United States Senate WASHINGTON, o¢ 20510 October 3, 2017 President Donald J, Trump ‘The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW ‘Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Trump: ‘We write with concern abou the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and ask that you use all available tools to address increasingly worrisome political, security, and humanitarian crises. Mass atrocities may already have occurred. ‘As you know, President Joseph Kabila's dccision to stay in office beyond the end of his ‘constitutional mandate in 2C16 has thrown the county into political chaos. The December 31st agreement between the Presidential Majority anda coalition of politcal opposition parties ‘brokered by the National Cenference of Congolese Bishops included a commitment to hold clectons by the end of this vear. However, President Kabila has failed to implement its key terms in good fuith—from erganizing an inlusive transitional government, to dropping charges agninst politcal prisoner, to unblocking media outlets, to supporting a eredible and independent ‘council to oversee implementation ofthe accond. The head of the national electoral commission stated publicly in July that dections by the end of the year are not feasible Just as worrying, analysis and international aid organizations on the ground believe the political ‘rsis is fueling growing vielence and unrest in various part ofthe eountry. Government forces ‘and pro-government militiaare aecused of gross human rights violations in the Kasai region ‘which, before last yea, had been relatively calm, Two United Nations sanctions investigators ‘were killed inthe region in March as they attempted to Look into allegations of human rights abuses by security frees. Some eighty mass graves have been discovered, and! more than 5,000, people have been killed since 2016 according tothe United Nations. At leat 1.4 million Congolese ar internally displaced due to violence in the Kasai's alone. Separately, unrest Tanganyika has displaced an additional $00,000, In total, thee are a staggering 3.8 million displaced people throughou the country due to insecurity, and another half milion refugees have fled to surrounding counties, We ate deeply disappointed in your recently-announced eap on refugee admissions tothe US. during Fiscal Year 2018, which has the potential to help Congolese flecing this horrific violence In addition to the recent spe in conflict in Kasai and Tanganyika, there has been an uptick of violence, bandiey, and crime in easter Congo, an area long beset by chaos and violence. The recent militia kidnappings of humanitarian workers, clergymen, and an American journalist are further eause for alarm, ‘The decision in March 2017 by the UN Security Couneil—ted by your Administration —to reduce the troop ceiling ofthe body's peacekeeping mission in DRC has left it ill-equipped to provide security in the east and respond to the recent unrest in other areas. Lives may very well be lost given how thinly stretched and poorly resourced the mi‘The repression of peaceful testers in Kinshasa and other urban centers, the proliferation of armed groups in the Kasais and elsewhere, and attacks against civilian inthe central and eastern portions ofthe country have created atinderbox that threatens to engulf the region if ‘unaddressed. In light ofthe precarious nature of the situation in DRC, we ask that you to ‘nominate an Ambassador fr DRC, an Assistant Secretary of State for African AGfirs, and an Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID for Senate confirmation right away. The lack of ‘permanent senior leadership in these posts hampers policy making in Washington. Italso hamstrings U.S. and multilateral diplomatic efforts and influence in Kinshasa and key African capitals, as well as coordination of humanitarian rliteltorts ‘Targeted sanctions imposed in 2016 by the United States and the European Union at several strategic junctions provided much-needed leverage tothe negotiations that resulted inthe December 31st accord. However as events throughout the country have demonstrated, further action is needed. [Fhe government continues to refuse to implement the spirit and letter of the agreement, the U.S, should use the means at our disposal—including sanctions designations under Executive Order 13671 on DRC, anti-money-laundering regulations, and additonal tools available under the Global Magnitsky Act—to affect the calculus of individuals who have strong influence over President Kaoila to urge him to change course. Finally, we ask you to address ongoing concerns about conflict minerals and extractive industry ‘transparency by directing th: Securities and Exchange Commission to continue implementation ‘of Section 1502, as well as develop a new and strong rule implementing Section 1504 ofthe Dodd-Frank Wall Steet Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The last large-scale conflict in DRC, financed and fueled in part by conlliet minerals, corruption and poor governance, was among the worst in Afiiea'shistory. It involved no fewer than seven counties, and resulted in millions of deaths We urge you to take immediate action to position the United States to play a leadership role in {orestalling a similar confi, and stand ready to support a response that will save lives and result in accountability, Sincerely, Benjamin L. Cardin ited States Senator United Sjaes Senator chard, Durkin Tinistopher A, Coons United States Senator United States SenatorUnited States Senator United States Senator | CC: The Honorable Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State ‘The Honorable Steven Mnuchin, Seeetary of the Treasury ‘The Honorable Nikki Haley, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations