[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 55 (Thursday, March 29, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4148-S4150]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  GENOCIDE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2007

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, with the beginning of this new Congress, 
Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, honored my 
request to create a new subcommittee, entitled Human Rights and the 
Law. It is the first time in Senate history we have designated a 
subcommittee with that jurisdiction. Of course, the Foreign Relations 
Committee has responsibility for foreign policy, but what we are trying 
to focus on in this subcommittee I chair are laws that relate to 
fundamental human rights.
  The subcommittee's first hearing, seven weeks ago, was on the law 
relating to genocide and the situation in Darfur. We had spectacular 
witnesses: Diane Orentlicher, an American University law school 
professor; Sigal Mandelker, a representative from the administration; 
Don Cheadle, the star in ``Hotel Rwanda,'' who has become a strong 
advocate for ending the genocide in Darfur; Romeo Dallaire, a Senator 
in Canada, who in 1994 was the head of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in 
Rwanda during the onset of the massacre. Their testimony was 
electrifying. It pointed not only to the experience in Rwanda but to 
what we face today in Darfur.
  I still recall--and it bears repeating every time I come to the 
floor--that at the time of the Rwanda genocide, there were very few 
Senators paying attention.
  One of my mentors and friends, Paul Simon, my predecessor, was the 
chairman of the Africa Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee. 
He knew what was happening. He turned to his friend, Jim Jeffords, then 
a Republican from Vermont, and said: We have to do something. They 
called General Dallaire in Kigali, Rwanda, and asked: What can we do? 
The general said: If you would send me 5,000 armed soldiers, I can stop 
this massacre right now. So Senators Jeffords and Simon called the 
Clinton White House and asked for help. Sadly, there was no response.
  Later on, President Clinton, after he finished his term in office, 
said it was the biggest mistake of his administration not to respond to 
the Rwandan genocide. It was a reminder to me that we do have the power 
as Senators and Congressmen, and many others, to make a difference, and 
we should never accept as inevitable things such as the genocide that 
occurred in this faraway country of Rwanda.
  I was reminded of that during testimony just a few weeks ago. We 
talked about Darfur and the fact that 4 years ago, President Bush 
declared a genocide in Darfur. It is rare that the United States 
acknowledges a genocide. I applauded President Bush and his leadership 
for making this acknowledgment, but I have said to the President and on 
this floor many times: It is not enough to just declare a genocide. If 
innocent people are being killed, if they are being displaced from 
their homes and you have the power to do something about it, how can 
you stand by and do nothing? Sadly, that is what has happened for 4 
straight years. We have done nothing--declaring a genocide and doing 
nothing.
  I am reminded of a personal experience I had many years ago as a 
student at Georgetown University. I was in the School of Foreign 
Service and had as a professor Dr. Jan Karski from Poland. He was an 
inspiring man. He spoke with an accent. He came to his class with a 
suit and tie on every day, ramrod, military bearing, and told the story 
of his life in between lessons.
  His story was that he was a member of the Polish underground fighting 
the Nazis in World War II. He saw Polish people swept out of the Warsaw 
ghetto, taken away. He finally realized that they were taken to 
concentration camps to be killed.
  Determined to do something about it, Jan Karski found his way to 
Washington in the 1940s, even found his way to the office of President 
Franklin Roosevelt, and told him about the Holocaust, told him what was 
happening in the concentration camps.
  Unfortunately, just as in Rwanda, the President at that time did 
nothing. Jan Karski returned to Poland crestfallen that he had finally 
alerted this great power, the United States of America, and nothing was 
going to be done.
  I sat there as a student at the time and thought: How can that be? 
How can you hear that thousands of people are

[[Page S4149]]

being killed and do nothing? It happened then. It happened in Rwanda. 
It shouldn't happen again.
  The purpose of the hearing on Darfur was to try to finally spark some 
action by this Congress and by this administration to do something. 
After 4 years of declaring a genocide, it is about time we rolled up 
our sleeves and did something. And there are things we can do.
  Certainly, we can look at our own personal responsibility. Divestment 
means selling off or not buying investments in a country. In this case, 
the country of Sudan, with the capital of Khartoum, has a vibrant oil 
industry. Major companies in Sudan are owned by China, India, and 
Malaysia. Petro China is the Chinese oil company that is the largest 
oil company in the Sudan.
  I have encouraged everyone, including the universities and colleges 
in Illinois, to divest themselves of any known holdings in companies 
doing business in Sudan. Maybe it is a small thing, maybe it is only 
symbolic, but for goodness' sake, shouldn't we do something on an 
individual and personal basis?
  After I issued a press release, incidentally, calling for divestment, 
an enterprising reporter took a look at the mutual funds my wife and I 
own and said: One of your mutual funds owns stock in Petro China. I 
quickly sold it. It didn't change my net worth much, I can tell you, 
but it is a symbolic and personal thing. I am glad we did it. Others 
need to do it as well. Pension funds, governments, major companies--if 
they divest themselves of these Sudanese investments, maybe those 
companies will get the message that there is something wrong with Sudan 
and we shouldn't do business as usual with a country that won't allow 
peacekeeping forces to come in to save and help victims in Darfur.
  There are other actions we can take as well. This subcommittee on 
human rights and law tried to focus on specific legislation we could 
enact. As a result of our hearing, 2 weeks ago we introduced the 
Genocide Accountability Act of 2007. S. 888, the Genocide 
Accountability Act, would close a legal loophole that prevents the U.S. 
Justice Department from prosecuting people in our country who have 
committed genocide. While genocide rages in Darfur, we have to make 
clear our commitment to hold accountable those who commit the ultimate 
crime.
  The Genocide Accountability Act is the first legislation produced by 
the Senate Judiciary Committee's new Subcommittee on Human Rights and 
the Law. S. 888 is a bipartisan bill introduced by myself, as chairman 
of the subcommittee; Senator Tom Coburn, the ranking Republican member 
on this same subcommittee; Senator Pat Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee; and Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas.
  The Genocide Accountability Act has been endorsed by numerous 
organizations, and I thank them for their support and encouragement. 
They include Africa Action, the American Jewish World Service, Amnesty 
International USA, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian 
National Committee of America, the Genocide Intervention Network, Human 
Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, Refugees 
International, and the Save Darfur Coalition.
  Why is it necessary to change the law? Because under current law, 
genocide is only a crime in the eyes of America if it is committed 
within the United States or by a U.S. national outside the United 
States.
  In contrast, the laws on torture, material support for terrorism, 
terrorism financing, hostage taking, and many other Federal crimes 
allow for extraterritorial jurisdiction for crimes committed outside 
the United States by non-U.S. nationals.

  This loophole in the law has real-life consequences. The Justice 
Department has identified individuals who participated in the Rwandan 
and Bosnian genocides and who live in the United States under false 
pretenses. Under current law, these individuals cannot be arrested or 
prosecuted because they are not U.S. nationals and the genocides in 
which they were involved didn't take place in the United States.
  Now let's go to the Sudan and Darfur. Salah Abdallah Gosh, the head 
of security in the Sudanese Government, has reportedly played a key 
role in that nation's genocidal campaign in Darfur. Just 2 years ago, 
Mr. Gosh came to Washington to meet with senior administration 
officials. Under current law, the FBI could not even interview him 
about his involvement in the Darfur genocide, much less charge him with 
a crime.
  The Genocide Accountability Act changes that. It would close this 
loophole. It amends 18 U.S.C. 1091, the Genocide Convention 
Implementation Act, to allow prosecution of non-U.S. nationals who are 
in the United States for genocide committed outside the United States.
  The United States should have this authority and ability to prosecute 
genocidaires who find safe haven or at least seek safe haven in this 
country. The Genocide Accountability Act would end this impunity gap in 
genocide law.
  What we are saying to those around the world who are engaged in 
uncivilized and barbaric conduct is do not even consider coming to the 
United States as your retirement home. It is never going to be a safe 
haven. There is no place for you to hide.
  The Genocide Accountability Act gives our Government the power to 
stop those who seek to do that.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 89, S. 888.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). The clerk will report the 
bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 888) to amend section 1091 of title 18, United 
     States Code, to allow the prosecution of genocide in 
     appropriate circumstances.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am glad that today the Senate is 
considering the Genocide Accountability Act, which closes a loophole in 
current law which has until now allowed those who commit or incite 
genocide to seek refuge in our country without fear of prosecution for 
their actions. This bill is the first legislation resulting from the 
work of the Judiciary Committee's new Subcommittee on Human Rights and 
the Law. I thank Subcommittee Chairman Durbin for introducing the bill, 
and I was pleased to join him, along with subcommittee Ranking Member 
Coburn and Senators Feingold, Cornyn, and Kennedy in cosponsoring the 
bill. I have long called for greater U.S. involvement in resolving the 
crisis in Darfur and worked for greater accountability for those who 
commit war crimes. This bill is an important next step in working to do 
all we can to combat genocide throughout the world.
  Too often, we in this country, the richest and most powerful Nation 
on Earth, have done too little to stop human rights atrocities in Sudan 
and elsewhere around the world. Many more lives could have been saved 
if we and other nations had shown stronger leadership. During the last 
5 years, America's reputation has suffered tremendously. Some of our 
ability to lead on human rights issues has been needlessly and 
carelessly squandered. Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have tarnished that 
role and that tradition. The secret prisons that the President 
confirmed last year and this administration's role in sending people to 
other countries where they would be tortured have led to condemnation 
by our allies, to legal challenges, and to criminal charges.
  I was proud to work with Senator Durbin to create the Human Rights 
and the Law Subcommittee, which is helping us to better fulfill our 
role in a challenging global environment. This subcommittee will 
continue to closely examine some of the important and difficult legal 
issues that have increasingly been a focus of the Judiciary Committee 
and will work to reverse and correct the damaging policies established 
by this administration over the last 6 years.
  The Genocide Accountability Act is a perfect example of the 
bipartisan, consensus legislation that this subcommittee was created to 
produce. The bill allows for prosecution of those found in the United 
States who have participated in horrific acts against humanity in 
places such as Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, and gives Federal 
prosecutors the tools they need to bring these people to justice. This 
bill

[[Page S4150]]

would amend 18 U.S.C. 1091, the Genocide Convention Implementation 
Act--the Proxmire Act--to allow prosecution of non-U.S. nationals who 
are in the United States for genocide committed outside the country. In 
the past, Federal investigators have identified perpetrators of 
genocide, including the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides, who have come to 
the United States under false pretenses and have found safe haven here. 
Unfortunately, the Justice Department has not been able to prosecute 
these individuals because the Proxmire Act only criminalizes genocide 
committed by U.S. nationals or in the United States.
  The Genocide Accountability Act would close this loophole, allowing 
Federal prosecutors to prosecute those who have committed or incited 
genocide who are in our country. This change would make the genocide 
statute conform with numerous existing Federal crimes that allow for 
similar extraterritorial jurisdiction if the offender is found in The 
United States, including torture, piracy, material support to 
terrorists, terrorism financing, and hostage taking.
  I commend Senators Durbin and Coburn for holding a hearing on this 
important issue and for their diligent work to ensure that that this 
loophole in our law is closed. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation to ensure that the United States takes this significant 
step in combating genocide worldwide.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the 
Record, without intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 888) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:

                                 S. 888

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Genocide Accountability Act 
     of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. GENOCIDE.

       Section 1091 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
     striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
       ``(d) Required Circumstance for Offenses.--The circumstance 
     referred to in subsections (a) and (c) is that--
       ``(1) the offense is committed in whole or in part within 
     the United States;
       ``(2) the alleged offender is a national of the United 
     States (as that term is defined in section 101 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101));
       ``(3) the alleged offender is an alien lawfully admitted 
     for permanent residence in the United States (as that term is 
     defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
     (8 U.S.C. 1101));
       ``(4) the alleged offender is a stateless person whose 
     habitual residence is in the United States; or
       ``(5) after the conduct required for the offense occurs, 
     the alleged offender is brought into, or found in, the United 
     States, even if that conduct occurred outside the United 
     States.''.

  Mr. DURBIN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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