Humanitarian Assistance Code of Conduct Act of 2005
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE CODE OF CONDUCT ACT OF 2005 -- (House of Representatives - March 02, 2005)
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 912) to ensure the protection of beneficiaries of United States humanitarian assistance.
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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 912.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, in the wake of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami and the genocide in Darfur, we have witnessed untold suffering. And yet, Mr. Speaker, we have learned from other crises situations that people in some crises become victims of additional and incomprehensible violations, sexual exploitation and abuse. The most vulnerable groups, women and children, are at greatest risk.
The passage of the Humanitarian Assistance Code of Conduct Act of 2005 ensures that steps will be taken to protect the most vulnerable people from sexual exploitation and abuse by those providing aid and humanitarian relief operations.
H.R. 912 requires that the United States Government assistance for humanitarian relief operations will be available only to organizations that have adopted a code of conduct incorporating the core principles of the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection From Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises. These principles include, but are not limited to, the following:
"Sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers constitute acts of gross misconduct and are therefore grounds for termination of employment."
"Sexual activity with children (persons under the age of 18) is prohibited regardless of the age of majority or age of consent locally. Mistaken belief regarding the age of a child is not a defense."
"Exchange of money, employment, goods, or services for sex, including sexual favors or other forms of humiliating, degrading or exploitative behavior, is prohibited. This includes exchange of assistance that is due to beneficiaries."
Mr. Speaker, passage of the Humanitarian Assistance Code of Conduct Act of 2005 will help ensure the protection of beneficiaries of United States humanitarian assistance. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I would also include a CBO estimate for H.R. 912, which indicates that this legislation has no significant budgetary effect.
Mr. Speaker, in addition to the important provisions of H.R. 912, I would like to inform my colleagues of additional measures contained in a bill I introduced, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, H.R. 972, which we will be marking up next week, cosponsored by my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), and a number of other Members of this committee and of this House. That comprehensive legislation is designed to help ensure the protection of vulnerable women and children in post-natural disaster situations.
H.R. 972, among several other things, incorporates stronger child protection and trafficking prevention activities into USAID, State and DOD post-conflict and post-natural disaster relief programs. The measure provides for the Secretary of State and the administrator of USAID to conduct a study regarding the threat and practice of trafficking in persons generated by post-conflict and humanitarian emergencies in foreign countries, and to look at and implement best practices to combat human trafficking in such areas.
It also requires, and I think this is very important, that the Secretary of State certify that prior to approval of a peacekeeping mission or a renewal of the mandate, the Secretary of State would have to guarantee or certify, 15 days before that, that appropriate safeguards are in place to protect vulnerable populations from trafficking and from rape and other kinds of sexual misconduct.
I would point out parenthetically to my colleagues that yesterday we held a day-long hearing on the atrocities committed by U.N. peacekeepers in the Congo, where unfortunately there have been credible and large numbers of allegations made that U.N. peacekeepers have raped 13-year-old, 14-year-old, and 15-year-old girls and older and have offered them $1 or $2 or a loaf of bread in exchange for this exploitation. It is outrageous.
The U.N. for its part, I believe, is committed to trying to rectify and remedy this situation, but more needs to be done; and we need to have in place safeguards to ensure that this kind of misconduct, which is gross and, unfortunately, very, very prevalent, is mitigated and stopped. This bill is another step in that direction; and I applaud the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), and all of those who have sponsored it and brought it to the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
We have no further requests for time, and I just want to conclude and again say to my friends on the other side of the aisle, to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Delahunt), the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), as well as to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of our distinguished Committee on International Relations, to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and, of course, to our majority leader for his leadership on this in ensuring that this very important piece of legislation not only gets expedited treatment but will be passed early and closed enough to the tsunami in order to address some of the problems that were exposed as a result of it.
Children need protection. Women need protection. This bill advances that ball. It is an important and very noble task, and I am glad we have bipartisan consensus on this kind of humanitarian and human rights legislation.
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