Washington Post joins Senator Coons' call for a better plan on al Qaeda takeover of northern Mali

In an editioral appearing in Monday's editions, The Washington Post joined Senator Coons' call for a better plan on al Qaeda's takeover of northern Mali. Senator Coons chaired a hearing on the situation there last week, noting that the space now controlled by al Qaeda is roughly the size of Texas and is the largest terrorist-controlled area in the world.

ACCORDING TO the Obama administration, northern Mali “has become a safe haven for extremist and terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and affiliates” — the same forces linked to the deadly Sept. 11 assault on the U.S. mission in Libya. Northern Mali, says Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Africa, has become “the largest territory controlled by Islamic extremists in the world.” A Taliban-style rule of stonings and amputations has been imposed, and a dire emergency is unfolding: 400,000 civilians have fled their homes, and, the United Nations says, 600,000 children under the age of 5 are threatened by severe malnutrition.

Not to worry. U.N. officials say that the terrorists will be subdued by a military intervention — but not before the fall of 2013.

...

The Obama administration, for its part, is insisting that military action must be preceded by a multi-step political process, including democratic elections for a new Malian government and negotiations with groups in northern Mali that are not part of al-Qaeda. One, Ansar Dine, has imposed fundamentalist rule on Timbuktu and destroyed many of its priceless religious and cultural monuments, but the theory is that it can be detached from the transnational terrorists.

Negotiations, which began this month, are certainly worth a try. But it’s also worth bearing in mind what is happening while this process drags on. As a Malian minister told the Security Council, “there are floggings, amputation of limbs, summary executions, children forced to become soldiers, rapes, stoning, looting and the destruction of cultural and historical sites.” Perhaps the diplomats in Turtle Bay can conclude it’s prudent to allow such atrocities to continue for another 10 or 12 months. But morality as well as common sense suggests that intervention must come sooner.

Click here to read the Post's full editorial.

CRPD would not impact homeschooling

There are some false and damaging rumors about the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities causing real concern in Delaware and elsewhere. Our office has heard from Delawareans concerned that ratification of this treaty would impact their right to homeschool their children with disabilities, if they choose to do so.

Senator Coons took those concerns seriously, and he checked with Department of Justice directly. What he heard – what he confirmed, with absolute certainty – should put the minds of these parents at ease.

Ratification of this treaty will not do anything to change existing American law, rules or enforcement on homeschooling. The right of families who wish to homeschool their children to do so will be protected, no matter what.  

Nor does the treaty erode one iota of American sovereignty.

It does not hand over any authority to any international body. It does not burden us with any new obligations or expenses. It does not require us to do anything but comply with our own, already existing law – a law that has been in place for 22 years. Any rights that Americans have now, they will continue to have if this treaty is ratified. Period. 

Video: Senator Coons talks Susan Rice and DRC on MSNBC

Senator Coons talked with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Thursday about the possible nomination of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice as Secretary of State, and about the developing crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Senator Coons is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs.

You can watch the interview below:

Senator Coons’ resolution condemning crimes of Joseph Kony passed by Senate

On Thursday, the full Senate unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by Senator Coons, the chair of the Subcommittee on African Affairs, condemning the crimes against humanity committed by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army.

“Joseph Kony and the LRA have terrorized Uganda and its neighbors in central Africa for more than two decades,” Chris said. “I applaud my colleagues for unanimously passing this bipartisan resolution condemning the crimes committed by the LRA and supporting ongoing regional efforts to bring Kony and top LRA commanders to justice once and for all.”

Chris’ resolution, Senate Resolution 402, supports the ongoing international efforts to remove Kony from the battlefield and calls for the U.S. to continue to enhance its mobility, intelligence and logistical support of regional forces protecting civilians and pursuing the LRA.

This bipartisan resolution, which Chris sponsored with Sen.  Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), was co-sponsored by 45 members of the Senate – nearly half the body. Following introduction, hundreds of Americans signed on as “citizen cosponsors” to show their support for efforts to stop Joseph Kony.

In April of this year, Chris chaired an African Affairs Subcommittee hearing on U.S. policy to counter the LRA. In June, he personally visited Uganda, where he thanked President Museveni for the efforts of the Ugandan military to root out the LRA and for the strong partnership between the U.S. and the Ugandan people. He also visited the northern Uganda community of Gulu, where the United States is supporting efforts to rebuild communities affected by the LRA. 

Senator Coons voices strong support for ratification of disabilities treaty

Senator Coons voiced his strong support Thursday for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was adopted by the United Nations in 2006 with 153 signatories and 116 ratifying parties, which does not include the United States. The convention was the focus of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Thursday. Chris chaired part of the hearing.

“The American people expect Congress to protect the fundamental rights of all people,” Chris said. “The United States can and should demonstrate global leadership by ratifying the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We’ve long been a leader on protecting rights for disabled persons, as demonstrated by the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed twenty-two years ago.”

Thursday’s hearing featured testimony from an array of witnesses, including U.S. Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). The second panel featured leaders from the departments of State and Justice. The third panel featured former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, former Justice Department official John Wodatch, the Heritage Foundation’s Steven Groves, Chancellor of Patrick Henry College Dr. Michael Farris, and retired Marine lieutenant John Lancaster, formerly of the National Council On Independent Living.

Law of the Sea treaty vital to U.S. interests

One hundred and sixty-two countries have ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea — a treaty designed to provide international guidelines for use of the world’s oceans — but in the 30 years since it was first negotiated, the United States has refused, putting the country’s long-term national and economic security at risk.

That was the focus of a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, which featured testimony from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Martin Dempsey Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. 

“When I was brand-new to the Senate,” Senator Coons said at the hearing, “one of the earlier meetings I took with was with the then outgoing Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead.  And when I asked him, what is the single most important thing we can do to help the Navy over the next decade, he said, without hesitation, ratify the Law of the Sea treaty.” 

Chris also addressed some of the resistance to the Convention’s passage, noting the debate is largely dated.

“I understand some of the concerns raised by members of this committee,” he said. “There were some flaws and some issues in this treaty when first negotiated in '82.  Many of them were hammered out, resolved by '94, by amendments, certainly by the time this was previously considered several times by this committee during your service here, Senator, now Secretary.” 

“I believe it is well past the time when the questions and concerns raised here today were compelling.”

Asked by Senator Coons about the potential risk assumed by the U.S. by refusing to ratify the Convention, General Dempsey said that the “failure to ratify puts us at some greater risk of conflict.”

Secretary Panetta also agreed that failure to ratify the Convention could pose an increased risk of confrontation.

“The risk is this,” Panetta explained. “If we face a situation that involves navigational rights, if we are not a party to this treaty and can't deal with it at the table, then we have to deal with it at sea with our naval power.  And once that happens, we clearly increase the risk of confrontation.”

Panetta added that so many U.S. allies have already signed on to the convention and they cannot understand why the U.S. has not yet ratified the convention. 

“Sure, they know we are a strong naval power,” Panetta said. “They know that we can exert ourselves military wherever we want to.  But they also know that, in today's world, they are dealing at the table trying to negotiate resolutions to conflicts in a rules-based manner.  That is the way to deal with issues like that.”

Finally, Chris asked Secretary Clinton how failing to ratify the convention would pose challenges to the State Department in their efforts to protect vital U.S. interests in the Arctic’s Northwest Passage.

Clinton noted that “one of the reasons there has been such strong bipartisan support coming from Alaska over the last decades is because they are truly on the front lines.”

“We know there are natural resources that are likely to be exploitable if we have the opportunity to do so,” Clinton said.

“Being able to demarcate our continental shelf and our extended continental shelf is seen in Alaska as a missed opportunity and a strategic disadvantage that is increasingly going to make us vulnerable as the waters and the weather warms,” Clinton said.

“There are going to be ships from all over the world exploring, exploiting, fishing, taking advantage of what rightly should be American sovereign territory.”

The United States is currently the only Arctic nation that has not ratified the convention.

Senator Coons recognizes World Malaria Day

Today, Senator Coons marked World Malaria Day by highlighting Delaware’s unique, important role in eradicating the disease worldwide.  

This afternoon, Chris spoke at an event hosted by Malaria No More featuring the latest U.S. research and development from public and private institutions working to combat malaria. One of the institutions included was Delaware’s own Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biology, which is utilizing a nearly $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a transmission-blocking vaccine that would render bites from malarial mosquito harmless.

“While we have come a long way in lowering the number of malaria-related deaths, we still have much work to do to stem the spread of this preventable, treatable disease,” Senator Coons said. “Through public and private research, we are developing promising new advancements in eradicating malaria globally, and the Delaware-based Fraunhofer Center for Molecular Biology is leading the charge.”

Malaria is a parasitic blood disease spread by mosquitoes, and while it was eradicated from the United States in 1951, the debilitating disease still kills 655,000 people each year around the world. It is most prevalent in the developing world, with 90 percent of related deaths occurring in Africa.  The majority of those killed are pregnant women and children under five years old.    

In partnership with Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Senator Coons has sponsored two resolutions supporting the goals of World Malaria Day, which aims to end malaria deaths by 2015. He also supports U.S. leadership to combat malaria as a critical component of the President’s Global Health Initiative.

Senator Coons chairs hearing on Joseph Kony

This morning, Senator Coons, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, held a hearing examining U.S. policy to counter the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and its leader, Joseph Kony.

In his opening statement, Chris declared “Joseph Kony epitomizes the worst of mankind and evil in the modern day.”   He showed this chart, demonstrating that in the past four months alone, the LRA has committed 132 attacks despite increased U.S. and regional efforts to kill or capture Kony and his top lieutenants.

Witnesses at today’s hearing included Principal Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Yamamoto, Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID Earl Gast and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs Amanda Dory.

On a second panel of witnesses, two former LRA abductees, Jolly Okot and Jacob Acaye, shared their stories. Chris personally thanked them for attending, noting they both “endured horrific experiences in Uganda, and survived to courageously tell their story.”

The hearing stressed the broad bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate for stopping Kony, and for the recent deployment of 100 U.S. military advisors, which just yesterday, President Obama announced would continue to train regional militaries. 

Chris also took time to show a video he made to respond to the millions of Americans – especially young people – who recently became involved in this issue due to the effective advocacy of NGOs such as Resolve, Invisible Children, and the Enough Project. He is also sponsoring a resolution, with 40 other bipartisan members of the Senate, condemning the LRA and supporting continued U.S. efforts to strengthen the capabilities of regional militaries, increase civilian protection, and provide assistance to populations affected by the LRA. Join Chris as a citizen cosponsor of his resolution here.

Senator Coons leads hearing on entrenched African leaders

As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, Senator Coons today convened a hearing to examine U.S. policy in response to entrenched African leaders.

In his opening statement, Chris said that African leaders who stay in power for decades, some by manipulating their country’s constitution or governing institutions “challenge U.S. values and objectives, including the promotion of democracy, transparency, and rule of law.  It contributes to corruption, economic stagnation, a lack of accountability, and an inability of the government to effectively represent and respond to the needs of the people.  It threatens to hamper the vast potential of sub-Saharan Africa, and must therefore be addressed and ultimately, reversed.”      

The hearing featured testimony from Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa Earl Gast and the National Democratic Institute’s Regional Director for Central and West Africa Dr. Christopher Fomunyoh.

In addition, the committee heard testimony from Dr. Mo Ibrahim, an advocate for responsible governance in Africa whose foundation awards an annual cash prize of $5 million to democratically elected African leaders who demonstrate excellence in office and peacefully step down from power. Chris had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Ibrahim prior to the hearing.

Bipartisan resolution on Kony, LRA nets 40th cosponsor

We just got word that our bipartisan resolution condemning Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army, which Senator Coons introduced today, now has 36 37 39 40 cosponsors! The updated list of cosponsors is below:

In addition to Senator Coons and Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the resolution is now cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).

UPDATE: Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) signed-on as the 37th cosponsor on Thursday.

UPDATE: Senators Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) have signed-on as cosponsors.  

UPDATE: Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) makes it 40!

Click here to learn more about Kony and his crimes against humanity in central Africa.