[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13375-13376]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNITION OF THE JUSTICE FOR CONGO VICTIMS AND CONGO REFORMS PEACE 
                               CONVENTION

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2015

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to submit the 
following statement in recognition of the Justice for Congo Victims and 
Congo Reforms Peace Convention hosted at University of Texas at 
Arlington. I would like to express my gratitude to Richard Millsap for 
asking me to participate in this Peace Convention. I would also like to 
thank those of you who were involved in making this event happen and 
all of the participants who have taken time out of their schedules to 
be a part of such a momentous conference.
  I have been a longtime advocate for peace and diplomacy over armed 
conflict. As many of you know, I began my A World of Women for World 
Peace initiative in 2001. Throughout my time in office, I have seen 
first-hand the pillage of war. Shortly after experiencing the

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terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, I saw on the cover of Newsweek 
magazine, two boys from Liberia who were 12 and 14 years old dressed in 
military gear with machine guns, and I just thought enough was enough. 
I wondered how our world had come to this place of aggression, and I 
knew that I had to do something to be a part of bringing a culture of 
peace to the world.
  My efforts started with women who are the mothers of young boys like 
the ones I saw on the cover of that magazine, whose lives are 
sacrificed in the name of war. We must recognize and empower these 
women to facilitate peace-building, peacemaking, and peace-keeping 
activities across the world. We must also recognize the experts and 
leaders who help us to plant the seeds of peace.
  I recently participated in my A World of Women for World Peace 
conference in Taipei, Taiwan, where we discussed ways to build peace 
through culture. One panelist in particular spoke about the necessity 
of compassion and healing the wounds of civil wars and genocides before 
peace can be achieved on the ground. I strongly believe that this is 
the case in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The global community 
must recognize the tragedies of the Congo before the Congolese people 
can truly move forward to a place of peace. Thank you for allowing me 
to provide written remarks and I hope you have a productive Peace 
Convention.

                          ____________________