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Foreign Policy Africa
U.S Senator Russ Feingold, Chairman
of the Subcommittee on African Affairs
I have served on the Subcommittee on African Affairs since first coming to the Senate in 1993, and have served as both Chairman and Ranking Member. In that capacity, I have had the opportunity to visit a number of African nations, where I have met with government officials and members of civil society. Through those trips and my work on the Subcommittee, I have come to believe strongly in the United States’ ability to build mutually beneficial and fair partnerships with Africans that advance both our security and our shared prosperity.
As the current Chairman, I am continuing my efforts to make sure we are working with Africans to seriously address the continent's many challenges. I have chaired hearings on counterterrorism in the Horn of Africa, improving U.S. diplomatic capacity in Africa, confronting drug trafficking in West Africa, and the transition in Zimbabwe. I have also introduced legislation to commit the United States to do more to help end Africa’s longest running war, involving the Lord's Resistance Army. Finally, I have formed a bipartisan Senate Working Group on Malaria to focus attention on this disease that continues to affect millions in Africa.
Addressing African Conflicts, Strengthening U.S. Security
One of my top concerns on the continent is that al Qaeda is exploiting Somalia's continued state collapse and instability to create a safe haven. I have long called for the United States to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the security, governance and humanitarian challenges in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa. I visited the region most recently in December 2008.
In my work on the Africa Subcommittee, I am also very active on Sudan. I was the first member of Congress to speak on the floor of either body about the genocide in Darfur in March 2004, and I continue to encourage efforts to prevent a renewed North-South civil war. I recently joined with Senator John McCain and others to send a letter to President Obama urging the administration to develop a comprehensive strategy toward Sudan that holds the government there accountable and maintains pressure.
The crisis in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the deadliest conflict since the Second World War, is another important priority for me as chair of the Africa Subcommittee. I visited eastern Congo in 2007 and met with women and girls who had been raped, leaving them with horrific physical and psychological damage. Senator Barbara Boxer and I co-chaired a hearing on violence against women in the Congo. I am also an original cosponsor of the Congo Conflict Minerals Act.
Feingold Statement on the Justice Department Charging 14 Individuals for Supporting al-Shabaab - August 5, 2010
Feingold Statement on the Need for Fair and Free Elections in Uganda - August 2, 2010
Feingold Statement on Strengthening the Kimberley Process - July 21, 2010
Feingold Statement on the Kampala Bombings and al Shebaab in Somalia - July 15, 2010
Feingold Statement on the Bombings in Kampala, Uganda - July 12, 2010
More Releases
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