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	Sen. Durbin [D-IL]: Madam President, with the beginning of this new Congress, Senator PATRICK LEAHY, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, honored my request to create a new subcommittee,...
	Sen. Leahy [D-VT]: Mr. President, I am glad that today the Senate is considering the Genocide Accountability Act, which closes a loophole in current law which has until now allowed those...

Record Text

Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]: Madam President, with the beginning of this new Congress, Senator PATRICK LEAHY, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, honored my request to create a new subcommittee, entitled Human Rights and the Law. It is the first time in Senate history we have designated a subcommittee with that jurisdiction. Of course, the Foreign Relations Committee has responsibility for foreign policy, but what we are trying to focus on in this subcommittee I chair are laws that relate to fundamental human rights.

The subcommittee's first hearing, seven weeks ago, was on the law relating to genocide and the situation in Darfur. We had spectacular witnesses: Diane Orentlicher, an American University law school professor; Sigal Mandelker, a representative from the administration; Don Cheadle, the star in "Hotel Rwanda," who has become a strong advocate for ending the genocide in Darfur; Romeo Dallaire, a Senator in Canada, who in 1994 was the head of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Rwanda during the onset of the massacre. Their testimony was electrifying. It pointed not only to the experience in Rwanda but to what we face today in Darfur.

I still recall--and it bears repeating every time I come to the floor--that at the time of the Rwanda genocide, there were very few Senators paying attention.

One of my mentors and friends, Paul Simon, my predecessor, was the chairman of the Africa Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee. He knew what was happening. He turned to his friend, Jim Jeffords, then a Republican from Vermont, and said: We have to do something. They called General Dallaire in Kigali, Rwanda, and asked: What can we do? The general said: If you would send me 5,000 armed soldiers, I can stop this massacre right now. So Senators Jeffords and Simon called the Clinton White House and asked for help. Sadly, there was no response.

Later on, President Clinton, after he finished his term in office, said it was the biggest mistake of his administration not to respond to the Rwandan genocide. It was a reminder to me that we do have the power as Senators and Congressmen, and many others, to make a difference, and we should never accept as inevitable things such as the genocide that occurred in this faraway country of Rwanda.

I was reminded of that during testimony just a few weeks ago. We talked about Darfur and the fact that 4 years ago, President Bush declared a genocide in Darfur. It is rare that the United States acknowledges a genocide. I applauded President Bush and his leadership for making this acknowledgment, but I have said to the President and on this floor many times: It is not enough to just declare a genocide. If innocent people are being killed, if they are being displaced from their homes and you have the power to do something about it, how can you stand by and do nothing? Sadly, that is what has happened for 4 straight years. We have done nothing--declaring a genocide and doing nothing.

I am reminded of a personal experience I had many years ago as a student at Georgetown University. I was in the School of Foreign Service and had as a professor Dr. Jan Karski from Poland. He was an inspiring man. He spoke with an accent. He came to his class with a suit and tie on every day, ramrod, military bearing, and told the story of his life in between lessons.

His story was that he was a member of the Polish underground fighting the Nazis in World War II. He saw Polish people swept out of the Warsaw ghetto, taken away. He finally realized that they were taken to concentration camps to be killed.

Determined to do something about it, Jan Karski found his way to Washington in the 1940s, even found his way to the office of President Franklin Roosevelt, and told him about the Holocaust, told him what was happening in the concentration camps.

Unfortunately, just as in Rwanda, the President at that time did nothing. Jan Karski returned to Poland crestfallen that he had finally alerted this great power, the United States of America, and nothing was going to be done.

I sat there as a student at the time and thought: How can that be? How can you hear that thousands of people are being killed and do nothing? It happened then. It happened in Rwanda. It shouldn't happen again.

The purpose of the hearing on Darfur was to try to finally spark some action by this Congress and by this administration to do something. After 4 years of declaring a genocide, it is about time we rolled up our sleeves and did something. And there are things we can do.

Certainly, we can look at our own personal responsibility. Divestment means selling off or not buying investments in a country. In this case, the country of Sudan, with the capital of Khartoum, has a vibrant oil industry. Major companies in Sudan are owned by China, India, and Malaysia. Petro China is the Chinese oil company that is the largest oil company in the Sudan.

I have encouraged everyone, including the universities and colleges in Illinois, to divest themselves of any known holdings in companies doing business in Sudan. Maybe it is a small thing, maybe it is only symbolic, but for goodness' sake, shouldn't we do something on an individual and personal basis?

After I issued a press release, incidentally, calling for divestment, an enterprising reporter took a look at the mutual funds my wife and I own and said: One of your mutual funds owns stock in Petro China. I quickly sold it. It didn't change my net worth much, I can tell you, but it is a symbolic and personal thing. I am glad we did it. Others need to do it as well. Pension funds, governments, major companies--if they divest themselves of these Sudanese investments, maybe those companies will get the message that there is something wrong with Sudan and we shouldn't do business as usual with a country that won't allow peacekeeping forces to come in to save and help victims in Darfur.

There are other actions we can take as well. This subcommittee on human rights and law tried to focus on specific legislation we could enact. As a result of our hearing, 2 weeks ago we introduced the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007. S. 888, the Genocide Accountability Act, would close a legal loophole that prevents the U.S. Justice Department from prosecuting people in our country who have committed genocide. While genocide rages in Darfur, we have to make clear our commitment to hold accountable those who commit the ultimate crime.

The Genocide Accountability Act is the first legislation produced by the Senate Judiciary Committee's new Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. S. 888 is a bipartisan bill introduced by myself, as chairman of the subcommittee; Senator TOM COBURN, the ranking Republican member on this same subcommittee; Senator PAT LEAHY, chairman of the Judiciary Committee; and Senator JOHN CORNYN, a Republican from Texas.

The Genocide Accountability Act has been endorsed by numerous organizations, and I thank them for their support and encouragement. They include Africa Action, the American Jewish World Service, Amnesty International USA, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenian National Committee of America, the Genocide Intervention Network, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights, Refugees International, and the Save Darfur Coalition.

Why is it necessary to change the law? Because under current law, genocide is only a crime in the eyes of America if it is committed within the United States or by a U.S. national outside the United States.

In contrast, the laws on torture, material support for terrorism, terrorism financing, hostage taking, and many other Federal crimes allow for extraterritorial jurisdiction for crimes committed outside the United States by non-U.S. nationals.

This loophole in the law has real-life consequences. The Justice Department has identified individuals who participated in the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides and who live in the United States under false pretenses. Under current law, these individuals cannot be arrested or prosecuted because they are not U.S. nationals and the genocides in which they were involved didn't take place in the United States.

Now let's go to the Sudan and Darfur. Salah Abdallah Gosh, the head of security in the Sudanese Government, has reportedly played a key role in that nation's genocidal campaign in Darfur. Just 2 years ago, Mr. Gosh came to Washington to meet with senior administration officials. Under current law, the FBI could not even interview him about his involvement in the Darfur genocide, much less charge him with a crime.

The Genocide Accountability Act changes that. It would close this loophole. It amends 18 U.S.C. 1091, the Genocide Convention Implementation Act, to allow prosecution of non-U.S. nationals who are in the United States for genocide committed outside the United States.

The United States should have this authority and ability to prosecute genocidaires who find safe haven or at least seek safe haven in this country. The Genocide Accountability Act would end this impunity gap in genocide law.

What we are saying to those around the world who are engaged in uncivilized and barbaric conduct is do not even consider coming to the United States as your retirement home. It is never going to be a safe haven. There is no place for you to hide.

The Genocide Accountability Act gives our Government the power to stop those who seek to do that.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 89, S. 888.

Chair: The clerk will report the bill by title.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.

Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]: Mr. President, I am glad that today the Senate is considering the Genocide Accountability Act, which closes a loophole in current law which has until now allowed those who commit or incite genocide to seek refuge in our country without fear of prosecution for their actions. This bill is the first legislation resulting from the work of the Judiciary Committee's new Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. I thank Subcommittee Chairman DURBIN for introducing the bill, and I was pleased to join him, along with subcommittee Ranking Member COBURN and Senators FEINGOLD, CORNYN, and KENNEDY in cosponsoring the bill. I have long called for greater U.S. involvement in resolving the crisis in Darfur and worked for greater accountability for those who commit war crimes. This bill is an important next step in working to do all we can to combat genocide throughout the world.

Too often, we in this country, the richest and most powerful Nation on Earth, have done too little to stop human rights atrocities in Sudan and elsewhere around the world. Many more lives could have been saved if we and other nations had shown stronger leadership. During the last 5 years, America's reputation has suffered tremendously. Some of our ability to lead on human rights issues has been needlessly and carelessly squandered. Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have tarnished that role and that tradition. The secret prisons that the President confirmed last year and this administration's role in sending people to other countries where they would be tortured have led to condemnation by our allies, to legal challenges, and to criminal charges.

I was proud to work with Senator DURBIN to create the Human Rights and the Law Subcommittee, which is helping us to better fulfill our role in a challenging global environment. This subcommittee will continue to closely examine some of the important and difficult legal issues that have increasingly been a focus of the Judiciary Committee and will work to reverse and correct the damaging policies established by this administration over the last 6 years.

The Genocide Accountability Act is a perfect example of the bipartisan, consensus legislation that this subcommittee was created to produce. The bill allows for prosecution of those found in the United States who have participated in horrific acts against humanity in places such as Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, and gives Federal prosecutors the tools they need to bring these people to justice. This bill would amend 18 U.S.C. 1091, the Genocide Convention Implementation Act--the Proxmire Act--to allow prosecution of non-U.S. nationals who are in the United States for genocide committed outside the country. In the past, Federal investigators have identified perpetrators of genocide, including the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides, who

The Genocide Accountability Act would close this loophole, allowing Federal prosecutors to prosecute those who have committed or incited genocide who are in our country. This change would make the genocide statute conform with numerous existing Federal crimes that allow for similar extraterritorial jurisdiction if the offender is found in The United States, including torture, piracy, material support to terrorists, terrorism financing, and hostage taking.

I commend Senators DURBIN and COBURN for holding a hearing on this important issue and for their diligent work to ensure that that this loophole in our law is closed. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to ensure that the United States takes this significant step in combating genocide worldwide.

Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.

Chair: Without objection, it is so ordered.

Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]: I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Chair: The clerk will call the roll.

Sen. Mary Landrieu [D-LA]: Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Chair: Without objection, it is so ordered.