[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 33 (Monday, March 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S2448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               U.N. CONVENTION TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to urge the Senate 
to exercise its role to advise and consent on international treaties 
and take up consideration of the United Nations Convention to Combat 
Desertification, which the President submitted to this body in 1996.
  The purpose of the Convention is to combat desertification and 
mitigate the effects of drought on arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid 
land. The Convention addresses the fundamental causes of famine and 
food insecurity in Africa by encouraging partnerships between 
governments, local communities, nongovernmental organizations and aid 
donors.
  As Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on African Affairs, I feel it 
is especially important that the Senate exercise its advice and consent 
on this Convention. It is a mechanism by which the people of Africa 
will be assisted in preserving and protecting their land, which is a 
vital link in Africa's fight to become self-sufficient. As Americans, 
we understand the importance of land and what land can bring us: food, 
a place to live, and, perhaps most importantly, a place to call home. 
Whatever their political differences, the people of Africa can agree 
that protecting the land from drought and erosion is a priority.
  The consideration of this Convention will also refocus the Senate's 
attention on the plight of the African people. Unlike the other 
environmental conventions on which the Senate has focused attention in 
recent years, the Convention on Climate Change and Biological 
Diversity, the Convention on Desertification does not establish a new 
financial ``mechanism'' to administer funds for convention-related 
projects and activities. Instead, it emphasizes the need to mobilize 
substantial funding from existing sources and to rationalize and 
strengthen their management.
  In light of the President's visit to Africa, which began today, it is 
especially important that the Senate be actively engaged regarding 
Africa. This Convention is a perfect opportunity for the Senate to go 
on record in support of programs that are both vital to the African 
continent and consistent with United States foreign, economic, and 
environmental policy.
  I hope that the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and the full 
Senate, will consider this Convention in the near future.

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