[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12911]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       REFORM THE UNITED NATIONS

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask our colleagues to help stop 
sexual predators among the United Nations peacekeeping forces and vote 
in favor of the Hyde U.N. Reform Act of 2005.
  It is monstrous that an international organization charged with 
assisting nations to rebuild after major turmoil has experienced an 
alarming number of scandals involving sexual harassment, rape, sex 
trafficking, misconduct, and harassment. Even one instance of these 
terrible crimes is appalling and unacceptable; but, unbelievably, over 
the past decade their appearance is frequent.
  United Nations peacekeepers, the very people who have been sworn to 
protect and assist those most in need, in some instances have been the 
perpetrators of these deplorable crimes against the most vulnerable of 
our population, refugees. These crimes are yet another example of the 
ways in which the U.N. is currently unfit to operate in its current 
state and must be reformed in order to restore its integrity and its 
authority.
  Through the United Nations Reform Act of 2005, the United States, as 
the greatest contributor to U.N. peacekeeping, will do away with all of 
these scandals.

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