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Smith Presses for Peace in |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House International Relations Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee, today urged greater “The international community must engage now in the shaky peace process in Smith made his remarks at a press conference in conjunction with Northern Uganda Lobby Day, where over 700 citizens from 40 states across For nearly 20 years, conflict between the government of “The once great optimism for a final end to this conflict is quickly dissipating. And with each passing day, more lives are put in danger. The War continues to be waged in The State Department has designated the LRA as a terrorist organization since December 2001. Because more than 80 percent of the LRA’s ranks are composed of abducted children, its troops are simultaneously hostages and terrorists. This presents a unique and delicate situation for the international community. The leadership of the LRA must be pursued and treated as terrorists, while the abducted soldiers within its ranks must be addressed as hostages and innocent children. “The use of abducted children to serve as soldiers and concubines unfortunately continues around the world today, and is perhaps nowhere more visible than Joseph Kony’s use of children in his terrorist assault on the Acholi people. I have a bill that not only calls for sanctions on governments that use children under the age of 16 in armed forces, but also urges more aggressive action against rebel and irregular forces, like the LRA, that utilize child soldiers,” said Smith, referring to his legislation, the “Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2006” (H.R. 5966). Along with the punitive measures, the “Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2006” also expands psychological services for the children recovered from forced duty as child soldiers. “Passage of this legislation is imperative given the potential return of thousands of former child soldiers in northern | ||
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For Immediate Release: October 10, 2006 Contact: Patrick Creamer (202) 225-3765 |
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