[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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