[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 24, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1606]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

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                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 24, 2007

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my concerns over 
the continuing human rights violations perpetrated by the International 
Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) stationed in San Salvador, El Salvador. 
We cannot expect to promote stable democratic institutions in El 
Salvador by funneling military aid through ILEA to support local police 
forces engaging in repressive tactics.
  Since President Clinton called for the establishment of the ILEA in 
1995, the United States and participating nations have founded ILEAs in 
Hungary, Thailand, Botswana, El Salvador, and the United States. 
Through ILEA, the U.S. has continued to provide military aid, training, 
and arms sales to participating countries, which threatens to aggravate 
regional conflicts and sideline programs designed to halt human rights 
abuses.
  The use of excessive force by police and security forces in El 
Salvador when targeting activists and their failure to protect workers 
rights to organize and bargain collectively has been at worse 
exacerbated and at best unchecked by ILEA's presence in the country. 
Furthermore, the government's failure to investigate human rights 
abuses calls into question the need for ILEA to provide security forces 
with more tools that can be used to repress those working toward a 
truly representative democracy in El Salvador.
  Madam Speaker, the Congress must take a hard and serious look at 
whether we should continue funding ILEA. We should not support programs 
that claim to fight public corruption and provide opportunities for the 
global law enforcement community to share their expertise and training 
when, in fact, they further the oppression of social and labor 
activists and do nothing to end a country's human rights violations.

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