Speaker. for years. Somalia has been well known for persistent and gross human rights abuses. Including documented accounts of bombing by the Government of innocent refugee women and children. According to the State Departments own report on Somalia: There are recurring reports of the use of torture by police and security officials. including immersion in sea water. beatings. and rape. For years. various human rights groups have released documents citing frequent and continuous reports of the regimes dismal record of human rights violations. However. just 1 short year ago. leaders in Congress initiated a series of actions that changed the course of United States policy toward Somalia. Many in Congress questioned the wisdom of the business as usual approach of the Reagan administration to continue providing economic and military aid even at the height of the civil conflict in that country. Just 1 year ago. in a letter to then Secretary Shultz. a group of Congressmen wrote: First and foremost. we need a thorough human rights report done by an objective professional. using interviews with the refugees that would provide some indication of the seriousness of the human rights situation In Somalia. The Congressmen went on to recommend that the State Department suspend economic and military assistance until a thorough assessment is completed on the alleged human rights abuses in the northern area. In late 1988. a congressional seminar was held to reassess United States policy toward Somalia.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees