[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 12989-12990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2004

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Madam President, from the central highlands of Vietnam 
to the Darfur region of Sudan, and from the Tumen river dividing North 
Korea and China to the roof of the world in Bhutan and Nepal, nearly 12 
million people worldwide are refugees. Sunday, June 20, 2004 is World 
Refugee Day. This week, at events both in Washington and around the 
world, policymakers, advocates and concerned individuals will direct 
our attention to the plight of those who seek safety from persecution 
in their homelands.
  Refugees face the most difficult of circumstances. Their stories of 
escape from persecution are more dramatic than anything Hollywood could 
script and often too horrific for most of us to imagine. Stories of 
unspeakable brutality, long journeys, and family separation are not the 
exception but the rule. Often, refugees are alive only because of a 
faith in God and an unshakeable will to survive.
  Tragically, however, the plight of a refugee does not end with escape 
from persecution. Refugees frequently have nothing but their lives to 
bring into a new country. Most refugees would love to return to their 
homelands, but this is often impossible. Absent a dramatic change in 
conditions at home, refugees have few choices.
  I am proud that the United States leads the world in one of those 
choices: refugee resettlement. From its founding, America has been the 
dream destination for the world's oppressed peoples, and that dream 
endures today. I want to applaud the determination of the State 
Department to resettle as many as 50,000 refugees this year--a 
significant increase over recent annual totals. I look forward to 
working with the State Department for the rest of this year and into 
the next, to return our refugee resettlement program to its historical 
averages and preserve America's commitment to the world's most 
vulnerable people.
  Some might say ``Why should we bother?'' Some might ask why the 
United States should play such a role. But such questions are 
ultimately short-sighted. America's principles are never better upheld 
than when we assist the oppressed. American's image is nowhere better 
polished than in the minds of refugees who receive our assistance. And 
no, the United States cannot solve every refugee problem, so it should 
be clear that America's interests are well-served by setting an example 
for the rest of the world to follow.
  There is much work to be done. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are 
fleeing the Darfur region of Sudan. They stream into Chad bringing 
nothing with them and finding little across the border. Within a few 
months, the region has become the world's most acute humanitarian 
crisis. The United States has already directed millions of dollars in 
emergency funds to this region, and as we find additional ways to 
respond, I hope the international community will commit itself to 
assisting these refugees.
  In similar fashion, I hope that the international community will not 
allow discussions of nuclear weapons to obscure the plight of thousands 
of North Koreans who have fled into northeast China. Not only are they 
living testimonies to the brutality of the regime of Kim Jong-il, they 
remind us that sometimes refugees are forced to trade one set of 
horrors for another. China must stop forcibly repatriating North 
Koreans and should allow the international community to provide 
assistance to these people.
  In other parts of the world, refugees find safe haven in camps where 
they await a change of conditions at home or some other long-term 
resolution of

[[Page 12990]]

their exiled status. While camps are intended to be way stations, 
however, they too often become warehouses. Seven million of the world's 
12 million refugees have lived in camps or segregated settlements for 
more than 10 years. Think of that: seven million people who have each 
forfeited a decade of human potential. The international community 
never intended that it be this way. The 1951 Convention Relating to the 
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol--signed by the United States--
give refugees the right to be recognized before the law, to move 
freely, to earn a living, and to own property. But in many cases, these 
rights are not respected and the loss of human potential endures.
  There are no easy solutions to the warehousing problem, but such 
treatment is unacceptable. I hope that as we respond to the Darfur 
situation and others around the world, the State Department and other 
members of the international community will take steps to ensure that 
refugees who receive our emergency assistance today will gain 
opportunities for self-sufficiency tomorrow.
  Unfortunately, as long as there is conflict, there will be refugees. 
But strong United States responses to these humanitarian crises mean 
more than a dollar figure in the budget. When the United States 
emphasizes refugee assistance and refugees, it demonstrates a 
commitment for other nations to emulate. Truly global responses to 
refugee crises begin here with America's strong, compassionate 
leadership.
  As we mark World Refugee Day 2004 this Sunday, I look forward to 
extending that leadership in the days ahead, and I hope my colleagues 
will join me in working on this crucial part of our foreign and 
humanitarian policy.

                          ____________________