Date: 2015-11-18
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank Representative WATSON COLEMAN for her leadership in tonights special order as we grapple with the horrendous terrorist attacks in Paris and Beruit as well as todays attack in Nigeria. claimed by Boko Haram. In the past week alone. we have seen lives lost in Nigeria. France and Beruit. Our prayers are with the victims and their families. The Paris. France attacks last Friday. November 13. which claimed 128 lives and many more injured. as we know was claimed by ISIS. There were also 43 killed during a suicide bombing in Beruit. Lebanon with over 200 injured. Just today in Yola. Adamawa State. Nigeria. authorities inform us that an 11 year old suicide bomber targeted a market and detonated a bomb killing her. 30 others and injuring over 70 market goers. The terrorist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attacks as retaliation for President Buharis commitment for combatting violent extremism in Nigeria. The recent events underscore that we cannot let fear rule us but rather we must fight back against those who threaten our well being and security. At the same time. we must work on creating resources for victims of terror and those who have been displaced as a result of conflict and sectarian violence. This is why I introduced H. Res. 528. legislation that enjoyed bipartisan support of my colleagues including Representatives CHU from California. DOLD from Illinois. HAHN from California. KELLY from Illinois. FUDGE from Ohio. WATSON COLEMAN from New Jersey. SEWELL from Alabama. BERNIE THOMPSON from Mississippi and my good friend Ms. WILSON of course from Florida. My resolution seeks to create a Victims of Terror Protection Fund for the displaced refugees. migrants and victims of Boko Harams terror in the region. It is our American value to fight for those who are seeking refuge and needing protection. As founder and CoChair of the Congressional Nigerian Caucus. I have been spending a lot of time on this issue since the Chibok incident. The past week has been a very trying time for the world family as we grapple with the reality of terrorists wreaking havoc in our world. One only needs to look at the current news events across the globe to appreciate the imperative of countering violent extremism. empowering and protecting victims of terror. refugees and displaced persons. In the past three months alone. ISIS has claimed responsibility for crimes. atrocities and terroristic attacks. claiming lives in Saudi Arabia. Yemen. Egypt. Beirut and Paris. DaeshISIL also known as ISIS and other terrorist networks that have pled allegiance to ISIS such as Boko Haram today pose the gravest extremist threat faced by our generation and those of our children. But we must not be moved by their evil ways. for eventually. the arc of the moral universe always tips on the side of justice. of peace. of equity of the rule of law. This is why I remain steadfast in my commitment to combatting violent extremism and protecting victims. As a result of terrorism in the region and Boko Haram in particular in Nigeria. recent reports inform us that Nigeria has the highest number of displaced persons in Africa and the third largest in the world following Syria and Columbia. The recent coordinated attacks in Paris. following military interventions by at least two United Nations Security Council permanent members: Russia and France. highlights the fact that we are dealing with an enemy of humanity and compels us to launch an international and coordinated strategy to diminish ISIS to protect our children and our childrens children. The recent events underscore the importance of a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to degrade and permanently destroy ISIS and its vitriolic ideology that is inflicting pain on innocent people. The humanitarian crises triggered by sectarian and ideological violence has plagued our world at a disheartening rate. comparable to or surpassing the numbers from World War II according to some estimates. According to one United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCRs) annual Global Trends report. which is based on data compiled by governments and nongovernmental partner organizations. and from the organizations own records. over 60 million people have been forcibly displaced across the globe. Moreover. according to a report by the International Displacement Monitor Center. an estimated 3.300.000 persons have been displaced and 5.500 killed as a result of the violence wreaked by Boko Haram. One United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) report asserts that as the most populous nation in Africa with 174.000.000 persons. 1.500.000 people have fled their homes to escape Boko Haram. In April. 2014. 276 girls were terrorized and kidnapped from their dormitories in Chibok by Boko Haram. In addition to the still missing Chibok girls. approximately 3.300.000 persons are displaced in the Lake Chad Basin which sits on the edge of the Sahara which encompasses Chad. Cameroon. Niger and Nigeria. We must not forget these girls. refugees and displaced persons and must work to provide the support they will need to recover from the trauma they have suffered. The victims will be in dire need of humanitarian assistance which the Victims of Terror Protection Fund can provide. The Victims of Terror Protection Fund should be modeled after the cases of Khazistan and Equatorial Guinea where prior kleptocracy initiatives have been created to benefit communities and victims in need of support. A kleptocracy is when a government in power exploits or steals national resources. which unfortunately has happened all too often across the globe. The United States Department of Justice through its Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative has identified the forfeited "Abacha loot." funds stolen by former Nigerian dictator Sanni Abacha. As we understand it the "Abacha loot" is the largest kleptocracy forfeiture action ever brought in the United States resulting in a $450.000.000 judgment of the forfeited assets facilitated by Justices remarkable Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative. The Abacha Administration embezzled Nigerian public funds under among other false claims. that the Administration was investing in national security measures to protect Nigeria and the Nigerian people. As we all see now. as a result of or in part because of the Abacha Administrations failure to invest in and implement security measures. the security in Nigeria and the region is tenuous. with the country and region currently under continuous threat by the ISIS affiliated group Boko Haram. Boko Haram and other sectarian terrorists have trafficked. kidnapped. murdered and caused the displacement of millions of children. women and men. Recovered victims displaced by terrorist activity as well as refugees. migrants and internally displaced persons fleeing for their lives will be in dire need of protection and support. A Victim of Terror Protection Fund can supply health aid. educational support. employment training. economic empowerment. dignity and overall improved social welfare of these victims. I continue to have a deep appreciation of the patriotism. resilience. and commitment of the Nigerian people under the leadership of their newly democratically elected President Muhammadu Buhari. As an emerging democracy. Nigeria is a country that has faced its set of challenges. conflicts. and contradictions analogous to the human condition itself. Boko Haram and ISIS are existential threats to the human rights. well being and security of the Nigerian people. their regional neighbors and the global community in general with their penchant to commit genocide. Part of the strategy to help address the scourge of Boko Harams atrocity would be through the creation of a Victim of Terror Protection Fund and accessibility of military technical assistance to Nigeria and its regional neighbors pursuant to the UN Security Council and neighboring African countries call for accelerated military collaboration to combat this extremist group. I commend the U.S. Administrations announcement that it is deploying 300 U.S. troops to Africa to set up a drone base to track fighters from Boko Haram. which continues to seek to destabilize Nigeria and neighboring countries during its blood thirsty assault on innocent people. The U.S. forces presence will be critical to combatting Boko Haram. which now appears to continue to wage its vicious insurgency in Nigeria and now spilling into neighboring Cameroon. Chad and Niger and leaving an estimated 20.000 people dead. Our global strategy for ending the suffering. preventing displacement and creating durable solutions for refugees and displaced persons in Africa requires a multipronged strategy which would involve a sustained humanitarian response. government and civil society capacity building. and the creation of resilient political and security infrastructures and landscapes. My proposed Victims of Terror Protection Fund is one of the strategies for addressing the growing African migrant and refugee crisis. I commend President Obamas and President Buharis commitment to Nigerian security and their collective efforts to tighten vigilance in vulnerable places. I hope the United States continues to build a stronger alliance with President Buhari and Nigeria. To succeed. at all our objectives to protect victims and combat violent extremism. in Nigeria. Syria and around the world. we must have continued U.S. support in protecting victims of terror. technical training. logistical and infrastructural capabilities and professionalizing its military force to battle Boko Haram.