[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 151 (Wednesday, October 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12945-S12946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONDEMNING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN SIERRA LEONE

  The Senate proceeded to consider an amendment to the resolution (S. 
Res. 298) condemning the terror, vengeance, and human rights abuses 
against the civilian population of Sierra Leone.
  The amendment (No. 3825), in the nature of a substitute, was agreed 
to, as follows:

       Whereas the ousted Armed Forces Revolutionary Council 
     (AFRC) military junta and the rebel fighters of the 
     Revolutionary United Front (RUF) have mounted a campaign of 
     terror, vengeance, and human rights abuses on the civilian 
     population of Sierra Leone;
       Whereas the AFRC and RUF violence against civilians 
     continues with more than 500 survivors of atrocities, 
     including gunshot wounds, amputations or rape;
       Whereas the International Committee of the Red Cross 
     estimates that only 1 in 4 victims of mutilation actually 
     makes it to medical help;
       Whereas the use and recruitment of children as combatants 
     in this conflict has been widespread, including forcible 
     abduction of children by AFRC and RUF rebels;
       Whereas UNICEF estimates the number of children forcibly 
     abducted since March 1998 exceeds 3,000;
       Whereas the consequences of this campaign have been the 
     flight of more than 250,000 refugees to Guinea and Liberia in 
     the last 6 months and the increase of over 250,000 displaced 
     Sierra Leoneans in camps and towns in the north and east;
       Whereas the Governments of Guinea and Liberia are having 
     great difficulty caring for the huge number of refugees, now 
     totaling 600,000 in Guinea and Liberia, and emergency appeals 
     have been issued by the United Nations High Commission for 
     Refugees for $7,300,000 for emergency food, shelter, and 
     sanitation, and medical, educational, psychological, and 
     social services;
       Whereas starvation and hunger-related deaths have begun in 
     the north where more than 500 people have died since August 
     1, 1998, a situation that will only get worse in the next 
     months;
       Whereas the humanitarian community is unable, because of 
     continuing security concerns, to deliver food and medicine to 
     the vulnerable groups within the north and east of Sierra 
     Leone;
       Whereas the Economic Community of West African States and 
     its peacekeeping arm, the Economic Community of West African 
     States Military Observer Group (ECOMOG), are doing their 
     best, but are still lacking in the logistic support needed 
     to either bring this AFRC and RUF rebel war to a 
     conclusion or force a negotiated settlement;
       Whereas arms and weapons continue to be supplied to the 
     AFRC and RUF in direct violation of a United Nations arms 
     embargo;
       Whereas the United Nations Under Secretary for Humanitarian 
     Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Amnesty 
     International, Human Rights Watch, and Refugees 
     International, following visits to Sierra Leone in May and 
     June 1998, condemned, in the strongest terms, the terrible 
     human rights violations done to civilians by the AFRC and RUF 
     rebels; and
       Whereas the Special Representative of the United Nations 
     Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict, following 
     a May 1998 visit to Sierra Leone, called upon the United 
     Nations to make Sierra Leone one of the pilot projects for 
     the rehabilitation of child combatants: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) urges the President and the Secretary of State to give 
     high priority to solving the conflict in Sierra Leone and to 
     bring stability to West Africa in general;
       (2) condemns the use by all parties of children as 
     combatants, in particular their forcible abduction by the 
     Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and the Revolutionary 
     United Front, in the conflict in Sierra Leone;
       (3) calls on rebel forces to permit the establishment of a 
     secure humanitarian corridor to strategic areas in the north 
     and east of Sierra Leone for the safe delivery of food and 
     medicines by the Government of Sierra Leone and humanitarian 
     agencies already in the country mandated to deliver this aid;
       (4) urges the President and the Secretary of State to 
     continue to strictly enforce the United Nations arms embargo 
     on the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and Revolutionary 
     United Front, including the condemnation of other nations 
     found to be not in compliance with the embargo;
       (5) urges the President and the Secretary of State to 
     continue to encourage the contribution of peacekeeping forces 
     by member governments of the Economic Community of West 
     African States to its peacekeeping arm, ECOMOG;
       (6) urges the President and the Secretary of State to 
     continue to support the appeal of the United Nations High 
     Commission for Refugees for aid to Sierra Leonean refugees in 
     Guinea, Liberia, and elsewhere, as well as other United 
     Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations working in 
     Sierra Leone to bring humanitarian relief and peace to the 
     country, including support the United Nations Observer 
     Mission in Sierra Leone;
       (7) urges the President and the Secretary of State to take 
     a more comprehensive and focused approach to its relief, 
     recovery and development assistance program in Sierra Leone 
     and to continue to support the Government of Sierra Leone in 
     its Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Program 
     (DDRP) for the country as peace becomes a reality;
       (8) urges the President and the Secretary of State to work 
     with the Government of Sierra Leone, with organizations of 
     civil society and with ECOMOG in their efforts to promote and 
     protect human rights, including respect for international 
     humanitarian law;
       (9) encourages and supports the United Nations Special 
     Representative of the Secretary General for Children and 
     Armed Conflict, Olara Otunu, to continue efforts to work in 
     Sierra Leone to establish programs designed to rehabilitate 
     child combatants; and
       (10) urges all parties to make a concerted effort toward 
     peace and reconciliation in Sierra Leone.

  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 298), as amended, was agreed to.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise on the occasion of the Senate's 
passage, by unanimous consent, of Senate Resolution 298, condemning the 
terror, vengeance, and human rights abuses against the civilian 
population of Sierra Leone. I would like to thank my colleagues, 
particularly the members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 
for their support, as well as their quick action on this important 
legislation. While the resolution speaks for itself in its condemnation 
of atrocities and insistence that all people abide by international 
standards of decency, allow me to make just a few points.
  On a number of occasions, Mr. President, I have come to the floor to 
insist that America's status as the world's first free nation, and the 
continuing leader of the free world, imposes certain responsibilities 
on us. Most important, our status imposes on us the duty to speak out 
and where possible act to prevent gross violations of basic human 
rights. Yet at this very moment there is a crisis in the Sierra Leone 
of tragic proportions, in which truly unbelievable atrocities are being 
committed against the civilian population.
  Mr. President, we should not permit this tragedy to go unnoticed and 
we should not permit the war crimes being committed there to be 
committed with impunity.

[[Page S12946]]

  I learned about the Sierra Leone crisis from concerned individuals 
and in my capacity as Chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee, which 
has oversight of refugee matters. I have spoken to Secretary of State 
Albright about the Sierra Leone crisis, both because of the situation 
of current refugees and more broadly because I believe we may have a 
unique opportunity to help stop the war in Sierra Leone so that more 
lives are not wasted or shattered and more innocent people not turned 
into refugees.
  Over 500,000 Sierra Leonean refugees currently reside, often in 
conditions of incredible poverty and deprivation, outside of their 
country. This number includes something like 350,000 in Guinea and 
182,000 in Liberia. The majority of these people have fled Sierra Leone 
over the past year, with over 250,000 fleeing in the past six months. 
All are fleeing armed conflict and civil war.

  Let me briefly rehearse the events that have produced this tragic 
situation.
  In May of 1997, the democratically elected president of Sierra Leone, 
President Tejan Kabbah, was overthrown in a military coup, leading to a 
large outflow of refugees and the evacuation of our own and other 
foreign embassies in the capital of Freetown. For nine months, the 
country was ruled by a coalition of rebel groups including the AFRC 
(Armed Forces Revolutionary Council) and the RUF (Revolutionary United 
Front). In February 1998, the West African peacekeeping force (ECOMOG, 
a regional force principally composed of Nigerians) secured control of 
Freetown and restored Kabbah to power. ECOMOG controls the area 
surrounding Freetown and is continuing offensives in the interior of 
the country to try to regain control.
  Starting in February and March, rebels (also referred to as the 
junta) began to retaliate through a campaign of terror directed at the 
population. This has led to the massive exodus of hundreds of thousands 
of civilians. The rebel leader, Foday Sankoh, was captured by ECOMOG 
and is scheduled to be tried for treason in Freetown. Last month, his 
second in command threatened to wipe out the remaining population if 
Foday Sankoh is tried. Speaking on BBC radio, he declared that, if 
Foday Sankoh is tried, the rebels will launch ``operation spare no 
soul,'' killing ``every living thing, including chickens.''
  His past conduct proves that his threats are not empty.
  Unbelievable atrocities have been committed against the Sierra 
Leoneans. Sierra Leonean refugees in Guinea and Liberia also face 
severe shortages of food and medical care. Reports of violence include 
killings, amputations of body parts with machetes, rapes (including of 
young girls), and other torture. On occasion, violence has been 
targeted at Kabbah supporters. Some amputee victims have had notes 
pinned to their chests warning Kabbah of further violence, and others 
are told to tell Kabbah to give them their hands back. In other cases 
the violence appears indiscriminate and designed to terrorize the 
population. Villages have been evacuated and destroyed on a large scale 
as Sierra Leoneans try to flee the rebels.
   Mr. President, I introduced this resolution because the violence is 
not over. Unfortunately, it may have just begun. Fighting continues in 
Sierra Leone, and the refuges need help. West African states have 
committed their soldiers to help achieve peace in Sierra Leone. But 
they need logistical and other support--support we can provide without 
placing American lives at risk. Our leadership can make a difference 
here in ending the horrors in Sierra Leone and assisting the victims of 
war. We should not look the other way.
  I thank my colleagues for their support, and I yield the floor.

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