[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 5, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H14203-H14207]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  GENOCIDE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2007

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 888) to amend section 1091 of title 18, United States 
Code, to allow the prosecution of genocide in appropriate 
circumstances.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The text of the Senate bill is 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.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Conyers) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker and members of the committee, the United Nations approved 
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
Genocide in 1948. It was in response to Nazi Germany's policy of 
systematic murder. The Convention, to which the United States is a 
signatory, established genocide as an international crime which 
signatory nations undertake to prevent and punish. It's the duty that 
we address in the Genocide Accountability Act before us at this moment.
  We must remember that genocide affects all humanity, not just the 
direct victims, and not just the perpetrators, but all those who stand 
by and by their inaction allow those horrible acts to take place. These 
are the lessons of the Holocaust, of Cambodia, of Bosnia and, more 
recently, of Rwanda. In Rwanda, we shrugged our shoulders and waited 
until 800,000 people were killed before we were willing to call that 
atrocity by its rightful name, genocide.
  Sadly, even after Rwanda, the world has mostly stood by while yet 
another genocide has unfolded before our eyes. The genocide in Darfur 
has thus far claimed 200,000 lives, and maybe going up to as many as 
400,000 lives. Two and a half million people have been displaced as a 
result of the conflict in Darfur. Both President Bush and Congress have 
correctly described the situation in Darfur as genocide.
  As history repeats itself in Darfur, it seems that we have to learn 
to say the right things about these atrocities, but too often we cannot 
seem to muster the consensus and strength of will in the United States 
and the international community to make our deeds match our words. 
Along with an increased United Nations peacekeeping force, and a long-
term political agreement among its many factions, we need to explore 
every avenue available to stop this massacre from continuing and 
prevent similar ones in the future.
  The Genocide Accountability Act is an effort to ensure that our 
United States laws provide adequate authority to prosecute acts of 
genocide. We should not have a situation where perpetrators of genocide 
are allowed to enter the United States and use this country as a safe 
haven from prosecution. What an untenable thought.
  But under current law, genocide is only a crime if it's committed 
within the United States or by a United States national outside of the 
United States. In contrast, the laws of 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-United States nationals.
  So there's a gap in the law. This has led to real-life consequences. 
I understand that the Justice Department has identified individuals who 
have participated in the Rwandan and the Bosnian genocides and who have 
entered the United States under false pretenses. Under current law, 
these individuals can be deported but they can't be arrested or 
prosecuted for committing genocide.
  And so we bring to you on the floor today a measure to allow us to do 
more than send them off to another country, not knowing whether they 
will ever be prosecuted. This measure will allow us to bring them to 
justice. Amending our laws to allow for vigorous prosecution of 
genocide is a first, a small, but very, very important step toward 
ending the impunity under which those who commit genocide currently 
operate.
  I am so proud of my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee who have 
worked with us on this: Lamar Smith; the floor manager for the 
Republicans, Mr. Forbes; and many others. We must remember that it 
cannot be the last step, this measure. If we are going to fulfill our 
role as the beacon in the world for basic human rights and freedom from 
persecution, we must continue to develop the humble legislative 
beginning that we have begun today.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 888, the Genocide Accountability 
Act of 2007. I want to commend Chairman Conyers and Representatives 
Berman and Pence, the sponsors of the House version of this 
legislation, H.R. 2489, for their dedication and commitment to this 
issue.
  Perpetrators of genocide have committed some of the most heinous 
crimes ever carried out. Genocide is a crime not only against specific 
victims targeted for extermination, but it is also a crime against 
humanity. History is replete with horrible images of human suffering, 
where victims targeted were based on their human characteristics. In 
the modern era, we have technological advances used for carrying out 
heinous acts of genocide.
  The idea that individuals, hundreds, thousands, and sometimes 
hundreds of

[[Page H14204]]

thousands, are singled out and systematically targeted for 
extermination offends every person's belief in humanity or the rule of 
law. In recent decades, we have seen ethnic cleansing during the civil 
war in the former Yugoslavia, systematic mass killings in other areas, 
and of course there is the ongoing suffering in Darfur.
  S. 888, the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007, expands Federal 
criminal jurisdiction for prosecution of those responsible for 
genocide. With this improvement, I hope that Federal prosecutors will 
be able to prosecute aggressively those heinous criminals. I urge my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure now to yield 4 minutes to 
the ranking member of the Committee on Judiciary on the Democratic 
side, Mr. Howard Berman.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, the House Judiciary Committee has reported 
an identical House companion to S. 888. That bill is H.R. 2489, and the 
Judiciary Committee's report for the House bill, Report No. 110-468, 
should be considered as part of the legislative history on S. 888, as 
reflecting the intent of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, the first legal application of the term genocide came 
during the Nuremberg trials in 1945. Before then, there wasn't a word 
in our language to adequately express the brutality and evil that this 
crime embodies. The purpose of the Genocide Accountability Act is to 
ensure that no perpetrator of genocide is able to use the United States 
as a safe haven for prosecution. After the Holocaust, the Genocide 
Convention was the embodiment of the world's pledge, the promise of 
``never again.'' And yet this promise has proven to be one of the 
world's most unfulfilled.
  Not very long ago, genocide was the scourge of Bosnia, and before 
that, Rwanda. Two years ago, this body passed a resolution 
acknowledging that the devastation and murderous violence occurring in 
the Darfur region of Sudan was a genocide. Unfortunately, the genocide 
in Darfur remains an ongoing crime today. The struggle to prevent and 
punish genocide has been, and unfortunately will be, winding and long.
  The bill we are considering today acknowledges that in some cases the 
perpetrators of this evil have ended up not just on the doorstep of the 
United States, but living inside our house. Current law allows us to 
deport them, but procedural limitations in our laws can keep us from 
delivering justice for their crimes.
  Because current U.S. law lacks an extraterritorial jurisdiction 
clause for genocide, procedurally the Department of Justice is limited 
in its ability to charge an individual who is not a U.S. national for 
involvement in a genocide committed outside the United States, even if 
the victims include American citizens.
  In 1948, the United States was the first nation to sign the Genocide 
Convention. Twenty years ago, with the Proxmire Act, we added to our 
criminal code provisions to fulfill the dual obligations of that 
Convention, to prevent and to punish genocide. S. 888 will strengthen 
the reach of U.S. laws to prosecute any individuals found in our 
country who have taken part in acts of genocide, in Darfur or anywhere 
else.

                              {time}  1530

  As the atrocities in Darfur continue, it is imperative that we enact 
measures in this bill to stand against genocide wherever it occurs and 
hold fully accountable the perpetrators of genocide who are able to 
escape justice.
  Mr. Speaker, the term ``genocide'' was first proposed by Ralph 
Lemkin, a man of Polish-Jewish descent. In 1941 he came to the United 
States, and on the day of his arrival he gave a speech explaining to an 
American audience the international responsibility to respond to 
genocide. I'll paraphrase what he said: If you learned that a mass of 
women, children and old people was being murdered 100 miles from here, 
wouldn't you feel compelled to run to their aid? Why then, if the 
distance were 3,000 miles instead of 100, would you restrain this 
decision of your heart?
  By passing this bill today, we are taking Lemkin's words to heart. We 
will work to punish and prevent the crime of genocide not just in our 
own country, but wherever it occurs around the world.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Shays).
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 888, the Genocide 
Accountability Act of 2007. I cosponsored the House version of this 
legislation because I totally agree, U.S. law should not provide safe 
haven to those who are committing genocide.
  As a result of this bill, prosecutors will be able to target 
individuals living lawfully in the U.S. who have committed genocide or 
aided those who have committed these crimes against humanity. I have 
tremendous respect for all those who have worked to raise awareness of 
this important issue. Student groups and faith-based organizations, 
especially from the African American, Jewish and Armenian communities, 
have done a terrific job of educating their fellow citizens and 
lawmakers about the crisis and the need to respond.
  The world collectively agreed to ``never again'' allow genocide after 
the Holocaust and again after the mass murders in Cambodia and Rwanda, 
and again in Bosnia. Tragically, genocide is again taking place, and 
the United States must take all reasonable steps to end the killing and 
ensure the perpetrators of these crimes are brought to justice.
  The United States has made a tremendous commitment to the people of 
Darfur in the form of humanitarian aid and is working hard on 
diplomatic efforts to end the genocide. But more must be done. We need 
to stop the killings.
  Current U.S. law only makes genocide a crime if it is committed by a 
U.S. citizen or within the United States. According to the Justice 
Department, there are individuals who participated in the Rwandan and 
Bosnian genocides who are living in the United States today that it 
will be able to prosecute with this legislation.
  We will also ensure those who are committing genocide in Sudan today 
will not be able to look to the United States as their safe haven in 
the future.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the Crime Subcommittee has 
played an enormously important role in the measure before us, and I am 
pleased to recognize Chairman Bobby Scott for 3 minutes.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, the slaughtering of individuals simply because they are 
a member of a certain ethnic or racial group has occurred throughout 
history, and, regrettably, continues today. As we witnessed, as many as 
800,000 of the Tutsi minority, men, women and children, were murdered 
in Rwanda. Mass violence has occurred against civilians in Bosnia, 
where up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were systematically executed.
  The obligations of the United States under the Genocide Convention 
are in the criminal code in title 18 beginning at section 1091. 
Genocide is defined as having the specific intent to destroy, in whole 
or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. The code 
offers severe punishment for anyone who commits genocide within the 
United States. The law also makes it a Federal crime for a U.S. 
national to commit genocide anywhere in the world. Fortunately, there 
has not been a need to use the law against anyone now covered by it. 
However, by only covering genocide if it is committed in this country 
or committed by a U.S. national, we leave a gap which allows non-U.S. 
persons who commit genocide elsewhere to come to this country with 
impunity under our laws.
  To this end, the Senator from Illinois, Senator Durbin, and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) introduced identical legislation 
designed to amend title 18 of the United States Code to expand 
jurisdiction of genocide over the following categories of people who 
have committed genocide outside of the United States: (1) an alien 
lawfully admitted for permanent residence; (2) a stateless person whose 
habitual residence is in the United States; or (3) an individual 
physically present in the United States.
  Similar to the legislation before us, many other Federal laws, 
including

[[Page H14205]]

those laws that criminalize torture, allow for the extraterritorial 
jurisdiction over crimes committed outside the United States by those 
present in the United States.
  Genocide continues to be a threat in the world and we should attack 
it wherever we find it. In Darfur, we see the tragic replay of 
suffering and death. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people who have 
been killed, raped, tortured, or forced to flee, and over 2 million 
people have been driven from their homes. For them, the commitment of 
``never again'' after the Holocaust rings hollow. The United States 
should have the ability to prosecute those who find safe haven in the 
United States for their acts of genocide. The Genocide Accountability 
Act would end this impunity gap in the genocide law. Therefore, I urge 
my colleagues to adopt this important legislation.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).
  (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, here in Washington, D.C., down the street from this very 
building is the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a museum that 
serves as a living memorial to the Holocaust and which challenges its 
visitors and the world in the words written in its charter to: 
``Confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and 
strengthen democracy.'' All of us serving in Congress take the 
challenge of those words to heart.
  We have the unique ability in this institution to promulgate laws and 
policies that protect life, preserve liberty and confront genocide. 
Today, with the passage of the Genocide Accountability Act, in 
bipartisan numbers, this Congress will discharge that duty to history.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 888, the Genocide 
Accountability Act. In May of this year, it was my privilege to join my 
friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) to introduce H.R. 
2489, which is the companion of the Senate version of the bill that is 
being considered today. I would like to commend the gentleman from 
California whose partnership on this and other legislation demonstrates 
his deep commitment to human rights and to human dignity and to 
America's place in advancing those principles in the world.
  This is an important piece of bipartisan legislation simply because 
it provides America with a real and powerful tool to combat genocide 
around the world. The need for the Genocide Accountability Act is 
straightforward. Currently under U.S. law, genocide is only a crime if 
it is committed within the borders of the United States or by a U.S. 
national outside the country. Therefore, the Department of Justice is 
prevented from prosecuting people who may be in America who have 
committed genocide, as unthinkable as that might be.
  Imagine a scenario where an individual who contributed to genocidal 
acts in Bosnia, Rwanda, or Sudan, or elsewhere, is determined to be 
here in America, somehow living under false pretenses or even traveling 
throughout our country. Under this scenario, the Department of Justice 
would be prevented under current law from prosecuting that person for 
genocide in this country. The Genocide Accountability Act closes this 
loophole. When implemented, it will allow prosecution of non-U.S. 
nationals who are in the United States for genocide committed outside 
the United States.
  Under the scenario I just described, the Department of Justice would 
be able to prosecute people who are found to be in America and have 
perpetrated the worst kind of crime against humanity. Giving our law 
enforcement this type of tool is absolutely necessary in order to make 
it clear to the world that America will not tolerate genocide or the 
perpetrators of genocide, and that we will do all we can to hold those 
accountable who perform these heinous acts.
  As Elie Wiesel stated, ``Once you bring life into the world, you must 
protect it. We must protect it by changing the world.''
  Mr. Speaker, the Genocide Accountability Act changes the world today 
in a very small but a profound way, in my judgment. It strengthens the 
hand of the most powerful free Nation on Earth in fighting and 
prosecuting those who would commit the crimes of genocide. It is 
important and necessary, and I encourage my colleagues in the House to 
support this legislation today so it can be sent to the President for 
signature.
  I want to commend the chairman of the committee, the ranking member 
and again the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) for his 
extraordinary leadership on this important and historic measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to engage in a colloquy on an issue 
affecting this legislation with the gentleman from California, Mr. 
Berman.
  Our legislation, H.R. 2489, and S. 888 are identical bills, as you 
know. But during the Crime Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 2489, a witness 
from the Department of Justice theorized that the changes proposed by 
this bill might constitute a violation of the ex post facto clauses of 
article I of the Constitution in some cases. Let me ask you, if this 
legislation becomes law, Mr. Berman, would we be able to use it to 
prosecute a non-U.S. national taking part in the genocide in Darfur 
today?
  I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. BERMAN. I thank the gentleman for his question and yielding to me 
and appreciate his comments and partnership on this bill.
  In response, I would say that the genocide in Darfur is an ongoing 
crime. The House recognized it as such over 2 years ago, and there is 
no question that this crime continues today. We believe that ex post 
facto clearly would not apply in this situation.
  Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman for clarifying that.
  Lastly, going back to that specific hypothesis from the witness from 
the Department of Justice, if this new law were used to prosecute a 
perpetrator of a past genocide, the assertion was it may constitute an 
ex post facto violation of the Constitution. Do you agree with that 
hypothesis?
  Mr. BERMAN. The gentleman raises an important issue, and I do not 
agree with that hypothesis. I think the witness from the Department of 
Justice was offering a spontaneous and personal opinion, which he was 
careful to label as such, and not an official interpretation by the 
Department.
  When we crafted this bill, we were careful to write it as narrowly 
and precisely as possible. We were and remain interested only in 
changing the circumstances under which certain parties may be charged 
under the genocide statute. Our intent is to make a procedural 
alteration to the current law and leave everything else in the statute 
untouched.
  In determining whether or not a law presents a violation of the ex 
post facto clauses of the Constitution, courts have generally 
considered whether the new law: one, places the defendant at a 
substantial disadvantage compared to the law as it stood when he 
committed the crime of which he has been convicted; secondly, changes 
the definition of the crime; or three, increases the maximum penalty 
for it. The Genocide Accountability Act doesn't alter in any way either 
the elements or the punishment for the crime of genocide.
  The underlying notion here is that the defendant should be on notice 
that his actions constituted a crime. I think it would be very 
difficult for anyone to argue that the world is not on notice that we 
consider and have considered for many years genocide a crime. The 
United States has recognized genocide as a crime for nearly 60 years as 
a signatory of the Genocide Convention.
  Neither do we make any change that would deprive one charged with the 
crime of any defense that is now available under the law. It is 
important to add that the Supreme Court has found a key exception to 
the ex post facto rule where changes to a law are procedural in nature.

                              {time}  1545

  In numerous decisions, the court has held that where a law involves 
changes in the procedures by which a criminal case is adjudicated as 
opposed to changes in the substantive laws of crimes, and I quote that 
phrase directly, that does not deprive a defendant of substantial legal 
protections, then it is constitutional.

[[Page H14206]]

  It is our conclusion that this bill falls within that exception and 
makes only procedural changes to the law. So it was our intent that 
this law be used to prosecute perpetrators of genocide who are on 
notice that their acts constitute a crime wherever it was committed.
  Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman for his response. I thank him again 
for his leadership on this issue, to the ranking member Mr. Forbes for 
his leadership and courtesy today, and to the chairman and ranking 
member of the full committee. It is important legislation, and I urge 
all of my colleagues to join us in a strong bipartisan vote against 
genocide, in favor of the Genocide Accountability Act. It is time we 
gave the force of American law here at home behind our commitment to 
end genocide in the world.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased now to recognize a 
distinguished member of Judiciary, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, for such 
time as he may consume.
  Mr. COHEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Berman for bringing this 
legislation.
  It is obvious we need such a bill, for America should never be a 
haven for people who commit crimes against mankind. And that is what 
genocide is, a crime against mankind. It is ironic that God's rightest 
creature, human beings, are the only species that God created that 
commits genocide. Animals attack each other out of need for food or for 
other reasons, but not to destroy and kill an entire other group of 
animals. Only man, with his ability to think, can create the most 
unhuman-like crime against mankind, which is the attempt to kill others 
because of ethnic differences. That is an irony and a shame. And the 
fact is that we should never be a country that does anything but try to 
make this world a better place. People should not find America a harbor 
when they escape from the area, whether it be Darfur or Rwanda or any 
other place where genocide has been committed.
  As a Jewish person, I have known about genocide because we know about 
the Holocaust and Jewish people have had relatives and possible would-
be relatives if our ancestors had not emigrated to this country who 
would have been victims of this Holocaust or who were. So many of us 
have been to the Holocaust Museum or Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, or other 
places or concentration camps and learned.
  I would submit that this bill, as the previous bill about nooses, 
should make a strong statement from this Congress, Mr. Speaker, but to 
the American people and the educators of this country that what we need 
in this country is more education about tolerance, more education about 
the horrors that we have had in the past in history. Because if you 
don't learn from history, you will repeat it again. And here we are, 
almost 2008, talking about genocide and nooses and oppressive tactics 
used by groups to intimidate religious and ethnic minorities and people 
of different backgrounds.
  I commend the authors for bringing the bill, and it is a bipartisan 
bill and that is what we need, but there are so many other aspects that 
we need to look into.
  Elie Wiesel, who was cited just recently by a Member on the other 
side, said that people who hate, hate everyone. People who hate Jews 
hate blacks, hate Hispanics, hate gays.
  We have had hate crimes come up in this Congress that have passed and 
hopefully we will have a hate crime that passes, because hate in any 
form, whether it is racial, religious, or sexual orientation is just 
that, it is hate, and it is un-American and it is something 
unfortunately unique to humankind that should be stamped out and 
abolished in this country, and this Congress should not allow it, 
countenance it, or in any way condone it.
  And so I thank the chairman and Mr. Berman for their leadership and 
the other people who have worked on this bill, Mr. Forbes and others, 
and we should work together in a bipartisan fashion to make this 
country what it is supposed to be, and that is an area where we can 
work together and hopefully one day have the Age of Aquarius and a 
place where we don't have these problems that we have had in the past.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Michigan, Congressman Ehlers.
  Mr. EHLERS. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I feel very strongly 
about this issue, and I want to echo the words of the previous speaker, 
the gentleman from Tennessee who, of course, because of his background, 
has a deep historical interest and feeling about genocide.
  I have been appalled at the lack of advancement of the nations in 
dealing with genocide, particularly the current genocide in Darfur. 
There is no reason in the world that our Nation, coupled with the other 
nations, could not have stopped this earlier. And because of the 
niceties of diplomatic relations worldwide, we have not done so. I 
believe that is a mistake, and I feel very strongly about this. 
Genocide should not occur. As the gentleman before me commented, that 
we are the only creatures who deliberately kill large numbers of our 
own kind. And it is not new. It started with Cain and Abel, the killing 
of a brother.
  We must pursue genocide worldwide. We must insist that it not take 
place. And we must punish those who commit genocide. There is no reason 
on God's good Earth that we should permit genocide. And we, along with 
the other nations, have the power to stop it and we should do so.
  So I rise with great gratitude to the sponsors of this bill and those 
presenting this bill on the floor. This is one small step forward in 
what we really have to do, and that is to totally and completely outlaw 
genocide worldwide and act expeditiously to stop it wherever it occurs.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  As the gentleman from Indiana said, this is a small step but a very 
profound step. You have heard the voices all in almost unanimous 
agreement supporting this bill. I hope that would be the pleasure of 
the House.
  I would like to yield the balance of my time to the chairman of the 
committee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers).
  Mr. CONYERS. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Speaker.
  I want to close by observing that the Judiciary Committee has handled 
four measures on the floor this afternoon, and I have enjoyed the full, 
unstinting cooperation of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes). I 
want to thank him very much for it. And I appreciate the kinds of 
issues that we have handled here on this day in the House of 
Representatives. They are issues of local and global import that I 
think reflect in a very complimentary sense upon the things that can be 
accomplished in the Congress when we put our best efforts and bring our 
most cooperative spirits to the table. And so I thank all of the 
speakers on both sides of the aisle.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of S. 888, the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007, introduced by 
Senator Durbin. I would like to thank my colleague Representative 
Berman for introducing this resolution in the House, where I am proud 
to join over 10 of my colleagues as a cosponsor of this important 
legislation. May I also take this opportunity to thank Chairman Conyers 
for his leadership in guiding this legislation through the Judiciary 
Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a tragedy that the 20th century, which excelled in 
technological innovation and great accomplishments in arts and letters, 
could also be remembered for events symbolizing man's inhumanity to 
man. Genocide in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Germany, and 
the Ottoman Empire, to cite a few examples, showed us the monstrous 
potential of totalitarian regimes determined to annihilate entire 
ethnic, racial and religious groups.
  Sadly, though the 20th century has been called ``the Age of 
Genocide'' by at least one prominent scholar, the crime has already 
been seen in the new 21st century, with the deplorable situation in 
Darfur. Over the recent August recess, I led a congressional delegation 
to Darfur, where, together with two of my colleagues, I had the tragic 
opportunity to see the plight of the people of Darfur, victims of the 
systematic annihilation attempt supported by the Government of Sudan.
  Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a 
systematic campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, mass murder, and 
terror as we are witnessing in Darfur for the last 3 years. At least 
400,000 people have been killed in Darfur; more than 2 million innocent 
civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in 
displaced-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring 
Chad; and more than 3.5 million

[[Page H14207]]

men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid 
for survival. Unless the world stirs from its slumber and takes 
concerted and decisive action to relieve this suffering, the ongoing 
genocide in Darfur will stand as one of the blackest marks on humankind 
for centuries to come.
  In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the ``Convention 
on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.'' As its 
title suggests, the treaty imposes two core obligations on 
participating states: first, state parties undertake to prevent 
genocide; and second, they commit to punish genocide as well as several 
related acts, such as attempting to commit genocide. The Genocide 
Convention establishes our core obligations in combating the genocide 
phenomenon--preventing and punishing Genocide. The document gives the 
U.N. a broad license to deal with genocide. In addition, individual 
states are expected to do all they can to prevent genocide. It also 
gives responsibility to state parties to prosecute the perpetrators of 
genocide.

  In 1987, Congress enacted legislation to bring U.S. law into 
conformity with the Genocide Convention. The ``Proxmire Act'' (The 
Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987) is the key U.S. law 
implementing the Genocide Convention. When read together with other 
provisions of the federal criminal code concerning conspiracy and 
complicity, the Proxmire Act addresses the explicit obligation set 
forth in Article VI of the Genocide Convention concerning prosecution 
of genocide and related criminal acts in courts of the State where 
genocide occurs. In addition, the Proxmire Act makes it a federal crime 
for a U.S. national to commit genocide anywhere.
  The proliferation of civil wars accompanied by ethnic cleansing and 
outright genocide which characterized the end of the 20th century, from 
Bosnia and Herzegovina to the civil wars in Somalia and Liberia, 
produced a number of perpetrators of genocidal acts who later ended up 
on American shores. This revealed a shortcoming in our current laws, 
under which the United States cannot indict someone for genocide 
committed outside the United States, even when the victim is an 
American citizen, unless the perpetrator is a U.S. national.
  In contrast, 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. In light of this legal gap in 
our obligations to prosecute perpetrators of genocide, I commend my 
colleagues Mr. Berman and Mr. Pence for introducing the Genocide 
Accountability Act., H.R. 2489 in May of 2007.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation would close a legal loophole that 
prevents the U.S. Justice Department from prosecuting people in our 
country who have committed genocide. The bill specifically amends Title 
18 to establish federal criminal jurisdiction over the crime of 
genocide wherever the crime is committed. This jurisdiction should be 
exercised when the alleged offender is present in the United States and 
he or she will not be vigorously and fairly prosecuted by another court 
with appropriate jurisdiction.
  Many countries have adopted or enforced legislation establishing 
jurisdiction over certain international crimes, including genocide, 
wherever committed if the alleged perpetrator is in their territory and 
any additional requirements are satisfied. This legislation will be a 
further step toward bring the United States into line with its 
international obligations, and toward ensuring that no perpetrator of 
genocide living on U.S. soil can go unpunished.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important 
legislation.
  Mr. CONYERS. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 888.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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