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
1 Urging the President and the Congress of the United States to
2 reexamine United States foreign policy toward Ethiopia.
3 WHEREAS, The noble people of Ethiopia have developed and
4 nourished a proud and distinguished culture that has endured for
5 three millennia; and
6 WHEREAS, Ethiopia has had a long and productive friendship
7 with the United States; and
8 WHEREAS, Ethiopia is of great strategic and economic
9 importance to the United States and to the world; and
10 WHEREAS, The seeds of democratic change in Ethiopia should be
11 allowed to blossom and not be snuffed out; and
12 WHEREAS, Ethiopia is poised at a crucial juncture in its
13 history; and
14 WHEREAS, Ethiopia is making a regression toward nondemocratic
15 brutal rule under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed;
16 and
17 WHEREAS, The ascendance of policy of promoting ethnic
18 federalism has placed the civilian population of Ethiopia,
1 particularly women and children, in great danger; and
2 WHEREAS, Governmental practices have caused great division
3 and have led to the death of hundreds and the arbitrary arrest
4 of thousands more, including religious leaders and journalists;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, The people of Ethiopia are aspiring to resolve their
7 complicated problems through the formation and utilization of
8 democratic institutions and maximum citizen input; and
9 WHEREAS, The basic underpinning of democratic institutions in
10 the new Ethiopia should be the supremacy of the will of the
11 people and the guarantee of the rule of the people; and
12 WHEREAS, The Ethiopian government should adhere to the United
13 Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which encourages
14 freedom of speech, assembly, religion and press, guarantees all
15 basic rights and discourages ethnocentric policies and ethnic
16 reservations; and
17 WHEREAS, It is crucial that the diverse voices, opinions and
18 philosophies of the people be expressed in promoting political,
19 economic and social progress and justices in Ethiopia; and
20 WHEREAS, A multiparty government may be the most egalitarian,
21 feasible and productive political arrangement in providing
22 suffrage and in overcoming monumental obstacles; and
23 WHEREAS, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and the Congress of
24 the United States will play a crucial role in promoting the
25 peaceful resolution of the immense problems of Ethiopia; and
26 WHEREAS, The implementation of a democratic, multiparty
27 government in Ethiopia should be a long-term foreign policy goal
28 of the Federal Government; therefore be it
29 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
30 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President and the Congress
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1 of the United States to reexamine United States foreign policy
2 toward Ethiopia; and be it further
3 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
4 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continue to encourage the formation
5 of democratic institutions, multiparty participation,
6 progressive social change and respect for fundamental human
7 rights in Ethiopia, including freedom of religion, association
8 and expression; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
10 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania encourage the President and the
11 Congress of the United States to use every possible means at
12 their command to examine, recognize and evaluate the political
13 conditions that exist in Ethiopia and reexamine its foreign
14 policy to ensure the end of the shocking brutality of ethnic
15 warfare in Ethiopia; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
17 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania encourage the President and the
18 Congress of the United States to use every possible means at
19 their command to examine, recognize and evaluate the religious
20 interference, civilian attacks with drones and heavy weaponry,
21 ethnically based arbitrary arrests and associated human rights
22 violations and the conditions that exist in Ethiopia and
23 reexamine its foreign policy to preserve human dignity,
24 religious freedom and end the persecution of ethnic minorities;
25 and be it further
26 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
27 the President of the United States, the Vice President of the
28 United States, the Secretary of State of the United States, the
29 presiding officers of each house of Congress, each member of
30 Congress from Pennsylvania and the Ethiopian Ambassador to the
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1 United States.
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