Speech #1000080280

Chairman. that is equal to the annihilation of Houston. And the war continues. Civilians are caught in the crossfire between military forces. or if they are lucky they flee their homes to seek safety at refugee camps. Recent reports show. however. that refugee camps have become the sites of human rights violations. In fact. the need to provide a safe haven to those Salvadorans who have been forced to flee their homeland is evident. Civil strife and upheaval also plague Nicaragua. The war in Nicaragua also continues to rage. with civilians bearing the brunt of the human costs of war. Thousands of Nicaraguans have been forced to leave their country because of the violence on both sides of this conflict. The administration has been slow to provide relief from these conditions which is so desperately needed by Salvadoran and Nicaraguan refugees in the United States. Not only has concern been expressed by individuals in this country. but the administrations inaction on this matter has been questioned internationally. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recently received a recommendation by a field monitor that the U.N. agency should: "* * * continue to express its concern to the U.S. Government that its apparent failure to grant asylum to any significant number of Salvadorans. coupled with continuing largescale forcible and voluntary return to El Salvador. would appear to represent a negation of its responsibilities assumed upon its adherence to the U.N. refugee protocol." This is the first time that it has been suggested that the United States is failing to fulfill its international commitment to refugees. I do not believe. Mr. Speaker. that the House of Representatives wants to go on record as allowing this blemish on our countrys solid record of support for refugees. The administration is making human rights policy based on the nature of the relationship our Government has with the Governments of El Salvador and Nicaragua. The State Department and the Justice Department are playing politics in a situation where there are lives hanging in the balance. Mr. Chairman. we must take this opportunity to rise above politics because the need for safe haven for refugees from El Salvador and Nicaragua is so great. Beginning today. this body has the opportunity to continue our Nations commitment to providing relief for victims of political upheaval in their own countriesas we have done countless times before for Poles. Afghans. Ethiopians. and others. We have the chance to pass legislation which will no longer allow the status of refugees from El Salvador and Nicaragua to be politicized. I urge support for this important bill. If we reject this bill. we turn our backs and subject these people to possible harm or death.