[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16343]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   TAKING ACTION ON EUROPE'S WORST REFUGEE CRISIS SINCE WORLD WAR II

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 21, 2015

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday I convened a 
Helsinki Commission hearing to scrutinize the European refugee crisis 
and help determine the most effective ways in which the U.S., the 
European Union, and the OSCE can and should respond.
  The Syrian displacement crisis that has consumed seven countries in 
the Middle East has become the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since 
World War II. At least 250,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil 
war, many of them civilians.
  The security forces of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's security 
forces have been responsible for many of these killings, targeting 
neighborhoods with barrel bombs and shooting civilians point-blank. 
ISIS has committed genocide, mass atrocities, and war crimes, against 
Christians and other minorities, and likewise targeted, brutalized and 
killed Shia and Sunni Muslims who reject its ideology and brutality.
  Fleeing for safety, more than four million Syrians are refugees, the 
largest refugee population in the world, and another 7.6 million 
Syrians are displaced inside their home country.
  Syria's neighbors--Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt--are 
hosting most of these refugees. Before the Syria crisis, these 
countries struggled with high rates of unemployment, strained public 
services, and a range of other domestic challenges. Since the conflict 
began, Syrian refugees have become a quarter of Lebanon's population, 
and Iraq, which has been beset by ISIS and sectarian conflict, is 
hosting almost 250,000 refugees from Syria.
  Until this past summer, few Syrian refugees went beyond countries 
that border their homeland. Syrian refugees and migrants from a range 
of countries have since come to Europe in such large numbers, and so 
quickly, that many European countries, especially front-line entry 
points like Greece, transit countries like Serbia, and destination 
countries like Germany, have been challenged to respond.
  The UN High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR, reports that more than 
635,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Europe by sea in 2015. 
Fifty three percent of these people are from Syria, sixteen percent 
from Afghanistan, six percent from Eritrea, and five percent from Iraq. 
Notably, only fourteen percent of them are women, twenty percent are 
children, and the remaining sixty five percent are men.
  The European crisis requires a response that is European, national, 
and international, and the United States is essential to it. There must 
be effective coordination and communication directly between countries 
as well as through and with entities like the OSCE and European Union. 
Individual countries also must have the flexibility to respond best to 
the particular circumstances in their own countries.
  The response must address ``push'' factors, like economic challenges 
and aid short-falls in countries like Syria's neighbors that have been 
hosting refugees. It must also address ``pull'' factors, like decisions 
individual European countries have made that have attracted refugees.
  There is real human need and desperation. Refugees are entrusting 
themselves to smugglers and where there is human smuggling there is a 
higher risk of human trafficking. I am especially concerned about the 
risk of abuse, exploitation, and enslavement, of women and children. 
Already we are hearing reports that some European countries are failing 
to protect women and girls from sexual assault and forced prostitution. 
The lack of separate bathroom facilities for males and females, rooms 
that can be locked, and other basic measures, enable such attacks. 
There is no excuse for such failures and everything must be done to 
ensure that women and children are safe.
  There is also the real threat that terrorist groups like ISIS will 
infiltrate these massive movements of people to kill civilians in 
Europe and beyond. I am deeply concerned that the screening at many 
European borders is inadequate and putting lives at risk. All of us 
must be responsive to the humanitarian needs without compromising one 
iota on security. European response plans should include specifics 
about strengthening security screening throughout the European region.
  During the conflict in Kosovo, I travelled to Stenkovec refugee camp 
in Macedonia and was at the McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey to 
welcome some of the 4,400 people brought from there to the United 
States. A refugee--Agron Abdullahu--was apprehended and sent to jail in 
2008 for supplying guns and ammunition to the ``Fort Dix 5''--a group 
of terrorists who were also sent to prison for plotting to kill 
American soldiers at the Fort Dix military installation.
  Given Secretary Kerry's announcement in September that the United 
States intends to resettle at least 85,000 refugees in fiscal year 
2016, including at least 10,000 Syrians, and at least 100,000 refugees 
in fiscal year 2017, the United States and Europe must be on high alert 
to weed out terrorists from real refugees. Because religious and ethnic 
minorities often have additional risks and vulnerabilities even as 
refugees, they should be prioritized for resettlement.
  Tuesday's hearing examined the ``who'' is arriving, the ``why'' they 
are coming to Europe, and the ``what'' has been done and should be done 
in response. European governments, entities like the OSCE and the EU, 
and civil society all have critical roles to play.
  The United States has been the leading donor to the humanitarian 
crisis inside Syria and refugee crisis in the region. We also have the 
largest refugee admissions program in the world. However, according to 
Tuesday's testimony from Shelly Pitterman, Regional Representative for 
the UN High Commission for Refugees, ``The current inter-agency Syrian 
Regional Refugee and Resilience (3RP) plan for 2015 is only 41 percent 
funded, which has meant cuts in food aid for thousands of refugees.''
  Globally, he warned, ``The humanitarian system is financially broke. 
We are no longer able to meet even the absolute minimum requirements of 
core protection and lifesaving assistance to preserve the human dignity 
of the people we care for. The current funding level for the 33 UN 
appeals to provide humanitarian assistance to 82 million people around 
the world is only 42 percent. UNHCR expects to receive just 47 percent 
of the funding we need this year.''
  At the hearing, Sean Callahan, Chief Operating Officer of Catholic 
Relief Services, said, ``As global leaders in the international 
humanitarian and refugee response, the U.S. and Europe must heed Pope 
Francis' call and find new ways to alleviate the suffering and protect 
the vulnerable.'' I could not agree more. In the 20th and 21th 
centuries, the United States and Europe have come together to address 
the great challenges of our time and this is an opportunity to do so 
again.

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