Chris Smith

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2867) to reauthorize the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chairwoman of our committee, and Howard Berman for their fine work in helping to bring this very important legislation to the floor today. I want to thank especially Congressman Frank Wolf, the author of this legislation, who is also the author of the original International Religious Freedom Act that was passed back in 1998, against considerable odds, opposition from the Clinton administration, for example, opposition from a number of people on both sides of the aisle. But at the end of the day, that legislation, historic, was signed into law and was signed by President Clinton. So he came around and actually put his signature on that historic legislation. So I again want to thank Mr. Wolf for his famous leadership. He has been a leader on human rights and on religious freedom in particular for more than 30 years. And that culminated, at least on the religious freedom side, with the enactment of the International Religious Freedom Act. Madam Speaker, religious freedom, the right to worship and practice one's faith according to the dictates of one's own conscience, is a foundational human right. Not only is it an essential element in our Constitution; it is intrinsic to the human dignity of every man and woman on this Earth and was enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights. But it is a right denied or curtailed for millions, really billions, according to some estimates, even a majority of the people living in the world. For Copts in Egypt, for Christians, Buddhists, and Uighurs in China, Montagnards, Evangelical Christians in Central Vietnam, Jews in Baha'i in Iran, many Buddhist monks in Burma and, of course, this rising pernicious tide of anti-Semitism, not just in the Middle East but in many parts of Europe, and even in the United States, the ability to live their faith without threat of persecution is a distant and unrealized promise. I was pleased to work with Mr. Wolf years ago, as I mentioned, on this legislation. And I actually chaired the hearings on the legislation. And again, there was considerable opposition that was turned around, and at the end of the day this legislation did become law. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was an important part of this effort. It was created as an independent body of experts to review the facts and make policy recommendations from a vantage point outside of our diplomatic corps, where bilateral and other concerns had sometimes resulted in the soft-pedaling of severe ongoing violations of religious freedom around the world. Even today, when the quality of State Department reporting on religious issues, while it's improved, the commission continues to serve as a critical role and a sounding board and a catalyst. One indicator is the fact that the commission's list of recommended, what is called ``countries of particular concern'' for severe violations of religious freedom, remains larger than the number actually designated by the State Department. They ought to be the same, but they are not. Just yesterday, Secretary Clinton rightfully designated the People's Republic of China, Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan as countries of particular concern. But the State Department's list does not add any new countries from last year, and one of the most glaring omissions of all is Vietnam, whose policies have more than earned that badge of shame. Secretary Clinton did not designate Egypt either, or Iraq, Nigeria, Turkmenistan and Pakistan, as recommended by the commission. So, unfortunately, their recommendations went unheeded. But it does provide an important backdrop and framework to review and to look at what it is that the State Department is doing. We need, Madam Speaker, this commission more than ever. Already in the Congress, we have had three comprehensive hearings on religious freedom: one in the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in January regarding the religious freedom of minorities in the Middle East; one in the committee that I chair, the Africa Global Health global Human Rights Committee, regarding the prioritization of religious freedom in U.S. foreign policy; and one just last month in the Helsinki Commission on the particular plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt. That hearing brought to light an egregious policy that is acted out in Egypt each and every day, where young Coptic Christians girls, some as young as 14 and 15, are kidnapped. They are forced into Islam, and then they are, at age 18 or thereafter, given in marriage forcibly to an Islamic man. That is an outrage against women's rights, human rights, and religious freedom as well. The Commission has been an invaluable resource to Congress as we monitor the protection and promotion of religious freedom around the world and the response of the administration on this very important issue. They have also a resource to governments seeking to remedy religious freedom abuses within their own borders. For instance, in Indonesia, the Commission worked with members of the Indonesian House of Representatives and civil society groups and introduced measures to strengthen provisions in the criminal code regarding attacks on religious gatherings and amend the law governing the building of religious venues. The Commission also continues to help network human rights and legal advocates in Indonesia and elsewhere around the world working to defend individuals accused of blasphemy and religious minorities facing intimidation and violence from extremist groups. The Commission's work in Indonesia will have practical impact on the exercise of human rights and the preservation of peace in that country. Other governments have looked to the Commission as a model for their own religious freedom commissions. The bill before us today includes a number of bipartisan reforms to the Commission authorities and operations to make their work even more effective. Again, I want to thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, the chairwoman, and thank Howard Berman for their leadership in ensuring the bill came to the floor today and for their support for the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, it is a distinct privilege to yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, the author of the original International Religious Freedom Act, an historic piece of legislation and today's reauthorization, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield myself the balance of my time. I just want to again thank Congressman Frank Wolf, Chairman Wolf, for his eloquence and for his passion for those men and women and children of faith who suffer terrible, terrible injustices around the world, including persecution. There were two books that got me involved, in all candor, in religious freedom issues--there were two incidents in my first year in Congress in 1981--``Tortured for Christ,'' by Richard Wurmbrand, who was a great evangelical pastor who spent years being tortured by the Securitate in Romania because of his faith. He made an appeal, and he said, Do not sit idly by while men and women of any faith are being tortured and persecuted because of that faith, because it's not just the individual who suffers; the entire family suffers; and very often they're incarcerated and tortured as well. The other was the trip to the Soviet Union with the National Conference on Soviet Jewry in 1982, January. It was 10 days in Moscow and Leningrad, meeting Soviet Jewish refusniks who were persecuted, who were put into psychiatric prisons simply because of their faith. A couple of years later, Mr. Wolf and I went to Perm Camp 35 in the Ural Mountains. It took years to negotiate our way in. This was in 1987. We met with persecuted Jewish refusniks and Christians and political prisoners who were there simply because of their faith. It was where Natan Sharansky had spent a number of his years incarcerated by the cruel dictatorship of the Soviet Union. In China today, the believer Christians, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and Buddhists are tortured beyond anyone's imagination. It's real. It's happening today. In Vietnam, there has been a backlash against people of faith ever since they got trading benefits and the bilateral trade agreement and MFN were extended to them, or PNTR. They have done a backlash to men and women of faith that is unprecedented, and ought to be on the CPC list of the International Religious Freedom Commission. I hope people will go to the Web site. Check out this wonderful Commission, which if it is not renewed by the end of this month, goes out of business. I would call out our Members on the other side of this Capitol, the other body, to pass this legislation immediately. We ought to be strengthening and significantly expanding it, not doing less than status quo, which is what we're doing today because of some budget concerns that people have. This is the quintessential watchdog agency in this town. It doesn't get the big press, as Mr. Wolf said. It doesn't have the big bucks--no K Street lobbyists--but it is a wonderful and a very important and effective Commission that keeps track of religious persecution globally, that keeps us in line in the House and the Senate and also the State Department. I read their reports. I read them from cover to cover. Please, I would ask the Members of this body to support this legislation and call on our friends in the Senate to do likewise. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Helsinki Commission and Co-Chairman of the Poland Caucus, I have long been struck by the way in which history casts both long shadows and rays of light in Poland. I have had the privilege of traveling to Poland, one of America's closest allies, and was overwhelmed by the weight of history when I met with those who are building the Museum of the History of Poland's choose. Institutions like this are not only critical for Poland's future generations, but for what all of us, around the world, can learn from Poland. Today, I rise today to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, a courageous act of defiance by the people of Poland against the brutal Nazi occupation during the Second World War. On August 1, 1944, the Polish Underground began its struggle to liberate Warsaw, to further weaken the collapsing German eastern front and to establish Polish sovereignty in response to the Red Army's advance to the city's outskirts. Despite the courage and fortitude of the Polish people, the Underground could not overcome the Nazis' determination to oversee the complete destruction of the Home Army and the city, bolstered by official orders and a directive that the massacre was to serve as a ``terrifying example'' to Europe. More than 200,000 civilians and members of the Home Army were killed in Warsaw over a 63-day period. Between August 5 and August 8, the Nazis murdered more than 40,000 people--overwhelmingly civilians--in the Wola district of Warsaw alone. Survivors, describing the horror of the executions, told of the indiscriminate slaughter of thousands of women and children. Approximately 700,000 Warsaw residents were expelled from their homes and forced out of the city--many sent to death, labor, or POW camps. Hitler ordered that Warsaw should be razed to the ground; Heinrich Himmler declaring in the most chilling terms that Warsaw ``must completely disappear from the surface of the earth.'' To that end, the Nazis systematically targeted buildings filled with deep meaning for the Poles, including cultural treasures, monuments, palaces, libraries, churches, and the Old Town. By the beginning of October, the Polish capitol was reduced to rubble--85 percent of the buildings in Warsaw had been destroyed. But from ashes come diamonds and, despite this barbaric campaign, the Polish desire for freedom and liberty could not be extinguished--not even by the decades of communist oppression which followed the end of the war. Such courage and resilience continues to define the Polish people. Today, Poland is a successful democracy and one of our strongest military allies. More to the point, Poland's leadership on issues related to democracy and human rights gives true meaning to the alliance concept of ``shared values.'' Poland has tirelessly support democratic movements in Northern Africa and Eastern Europe, particularly in Tunisia, through democracy activists and transition experts, and Belarus. Poland has served as a regional force in the effort to encourage human rights and democracy in Belarus in the wake of the December 2010 post-election political crackdown, maintaining free media outlets that operate in Belarus and opening Polish universities to students expelled for pro-democracy activities. On July 1, Poland assumed the six-months rotating Presidency of the European Union. It can only strengthen our transatlantic alliance to have the EU led by a country that has accomplished so much over the past 20 years both political and economically. As it happens, Poland has one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and is the only EU country not faced with a recession amidst the global financial crisis. As chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission and co-chairman of the Congressional Poland Caucus, I commend Poland's leadership on democracy and human rights throughout the OSCE region and globally. Polish- American ties remain strong and steadfast because of such dedication to these common values. More than that, however, I have unwavering respect and admiration for the people of Poland, whose courage and determination in the face of so many historic tragedies--of which the Warsaw Massacre is only one example--is a source of continued inspiration.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, good afternoon. Two months ago, this Subcommittee held a hearing on Somalia that revealed the extent of the suffering from what witnesses agreed was the worst drought in the Horn of Africa since the 1950s. Our hearing today is, in part, a follow-up to that July 7th hearing in order to examine the U.S. Agency for International Development's long-term strategy to address humanitarian crises in East Africa, such as the current devastating drought. The need for this continued focus on the region is apparent given the ongoing, disturbing reports that we are receiving about Sudanese attacks on its Blue Nile State that will drive residents into South Sudan and reports of theft of international food aid. We now know that an estimated 13.1 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. The United States to date has devoted a total of $604.6 million in humanitarian assistance funding for the Horn of Africa. At the same time, our government has devoted $370.7 million in Fiscal Year 2011 to helping the newly independent Government of South Sudan respond to crises largely caused by Republic of the Sudan attacks that have sent people streaming into this young nation. The drought in East Africa apparently is part of a persistent weather trend in the region, but there is disagreement on the extent to which the La Nina and El Nino weather phenomena will affect weather patterns in East Africa over time. The current La Nina phenomenon, which began in August 2010, results in wetter than normal conditions in Australia and parts of Asia from December to February and drier than normal conditions over equatorial East Africa over the same period, leading to the current drought in the region. But while drought is one reason for food shortages, it is exacerbated by stagnating agricultural development and unsustainable forms of livelihood. In our July 7th hearing, Nancy E. Lindborg, Assistant Administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, raised the issue of the long-term need for changes in livelihoods in the region. She quoted a local cattle herder as saying, ``We are seeing the end of the pastoral lifestyle as we know it.'' In countries across the region, as Lindborg testified, nomads are without water and pasture and unable to migrate safely. Many of them are left without assets or income, and as they migrate out of rural areas to urban areas, they strain an already stressed situation. There are nomads in Africa from Western Sahara to Sudan. If weather conditions have conspired to end what in some cases are livelihoods developed over millennia, who will work with these pastoralists to develop new ways of surviving? Part of our humanitarian strategy, therefore, must involve working with African governments on developing viable strategies for helping nomads transition into new livelihoods that fit their skills and are sustainable in often resource-poor conditions. In the long run, donors will be increasingly less likely to continue to support people suffering through repeated droughts in the same areas. We must break this cycle now and help them to find durable solutions for the future. In Somalia, the hardest hit country in the region, the terrorist group al-Shabaab has obstructed the delivery of humanitarian assistance and directly threatened aid agencies. It has also interrogated aid workers and accused them of spying for the West or proselytizing. Maritime piracy and the hijacking of aid shipments have also hindered the provision of aid. By late 2009, threats against humanitarian workers and attacks against aid compounds had driven many international groups out of al-Shabaab-controlled areas; most of the remaining groups left southern Somalia in 2010. The result has been an estimated 2.2 million people in southern Somalia, representing some 60% of those who remain in the country, in need of aid but currently out of reach of most aid agencies. We face serious questions about how to meet the desperate needs of people like those living in areas controlled by al-Shabaab. We want to prevent terrorist organizations from benefitting from humanitarian aid, but we must balance this concern with our desire to keep alive those needing food, water and medicine. There has to be a solution that not only prevents aid from going to terrorists, but also prevents the terrorists from perpetrating further violence against their own people by denying them access to life-saving assistance. Meanwhile, our government is helping the new Government of South Sudan to effectively respond to the expectations of the population for essential services and improved livelihoods, as well as containing the conflicts that are likely to erupt. This new government is learning to handle the normal business of establishing a government even as an estimated 371,455 people have migrated from the North to South Sudan, as well as to Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan States in the Republic of the Sudan and the disputed area of Abyei since October 30th of last year. Apparently continuing attacks in Southern Kordofan and now Blue Nile State will only continue the flight of thousands of people into South Sudan. Given its troubled relationship with the Republic of the Sudan to the North, our assistance to the new government must build its capacity as a democratically elected institution and help enable it to avoid and address such crises. Empowerment should be our focus as we help this new government take its place among the world's nations. Drought and other natural disasters and man-made catastrophes due to conflict have been a persistent story in East Africa. In an era of limited resources, we must encourage adapted lifestyles, develop strategies for delivering aid in conflict areas and enable our partner governments to manage crises more successfully. We look forward to hearing from our distinguished witnesses as to how we can move toward achieving these goals.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I called an emergency hearing yesterday because of the escalating crisis in the Sudanese state of Southern Kordofan. This crisis first arose in June of this year, shortly after the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan attacked the Abyei region, apparently as a provocation to South Sudan's Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, or SPLM. South Sudan was about to become independent, and these attacks may have been intended to provoke a fight that could derail their independence. At the same time, Sudanese attacks on SPLM-North members in the Sudanese state of Southern Kordofan were increasing. Because of the fighting and the displacement of Sudanese and foreigners from Southern Kordofan, no one is estimating how many people have been killed in that area. We do know that more than 73,000 people have been displaced. Whatever the numbers involved, we can be sure that the suffering of the people in Southern Kordofan, especially the Nuba people, has been catastrophic. This latest violence is a tragic resumption of a prior war by the Khartoum government on the Nuba. Beginning in the 1980s, Islamist elements in the North began an eradication campaign against the Nuba-- pitting Northern Arabs against Africans to the South. Unfortunately for the Nuba, they are not Southerners, even though many fought with the Southern army during the North-South civil war. But neither are they accepted by the elements ruling the North, even though many of them are Muslims. This left the Nuba on their own to suffer the onslaught of the Khartoum government. The strategy of cultural cleansing pursued by the government involved harsh attempts to depopulate vast areas, killing potential combatants, as well as many others, and herding survivors into tightly controlled government refugee camps. When jihad was declared by the Government of the Sudan in 1992, even Nuba Muslims were targeted, with the rationale that Muslims in SPLM areas were not true Muslims. Rape of Nuba women has been a central component of the government's strategy, aimed at destroying the social fabric of Nuba society. Almost every woman who has been in one of Khartoum's so-called ``peace camps'' reportedly was either raped or threatened with rape. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, between 30,000 and 40,000 people, out of a population of 60,000 in the Southern Kordofan capital of Kadugli have fled the town. Many of the attacks in Southern Kordofan were indiscriminate, including aerial bombardments and artillery fire by the Sudanese Armed Forces. Bombings have been reported in five villages south of the state capital of Kadugli, as well as in Talodi, Heiban, Kaudo and other towns. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights told the UN Security Council on July 29th that there were reports, as recently as July 27th, of aerial bombings forcing civilians to flee into the Nuba Mountains. Some are trying to down play the overwhelming responsibility of the Sudanese government for the devastation taking place in Southern Kordofan by referring to the refusal of the SPLM-North to lay down their arms to negotiate with Khartoum. But there is no moral equivalence between the SPLM-North's actions and those of the government. SPLM-North members are not bombing people indiscriminately, driving Arabs off their lands and out of their homes nor going door-to- door to identify their perceived enemies and execute them. The Government of Sudan's military forces are. We saw photographic evidence of these atrocities at yesterday's hearing. In addition, the recent attacks on Southern Kordofan have disrupted the planting season and will have a long-term negative impact on the ability of its people to feed themselves. In parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, people suffer from drought made worse by conflict. In Southern Kordofan, the national government is creating a similar humanitarian crisis. The death and destruction to which Sudanese Africans have been subjected was thought to have ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 to end the North-South civil war. However, the genocide in Darfur diverted the international community's attention away from the unresolved issues between North and South. These lingering points of contention threatened to derail independence for South Sudan just as the independence process was coming to a conclusion. And now the struggle over Abyei threatens to stifle the suffering cries and pleas for help that are arising from the Nuba people as they are dragged into a resumption of the Northern war against them. We discussed this war during the Subcommittee's June 16th hearing on South Sudan. At that time, the fighting in Southern Kordofan was as horrific as any attacks waged by the Khartoum government. The testimony that was presented yesterday by witnesses who have seen the carnage revealed the horrific extent of this situation.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, I held a hearing on August 2nd on the global health issue of hydrocephalus, a serious--and seriously neglected--health condition. The hearing also focused on a relatively inexpensive, technologically-sophisticated advancement for curing it, created, designed, and perfected by one of our distinguished witnesses, Dr. Benjamin Warf. I had the opportunity to learn more about hydrocephalus when I was traveling in Africa last March. Children who suffer from it characteristically have heads that are far out of proportion to the size of their small bodies. I was horrified to learn that in Africa, where superstitions still are widespread, hydrocephalus is commonly perceived as a curse or caused through witchcraft. A child may be subjected to horrific abuse, and even killed, as a result. It was therefore a real eye-opener for me to see the cultural context of hydrocephalus in Africa, and the extraordinary efforts of a number of courageous, compassionate individuals to address it. The human brain normally produces cerebrospinal fluid which surrounds and cushions it. The fluid also delivers nutrients to and removes waste away from the brain. This fluid is drained away from the brain and absorbed into blood vessels as new fluid is produced. Hydrocephalus occurs when this draining process no longer functions properly. The fluid levels inside the skull rise, causing increased pressure that compresses the brain and potentially enlarges the head. Symptoms include headaches, vomiting, blurred vision, cognitive difficulties, imbalance, convulsions, brain damage, and ultimately, death. Hydrocephalus can occur in adults, but most commonly is present at birth. Our witnesses testified that there are believed to be more than 4,000 new cases of infant hydrocephalus in Uganda, and 100,000 to 375,000 new cases in sub-Saharan Africa, each year. By comparison, in the United States, hydrocephalus occurs in 1 out of every 500 births. Another 6,000 children under the age of 2 develop hydrocephalus annually. The U.S. National Institutes of Health estimates that 700,000 Americans have hydrocephalus, and it is the leading cause of brain surgery for children in this country. A major difference between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa is the number of neurosurgeons available to treat this condition. The U.S. has 3,500 neurosurgeons, whereas Uganda, for instance, has only four. Another major difference between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa is the methodology used to treat hydrocephalus. In the Western world, doctors surgically insert a shunt into the brain in order to drain the fluid through the neck and into another part of the body where the fluid can be absorbed. A shunt is only a temporary solution, and there is always a danger that any one of a number of things may go wrong. For example, the tube may become blocked, an infection may develop, catheters may break or malfunction due to calcification, or the valve may drain too much or too little fluid. In almost half of all cases, shunts fail within the first two years. And when they do, the patient must have immediate access to a medical facility and a doctor who can correct the problem. This precarious situation must be a constant source of concern and stress for people in the United States who suffer from hydrocephalus and their families. However, in a place like sub-Saharan Africa, a shunt is fundamentally impractical. Trained neurosurgeons, as I noted, are extremely few in Africa, as are properly equipped hospitals. And roads and transportation systems on the African continent make travel arduous and long for the vast majority of people under even the best of circumstances. A hydrocephalic child in a place like Uganda, even if he or she could be treated with a shunt, would have little hope of living for more than a couple of years. Mr. Speaker, in March of this year, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. John Mugamba, one of the four neurosurgeons in Uganda. With the help of a video such as we viewed during the hearing, Dr. Mugamba explained the fascinating surgical procedure that he is performing several times daily in Uganda to cure small children of hydrocephalus. This treatment being provided at CURE Children's Hospital of Uganda is not only overcoming a medical barrier that children afflicted with the condition face; it is also serving to educate Ugandan communities that the condition is not the result of a curse and is not a reason to kill the child. Parents whose children have been cured are helping other parents to identify the condition early in an infant's life, and to know where to go for treatment. Dr. Warf was the first to identify neonatal infection as the chief cause of pediatric hydrocephalus in a developing country. He also developed the new surgical technique, a combined endoscopic third ventriculostomy with bilateral choroid plexus cauterization (ETV/CPC), which holds great promise not only for the children of Africa but potentially for children in developed countries as well. As Dr. Warf testified, hydrocephalus has never been a public health priority in developing countries. Most infants in Africa do not receive treatment, and even when treated, they often succumb to a premature death or suffer severe disabilities. Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that we find the causes in order to develop public health prevention strategies. Our distinguished witnesses explained this innovative procedure, efforts being undertaken to determine the causes of hydrocephalus, and initiatives to end the suffering caused by this life-threatening condition. I plea with all stakeholders who care about the children of Africa, including African Ministries of Health, non-governmental organizations, and our own U.S. Agency for International Development, to urgently provide tangible support to these efforts and initiatives.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 440) to provide for the establishment of the Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 440, a bill to establish a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. The bill is authored by my very good friend and colleague, Congressman Frank Wolf, who was also the author of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1988 and other religious freedom legislation. He has taken the lead in Congress time and time again to advance the cause of those who are persecuted because of their faith. I wish to thank him for his years of service on this issue--his legislation and his tireless advocacy on behalf of religious freedom. Mr. Speaker, this bill establishes the special envoy position for religious minorities in 31 Middle Eastern and South Central Asian countries, almost all of which have had bad or very bad records of persecuting or disadvantaging religious minorities. The special envoy will represent the United States in contacts with foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, U.N. agencies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and in contacts with international organizations and multilateral conferences. He or she will also meet with victims and try to take their story to offending governments to try to end the abuse. We know from experience, Mr. Speaker, that special envoys, including and especially for Sudan and Northern Ireland, have achieved unparalleled successes over the years in mitigating explosive situations and literally saving lives all while pursuing positive and durable solutions to what appear to be intractable and unresolvable problems. But not all special envoys have been equally effective. Almost everything depends on whom the President appoints to the position. So I would appeal to the President: When this bill becomes law, appoint someone with the passion, energy, and experience to get this job done and to stand up as never before for these persecuted minorities. Mr. Speaker, many of my colleagues will speak about different religious minorities in the Middle East, but I am particularly concerned about the Coptic minority in Egypt. They have been called the bellwether of the rights for religious minorities in the Middle East. As the largest and one of the oldest minorities, they are suffering, and their escalating agony portends suffering throughout the region. And make no mistake, they are suffering. On Friday of last week, I chaired a hearing specifically to hear of the needs and experiences of the Copts during this time during transition. What I heard and what my colleagues heard on the Helsinki Commission worried us deeply. Coptic women and girls, some as young as 14, are being systematically lured from their families or kidnapped off the street corners and forced to change their religion and forced to marry outside of their community. These young girls frequently suffer physical and psychological abuse, including rape, beatings, forced isolation, and lack of personal freedom both before and after their so-called ``marriage/conversion.'' The drugging of victims appears to be commonplace. One story that emerged at the hearing detailed the situation of a married woman who was forced to leave her Coptic community and marry a Muslim. Her family was present at the official inquiry--which are no longer conducted, I might point out--and said that she showed signs of being drugged. She was out of it. Over and over she repeated, ``I had to do it for the children. I had to do it for the children.'' Dr. Michele Clark, an internationally recognized anti-trafficking expert--she was one of those who led the Protection Project at Johns Hopkins and was director of the OSCE trafficking efforts for years--she authored a report called ``The Disappearance, Forced Conversions, and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt.'' She testified that this happens to thousands of Coptic women and girls each and every year. She said this on Friday. Others also concurred in that analysis. Dr. Clark further testified that the mounting evidence shows that the term ``alleged''--which has been used in the U.S. State Department Reports on Human Rights Practices, as well as in the TIP report--needs to be replaced. It's no longer even close to being accurate. It's not an allegation; it's a fact that she herself, as a human rights investigator, has helped to establish by doing extensive investigation and inquiries on the ground in Egypt. She pointed out that the criminality of alleged forced marriages and conversions is generally dismissed by authorities here and everywhere else, especially in Egypt. The coverup must end. Young women are presumed to be willing participants, they are not. The abduction and the disappearance of Coptic women and girls follow, as she puts it, consistent patterns and constitutes human trafficking--modern day slavery. Dr. Clark testified that men and women and peers are used to build trust and dispel resistance in young women targeted for conversion in marriage. Most cases documented in the report begin with a trusting relationship that ultimately leads to the disappearance or abduction, marriage to a Muslim man, and conversion to Islam. These supposed new friends exploit the vulnerability and naivete of a young Coptic woman. Once trust has been established, girls are lured to an isolated place, drugged and kidnapped. Often they are raped. Following the rape, the Coptic women experience shame and fear of how their families will respond. They become more willing to stay with the Muslim friends. They feel that they have been so abused. And then they often marry their rapist because they feel they have nowhere else to go. This outrageous abuse must be exposed and stopped--and these young women rescued. Let me just point out to my colleagues, what is going on in Egypt and the abuses being experienced by Christians and people of the Baha'i faith in Iran and elsewhere, we need to do much more than we have done to combat this, to speak out, to do effective chronicling, but also, once you get the information, to ensure that it is actionable and that you take it to those governments. Sadly, we have not done that. A special envoy would be uniquely equipped and empowered to take the cause of the beleaguered, suffering religious minorities in the Middle East and to fight, and to fight every day of the week for those people. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce- Justice-Science for the Appropriations Committee, the author of H.R. 440, the gentleman from Virginia, Frank Wolf. (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Dold).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 440.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren).

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the issue of religious freedom for minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia must be of the highest priority. For far too long, religious minorities and the persecution and marginalization they endure has been overlooked, even trivialized. Their rights and even their very lives must now be assiduously protected in this time of political upheaval, especially in the Middle East. Mr. Wolf had the foresight to draft this bill before the so-called Arab Spring. It was needed in January. It's even more needed now, especially in light of the spate of church bombings and escalated persecution against believers, especially with kidnappings of thousands each and every year of Coptic Christian teenage girls, who are then forced to convert to Islam and forced to ``marry'' a Muslim man. Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker. The Middle East is at a critical juncture. We are witnessing the systematic extinction of centuries-old religious communities. South and Central Asia are also systematically failing their religious minorities. The late Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal Minister for Minorities in Pakistan, gave his life to fight the injustices and atrocities suffered by the religious minorities in Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan has since abolished the Ministry for Minorities, perhaps under the false impression that it does not matter in relations with the United States. A Special Envoy for religious minorities sends the right message at the right time, and empowers a diplomat with access to the President and to, hopefully, all the leaders throughout the region and to all those who are disenfranchised. The rights of religious minorities matter, and we will not look askance during this perilous time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address ongoing human rights violations in occupied northern Cyprus. Today is the 37th anniversary of the illegal 1974 invasion--a terrible tragedy, and an ongoing one, as the continued occupation of that country by tens of thousands of Turkish troops continues to deprive of their homes all those forced to flee the north--estimated to number approximately 200,000. Many Greek Cypriots escaped the north with little more than the clothes on their backs. While some have returned to visit their own homes or ancestral villages, none have been allowed to take back their rightful property-- those despoiled include an estimated 5,000 Americans of Cypriot descent. Several hundred courageous Greek Cypriots, mainly elderly people, refused to be uprooted and today live in enclaves, the remnant of once-thriving Greek Cypriot communities which have effectively been ethnically cleansed. Hundreds of churches, chapels and monasteries once dotted the rugged landscape of the region, part of Cyprus's rich religious cultural heritage. Indeed, St. Paul visited the island nation on one of his early missionary journeys, and St. Barnabas, a native of the Cypriot city of Salamis, was martyred nearby for his defense of Christianity. The Helsinki Commission, of which I am the Chairman in this Congress, has documented the desecration and destruction of some of the over 500 religious sites in the occupied area looted of their priceless icons, mosaics and frescoes once revered by the faithful. Many of these sacred objects, stolen from churches inside or adjoining Turkish military bases, have landed on the international art market. Even the dead are not allowed to rest in peace with destruction of cemeteries rampant throughout the region. Cypriot authorities interdicted a container originating in the occupied area filled with metal destined for a recycling facility in Asia. Upon inspection agents found that the unit consisted of metal crosses and stolen grave markers. Mr. Speaker, I remain deeply concerned over ongoing violations of freedom of religion and other rights in northern Cyprus. Let there be no mistake, the Turkish government is responsible for what happens in the occupied part of the island. Last Christmas, a small group of Orthodox believers gathered in the village of Rizokarpaso to celebrate the divine liturgy--only to have their worship disrupted by Turkish security forces, who ordered them to disperse. The Helsinki Commission continues to receive reports of the demolition of churches in the region even as others are converted to commercial use as warehouses, barns, or casinos. Mr. Speaker, the nearly four-decade-long illegal occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkey is an affront to the principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and an encroachment on the fundamental freedoms and human rights of Greek Cypriots living in the region's enclaves and those forced to flee the area following the 1974 invasion. Our government must continue to engage on behalf of the human rights of Greek Cypriots.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the people of South Sudan have endured two decades of wanton violence, rape, torture and hunger systematically imposed upon them by the Bashir dictatorship in Khartoum. More than 2 million people were killed, 4 million people displaced, and countless families decimated. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 ended the war and put South Sudan on the path to nationhood. Tomorrow, when the people of South Sudan emerge as the newest nation on Earth, tomorrow, when that dream is realized, Americans will join the people of South Sudan in celebrating this extraordinary hope-filled event. Yet recently at least 100,000 Sudanese have been displaced from the Abyei area, and tens of thousands of Southerners living in South Kordofan State have been recently forced from their homes, some of them murdered. So there are serious remaining challenges. Nevertheless, we hope and we pray that the people of South Sudan will finally live in peace and enjoy respect for their basic human rights and freedom.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 268, and deeply appreciate Majority Leader Cantor; Steny Hoyer; obviously the chairwoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; and Mr. Berman, the ranking member, for authoring this resolution reaffirming the U.S. commitment to a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. H. Res. 268 speaks in very clear, unambiguous language about what this means: It means settlement through direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations rather than through a highly misguided, counterproductive, unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood, or by Palestinians seeking recognition from other states or through the United Nations, sadly, the latter, a haven of anti-Israel and even sometimes anti- Semitic activity. Direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been a keystone of U.S. and Israeli policy toward the region for decades, and even PLO Chair Yasser Arafat pledged to accept this way back in 1993. Unfortunately, Hamas in its 2011 unity agreement with Fatah did not accept this commitment, nor did it renounce violence. Madam Speaker, H. Res. 268 also outlines what a negotiated settlement should entail: negotiations in which each accepts the other's right to exist, and which are aimed at a two-state solution. Again, these have been key points of U.S. and Israeli policy, but Hamas, a State Department foreign terrorist organization, has rejected them. The fact is, Madam Speaker, that U.S. law precludes foreign assistance to a P.A. which shares power with Hamas unless the P.A. publicly accepts Israel's right to exist and adheres to all prior agreements between Israel and the PLO. The U.S. Government has been extremely generous to the P.A., providing over $550 million annually.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. So the resolution wisely reaffirms this law and urges the administration to consider suspending assistance to the P.A. pending a review of the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas. It is our policy, and it is Israel's policy, Madam Speaker, to promote a realistic, sustainable peace process, one that entails negotiations between the two parties to the conflict, represented by groups that seek a two-state solution, and renounces violence. Hamas has shown none of that.