H. Con. Res. 349 Agreed to November 20, 2002

One Hundred Seventh Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,

the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two

Concurrent Resolution

Whereas the United Nations and organizations engaged in international humanitarian relief periodically receive reports of sexual

exploitation of refugees, particularly women and children;

Whereas last year a report commissioned by the United Nations

High Commissioner of Refugees and the British organization

Save the Children accuses aid workers in Liberia, Sierra Leone,

and Guinea of refusing to give food and medicine to young girls

unless they perform sexual favors;

Whereas in response to this report the Secretary General of the

United Nations denounced sexual exploitation of refugees and

called for a full investigation of the humanitarian staff from

the agencies involved;

Whereas the charges against aid workers in West Africa are still

being investigated and in recent years there have been reports

implicating employees of international nongovernmental organizations, government agencies responsible for humanitarian

response, and peacekeeping forces in sexual exploitation of refugees;

Whereas many of these reports have involved children, some as

young as 10 to 12 years of age;

Whereas the insufficiency of food rations in refugee camps has

been cited as a primary factor contributing to sexual exploitation;

Whereas refugees are often extremely poor and cut off from employment and other ordinary means of income, so that they can

be highly susceptible to demands that they exchange sex for

food to help their families survive; and

Whereas the relationship between refugee workers and refugees

is a custodial or caregiving relationship in which the custodian

or caregiver can exercise substantial power over the life of the

other party, and which carries a corresponding risk of abuse:

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress—

(1) supports the Secretary General of the United Nations

in condemning the sexual exploitation of children by humanitarian aid workers;

(2) urges the United Nations to conduct a comprehensive

worldwide investigation into the extent, if any, of sexual exploitation of refugees by agents or employees of United Nations

agencies, of other international nongovernmental organizations,

and of governments;
H. Con. Res. 349—2

(3) urges the President to—

(A) affirm the commitment of the United States to

protecting the well-being and human rights of women and

children, particularly those in refugee situations; and

(B) instruct the Administrator of the United States

Agency for International Development and the Secretary

of Agriculture to review the distribution of food assistance

to refugee communities throughout the world to ensure

that humanitarian assistance to refugees provided by the

United States is respectful of the human rights of women

and children and is distributed in such a way as to minimize the risk of sexual exploitation; and

(4) urges the Secretary General, the President, and the

executive authorities of all governmental and nongovernmental

entities engaged in refugee work to adopt codes of conduct

for employees, contractors, and other agents of the United

Nations, of the United States Government, and of such governmental and nongovernmental entities, respectively, who are

engaged in refugee work that strictly prohibit sexual relationships between international refugee workers and those

entrusted to their care, and to enforce these prohibitions vigorously.

Attest:

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

Secretary of the Senate.