[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 98 (Monday, June 20, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4362-S4363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 503--RECOGNIZING JUNE 20, 2016, AS ``WORLD REFUGEE 
                                 DAY''

  Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Baldwin, 
Mr. Markey, Mr. Booker, Mr. Brown, Mr. Reed, Mr. Peters, Mr. 
Blumenthal, and Mr. Kaine) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 503

       Whereas World Refugee Day is a global day to acknowledge 
     the courage, strength, and determination of women, men, and 
     children who are forced to flee their homes due to conflict, 
     violence, and persecution;
       Whereas according to the United Nations High Commissioner 
     for Refugees (referred to in this preamble as ``UNHCR'')--
       (1) there are more than 65,300,000 displaced people 
     worldwide, the highest levels ever recorded, including almost 
     21,300,000 refugees, 40,800,000 internally displaced people, 
     and 3,200,000 people seeking asylum;
       (2) children account for 51 percent of the refugee 
     population in the world, millions of whom are unable to 
     access basic services including education;
       (3) nearly 4,800,000 refugees have fled Syria since the 
     start of the Syrian conflict and more than 6,600,000 people 
     are internally displaced within Syria;
       (4) since January 2014, more than 3,300,000 Iraqis fleeing 
     violence have been internally displaced, and 277,000 refugees 
     have fled to neighboring countries;
       (5) ongoing conflict, violence, and persecution have 
     resulted in the displacement of millions across South Sudan, 
     Ukraine, Colombia, and the Central African Republic;
       (6) since April 2015, sporadic outbursts of violence in 
     Burundi have prompted more than 265,000 Burundians to flee to 
     the neighboring countries of Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and 
     the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
       (7) violent insurgent attacks in Nigeria have forced 
     220,000 people to flee to the neighboring countries of 
     Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, and have internally displaced 
     nearly 2,200,000 people;
       (8) between January and June of 2016, more than 206,000 
     refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea 
     attempting to reach Europe and at least 2,800 women, men, and 
     children have died during such crossings or are missing after 
     such attempts; and
       (9) approximately 95,000 women, men, and children, 
     including many persecuted Rohingya refugees from Burma, have 
     departed on the boats of smugglers in the Bay of Bengal since 
     2014, more than 1,100 of whom have died at sea;
       Whereas refugees who are women and girls are often at a 
     greater risk of sexual violence and exploitation, forced or 
     early marriage, human trafficking, and other forms of gender-
     based violence;
       Whereas the United States is the largest donor to UNHCR and 
     provides critical resources and support to international and 
     nongovernmental organizations working with refugees around 
     the world; and
       Whereas since 1975, the United States has welcomed more 
     than 3,000,000 refugees who are resettled in communities 
     across the country: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
     promote the safety, health, and well-being of the millions of 
     refugees, including the education of refugee children and 
     displaced persons who flee war, persecution, or torture in 
     search of peace, hope, and freedom;
       (2) calls upon the United States Government--
       (A) to continue its international leadership role in 
     response to those who have been displaced, including the most 
     vulnerable populations who may endure sexual violence, human 
     trafficking, forced conscription, persecution, or 
     exploitation;
       (B) to find solutions to existing conflicts and prevent new 
     conflicts from beginning;
       (C) to provide humanitarian and development support to 
     countries around the world that are hosting millions of 
     refugees to alleviate social and economic strains placed on 
     host communities; and
       (D) to encourage the international community to increase 
     resources to address current and projected refugee crises;
       (3) commends those who have risked their lives working 
     individually and for nongovernmental organizations and 
     international agencies such as UNHCR who have

[[Page S4363]]

     provided life-saving assistance and helped protect those 
     displaced by conflict around the world; and
       (4) reiterates the strong commitment of the United States 
     to protect and assist millions of refugees and other forcibly 
     uprooted persons worldwide, consistent with the values of the 
     United States and with the interests of national security.

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I submit a resolution to mark World 
Refugee Day, June 20, and to address the unprecedented humanitarian 
crisis of millions of men, women, and children who are forced to flee 
from their homes due to conflict, violence, persecution, or human 
rights violations.
  According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, 
the numbers of refugees and internally displaced people in 2015 
uprooted from their home outstripped even the catastrophic levels of 
displacement following World War II. By the end of last year, 65.3 
million people were forcibly displaced worldwide. Fifty percent of the 
displaced are children. These individuals and families have been 
uprooted by violence and persecution in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, 
Burundi, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. These brutal conflicts 
churning through entire regions are shattering nations, and scattering 
an unprecedented number of people. Yet, we cannot allow these suffering 
people to become an abstraction or mere grim statistics. We cannot 
allow the wearying repetition of the horrors to numb our ability to 
think of each individual and each family as people just like ourselves, 
struggling to cope with unbearable circumstances.
  Closer to home, rising numbers of people fleeing gang and other 
violence in Central America have contributed wider displacement across 
the wider region. Nearly 110,000 refugees and asylum seekers have come 
from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to Mexico and the United 
States, representing a more than five-fold increase over three years.
  The relentless, horrifying violence of the Syrian conflict is perhaps 
the most shocking. By the end of 2015, there were close to 5 million 
Syrian refugees worldwide, an increase of 1 million men, women, and 
children within one year. After 5 years of war, the situation is 
increasingly desperate for both the refugees and host countries such as 
Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. It is hard to comprehend the 
demographic, economic, and social impact of millions of refugees on 
these host countries. The number of refugees in Lebanon, for instance, 
would be equivalent to 88 million new refugees arriving in the United 
States.
  The futures of millions of Syrian children are being stolen because 
they have no access to education. In the tiny country of Lebanon alone, 
there are over 300,000 Syrian refugee children who have no access to 
school. Over 2 million Syrian women are in the neighboring countries 
trying to survive. Dangerous coping mechanisms are on the rise. More 
and more families are forced to send their children to work or marry 
off their young daughters.
  While contributing generously to humanitarian funding, the United 
States has only accepted about 2,850 Syrian refugees to date. Because 
Syrians are finding it increasingly difficult to find safety, they are 
being forced to move further afield. Hundreds of thousands of people, 
most from Syria, have crossed the Mediterranean in boats in search of 
protection in Europe. Since January 2015, almost 5,000 mothers, 
fathers, and children lost their lives in their desperate bid to escape 
violence.
  We know that the Syrian humanitarian disaster, which has destabilized 
an entire region, is not the accidental byproduct of conflict. It is, 
rather, one result of the strategy pursued by the Assad regime. The 
UN's Commission of Inquiry on Syria has documented that the Assad 
regime intentionally engages in the indiscriminate bombardments of 
homes, hospitals, schools, and water and electrical facilities to 
terrorize the civilian population. The terrorist groups Islamic State 
of Iraq & the Levant, ISIL, and Al-Nusra have also deliberately shelled 
areas with high concentrations of civilians.
  There is also a grave and escalating humanitarian crisis in Yemen. 
That country was particularly vulnerable even before the current 
conflict, and now civilians throughout the country are facing alarming 
levels of suffering and violence. By the end of 2015, almost 200,000 
people had fled to other countries, and about 2.5 million people were 
forced from their homes and live in empty schools, and other public 
buildings, or along highways.
  We are also witnessing violent conflict that has pushed millions of 
people out of regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The outbreak of violence 
in Burundi forced over 200,000 people to flee their country last year. 
In Libya, smuggling and trafficking networks thrive as the country has 
become a major transit route for sub-Saharan Africans seeking safety 
and security in Europe. Most of these refugees are fleeing Boko Haram 
in Nigeria, and decades of armed conflict and al-Shabaab in Somalia and 
Eritrea, where the government carries out extrajudicial killings, 
torture, and other serious human rights violations. In the Lake Chad 
Basin region, more than 2.4 million people--1.5 million of them 
children--have fled their homes due to violence and attacks by the 
terrorist group Boko Haram. The conflict has forced more than 200,000 
Nigerians to flee to Cameroon, Chad, and Niger following attacks on 
their villages. While violence persists in Somalia, I am deeply 
concerned about the recent announcement by the government of Kenya that 
it would seek to close Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world 
and home to almost 400,000 Somali refugees. Shutting down the camp will 
mean increased protection risks for the thousands of refugees, the 
majority of who are women, children and unaccompanied minors. Moreover, 
Somalia is faced with a severe drought and other security risks which 
will increase the vulnerability of its displaced people.
  The international community must get serious about protecting the 
most vulnerable refugees--women and children. Women are facing 
ferocious threats in conflicts across the globe where rape and sexual 
assault are being used as weapons of war, and as vulnerable refugees 
they continue to be targets of gender-based violence. Children now make 
up one-half of all refugees worldwide. We must do more to protect them 
from sexual exploitation and abuse, from recruitment as child soldiers, 
and from being forced into early marriage. Organizations such as the 
United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, Mercy Corps, Catholic Relief 
Services, and others know how to provide targeted support and 
protection to women and children refugees. But we in the international 
community must fund them adequately to help them do the job. The United 
States has lead in terms of humanitarian assistance, but we must 
encourage other nations to do more.
  Against this tragic backdrop, we have all listened recently to 
divisive political rhetoric and hate speech on refugee and migration 
issues which is feeding rising levels of xenophobia. Instead of burden-
sharing, we see borders closing; instead of political will, there is 
political paralysis. Humanitarian organizations and their field staff, 
overstretched and exhausted, are left to deal with consequences while, 
at the same time, they are trying to save lives on shrinking budgets. 
As the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has noted, ``Yet, there is 
cause for hope. In contrast to the toxic narrative repeatedly played 
out in the media we have often witnessed an outpouring of generosity; 
by host communities, by individuals, and by families opening their 
homes. These ordinary people see refugees not as beggars, competitors 
for jobs, or terrorists--but as people like you or me whose lives have 
been disrupted by war.''
  In closing, we must recognize that as these conflicts proliferate, no 
corner of the world will be left unaffected. Today, on World Refugee 
Day, we recognize that every person fleeing his or her home deserves 
compassion and help; displaced people should be able to live their 
lives in safety and dignity. We must recommit ourselves to work smarter 
and harder to assist the world's most vulnerable people. Next year, on 
this day, I want to stand before the Senate to speak of the progress we 
have made and the lives we have saved by our collective efforts.

                          ____________________