WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, the author of the 2007 Child Soldiers Protection Act that was signed into law in 2008, today introduced an amendment to the Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act to strengthen U.S. child soldiers policy. The amendment, which was passed unanimously by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, requires the President to report to Congress 15 days before issuing another waiver what credible and verifiable steps are being undertaken in countries cited for child soldiers violations to implement a plan of action to end the recruitment of, and demobilize, child soldiers, and also prohibits the use of peacekeeping operations funds for those countries.

“In 2008, Congress did something very courageous: we passed a law saying it was the policy of our nation that children — all children, no matter where they are from -- belong on playgrounds, not battlegrounds,” said Fortenberry. “This is the law of the land. We are obligated to stop underwriting this form of human trafficking, child conscription.

“The problem now is waivers continue to be given to countries found guilty of this human rights abuse. Waivers must be rare and temporary, and meaningfully intended to stop this pernicious practice. Strengthening our child soldiers policy is essential to combating this practice, and I am pleased that the House Foreign Affairs Committee took action today to help stop the United States’ complicity in the militarization of children.”

Yesterday, the Obama Administration announced it would again this year continue assistance to the following major international violators of the child soldiers prohibition: Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia (peacekeeping operations funds), Sudan (via the new country of South Sudan), and Yemen. The DRC will see its assistance reduced by an estimated $300,000. Fortenberry is the Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, the author of the 2007 Child Soldiers Protection Act that was signed into law in 2008, today introduced an amendment to the Human Trafficking Victims Protection Act to strengthen U.S. child soldiers policy. The amendment, which was passed unanimously by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, requires the President to report to Congress 15 days before issuing another waiver what credible and verifiable steps are being undertaken in countries cited for child soldiers violations to implement a plan of action to end the recruitment of, and demobilize, child soldiers, and also prohibits the use of peacekeeping operations funds for those countries.

“In 2008, Congress did something very courageous: we passed a law saying it was the policy of our nation that children — all children, no matter where they are from -- belong on playgrounds, not battlegrounds,” said Fortenberry. “This is the law of the land. We are obligated to stop underwriting this form of human trafficking, child conscription.

“The problem now is waivers continue to be given to countries found guilty of this human rights abuse. Waivers must be rare and temporary, and meaningfully intended to stop this pernicious practice. Strengthening our child soldiers policy is essential to combating this practice, and I am pleased that the House Foreign Affairs Committee took action today to help stop the United States’ complicity in the militarization of children.”

Yesterday, the Obama Administration announced it would again this year continue assistance to the following major international violators of the child soldiers prohibition: Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia (peacekeeping operations funds), Sudan (via the new country of South Sudan), and Yemen. The DRC will see its assistance reduced by an estimated $300,000. Fortenberry is the Vice Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights.

Washington, D.C. — Today, H.R. 2059, which would end taxpayer funding of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was voted out of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, moving the pro-life legislation one step closer to a full vote on the House floor. Co-sponsored by Representative Mike Kelly (PA-03), H.R. 2059 would prohibit funding for UNFPA based on its longstanding support of and participation in China’s one-child policy, which involves forced sterilization and coercive abortion to meet the nation’s strict population control mandate, and has resulted in a decrease in China’s population by as many as 400 million people.

For years, the United States refused to fund the UNFPA. However, in March 2009, President Obama reinstated funding, and has since contributed $145 million in taxpayer funds to the controversial program. If enacted, H.R. 2059 would save $400 million over 10 years by eliminating all U.S. contributions to UNFPA.

Rep. Kelly issued the following statement:

“The United States once took a principled stance against the UNFPA and its support of China’s inhumane practice of forced sterilization and coercive abortion. The fact that the Obama administration reversed this longstanding position shows a dangerous shift in our foreign policy. At its core, the UNFPA threatens the very rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that our great nation believes are afforded to all men and women.

“This program is an affront to our American values, and a threat to human rights everywhere. It’s an outrage that taxpayer dollars have funded this program to the tune of $145 million in recent years, and I’ll continue my efforts to make sure that this indefensible chapter in our foreign aid history comes to an immediate close.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- During today’s House Foreign Affairs Committee markup reauthorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), an active participant in the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, successfully offered a bipartisan amendment calling for the Kingdom of Cambodia to be designated as a Tier 3 country for its egregious human trafficking record.

"The government of Cambodia insufficiently addressed their human trafficking problem and rampant corruption has exacerbated this form of modern day slavery," Royce said.

According to the State Department’s 2011 Trafficking in Persons report, Cambodia has made no improvements to identify or protect trafficking victims. News sources describe Cambodia as a "magnet" for those who sexually prey on the young. Additionally, Human Rights Watch describes Cambodia as being "plagued not only by widespread abuses committed by officials, but impunity for perpetrators."

Countries placed in Tier 3, the worst category, "do not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so." Tier 3 countries are subject to a U.S. aid cutoff. Cambodia is currently designated as a Tier 2 country.

"The 2011 report cities that Cambodian ‘entertainment establishments’ may exploit up to 200 women and children on a single night. Cambodian police have been unwilling to pursue certain trafficking investigations because they were thought to involve high-ranking officials," Royce said.

"By cataloging these vile practices, the State Department’s report allows us to spotlight human trafficking. But when we don't follow the facts to a Tier 3 designation for countries like Cambodia, we do a disservice to the victims of these gross human rights abuses," Royce said.

Rep. Royce is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and is a member of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.

Slavery, Human Trafficking, Humanitarian Crisis Topics at Hearing on U.S. Policy in Sudan

Emancipated slave, U.S. Special Envoy among witnesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. policy dealing with the violence, new humanitarian crises and ongoing slavery in Sudan were the focus of a congressional hearing Tuesday held by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees international human rights and African issues.

Smith’s Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights heard testimony from the top official on U.S. government Sudan policy, Sudan experts and an emancipated slave. The hearing, entitled “A Comprehensive Assessment of U.S. Policy Toward Sudan,” examined America’s strategies for addressing the recurring crises in the Darfur, Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile areas of Sudan.

“From a time I can’t remember until very recently, I slept with cattle and goats,” said Ker Deng, now 18 but a slave since he was a toddler when he and his mother were captured during a raid on their village. “I ate the grain that was fed to horses. I was treated worse than the animals I slept with. Like them, I was property. I was a slave held in Northern Sudan. But the animals weren’t beaten every day. I was.” Click here to read Deng's testimony

His mother remains a forced concubine by her captor. Blinded by his captor, Deng is in the U.S. to receive treatment to restore his eyesight and to testify to his own story as a slave, which remains the plight of thousands of other captives in Sudan.

“Slavery remains a pervasive and deeply disturbing reality in Sudan, and we cannot in good conscience allow this to continue,” Smith said. “We have had active campaigns to end Sudanese slavery, to end genocide in Darfur, to end the north-South civil war and now to end the attacks on Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Unfortunately, these campaigns have been conducted in isolation from one another. If we are to have a successful policy to stop the suffering of Sudan’s people, our government must devise a comprehensive policy for addressing all of Sudan’s challenges.” Click here to read Chairman Smith's opening remarks

Smith, a longtime advocate in fighting human trafficking and author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the reauthorization of which will be considered by the Foreign Affairs Committee tomorrow, said the State Department’s 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report mandated by the TVPA lists Sudan as a Tier 3 country. That is, Sudan is listed as a continuing source, transit and destination country for men, women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.

Witnesses are (click on name to read testimony):

Ambassador Princeton Lyman, Special Envoy to Sudan
Gerard Prunier, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Michael Ansari Africa Center, Atlantic Council
John Prendergast, Co-Founder, ENOUGH Campaign
Ker Aleu Deng emancipated slave, Republic of South Sudan

At a press conference earlier in the day, Smith was joined by Ellen Ratnor, a White House correspondent and nationally known radio & TV journalist for Talk Radio News Service and Fox News Channel and Sudan human rights advocate, as well as Deng and Dr. Julia A. Haller, M.D. Haller, an ophthalmologist at Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia, is the lead doctor and lead surgeon on the medical team caring for Deng. Deng has undergone multiple surgeries to try to restore his sight, resulting in significant improvement. Future progress is anticipated.