Requiring a Regional Strategy to Address the Threat Posed by Boko Haram

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I wish to praise Senate passage earlier this week of legislation I authored, S. 1632, to help combat the threat posed by the Boko Haram terrorist group. I am hopeful that our colleagues in the House will pass the bill quickly so that it can go to the President's desk for signature.

Boko Haram is a notorious terrorist organization. Less well known, however, is what the name means: ``Western education is forbidden.'' This descriptive moniker helps explain the organization's determination to terrorize young girls who seek an education--girls who seek nothing more than a better life and a path to independence.

Following the horrific kidnapping of 276 girls more than a year ago, Boko Haram has continued to commit barbaric acts of violence against civilians. According to the Congressional Research Service, Boko Haram may have killed more than 11,000 people, with more than 5,500 people killed in 2014 alone. Boko Haram has also pledged allegiance to ISIS, a fellow terrorist organization, in an attempt to further their reach and increase their ability to intimidate the citizens of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger. We cannot sit idly by while Boko Haram continues to terrorize women, girls, and religious minorities in these African nations.

Last year, in response to the kidnapping of the schoolgirls, I worked with Senator Barbara Mikulski and garnered the support of all 20 women Senators in urging Secretary of State John Kerry to seek Boko Haram's addition to the United Nations al-Qaeda Sanctions List. Following this letter, the United Nations Security Council voted to subject Boko Haram to a complete asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo.

This year, I am again leading a bipartisan legislative effort to address the threats posed by Boko Haram. Specifically, my bipartisan bill, which now awaits consideration in the House of Representatives, calls on the U.S. Departments of State and Defense and their relevant partners to work together in creating a 5-year strategy to counter these increasing threats. Cosponsored by 18 of my Senate colleagues, this bill also signals a renewed congressional commitment to combatting Boko Haram and bolstering U.S. efforts throughout the region.

While I am pleased that this legislation and previous efforts continue to move us forward in the fight against Boko Haram, more must be done. I will continue to work with my colleagues to create and enact legislation aimed at countering the violence and terror spread by Boko Haram.

We have a window of opportunity to change the course of the fight against this intensifying terrorist threat, and we must seize the opportunity. We must also ensure that the United States, as a world leader, is providing the assistance necessary to make this strategy successful.

We must never forget that the girls of Nigeria were targeted simply because they chose to pursue an education. We must send a message to women and girls around the world that their safety and well-being matters, that everyone deserves the opportunity to seek an education. We must also send a clear message to Boko Haram that their appalling acts of violence have no place in this world.

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