[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5000-S5001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 NIGER

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, as vice chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee, I want to draw the Senate's attention to the plight of civil 
society leaders in Niger, where political and civil rights have been 
deteriorating over the last several years. This disturbing trend 
threatens the U.S.-Niger partnership and should concern each of us.
  Mahamadou Issoufou was elected President of Niger in 2011 and, in the 
following years, worked cooperatively with Niger's international 
partners, including the United States, to make progress toward the 
restoration of democratic governance in that country. Our countries 
have partnered together on health, development, and humanitarian 
assistance programs, and as we all know, we have suffered tragic losses 
together in the fight against terrorism.
  Progress toward democratic governance has been significantly eroded. 
Since the run up to President Issoufou's reelection in 2016, the 
government has increasingly persecuted opposition politicians, 
journalists, peaceful protesters, and civil society leaders in a manner 
that has undermined progress and stability in the country.
  This trend has not gone unnoticed. The State Department noted in its 
most recent Human Rights Report that Niger's significant human rights 
issues include harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center 
conditions, detention of opposition politicians, and restrictions on 
freedom of assembly. In November 2017, Niger withdrew from the global 
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative after being suspended for 
failing to meet good governance standards, including for its repression 
of civil society.
  An example of this disturbing trend involves the arrest of several 
dozen civil society leaders between March and April of this year, in 
connection with demonstrations against the country's new finance law. 
Many of these individuals, like Ali Idrissa, the coordinator for the 
Network of Organizations for Budgetary Transparency and Analysis, are 
affiliated with Publish What You Pay and are advocates for transparency 
and accountability of Niger's revenues in order to combat corruption. 
That effort should be a shared goal in Niger. Peaceful public assembly 
and calls for accountability should not result in imprisonment.
  I urge the Trump administration, other donor governments, including 
the EU, and the international financial institutions to hold the 
government of Niger accountable for respecting its citizens' right to 
freedom of expression and assembly and to join me in calling on 
President Issoufou to release the detainees and to dismiss the charges 
against these individuals. This is now a matter of urgency, as four 
civil society leaders reportedly face jail sentences at a judgment 
hearing on July 24.
  Doing so would be a positive step by the government of Niger toward 
proving that it is serious about upholding the values that underscore 
our partnership, including to maintain its eligibility under the 
recently initiated Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact. That 
Compact is now subject to heightened scrutiny by the Appropriations 
Committee, which provides the funding for it.

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