[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 76 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E627-E628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROTECTING CIVIL SOCIETY, FAITH-BASED ACTORS, AND POLITICAL SPEECH IN 
                           SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2018

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, our hearing today will explore 
U.S. policy responses to the growing trend of government incursions on 
the space for non-state actors in Sub-Saharan Africa. As authoritarian 
regimes and backsliding democracies have entrenched themselves in 
countries such as Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, 
Rwanda, and Burundi, governments have increasingly encroached upon the 
mediating space between individuals and the state, particularly against 
religious groups and journalists, who often stand as independent 
institutional checks to authoritarian rule.
  Protecting non-governmental sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is critical 
to preserving civil and political rights within the region. As we 
learned from the U.S. civil rights movement, groups such as churches 
and independent journalists are the safekeepers of civil liberties. 
Through sanctions and public diplomacy tools, the international 
community can protect the space for these safe-keepers to operate in 
Sub-Saharan Africa.
  For example, the Catholic Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo 
is the only organization with a nationwide institutional presence and 
moral authority capable of checking Kabila's growing authoritarian 
rule. The National Episcopal Conference of the Congo (CENCO, per its 
French acronym) is the only civil society institution that pressures 
the Kabila regime to respect human rights and democratic principles. 
CENCO mediated the Saint Sylvester political agreement in 2016. It also 
oversees the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace (CEJP) which 
conducts voter-education and election-observer training programs and is 
a recipient of USAID funding, and has expressed ``moral support'' for 
pro-democracy protests.
  The Catholic Church's leadership in the Congo does not come without a 
cost. Priests, nuns and parishioners have been targeted, attacked, and 
killed in retaliation for its leadership. A few months ago, Father 
Sebastien Yebo, parish priest of St. Robert in an outer eastern suburb 
of Kinshasa, was was abducted by Congolese security forces. Interviewed 
on RFI radio, Father Joseph Bema from St. Kisito's parish said he has 
rarely slept at home since the brutal suppression of the protest 
marches organized by the Lay Coordination Committee on Jan. 21.

[[Page E628]]

  The closing of space for faith based organizations and other civil 
society organizations is a worrying trend in a number of Sub-Saharan 
African countries. Humanitarian aid workers, journalists, priests and 
political candidates (and their families), have been increasingly 
targeted and threatened by governments in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  If we look north of the DRC, we can see that in South Sudan, a 
country I visited twice since its independence, we see humanitarian 
organizations are harassed by government forces. Last year, 
humanitarian organizations reported over 700 cases of humanitarian 
access incidents. The environment for humanitarian operations grows 
increasingly difficult and dangerous as the geographic scope of 
humanitarian need continues to expand. South Sudan currently have over 
1.7 million IDPs.
  There is also growing concern throughout the region on the closing of 
independent and objective media sources. Most recently, Burundi 
suspended Voice of America and BBC earlier this week for a period of 
six months, according to the announcement made at a press conference by 
the Conseil Nationale de la Communication (CNC). The CNC claims that 
this suspension is in response to ``biased reporting.'' This suspension 
comes two weeks before a referendum allowing Burundi' s president to 
serve into the 2030s, in apparent violation of constitutional term 
limits. VOA's local correspondent told US Embassy Bujumbura that the 
decision was a complete surprise and we will hear more from VOA's 
Africa Director as one of our witnesses today.
  All of the witnesses today bring us an on-the-ground perspective of 
the closing space for non-governmental organizations, though they will 
provide a snapshot of conditions in several countries, their 
testimony's will provide evidence of the growing regional trend of 
incursions against civic space. My hope is that this hearing will 
inform our view of possible U.S. policy responses to better protect 
fundamental civil and political rights in Sub-Saharan Africa, which 
includes using sanctions, greater support for faith-based actor via 
USAID, and support media independence, specifically Voice of America--
Africa (VOA).

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