PRINTER'S NO. 2283
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
262
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY SOLOMON, MADDEN, SANCHEZ AND BRIGGS,
NOVEMBER 13, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, NOVEMBER 13, 2023
A RESOLUTION
Urging the President and the Congress of the United States to
reexamine United States foreign policy toward Ethiopia.
WHEREAS, The noble people of Ethiopia have developed and
nourished a proud and distinguished culture that has endured for
three millennia; and
WHEREAS, Ethiopia has had a long and productive friendship
with the United States; and
WHEREAS, Ethiopia is of great strategic and economic
importance to the United States and to the world; and
WHEREAS, The seeds of democratic change in Ethiopia should be
allowed to blossom and not be snuffed out; and
WHEREAS, Ethiopia is poised at a crucial juncture in its
history; and
WHEREAS, Ethiopia is making a regression toward nondemocratic
brutal rule under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed;
and
WHEREAS, The ascendance of policy of promoting ethnic
federalism has placed the civilian population of Ethiopia,
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particularly women and children, in great danger; and
WHEREAS, Governmental practices have caused great division
and have led to the death of hundreds and the arbitrary arrest
of thousands more, including religious leaders and journalists;
and
WHEREAS, The people of Ethiopia are aspiring to resolve their
complicated problems through the formation and utilization of
democratic institutions and maximum citizen input; and
WHEREAS, The basic underpinning of democratic institutions in
the new Ethiopia should be the supremacy of the will of the
people and the guarantee of the rule of the people; and
WHEREAS, The Ethiopian government should adhere to the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which encourages
freedom of speech, assembly, religion and press, guarantees all
basic rights and discourages ethnocentric policies and ethnic
reservations; and
WHEREAS, It is crucial that the diverse voices, opinions and
philosophies of the people be expressed in promoting political,
economic and social progress and justices in Ethiopia; and
WHEREAS, A multiparty government may be the most egalitarian,
feasible and productive political arrangement in providing
suffrage and in overcoming monumental obstacles; and
WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and the Congress of
the United States will play a crucial role in promoting the
peaceful resolution of the immense problems of Ethiopia; and
WHEREAS, The implementation of a democratic, multiparty
government in Ethiopia should be a long-term foreign policy goal
of the Federal Government; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President and the Congress
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of the United States to reexamine United States foreign policy
toward Ethiopia; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continue to encourage the formation
of democratic institutions, multiparty participation,
progressive social change and respect for fundamental human
rights in Ethiopia, including freedom of religion, association
and expression; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania encourage the President and the
Congress of the United States to use every possible means at
their command to examine, recognize and evaluate the political
conditions that exist in Ethiopia and reexamine its foreign
policy to ensure the end of the shocking brutality of ethnic
warfare in Ethiopia; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania encourage the President and the
Congress of the United States to use every possible means at
their command to examine, recognize and evaluate the religious
interference, civilian attacks with drones and heavy weaponry,
ethnically based arbitrary arrests and associated human rights
violations and the conditions that exist in Ethiopia and
reexamine its foreign policy to preserve human dignity,
religious freedom and end the persecution of ethnic minorities;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States, the Vice President of the
United States, the Secretary of State of the United States, the
presiding officers of each house of Congress, each member of
Congress from Pennsylvania and the Ethiopian Ambassador to the
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United States.
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