Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007

SCIENCE, STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

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Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise to offer this amendment, which will prevent individuals who are under investigation for human rights violations, including sexual abuse, from participating in current peacekeeping missions.

The underlying bill includes good language that will prevent funds in the bill from being spent on new peacekeeping programs until the allegations of human rights violations have been investigated and the guilty have been purged. My amendment simply expands on this initiative and makes current U.N. peacekeeping missions accountable for human rights violations.

Over the past year, several cases of human rights abuses, specifically sexual exploitation and abuse, by individuals involved in U.N. peacekeeping operations have raised the suspicions of many Members of Congress and members of the International Relations Committee. The U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services has opened an investigation into these allegations, and the evidence in several of these cases is compelling and very disturbing. Sadly, in some cases, the U.N. has failed to remove the accused individuals from their posts, leaving them in a position to continue abusing innocent victims. Whatever the world gains by placing peacekeeping forces in an embattled country or region we lose tenfold by having deviant and abusive members of the peacekeeping force exploit the local populations.

Peacekeeping funds are an important and necessary part of what America does for humanity and the rest of the world. It is a worthwhile cause and a very important resource in spreading American goodwill to other nations. However, I believe the U.N. peacekeeping program must be reformed and Americans should not be spending their valuable tax dollars on the program until this serious problem has been fixed.

I thank the chairman for allowing me to discuss this issue. I understand it is subject to a point of order, and I will withdraw my amendment with the hope that the chairman and ranking member will address this issue in conference and in future appropriations bills.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

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Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to offer this amendment, which simply seeks to prevent the funding of a Human Rights Council that represents state-sponsored terrorists.

Currently, the United States provides 22 percent of the U.N. annual budgets, over $900 million in fiscal year 2007, and some of that funding goes to the Human Rights Council. My amendment states that no funds in this bill may be used to fund the administration or operation of the Human Rights Council while countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism remain as members of the council. The reforms to the Human Rights Council by the United Nations over the last year are purely cosmetic and without substantive change.

Today, countries that sponsor terrorism and countries that have atrocious human rights records still remain on this council, and the American taxpayer funds them. And in my opinion, that is unacceptable. Any Human Rights Council reform that allows countries that sponsor terrorism to remain as members, such as Cuba, is not real reform. And in the past, countries such as Libya, Iran and Syria have participated on this council.

Additionally, any Human Rights Council reform that allows countries with despicable human rights records to remain as members, such as China and Saudi Arabia, is not real reform. I believe that it would not only be a waste of America's valuable tax dollars, but it would be an insult to some of our taxpayers who are also soldiers who have fought so hard to defeat terrorism worldwide. It is an insult to elevate countries that sponsor terrorism to a position of authority over other countries for human rights abuses.

Until the United Nations engages in true reform to defeat terrorism, we should send them a strong message through this amendment by cutting off U.S. funding to the Human Rights Council.

I urge all my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment which will work to prevent terrorism worldwide.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. McCAUL of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

It is amazing to me that anybody could agree that state sponsors of terrorism, that it is somehow acceptable that they serve on the Human Rights Council, and specifically countries like China, when we look at their human rights record in Tiananmen Square and the oppression that they have put on their people, countries like Iran, which is a state sponsor of terrorism, which has oppressed women in their society, oppressed their own people to a great extent.

Also Libya and Syria. I think this is a commonsense amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett).

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