[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  URGING ALL MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF THE 
     INTERNATIONAL TRACING SERVICE TO EXPEDITE RATIFICATION PROCESS

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                               speech of

                           HON. VITO FOSSELLA

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2007

  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, for generations, Israel has been defending 
itself against hostile nations and terrorism in the midst of a region 
long plagued by turmoil and instability. The United States, now more 
than ever, must stand by its relationship with Israel. I want to take 
this opportunity to address in more detail my support of recent 
legislation before Congress regarding Israel.
  I am pleased to see a key piece of legislation pass the House this 
week that I have cosponsored, H. Res. 125. The resolution expresses 
deep concern over the use of civilians as human shields in violation of 
international humanitarian law and the law of war during armed 
conflict. During the summer of 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and the 
State of Israel, Hezbollah routinely used this brutal and illegal 
tactic of embedding its forces among civilians to use them as human 
shields. This bill calls upon the international community to recognize 
the breaches of international law through the use of human shields and 
calls upon the State Department to make recommendations to prevent the 
future use of human shields during armed conflicts. The majority of 
civilian casualties of that conflict might have been avoided and 
civilian lives saved had Hezbollah not employed this tactic.
  I am also very concerned about an issue facing the rapidly shrinking 
population of Holocaust survivors, and their right to research the 
facts of the unspeakable tragedy. Earlier this year, I signed letters 
addressed to the Ambassadors from Great Britain, France, Greece, 
Belgium and Italy urging them to expedite the process of releasing the 
Holocaust archival records of the International Tracing Service (ITS) 
located in Bad Arolsen, Germany. These millions of extensive records 
have remained inaccessible to Holocaust survivors, their families, and 
researchers alike for decades. Although progress was made last May when 
the International Commission of the ITS amended the Bonn Accords to 
allow each Commission member country to receive a digitized copy of the 
archives, some of the nations have yet to ratify the amendments. For 
the sake of these survivors and their families, I joined my colleagues 
in urging these governments to ratify this critical treaty amendment 
without delay. These letters led to the introduction of H. Res. 240, of 
which I am an original cosponsor and that passed the House this week. 
Mirroring the letters, the bill urges all countries that have not 
ratified the amendments to abide by their May 2006 treaty obligations 
and expedite such ratification. The bill goes on to urge all members of 
the International Commission of the ITS to consider the short time left 
to Holocaust survivors and unanimously consent to open the ITS archives 
should all countries not ratify the amendments by May 2007.
  Since I was first elected to Congress, I have always supported 
strengthening the partnership between the United States and Israel. I 
am pleased to see these two important bills pass the House, and 
throughout the 110th Congress, I will continue to look for 
opportunities to bolster the relationship with our key ally, Israel.

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