[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3504]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  STOP SEXUAL ABUSE OF AFGHAN CHILDREN

  (Mr. ROONEY of Florida asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, last fall, it was reported that 
sexual abuse of children by members of the Afghan military has been 
rampant for years, and that, in some instances, U.S. servicemembers 
have been punished for attempting to stop such abuse.
  As our mission in Afghanistan reaches 15 years, our troops should not 
feel that our strategy is undermined by Afghan forces committing human 
rights violations against innocent children.
  Along with 94 of my colleagues in both the House and the Senate, I 
requested a full inquiry into the U.S. Government's experience with 
allegations of sexual abuse of children by members of the Afghan 
security and police forces. This investigation has been launched by the 
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, who will 
evaluate the Department of Defense's and State Department's policies 
and procedures for ensuring U.S. funds do not support human rights 
violators.
  Sexually harming innocent children should not be condoned in any part 
of the world, and the children of Afghanistan deserve the same 
protection as any of God's children.

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