[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E478-E479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE COALITION FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2006

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, it has come to my attention 
that a Washington-based non-governmental organization--the Coalition 
for International Justice--will close its offices this week after 10 
years of service to the cause of justice around the world.
  Serving as Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Helsinki Commission for 
that same period of time, I have worked closely with the Coalition and 
seen the effect of its work. Ten years ago, the conflict in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina was a priority in U.S. foreign policy, a conflict in which 
numerous war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide were 
committed. Many of us fought for the inclusion of basic justice as an 
element in our country's policy response, and an international tribunal 
was fortunately created for that purpose. At the time,

[[Page E479]]

however, support was lukewarm at best; many saw efforts to apprehend 
and bring to justice those responsible for heinous crimes as too far-
reaching, perhaps unachievable, and potentially detrimental to efforts 
to end the conflict through diplomacy.
  The Coalition for International Justice was a tireless advocate of 
another view, one that saw no true peace, nor the resulting long-term 
stability, in Bosnia or anywhere else, without appropriate 
consideration of justice. Time has since shown how correct that view 
has been. Bosnia and Herzegovina has come a long way since the mid-
1990s, in large part because those responsible for war crimes, crimes 
against humanity and genocide were instead removed from positions of 
authority and made accountable at the tribunal located in The Hague. 
Many of those people might still be at large had the Coalition, among 
others, not advocated a tough policy toward those powers who were 
harboring and protecting them. Many of us can remember the State 
Department's hesitancy, let alone that of many European foreign 
ministries, to these tough measures. Today, however, the United States 
maintains an effective conditionality on assistance to Serbia and, 
along with the European Union, on Serbia's integration efforts due to 
the particular failure to transfer Ratko Mladic to The Hague. Similar 
linkages apply to another at-large indictee, Radovan Karadzic.
  Representatives of the Coalition for International Justice 
participated in numerous briefings and hearings of the Helsinki 
Commission on this subject, and were always available to provide useful 
information when justice in the Balkans became part of our policy 
debates.
  The Coalition similarly assisted the international criminal tribunal 
established for Rwanda in its efforts to be fair, responsible and 
effective in the provision of justice. Its mandate later expanded to 
help the investigation and prosecutions process in East Timor, to 
establish a tribunal for Khmer Rouge crimes in Cambodia, and to create 
a Special Court for Sierra Leone. It helped track the finance of such 
notorious figures as Charles Taylor, Saddam Hussein and the Khartoum 
elites, in addition to Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic. Most 
recently, the Coalition has been part of the international effort not 
just to hold those responsible for the genocide in Darfur accountable 
from the crimes already committed but to protect the civilian 
population there from continuing to be victimized.
  Mr. Speaker, I have appreciated the work of the Coalition for 
International Justice as a resource of accurate information, and as an 
advocate to a reasonable, practical approach to the sometimes 
controversial subject of international justice. While its board and 
staff may have concluded that the Coalition has largely accomplished 
the tasks it was created to address, they know, as do we, that horrible 
crimes continue to be committed against innocent people in conflicts 
around the world. I am confident that the dedicated individuals who 
made the Coalition such a success will continue, through other 
organizations and offices, in the struggle for international justice.

                          ____________________