[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 88 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H5762-H5764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING CONDEMNATION OF USE OF CHILDREN AS SOLDIERS AND EXPRESSING
BELIEF THAT THE UNITED STATES SHOULD SUPPORT AND, WHERE POSSIBLE, LEAD
EFFORTS TO END THIS ABUSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 348) expressing condemnation of the
use of children as soldiers and expressing the belief that the United
States should support and, where possible, lead efforts to end this
abuse of human rights, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 348
Whereas in the year 2000 approximately 300,000 individuals
under the age of 18 are participating in armed conflict in
more than 30 countries worldwide;
Whereas many of these children are forcibly conscripted
through kidnaping or coercion, while others join military
units due to economic necessity, to avenge the loss of a
family member, or for their own personal safety;
Whereas many military commanders frequently force child
soldiers to commit gruesome acts of ritual killings or
torture against their enemies, including against other
children;
Whereas many military commanders separate children from
their families in order to foster dependence on military
units and leaders, leaving children vulnerable to
manipulation, deep traumatization, and in need of
psychological counseling and rehabilitation;
Whereas child soldiers are exposed to hazardous conditions
and risk physical injuries, sexually transmitted diseases,
malnutrition, deformed backs and shoulders from carrying
overweight loads, and respiratory and skin infections;
Whereas many young female soldiers face the additional
psychological and physical horrors of rape and sexual abuse,
being enslaved for sexual purposes by militia commanders, and
forced to endure severe social stigma should they return
home;
Whereas children in northern Uganda continue to be kidnaped
by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) which is supported and
funded by the Government of Sudan and which has committed and
continues to commit gross human rights violations in Uganda;
Whereas children in Sri Lanka have been forcibly recruited
by the opposition Tamil Tigers movement and forced to kill or
be killed in the armed conflict in that country;
Whereas an estimated 7,000 child soldiers have been
involved in the conflict in Sierra Leone, some as young as
age 10, with many being forced to commit extrajudicial
executions, torture, rape, and amputations for the rebel
Revolutionary United Front;
Whereas on January 21, 2000, in Geneva, a United Nations
Working Group, including representatives from more than
eighty governments including the United States, reached
consensus on an optional protocol on the use of child
soldiers;
Whereas this optional protocol will raise the international
minimum age for conscription to age eighteen and will require
governments to take all feasible measures to ensure that
members of their armed forces under the age of eighteen do
not participate directly in combat, prohibit the recruitment
and use in armed conflict of persons under the age of
eighteen by nongovernmental armed forces, encourage
governments to raise the minimum legal age for voluntary
recruits above the current standard of 15 and, commits
governments to support the demobilization and rehabilitation
of child soldiers, and when possible, to allocate resources
to this purpose;
Whereas on October 29, 1998, United Nations Secretary
General Kofi Annan set minimum age requirements for United
Nations peacekeeping personnel that are made available by
member nations of the United Nations;
Whereas the participating States of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, in the 1999 Charter for
European Security signed in Istanbul, Turkey, committed
themselves to ``develop and implement measures to promote the
rights and interests of children in armed conflict and
postconflict situations, including refugees and internally
displaced children'' and to ``look at ways of preventing
forced or compulsory recruitment for use in armed conflict of
persons under 18 years of age'';
Whereas United Nations Under-Secretary General for Peace-
keeping, Bernard Miyet, announced in the Fourth Committee of
the General Assembly that contributing governments of member
nations were asked not to send civilian police and military
observers under the age of 25, and that troops in national
contingents should preferably be at least 21 years of age but
in no case should they be younger than 18 years of age;
Whereas on August 25, 1999, the United Nations Security
Council unanimously passed Resolution 1261 (1999) condemning
the use of children in armed conflicts;
Whereas in addressing the Security Council, the Special
Representative of the Secretary General for Children and
Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, urged the adoption of a global
three-pronged approach to combat the use of children in armed
conflict, first to raise the age limit for recruitment and
participation in armed conflict from the present age of 15 to
the age of 18, second, to increase international pressure on
armed groups which currently abuse children, and third to
address the political, social, and economic factors which
create an environment where children are induced by appeal of
ideology or by socio-economic collapse to become child
soldiers;
Whereas the United States delegation to the United Nations
working group relating to child soldiers, which included
representatives from the Department of Defense, supported the
Geneva agreement on the optional protocol;
Whereas on May 25, 2000, the United Nations General
Assembly unanimously adopted the optional protocol on the use
of child soldiers;
Whereas the optional protocol was opened for signature on
June 5, 2000; and
Whereas President Clinton has publicly announced his
support of the optional protocol and a speedy process of
review and signature: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That--
(1) the Congress joins the international community in--
(A) condemning the use of children as soldiers by
governmental and nongovernmental armed forces worldwide;
(B) welcoming the optional protocol as a critical first
step in ending the use of children as soldiers; and
(C) applauding the decision by the United States Government
to support the protocol;
(2) it is the sense of the Congress that--
(A) President Clinton should be commended for signing the
optional protocol and should consult closely with the Senate
with the objective of building support for this protocol;
(B) the President and the Congress should work together to
enact a law that establishes a fund for the rehabilitation
and reintegration into society of child soldiers; and
(C) the Departments of State and Defense should undertake
all possible efforts to persuade and encourage other
governments to ratify and endorse the new optional protocol
on the use of child soldiers.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman).
General Leave
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on H. Con. Res. 348.
[[Page H5763]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my full support of
H. Con. Res. 348. This vitally important resolution that was introduced
by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) condemns the use of children
as soldiers and expresses the belief that the United States should
support efforts to end this practice where up to 300,000 children under
the age of 18 are combatants in more than 30 countries around the
world.
Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity last week of joining the President
at the U.N. as he signed the protocols with regard to this resolution.
I commend the President for signing the U.N. optional protocol on the
use of child soldiers, raising the international minimum age for
conscription and participation in armed conflict to age 18 and commits
the governments to the demobilization and rehabilitation of child
soldiers.
This measure asks the President to consult closely with the Senate to
build support for the adoption of this protocol and addresses a very
serious human rights abuse occurring with alarming frequency in many
nations of the world, including Sierra Leone.
Accordingly, I ask for its prompt adoption. I commend the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), who introduced the concurrent resolution, for
his advocacy of this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res.
348.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), the prime author of this very worthwhile
bill.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Pennsylvania for yielding me this time and for all of his help in
support of this effort.
I also, Mr. Speaker, would like to begin by thanking the gentleman
from Illinois (Mr. Porter) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) for working with me on this bill. As cochair of the Human
Rights Caucus, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) have led the fight against the use
of child soldiers.
I would like to thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson)
and his staff, as well as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and
the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman), for working with me to
bring this bill to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I have a deep respect for the power of young people.
Forty-three years ago, I was but a child myself when I first met Martin
Luther King, Jr., and joined the nonviolent struggle for justice in
America. So I know, Mr. Speaker, that young people can change the
world. That is why the idea of using children as soldiers so disturbs
me.
As the last remaining superpower, the United States is morally bound
to use our strength to protect those who are weak and exposed. Yet, as
we stand here, thousands by thousands of children in Colombia, in
Sierra Leone, and countless other countries around the world have been
forced to kill at one moment and used as cannon fodder the next.
Children who should fill rows of school desks, instead fill columns of
soldiers. The brutal use of children to fight adult wars must end. The
time is now. Our job is simple, to lead the way.
In January, the United Nations reached an agreement to ban child
soldiers.
{time} 1200
Last week the President signed this treaty. This resolution calls on
the President and the Senate to work together and build support for
this protocol. It urges the Congress and the President to establish a
fund to help child soldiers reenter society. And most importantly, this
resolution calls on the United States to use its moral authority to
lead efforts across the globe to put a stop to this brutal practice.
Many of us, Mr. Speaker, have fought long and hard for freedom and
justice in our own country, but our commitment to human rights, to
peace, to nonviolence, to a sense of community, to justice, that
commitment cannot stop at the water. It is our moral obligation, our
mission, and our mandate to lead the struggle to protect children
everywhere from the violence of war.
Again, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all of my colleagues for joining
in this help, joining in support of this effort to bring this bill to
the floor today.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to again commend the prime author of this
very worthy resolution, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), for his
leadership and his hard work. I would like to acknowledge and commend
the President for signing this protocol on July 5 of the year 2000 to
end the use of children in war.
This resolution, which condemns the use of children, is worthy. It
points out that in the world today approximately 300,000 children
between the ages of 5 and 17 have been compelled and forced and
abducted and coerced and brutalized into becoming combat soldiers,
personal and sexual slaves, porters, or all of the above. This brutal
abuse of children has got to stop. This U.N. protocol is a good
beginning. Our support of this protocol is appropriate.
The work of the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) is admirable, and
I am very pleased to support this resolution and call on all Members of
the House to vote in favor of it.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my strong
support for H. Con. Res. 348, a resolution that will benefit the lives
of many of our children around the world.
Last week, I joined President Clinton, U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations Richard Holbrooke, and Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers for
the signing of two landmark Protocols that address prostitution, the
impact of pornography on children, and the global practice of child
labor. This resolution applauds the decision by the U.S. government to
support the Protocol that condemns the use of children as soldiers by
government and nongovernment forces.
As we vote on this important resolution, I look forward to backing
for the other Protocol regarding child prostitution and slavery.
It is estimated that this year some 300,000 children under the age of
18 are engaged in armed military conflicts in more than 30 countries.
Sadly, far too many of these wonderful children are forcibly
conscripted through kidnapping or coercion and others joined because of
economic necessity, to avenge the loss of a family member or for their
own personal safety.
Military commanders often separate children from their families in
order to foster dependence on military units and leaders, leaving such
children vulnerable to manipulation. That is clearly unacceptable. I
believe it is very unfortunate that military forces actually force
child soldiers to commit terrible acts of killing or torture against
their enemies, including against other children.
Last August, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed
Resolution 1261, condemning the use of children in armed conflict. On
May 25, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted an Optional
Protocol on the use of child soldiers. This is a sensible addition to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Protocol extends much needed protection for children. My fellow
Americans, this is one of the first international commitments made by
this nation that protects our children. We can no longer deny that
thousands of children are killed, brutalized, and sold into slavery. In
Sierra Leone, half of the rebel forces are under 18 and some are as
young as 4 or 5 years of age.
The Protocol addresses such action by raising the international
minimum age for conscription and direct participation in armed conflict
to age 18, it encourages governments to raise the minimum legal age for
voluntary recruits above the current standard of 15 years of age, and
it commits governments to support the demobilization and rehabilitation
of child soldiers.
That is a very strong step forward. It speaks to an international
sense of justice that should, indeed must be honored by governments
around the world. We should commend President Clinton, U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke, and U.S. Secretary Lawrence
Summers for their leadership on this issue.
I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 348.
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I speak today in strong support of H. Con.
Res. 348, to express condemnation of the use of children as soldiers.
[[Page H5764]]
In dozens of countries around the world, children have become direct
participants in war. Denied a childhood and often subjected to horrific
violence, some 300,00 children are serving as soldiers in current armed
conflicts from Uganda to Colombia, from Sierra Leone to Lebanon.
Hundreds of thousands more have been recruited into armed forces and
could be sent into combat at any moment. Although most child soldiers
are teenagers, some are as young as 7 years old.
Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make
obedient soldiers. Many are abducted or recruited by force, and often
compelled to follow orders under threat of death.
The United States should support, and, where possible, lead efforts
to establish and enforce international standards designed to end the
use of child soldiers.
On January 21, 2000 in Geneva, a United Nations working group of the
Commission on Human Rights reached agreement on the UN protocol on
child soldiers. I commend President Clinton for signing this protocol
and want to express my hope that the Senate will ratify it as soon as
possible.
The House International Relations Committee approved H. Con. Res. 348
unanimously. As a cosponsor, I urge colleagues to give their full
support to this important resolution.
Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 348,
expressing the concern of Congress regarding the use of child soldiers
around the world.
The Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which I co-chair, has held a
number of briefings on the use of child soldiers around the world.
Nothing can be more heartbreaking than listening to stories of
childhoods cut short--children's descriptions of how they were abducted
in the night, made to fight with rebel groups, forced to kill their
parents or best friends and commit other unspeakable atrocities. These
very children should be in school learning, playing and enjoying their
youth not carrying guns and fighting for causes about which they know
nothing.
Child soldiers are currently being used in more than thirty countries
around the world, including Angola, Colombia, Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda. They serve in both government armies and
in armed opposition groups. Some are forcibly recruited, other join
hoping to support themselves or their families, or simply because they
see it is their best chance for survival. Children sustain far higher
casualty rates than their adult counterparts and those who survive
often suffer trauma, injury, abuse, or psychological scarring.
I would like to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) for
sponsoring this resolution and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) who has been a leader on this issue for many years. It is vital
that the United States Congress speak out against these human rights
abuses which occur around the world against our most precious citizens,
the children. We must join with the international community in
condemning the countries and non-government groups which use children
as soldiers. Finally, it is important to recognize this Administration
for its role in signing the United Nations international protocol last
week which prohibits the use of children in armed conflict.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 348, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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