Urges the government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough judicial review of the trial of the Ogoni 9 and to provide just compensation to the survivors of the Ogoni 9 if a miscarriage of justice is found.
Urges the government of Nigeria, international donors, and international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to increase assistance to improve the lives of the Ogoni and other affected communities and for pollution abatement and cleanup in the Niger Delta region.
Urges the government of Nigeria to ensure that the security forces receive training in international standards on the use of force and firearms.
Calls upon the Department of State to seek to ensure that American oil companies operating in the Niger Delta comply, at a minimum, with the Voluntary Principles for Security and Human Rights.
Urges the Secretary General of the United Nations to institute a ten-year follow-up mission to Ogoniland.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1072 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1072
Urging the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough judicial review
of the Ken Saro-Wiwa case.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 29, 2006
Ms. McKinney (for herself, Mr. Owens, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr.
Kucinich, Mr. McGovern, and Ms. Kaptur) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Urging the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough judicial review
of the Ken Saro-Wiwa case.
Whereas, on November 10, 1995, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Nigerian writer, environmental
activist, and nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, along with 8
colleagues, together known as the ``Ogoni 9'', were hanged by the
military government of Nigeria, based on charges widely regarded as
false;
Whereas the Ogoni 9 had been nonviolently campaigning for improved living
standards and a clean environment for the Ogoni People, whose Niger
Delta land, air, and water was, and remains, severely polluted from oil
extraction, and whose standard of living, despite the great mineral
wealth their land has yielded since the early 1960s, is among the lowest
in the world;
Whereas the international condemnation that followed the executions included the
suspension of Nigeria from the British Commonwealth of Nations;
Whereas, in 1996, a United Nations mission to Nigeria found the military
tribunal in contravention of international and domestic law, and
recommended financial relief for the survivors of the Ogoni 9 and
improvements in the socioeconomic conditions of the Ogoni and other
minorities in the Delta;
Whereas 10 years later, none of the United Nations recommendations have been
implemented, and the environmental and social situations have
deteriorated for the Ogoni and other Delta communities;
Whereas the Ogoni 9 remain convicted of a crime of which they were unfairly
tried;
Whereas Ogoniland remains severely polluted and gas flaring continues unabated;
Whereas the security and stability in the Niger Delta are threatened by a
proliferation of small arms, armed gangs, and black market oil
bunkering;
Whereas despite these pressures, Ogoniland remains an island of nonviolence, and
the Ogoni voted in high numbers in the 1999 elections;
Whereas stability in the Niger Delta is necessary to prevent an increase in
global oil costs; and
Whereas in the interest of the protection of human rights, justice, and
stability in the Delta, redress should be given to the Ogonis and their
use of nonviolent means should be recognized: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) urges the Government of Nigeria to conduct a thorough
judicial review of the trial of the Ogoni 9 and to provide just
compensation to the survivors of the Ogoni 9 if a miscarriage
of justice is found;
(2) urges the Government of Nigeria, international donors,
and international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta to
increase assistance significantly to improve the lives of the
Ogoni and other affected communities and for pollution
abatement and cleanup in the Niger Delta region, in close
consultation with local communities;
(3) urges the Government of Nigeria to ensure that all
members of the security forces receive training in
international standards on the use of force and firearms,
particularly the 1979 United Nations Code of Conduct for Law
Enforcement Officials and the 1990 United Nations Basic
Principles on the Use of Force and Fire Arms by Law Enforcement
Officials;
(4) calls upon the Secretary of State to seek urgently to
ensure that United States oil companies operating in the Niger
Delta comply, at a minimum, with the Voluntary Principles for
Security and Human Rights; and
(5) urges the Secretary General of the United Nations to
institute a 10-year followup mission to Ogoniland.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations.
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