PRINTER'S NO. 316 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE RESOLUTION No.27 Session of 2025 INTRODUCED BY SOLOMON, GIRAL, BRENNAN, KENYATTA, SANCHEZ, BURGOS, HILL-EVANS, STEELE AND GREEN, JANUARY 27, 2025 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS AND OPERATIONS, JANUARY 27, 2025 A RESOLUTION Urging the President and the Congress of the United States to reexamine United States foreign policy toward Ethiopia. WHEREAS, The 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 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 federalism has placed the civilian population of Ethiopia, 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, The President 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 20250HR0027PN0316 - 2 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the President and the Congress 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 20250HR0027PN0316 - 3 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Congress from Pennsylvania and the Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States. 20250HR0027PN0316 - 4 - 1 2