[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E483-E484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE COALITION FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2006

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I want to pay tribute to the fine, effective 
work of the Coalition for International Justice as that organization 
closes its offices this Friday.
  Ten years ago, the world allowed genocide to occur in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina. Shocked by this fact, as well as the associated war crimes 
and crimes against humanity, many Americans both within government and 
among the public decided to take action. As scenes of the destruction 
were broadcast to homes across this country, support grew for holding 
those responsible for the senseless killing accountable. Some dedicated 
experts in the field of international justice formed the Coalition, 
often known as ``CIJ'', to help guide the development of the 
international tribunal established for that purpose.
  While justice remains elusive, not just in the Balkans but elsewhere, 
the Coalition has been an indispensable part of the progress achieved 
in the last decade to hold more people accountable for horrible crimes, 
in Europe, Africa and elsewhere around the globe. The Coalition, in 
fact, argues not only for responding to crimes already committed but 
taking necessary actions to stop ongoing atrocities and to prevent 
future war crimes. This presents a challenge to the international 
community and its natural tendency to avoid taking bold and decisive 
action, and reflects the lessons learned from Rwanda that the 
international community cannot stand by as genocide occurs. I am 
extremely pleased that CIJ has taken a leadership role in galvanizing 
the international community to respond to the ongoing genocide in the 
Darfur region of Sudan.
  As the Ranking member of the Helsinki Commission, most of my work 
with the Coalition for International Justice has been related to what 
is unfortunately the still unresolved issue of obtaining Serbia's full 
cooperation with the International Criminal tribunal for the former 
Yugoslavia (ICTY), located in The Hague. Despite the democratic ouster 
of Slobodan Milosevic in late 2000 and his transfer to The Hague in 
2001, Belgrade's cooperation with the tribunal has not been good. 
Despite Serbia's own need to break with a horrible past, and despite 
the obvious need for surviving victims and families to have some 
closure, Serbian officials have largely responded only when pressure is 
applied. Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, perhaps the two people most 
directly responsible for the slaughter of thousands of innocent people 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, remain at large. It has been clear for some 
time that Mr. Mladic has been protected by the military. Serbia's 
future integration in Europe is placed at risk by this irresponsible 
behavior.
  The Coalition for International Justice has been indispensable in 
tracking the developments of the tribunal, as well as following reports 
of where at-large indictees may be, as well as what access prosecutors 
have had to evidence and witnesses. The Coalition also has done 
excellent work in analyzing the work of the tribunal itself. This has 
been important.

[[Page E484]]

International justice is a relatively new phenomenon, and things have 
not always developed smoothly. The Coalition has not been an apologist 
for ICTY or the other war crimes tribunals, and has brought attention 
to areas where improvement was needed. The Coalition should take great 
satisfaction that today, 10 years after genocide in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, the war crimes chamber of Bosnia's court system now has 
the ability to handle the emotional and controversial cases from that 
dark time.

  The staff of the Coalition for International Justice has always been 
outstanding, and has provided critical assistance to myself, my 
personal staff, and the Helsinki Commission staff that work on these 
issues. CIJ staff have been more than willing and able to help those of 
us in Congress who have worked to ensure common concerns about 
international justice are appropriately reflected in U.S. foreign 
policy. Board members Mark Ellis, John Heffernan and Jim Hooper were 
involved from the earliest days, when few were certain justice would 
even be considered in diplomatic efforts to bring peace and stability 
to the Balkans. Staff past and present, including Edgar Chen, Stefanie 
Frease and Eric Witte, provided expertise not only on the work of the 
tribunals but also on the countries and conflicts the tribunals were 
created to address. I want to highlight in particular Nina Bang-Jessen, 
CIJ's Executive Director, who so effectively combined expertise and 
advocacy. She oversaw the Coalition as it broadened its focus to 
include not only the former Yugoslavia but Rwanda, Cambodia, Sierra 
Leone and today, Darfur.
  Ongoing humanitarian catastrophes, Mr. Speaker, may frustrate us, but 
those who have worked at the Coalition for International Justice can 
take satisfaction knowing they did something about it and advanced the 
cause of international justice beyond where it otherwise would be. They 
have saved lives and brought war criminals to justice, and played a 
role in preventing future crimes against humanity. For that, we owe 
them our thanks and best wishes.

                          ____________________