was designed by sculptor Jean Doyle and modeled after im- ages of the anti-apartheid leader leaving prison in 1990 after 27 years of incarceration; Whereas, on December 5, 2013, President Mandela died at age 95 surrounded by family and loved ones in his home; Whereas the United Nations delegates from the countries of Spain and Turkey jointly introduced a resolution to des- ignate July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day; Whereas the United States was a proud sponsor of the reso- lution; Whereas when speaking in support of the United Nations res- olution, Ms. Laura Ross, United States delegate to the United Nations stated that ‘‘Mandela used his moral power for a moral purpose. He turned enemies into part- ners, fear into trust, hatred into forgiveness, and dis- crimination into democracy.’’; and Whereas the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted A/Res/64/13 to designate July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day, beginning in 2010: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR501.IH HR501 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HRES 501 IH (1) applauds the United Nations General As- 1 sembly for uniting to honor President Mandela’s 2 selfless contribution to international peace and free- 3 dom; 4 (2) recognizes the global impact of President 5 Mandela’s legacy and commitment to nonviolence, 6 respect, and dialogue; 7 (3) expresses support for the international com- 8 munity’s recognition of United Nations Nelson 9 Mandela International Day; and 10 (4) urges all citizens of the United States to re- 11 flect on the importance of peace, tolerance, democ- 12 racy, human rights, and reconciliation in honor of 13 Nelson Mandela International Day. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:13 Jul 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR501.IH HR501 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS