Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Regarding the Boko Haram Kidnappings

Letter

Dear President Obama,

We write to express our concern over the abduction and ongoing captivity of over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by the terrorist group Boko Haram. More than three weeks have passed since the abduction, but little progress has been made towards freeing the girls. There are reports that the girls are being forced into marriages with their captors and the leader of Boko Haram has openly threatened to sell them.

This outrage demands a significant worldwide response to help rescue the abducted girls, combat Boko Haram in Africa, and stand against the broader threat of modern-day slavery. We believe the United States should help lead that international effort and hope you will consider three actions to help marshal a global response to this heinous crime.

First, the United States should seek a resolution from the United Nations Security Council condemning this attack and calling on member countries to extend all appropriate assistance to Nigeria and neighboring countries to help locate the victims of Boko Haram's abductions and bring them home.

Second, the United States should act as quickly as possible to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support to contribute to the search for the missing girls. American support with aerial and satellite surveillance, similar to what your administration has provided to assist the hunt for Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army in central Africa, could make a significant difference in their ability to liberate the captives. We appreciate that your Administration is offering to share relevant intelligence with the Nigerian government and hope you will ensure that U.S. agencies deepen their cooperation with their Nigerian counterparts during this crisis and in the future to help prevent Boko Haram from carrying out future attacks.

Finally, the United States should strengthen the capabilities of local authorities in Nigeria and other countries in the region to protect children, particularly girls, and combat human trafficking. Training local law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges to recognize trafficking when they see it is critically important to apprehending traffickers and recovering the victims. Yet the United States' current security sector assistance programs in the region remain weighted towards the region's armed forces rather than building the capacity of civilian law enforcement to protect citizens where they live. The Department of State, Department of Justice, and U.S. Agency for International Development should help design and implement robust programs to help bolster anti-trafficking efforts in these countries.

We have both led efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly against women and girls. We have introduced bipartisan anti-trafficking legislation focused on supporting victims and cracking down on perpetrators and enablers in the United States, but we are also working to ensure this problem is addressed on an international level as well. The current crisis in Nigeria represents another key moment in this struggle, and we look forward to working with you to support regional and international efforts to rescue these abducted schoolgirls and hold their captors accountable.

Sincerely,

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