pernicious threat. we look you ransom payments. you heard average payments of about $5.5 million. these are typically cash payments and it's a very difficult challenge to track down where did the money go. typically having worked at a number of counter drug cases throughout my coast guard career, we've been very successful working with dea, tracking down money payments, money laundering schemes in use and not to get to the head of the hydrate as you well as the threat continues to expand. will we have set up as a contact group for piracy off the coast of somalia and out of that has emerged for workgroups. the u.s. leads a workgroup on working with the maritime industry of situational awareness. this is called worker three. what we look at our trends. so far this fiscal year which commenced on the first of what

tober. we spent 81 piracy events. of those 37 were successful. again, what the fight by fight lane dollars payoff. if you are 3781, that would probably get you in the hall of fame if your plane based all. and these are generally viewed from a country where the daily wages maybe $2 a day. the site by $5 million sun is a lucrative business to be in. if you have a large diaspora within somalia, and a largely unemployed youth, this is literally at the opportunity of a lifetime. so what is working? we have to the international maritime organization a number of best management practices again for commercial vessels with height reports, it typically means providing -- eliminating the need to access the vessel, but ultimately

increasing speed. other vessels that infuse these best management practices this last year of 19 attempted a fax for these vessels, only five were successful. usually speed with eliminating fat tear. they could not make speed in excess of 50 knots, pirates are going to capture them. what is proved successful, there is yet to be a successful attack against the commercial vessel that had armed security teams on this vessels. that is not a shared philosophy on a global steel and we heard tim lane that this is a challenge for the global community, but we are seeing armed security teams to work. given increase in violence among pirates, but we do know now that this does work. and the challenge out there is, how do you get armed teams from one vessel to another, in areas where you have a foreign team coming into new york about

wanting to board a vessel of that state. by the way they are carrying automatic weapons. they probably wouldn't take it to the tsa screening process. we need to treat this as they global comments, but that is one project that is proved successful. we have also seen success in the u.s. at the united state has shown and demonstrated a national will to prosecute. in figure 16, of diwali who was from alabama was sentenced on suppression of unlawful locks to 33 years, nine months, basically a life imprisonment, which is the maximum imprisonment under the suet convention. we also have five pirate that i can make it, awaiting sentencing last month. they staged an attack in april 2010 at night and the vessel they attacked was the uss nicholas.

so they are sentencing will take place next month and will see what the outcome of that is. today we have 14 pirates in custody. as we are all familiar with the

because of the presence of coalition forces, but we saw how that played out. there is another ricotta that has been going with big u.s. vessels participating. they all pulled into port, but those that has been going with big u.s. vessels participating. they all pulled into port, but those that has been going with big u.s. vessels participating. they all pulled into port, but those, wolof vessels and cleared the area. so i did not expect to see in the u.s. recreational vessels

flying those wonders anytime in the near future and we also provided a notice to mariners to a recreational vessels the u.s. and now reached the number of forums that defined the geographic limits our and that this is not a safe place to be operating. so with that, that's everything from our panel and we look forward to entertaining your questions. >> thank you, very much. if i can -- anyone who's asking a question, please identify yourself by name and affiliation and if we wish to address that to any member of the panel, freese feel free to do so. >> yes, to find them of national defense 99. can ask anyone with knowledge, where is the number going because i don't think many people believe these teenagers are walking away with a million dollars each. and so they organized crime

involved and are these organized groups outside of somalia were fully within somalia? where's the money really going? >> all probably take that because this is a challenge that we face in the beginning of yesterday with the the national security staff. these are cash payments go directly typically into the molly banks and we do not have good awareness of where the money goes from there. we do know some of the goes to buy property. some of the coast by education and universities. but that is a key piece of information we currently lack. again, these are cash payments. it's not wired money come which does make the tracing of that difficult. we are looking at some of the same methodologies within the department of justice, tracing drug money. right now that is an intelligence cat that exists with show me the money.

>> i guess the other question everybody asks this is that money going to terrorists. it was not going that route. when i was out there in 2007, they would exchange the money in dubai. one guy would walk in and appreciates. there is always a middleman in front of the privates at $200 on top. believe me the motion of the cache is done by air drops because they cut down the middleman. it's a clan that knows what they're doing, so it's going somewhere, the lake the admiral said, once the casket outcome of the community is pretty hard to follow the trend. >> i just also like to have q. when i was operating there, there were examples were certainly it's very if you try to get access to some of that

money and they were examples of some of the rival pirate clans going at each other essentially to get access to some of that as well. >> clark, judy bettis. the navy has been talking to the coast guard for ages about if you have a sick protection on the ship and nico 15 plus not come you are probably not going to be hit in the number of ships being hit is going up. our company is simply unwilling to spend the extra money to go faster and to take those basic questions. >> let me take that one. we do a lot of work with the global shipping companies and certainly we have a number of them represented here today. there are incentives to follow these best management practices and not through the pni clubs, underwriters for the ships

cargo. so that does provide incentive obviously to follow the management practices. i put my hat on because i've been tracing drug smugglers for 34 years and they had to put them out of business yet. we've come very capable. first we were chasing them they were motherships and interdicting them. and so, when we started arming helicopters and shooting up close has come they want some ice submersibles. now we go on a step further and going to fully submersible bull vessels which makes all the more difficult to detect, monitor and ultimately interdict. when you have a lucrative business like that and don't have a lot to prosecute and go back to it the economic conditions are in the government territory, the the industry is just one match, but it's really

going to take a combination of private public sector to be able to eradicate this threat. >> any other comments? >> the number of vessels that goes through that is success of the 30,000 vessels. so when we are talking cometh a small number, the so significant. there's a lot of traffic that goes through there and the vessels -- i mean, if you do 15 plus knots, staying in the zone and especially in the transit towns in the place of the pirates attack during the day. the transit that i may come your chances of being pirated are very low. so we have to continue to watch the vessels that are transiting at low speed. i mean, they've got this big economic benefits that come get me, come get me. for those vessels are the ones that are targeted.

[inaudible] >> readerships fictionally do 12 knots in the above report. they can't stop commerce because that's what it is given them for their cargo. we've seen this particular shapes that are more portable, so they certainly would he in their best interest to be put on extra measures whether it's legato pfizer hoses or razor wire, but they're also encouraged encouraged to report into the task forces operating so we can provide a little extra awareness as to where the high-risk vessels are operating in that part of the exchange of information between the commercial shipping industry and naval forces operating there. >> q-quebec you just add one thing. these guys are not the most

educated people in the world out there. in the last year they've attacked the uss ashland in the u.s. has no, so they they. make him a wake up in the morning and go after ships and they are just looking for a target of opportunity. it's not a this is what comes by [inaudible] >> what they saw on the magellan star, younger mid 20th, you know, the use of of the narcotic effect was played into the decision-making cycle in terms of how threat assessment for what enemy or criminals we thought we'd see on the target site. so you know, certainly there was an initial bravado that said they have, but i think the

training are indications mourning the collections were getting from them, just line of sight to the length was they were not well trained. the search of may, creative group of guys who should not be underestimated and that would be something we certainly didn't want to do. >> did you have a view on the resilient if you like but the ships you are looking at two-stage rescue son? >> in terms of their physical security? the security on the magellan star with the citadel was phenomenal. the anti-piracy the ship captains can get through, but certainly the establishment saves the day for the crew of the magellan star. they basically debts on their ships, or they can fall back to continued positions at water and food, had communications.

those are very important things you have to consider. there was no part of our security and the upward on the freeboard of the ship. it would certainly raise barbed wire important. the trends like to board from the quarter or being, but they are coming up and use lightweight powders and skits that includes 25 knots, their closest angles of attack is that that quarter. they come on the boards, get one guy out of here the latter. for the crew has to be well rehearsed to get to the citadel. what are they using to contact her crew to tell everyone it might be asleep that you have to go because yummiest minutes are the pirates will go fast enough from their approach, to the bridge and give control of the ship. so certainly the use of the citadel dummies speed, freeboard all come into play, check in with coalition forces, those are all very important things. >> other questions?

>> danielle with abs ice magazine system. you've been speaking to this one to 2 million square miles area do you need to survey amok over from the growing threat of piracy. i was wondering if for the military and for the task force if you view it as more valuable to use tactical for the scan eagle type systems or is there a growing need to use more long endurance systems? >> well, when i was out there in 2007 into 2009. i can tell you that scan eagle was a force multiplier. i baked every single day to the staff back at centcom, send a more scan eagles. but the two mp3s, the number of piii's in the inventory decreasing, so to write out scan the type.

and that time it was not in the permanent record of the navy, but now we have select get it as a great platform that i strongly endorse its exactly what you need out there. [inaudible] >> -- an international set of assets. how do you find the amount systems which are available? >> in ctf 151 work in a nato and e.u. in the gulf of aden, they were to scan eagles in operation, which we very affect did the locating parts kits, conducting wide surveillance and certainly it was a small player as you indicated bringing intelligence information to the tasker. but i would also note that with the international perspective of whether it was japanese for e.u.

and pas operating there, you can't always substitute a set of eyes in the capability to respond for kinetic weapons from a helicopter with just simply unmanned systems. so they are an useful tool but augments your case abilities, but they are the replacements as well. >> another question? >> yes, sam from navy times. i want to ask in the wake of a quest, how did does that change things on a tactical level in terms of the noncompliance board? >> there are various aspects that are still under investigation. there was dissension along the pirates. the two that were -- we had fbi hostage rescue team embarked in

trying to cut a deal with two of the pirates, but there was dissension within the ranks that they have assassinated one of their own before we overwhelmed the sailing vessel quest. it probably goes back to what you heard the captain and an admiral mcknight mention the use of cat doesn't make arctic and their state of mind is questionable at best. there remained on adrenaline fenofibrate initiative did u.s. warship. it may clout to judgment, so i think that foreign ticket is. it's a very spontaneous event in that regard. but we did see with the recent case, but the danish vessel, the

ing, another sailing vessel with family members on board, we are aware that any attempt to recover those individuals would result in immediate execution. so we are seeing that type of behavior become more prevalent. is it out of frustration? you know, it's very difficult to say right now. but again, the state of mind that these pirate are always in question. >> next question, please. >> this is keith johnson with "the wall street journal." commander waddell, you made a reference to the ships. we have for some different numbers in terms of how many motherships are out there. the concern i had about about identifying tactical operations. what is to prevent the different

task force has been targeting them wiping out other ships if we can't go to the land-based pollution? what is to set the naval forces from going that route? >> the first problem with the motherships is that often they are legitimate mariners. so whether it's the yemeni fishing data or perhaps a pakistani cargo tao, a transfer a call from you we down to the african continent. these are legitimate mariners who suddenly find themselves being taken hostage by pirates kids and once the pirates are bored, they get mixed with legitimate managers and suddenly her hostage situation at attack targets. you're in a situation where he could visit mariners at risk. >> just to add that, the mothership issue is not new. i mean, this has been going on

for years gridlike commander said, they hijacked the yemeni ship and use it and abandon it. there was a case in late 2008 were the u.k. actually boarded the yemeni fishing dial whenever pirates onboard and they got into a firefight. so it's not something new. they are just using bigger vessels to go further distant lives in the indian ocean. set us up in a copper case issues. usually we'll see if they can be flying the flag or whatever. it's hard to actually set there it is right there unless you see them strategically going after another vessel. >> i think is the same challenge we have peered motherships are used in counter drug operations. we have 37 bilateral agreements, where we can go on board vessels of various flag states. but when you go on board, a

number of legitimate vessels and it's only a question of time before we get a d. marsh from the nation for violating their rights, so it's very difficult. again, they are not flying the jolly roger, so it's very difficult to discern legitimate from illegitimate. he just poured every vessel that's out there will probably result in some type of reprisal as well through diplomatic channels. >> okay. >> i am kenyan friend air surface magazine. basically my question is for anyone who can answer. what type of training either. receiving based on your observations? >> you know, i'm not sure the answer to that question in detail, but i can tell you just watching some of the patterns and reading some of the open source analysis, you can see

they are doing certainly better than they were a decade ago are back in the 90s, but they're some kind of training going on at that small pirate action group level, so they need to coordinate twos going to be the latter guy, who will be a person they get there. what is it going to do? by watching it and carried it to a conclusion, we ascertain there some training going on. the level to the training on the eighth of september, genesis one event, just one single event. a year ago that these basic things we know how to do with very, very low levels of training, awareness and discipline. ..

what they are doing is fabricating the matter so sure and bringing out weapons and doing the best they can fumbling their way through sometimes but obviously it's working. >> we have a question in the front. >> how many actual pirates are we talking about worldwide that

are around? on something you said you said the somali makes about $2 a day, sometimes a couple hundred dollars per year but how much does the average pirate meek per year? >> i will take a stab at that. i don't think we have a good number all the way the we've seen just like we have the whole threat which enjoys anywhere from 40 to 80% profit margin, and the fortune 500 companies that enjoyed those numbers would be sitting pretty but the ability to reconstitute the force i think is the real challenge. this is not one where just the attrition we are going to eliminate the threat. it will readily reconstitute but as we talked about the mother ship operations, the fact that the pirate vessels are then turned to now become support pirate activities makes it very difficult to get our arms around with the sheer magnitude but when you look at for a sample

the 14 pirates on a 56-foot sailing vessel, if that negotiated settlement had come down to let's say $5 million, how does that it distributed? many of the sponsors have -- pirates have sponsors the help train and equip and so we didn't really get into the investment portfolio would certainly, you know, if you are an investor in somalia investing in piracy it may be a lucrative investment so there may perhaps be a sharing of those proceeds and those are the intelligence that we talked about earlier of where does the money go and falling that cash flow is a challenge but that would help give a better indication of how much profit. we do know that they are making investments in purchasing land oftentimes in somalia but they are also investing in education

and universities but very difficult to say how much they actually profited. certainly it provides them a much more promising lifestyle beyond that and what otherwise experience living in somalia. >> another question. >> this is sam from the navy times again. >> my question for you, admiral is about the piracy trend, the number of hostages is nearly doubled since last year. the length of the hostages being held is much longer. they sound like they are going up, and still, we are talking about a law enforcement paradigm. you refer to the discussions going on in a policy level about looking at new ways of handling this problem. are things on the table

increasing or taking other aspects of the war on terror paradigm to the piracy problem? >> we explored every option, even putting a bounty on pirates. obviously it's not one we are going to push forward but really looking at this from a number of different strands certainly you have the offensive aspect, the connecticut operations, a defensive posture and the targets that are being pirated following the money flows and then the role of wall. if not somalia at least along of the nations of the wing. we see that with just the membership and the coalition within the cpf151 nearly 30 nations now participate and others are doing india for example of an independent operations off the coast but it's going to be a confluence of

offensive defensive posture, averell of law and then other policy following the money flow and then again the whole rule of law challenge ultimately resulting in the prosecution. but it's going to take a combination of all of those. there is no one holy grail to deal with this problem. and that is why we are looking at it the policy level but certainly not a wanted approach and that being strictly kinetic operations and certainly put the boots on the ground in somalia is an option under consideration right now. >> [inaudible] >> i think what you've seen right now within the cpf within several of the successful apprehensions, you know, having overwhelming force when you are able to bring that forced to

bear on a pirate vessel or a vessel that has been pirated and ultimately when the crew is in a said citadel is a area on the ship the pirates are not able to penetrate and so as long as the crew is within that compartment and then under the conventions of vessels -- it is an automated security system and it says they are under attack and that provides an indication morning including the name of the vessel and its location that has taken place so that at least allows us and again it's all about proximity. talk about large tierney of distance. so having a vessel in the proximity, but if all of those come together than it does make that type of intervention at least one we can take under

consideration. but recognizing we put our people at great risk when we go into intervene as well. >> at the same time there is this homemade business case in the value of the cargo there are some shippers that would assume write a check at the cost of doing business. but that will only cause this type of activity to flourish. so that is within the private-sector which is not something that the policy level we can necessarily control especially within the foreign states but those are some of the challenges we face as well but there are nations willing to write a check. our u.s. government will not sponsor a payment by the u.s. government to free the hostages. >> i have a longwinded answer but there really is no one answer. it's public-private sector really being within our shipping industry and certainly public would be all of our nations' governments but it is a

combination of the two. >> there have been persistent rumors for a long time. i've never heard this substantiated but i will throw it out again that there has been iranian involvement on the mother ship, provision of mother ships. any truth to this? >> should i start at that and? >> if you look at the history of somalia of the clan society and even in somalia itself, the al-shabaab in the the pirates don't get along, so to bring in foreign influence in there it would be extreme. it's not something that we saw and it would be a very far extreme.

>> i would also note in my operations on several occasions i shared the tactical information with the iranian navy also operating in the navy and they were professional and how they dealt with the sharing of that information and contributing to the antipiracy problem. they were in a position that they would dispatch some of their own security teams on board their national shipping lines which frequently operated just north of the internationally recommended transnet corker so all of my dealings and suppressing piracy were very personal. >> any further questions? we have one more at the front. >> yes, the navy times. one aspect we haven't spoken about is the humanitarian crisis that is also on going in the streets as a proxy at 100,000 migrants that are going to the

middle east. so how does that complicate the counter piracy mention, and as a sort of fall lawn or the units over there the multinational coalition ships prepared to render assistance to those who are in distress? >> the migrants to the west of where this high risk area is right now and it's certainly probably more of a european concern right now in terms of maritime migrant flows. certainly the life at sea is incumbent upon any vessel when you see the mariners in distressed to render assistance. it's not a coastguard mission but it is a good samaritan if you will to render assistance to those in distress. but in terms of that, that migrant maritime flow entering

this haifa area we are not seeing that nor do we expect it. >> hopefully we have covered everything everybody is looking to learn about today. i would like to thank our panelists and the commander of state waddell, martin once again for their insight. we are hoping to do a number of similar events in the couple of months in washington and we would welcome your feedback on the future topics and we will go around after this so please feel free. corporate members and guests of the navy league are welcome to remain in the room for a networking evin and about 10:30 so on behalf sci exhibition and the navy league many thanks for your participation and i hope that you have enjoyed this and found it useful. es are state

department officials and actor ben affleck and senator mccain's wife, cindy mccain. the subcommittee will come to order, and good afternoon, everyone. i want to thank you all for joining us on this very important hearing on the democratic republic of congo at this critical juncture in its history. as one might conclude from the significant media interest evident in the room, we have a

special guest witness with us today to spotlight attention on the democratic republic of congo. i am grateful for ben after flekt to agree to be here to share his aspects and the initiative he has founded. he is active in contributing his time and talent and fame to bring attention to the needs of the people who have suffered far too long and in a great deal of obscurity. i would also like to recognize ms. cindy mccain who is with us today. she is a founding member of and investor in the eastern congo initiative and share's mr. affleck's dedication to end the suffering in this region. she also has dedicated her time and energy to other worthwhile projects. for example, she serves on the boards of directors of several nonprofit philanthropies including operation smile which provides reconstructive surgery to children with facial deformities and the land mine

removal group, the halo trust. mr. affleck and his organization are making a major contribution in focusing political will on resolving the crises in the drc and bringing constructive recommendations to the table. but just as importantly, he is setting an example for all of us as to the need to direct whatever resources and influence we may have to help those who are less fortunate and without a voice to help themselves. his presence respective of an example for that, and the subcommittee is most appreciative. i am also grateful for our distinguished witnesses who are here as well. we look forward to examining the administration's current strategy for and involvement in the drc with principal deputy secretary of the bureau of african affairs mr. ambassador donald yamamoto and the deputy administrator for the district

of africa. and we will hear about the catholic relief services in the drc as well, and addressing the abhorrent and widespread practice of sexual violence as a weapon of war and from the sexual and gender-based advisor francesa dewalsh and this subcommittee welcomes john pendergrass of the project in the region on conflict minerals. he reminds us boldly in his testimony that the conflict minerals in provision one requires the administration to develop a strategy for establishing linkages in the conflict minerals, armed groups and human rights abusers in the eastern congo by january 17th. this strategy has not yet been submitted, however, i hope it is coming soon, and that will be an obvious question for am bos das

yamamoto. an ambassador from the drc was invited, but arrangements could not be made in time. i am certain that we will hear from the drc citizens and activists at a future hearing. my friends, i have had the privilege of traveling to the drc in 2008, and i still have vivid memories of the suffering and the courage of the congolese people. a highlight of my visit was meeting dr. joe and lucy, founders of the healer hospital in south congo. and i met men and will who were subjected to severe sexual violence and spoke to many women who are in the process of healing an recovery. the courage, the resilience and the resolve of these victims to overcome all that it had affected them was truly astonishing. and the meticulous care and compassion of the hospital staff

was absolutely remarkable. i am pleased to note that u.sai has given prevention in the drc in the heal african and tanzi hospital. in 2010, i authorized legislation to help with the fistula in the countries, and this legislation passed the house, but not the senate for unrelated seasons. however, the administrator of health agreed to bolster usaid's funding for the fistula funding together with thousands of women around the world have benefited as a result. as a prime sponsor of the ri victims protection act of 2000 and i hope that the administration witnesses will address this about the drc tier

3 ranking as egregious violator when it comes to human trafficking. has improved since the human trafficking report was submitted and what has been done to reintegrate child sold yoers. we know that the congo has an abundant of aerial water and minerals. making them a leader of prosperity on the continent, but like too many of to neighbor, it faces too many challenges. the people there have endured ongoing violence and bloodshed for decades and often not paid attention to, and again, why i think that ben affleck and the appearance today finally brings such, much needed often-neglected attention to the drc. the country has been the scene of one of the longest and deadliest manmade crises in the world, characterized by two major civil wars involving seven

neighboring countries, multiple cross border conflicts fighting by and among foreign proxies, militia groups and rebel movements. illicit active thes including the exploetation of mineral resources and absence of governance and human rights atrocities committed against civilians and all parties including the predatory congolese military and the unreliable u.n. peacekeeping force which i am told is getting better. many people in the drc have died of war-related injuries and many have been displaced by the compounded of human rights abuses committed against innocent women and children. the country as a whole faces enormous challenges. the drc is one of the five poorest countries in the world with 80% of the people living on just $2 a day. corruption is rampant as evidenced by the drc's ranking

164 out of 178 countries surveyed by transparency international's 2010 corruption perceptions index. the country is tenth among the world's 22 high burden tuberculosis countries and malaria accounts for 35% of the deaths of children under the age of 5. life expectancy is 51 years. an estimated 8.2 million or 1 of every 8 people in the drc are orphans and vulnerable children. clearly, this country and the surrounding region are in desperate need of peace and the coordinated efforts of the world community to prevent a complete loss of the people's hope for the future. the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in november render this a particularly critical time to focus our attention on the u.s. strategy for addressing the many issues confronting the congolese people and government. given that today is international women's day, this is a particularly appropriate

ooccasion to recognize the courageous women of the democratic republic of congo, and related to the hardships that impact the women in conflict and underdevelopment, the women of the drc have had to endure years ofutal victimization of rape and other sexual violence used as a weapon of war. an estimated 200,000 women have been raped there since 1998. their physical and psychological suffering has been compounded by the ongoing absence of measures to prevent future attacks, the impunity of which the perp trayer or thes continue in the communities or the military and the stigma wrongly placed on the victims by congolese society. a recent report by the u.n. panel detailed interviews held with victims of sexual violence in the drc, and while the plight of all of the victims is heart wrenching the interview with those who are still experiencing

ongoing armed conflict are worth emphasizing. these women are desperately in need of the most basic necessities, medical care, housing and a means of supporting themselves and their children. but when asked what they would like to have done to restore their lives and regain their dignity virtually everyone responded that peace and security is their first and most immediate need. they pleaded with the panel to convey this message to the world, because without peace and security anything else that they might acquire could be lost again at any time. a prior may goal of this hearing is to answer these women's plea. i'd like to now turn to my good friend and colleague mr. payne, for any opening comment tas you might have. >> thank you very much. let me congratulate you, mr. smith, on assuming the chairmanship of this committee, and certainly look forward to our continued working together on these issues of mutual interest and concern that we

have had over the years. certainly, i want to also welcome the new democratic members to the committee. he's not here right now, but mr. carnahan is a former chair of the subcommittee that in the last congress had jurisdiction over human rights which as you know our committee has expanded that, so he will certainly bring in experience there. and as dedicated advocate for the rights and the needs of refugees and displaced persons, women as passionate about assisting child soldiers as well as empowering women as peace builders, mr. carnahan's commitment to africa runs in his veins. his grandfather a.s.j. carnahan became the first american ambassador to the newly

independent sierra leone in 1961, so he has a strong interest and has had a number of conversations with me about africa. we are also pleased to be joined by mrs. karen bass she is not only new to the committee, but new to congress. however, this former speaker of the california assembly, the first african-american woman to hold a speaker's gavel in the history of this nation, and so we are very pleased and honored to have her as a member of our committee, and so she's no stranger to legislating. i welcome the opportunity to help ms. bass turn her experience in women's health, and economic empowerment into policies that can benefit the enterprising women of africa and their children. i'm excited to have this small, but powerful team with us here

on our committee. i want to also recognize representative mcdermott, author of the bipartisan conflict minerals act which is an important tool for accomplishing long-term stability and economic growth, and he's also the authority of the agoa act. we call him the father, but he is older so now he is the grandfather of the agoa act. so i'm happy to have my classmate mr. mcdermott here today. it is fitting, mr. chairman, that we begin our subcommittee business for the 112th congress by highlighting a foreign policy challenge that resonates in the hearts and minds of so many members of congress, democrats and republicans. the crisis in the eastern congo has captured the attention of thousands of americans from all waus walks of life. our commitment to solving this problem exemplifies that

americans care deeply about these issues and really want to see a resolution. a as former teacher, i know that we must understand the problem before we begin to tackle it. we must understand the history of the congo and the great lakes region, perhaps the richest most fertile area on the continent. many here today will talk about the ravage militias that terrorize the eastern parts of the country, and i want you to understand that the ravaging began in the late 1880s when king leopold of belgium savagely and gruesomely sought out to strip the congo of the vast natural resources, which continued to be a source of conflict in that country back then. and continues on today. leopold's nightmare reign in the

congo left 5 to 8 million congolese dead. and even more maimed. the atrocities that we witness today are the vestiges of leopold's bloody enterprise. for decades this region's wealth washed ashore in ships and ports. congo's loss became leopold belgium's gain. as destructive as their rape of the congo was on the country's natural resources, the impact on its people is immeasurable, and still plays out today. yet, its impact is still misunderstood and underestimated. as we contextualize the gruesome violence in the congo, we know that the gruesome history is no excuse for the ugly reign of terror that armed groups such as the fdlr and the lra have perpetrated gaeagainst the peop

of the congo. there is no excuse for the impunity of the the humanitarian crisis of the congo has captured the attention of millions of americans across the country. rape and sexual violence are used as a weapon of war in numbers that are simply unimaginable. in addition to the large resistance army led by joseph coney continues to wreak havoc on parts of the drc. the drc continues to face insurgency from armed major groups and major humanitarian crisis continues, especially in the eastern congo fueled by a resource grab. the integration of many former domestic rebels from the cndp into the congolese army has presented serious challenges with professionalizing the security sector. the current reconfiguration of the congolese army units in the kevos and in an apparent effort

to eventually drawdown the u.n.'s peacekeeping operations have the potential to leave civilians in some areas of the east at the mercy of the fdlr and other non-state armed groups. all of this is compounded by the troubling political developments and turmoil if conchassa and the upcoming scheduled elections in november. the american people and indeed the world are not willing to watch idly by as women and children of the drc are victimized time and time again and again and year after year. they have advocated over the last few years or we have advocated bipartisan legislation such as conflict minerals bill in the lar legislation. americans from red, blue and purple districts come together for the people of the congo. that's a united effort. the people of the congo deserve

to see first-hand the resounding impact that our relatively small foreign aid investment can have on the world's most vulnerable populati populations. indeed, while the human needs are enormous, the required economic commitment is minuscule when compared tod to $100 bill committed to afghanistan and trillions we have spent in iraq during our course of time there. and the potential impact is monumental and the united states must leverage the goodwill that the american people have for the people of the eastern congo by devastating and having a coherent and a focused policy towards the congo. that is what i hope that we can have as a conclusion of these hearings as we move forward. i must close by saying that it is fitting as mr. smith mentioned that this hearing is on the 100th anniversary of the international women's day, ending sexual violence as a weapon remains one of the

greatest challenges to the protection of women's human rights while the survivors in as can be as young as a girl or her grandmother, we must do all we can to end this scourge. the whitehouse, and the state department, and capitol hill and the american people all understand the importance of reducing violence in the eastern congo, this means regulating the trade, and regulating the trade and conflict minerals that act as economic fuel to the the conflict to create the political will to reform the congolese national army from predators or making them from predator to protector and tackling impunity for war criminals and illegal actors who continue to enable those most responsible for mass atrocities. the united states in its role on the united u.n. security council recently demonstrated strong leadership on the passage of u.n. resolution 1960 which

requires the council and member states to honor commitments to combat sexual violence in conflict and investigate abuses and hold the perpetrators to account. i encourage the united states to continue to lead on this issue by developing a strategy to tackle the root causes of sexual violence and other human rights crimes in the eastern congo. the united states is the largest contributor to the united nations mission, and the first country to pass a law monitoring publicly-traded companies using minerals mined in the congo or its neighbors in the effort to reduce the direct or indirect financing of illegal groups. the department of defense and state are engaged in initiatives to build capacity through military professionalization and justice training. we must also ensure that we continue strong programs and policies that give women in the congo back their dignity. we all want to see a day when the women of eastern congo are able to feed their family, earn

a decent living and protect and defend their communities and sit at the peace-building table with the men. thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate this meeting and look forward to our very distinguished panel of experts. thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. payne. the chair recognizes the vice chair of the subcommittee jeff fortberry. >> thank you chairman smith for convening this important hearing and it is poignant to note that today is the women's day anniversary. and we hold a hearing for the 200,000 women of the republic of congo who have been heinously victimized. and last year alone, 16,000 cases of sexual violence were reported from the country and thousands of which reported against children and that does not reflect the women who must remain silence, but today, this hearing breaks that i ssilence.

the tragedy in the congo weighs heavily on all of us. while signs of progress have been seen, civil strife has reached an unfathomable high in especially the central part of the country. there is a recent study that said that rape has increased 17fold within the country. in the last congress we made two significant strides to mitigating two sources of the the conflict by passing the lord's resistance disarmament, and as well as the conflict minerals resistance in another law and we donated millions of dollars in conflict to the victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence. but aid cannot keep pace with the staggering number bes of new rape victims e each year. sexual violence in the democratic republic of the condo is the worst in the world in

both the pernicious scope and the brutality. the rape is especially prif lent in the kevoo provinces where we saw a monstrous systemic rapes by rebel groups. we later learned that the vicious attacks were committed less than 20 miles from the u.n. peacekeeping base which learned of the attack a week after their end. since that inexcusable lapse, the u.n. with the congolese government and other non-governmental organizations successfully brought the trial and convicted nine fdr ac soldiers and their commanderser of rape. i join the united states government in this conviction, because the rule of law did prevail, but there are many, many more perpetrators who elude justice, but flout the basic notions of humanity through the brutal acts of extreme violence towards the daughters of the

congo. but our human rights concern lie not only with the scourge of gender and sexual-based violence in the drc, but child conscription by rebel forces, but purportedly by the congolese military itself continues. unicef released a new report this past friday warning that despite the reintegration of as many as 500,000 former child soldiers, forceable child recruitment is an ongoing problemment as we give attention to the victimized women and girls of the drc, we must give special consideration to the plight of girl soldiers who are often victims of grotesque sexual slavery and violence as well. these girls are stripped of innocence and dignity face heartbreaking sigma and challenges as they seek to reintegrate into the families and the community. so today, mr. chairman, i e do look forward to hearing the u.s. state department and the usaid's

department's plans for peace in this country as well as unique ground perspective of the catholic relief services and the other projects. thank you for coming today and i look forward to the important hearing. >> thank you. i yield now to ms. bass. >> thank you. thank you, chairman smith, and ranking member payne. since this is our first subcommittee, our first subcommittee meeting i wanted to start by expressing my sincere enthusiasm about serving on this committee of african global health and human rights. it is also an honor to serve with chairman smith. i know that you are committed to improving lives around the world and particularly passionate about preventingis ex trafficking, and i look forward to learning about your legislation and working with you. to ranking member payne, and representative payne is well known in hi district in los angeles and i represent a

district of my section of the district known as little ethiopia and i have a number of african residents who live in the district, and mr. payne is well known there as he is throughout the country for his effective leadership and ability to move policy that makes a significant difference around the world. i'd like to than the witnesses for your dedication and establishing peace and prosperity in the drc. your work truly keeps people alive and contributes to the global security. the state department and the usaid have played an important role in generating progress toward stability in the drc, but the united states mustt continue to increase our strategic leadership in the congo. secretary clinton's visit in 2009 was a great start. but the severity of the violence and instability requires heightened and focused u.s. engagement. in fact, u.s. leadership is needed now more than ever as we approach the november elections and we express, and we expect

president ka bee la to lift the ban on conflict minerals in the east as early as march 10th. i want to join my colleagues in the now acknowledging international women's day. it's been referenced several times the consequences of the rape of women and girls, but one of those consequences is that women make up a significant majority of hiv infections in the country with little access to basic health services. usaid has led the effort to provide health care and services to congolese women and children. unicef coordinates effective programs for women and girls that release infant, child, maternal mortality rates an improve access to clean water an sanitation and krin increased py school enrollment for girls who are often denied equal access. in the face of grave atrocities in the drc, we must ensure

ongoing investment in the prom grass. i look forward to hearing the testimony of the witnesses today to learn more about how we can best support the congolese people in addressing the hardships an ultimately transform their potential into prosperity. thank you very mucht. >> anybody else on the subcommittee who would like to be heard? mr. mcdermott is with us and i know it is a breech ach of the rules, but i would yield to him. >> thank you, mr. chairman. in 1987/'88, i lived in cko conchassa and i saw the beginning of the aids epidemic as well as the conflict that ultimately led to the leader leaving and followed by all that has followed. i have many friends out there, and the lucys are people i have known and a friend of mine from los angeles that i went to college with has been one of the big supporters of that organization and i have been there several times and i'm

really came to listen today. so thank you. >> thank you right now and i would like to listen to the two distinguished witnesses and leaders in the field who have done much. ambassador yamamoto is no stranger to the committee having been before us many times in the past. he has served since 2009 as the principal dep si assistant secretary for the bureau of african affairs for the u.s. department of state and he has verved as u.s. ambassador to ethiopia from july of 2006 to 2009. and as deputy of secretary of state of the bureau of african affairs in 2008. and also, we have a guest who has ser zfed as the deputy assistant min stray or the for african since 2010 and in this kas ti, she oversees sue pdan

programs and also has experience at the department and i would like to introduce both of your bios into the record. >> thank you very much. it is indeed a great honor the appear here before the committee and i wish to express my congratulations to you, mr. chairman, on the appointment, and also to the great work that your predecessor congressman payne and also before this, distinguished members of the committee. president obama, secretary clinton and this administration have demonstrated a firm commitment to the challenges in this region. the violence, the human rights abuse, and the suffering over the people in congo and exploy toyota of minerals and other resources are unacceptable and none of us should tolerate it, and we will not accept it. the work raised by the good works by your witnesses mr. ben affleck and ms. cindy mccain are testament to what the power of individuals can do in the great lakes area.

i noticed that my friend john pendergrass and other ngo groups who are here wloz work has helped a great deal in moving this process along. let me tell you, mr. chairman, that the united states continues to play a significant role to make a difference in the lives of the people in the drc and wherever there is suffering and tragedy. in the tense years following 2003 we led an international effort through our tribe parte peace process to address the causes of violence and to end the tragedies that promote violence. i was honored to help lead the process for nearly four years making some two dozen trips to the region. secretary clinton traveled to the drc in 2009 as have many senior officials in the last two years. our overall arching goals and objectives in the drc to resolve it lies in governance and security. you need to have a government that is accountable to the people, and you need a security which is reliable and dependb and not part of the problem.

the u.s. has focused first and foremost on the complex security challenges facing the dnc and the shocking incidences of mass rape and human right abuses are tense factors that fuel violence each of which requires its own responses. one key factor is the continued presence of violent armed groups. among the most notorious are the democratic forces for the liberation of rwanda or the fdlr or the lord's resistance army or the lra and retain a violent corps capable of brutally attacking civilians. the u.s. government has provided significant diplomatic and programmatic support for dearming these groups. the the capacity of these groups have been significantly reduced in the last two years, but much more slowly than we wished it to happen. the forces of the former national congress for the defense of the people or the

cndp remain only partly integrated into the congolese army serving under the effective command of known human rights abusers and retaining in the rang significant numbers of children soldiers. the drc security forces compound the threat to civilians. developing an reforming these forces is a massive undertaking to take years of persistent support. our assistance in this effort aimed at both long-term and short-term progress an including a training of the vetted congolese battalion of the justice institutions and training to officers on the principles of leadership, civil military relations, human rights and command responsibility. the illicit trade in minerals and other natural resources also encourages violence and the effective congolese response and regional and international resources by governments and industries are key to resolving these problems. the united states is focused on

helping to develop civilian crisis capability, an disarm groups in the region and incorporating due diligence with the support of regional and national mechanisms to certify and trace the minerals trade. we appreciate the support of the congress that has provided these efforts and where we are consulting with the securities and exchange commission as you have directed, mr. chairman, a set of regulations to incorporate rigorous due diligence. underlying every element of the international's community response to the drc's security challenges is min nus coe. under the leadership of the former u.s. ambassador roger meese, they have taken welcomed steps to effectiveness in the protection. and we are encouraged by the improved relations of men nus coe and the u.s. government.

this is a essential step in determining the congo future. we are encouraged to watch the elections that are well an transparently admin stirred an conducted in an environment that is conducive to free political expression. the other preoccupation is the area of governance is human rights, and the adequate of state capacity and the existing state forces continue to fuel existing abuses against the civilians. the undertaking of substantial programmatic efforts expanding the 2009 pledge of $17 million assistance to respond to an prevent sexual-based, sexual and gender-based violence. we are supportive of modest, but encouraged developments in a few key areas including the arrest and conviction of handful of high profile alleged abusers and the drc's plans to develop special chambers to prosecute those who committed atrocities,

but the situation is one of impunity, and many more positive developments will be required to reverse the trend. the third theme is economic recovery which is essential in providing alternatives to enlistmentt and armed groups and laying the foundation for development. we are enp couraging the drc government to take the necessary steps to improve the investmentt climate, and the enhance of the mining sector. with the mining in the drc's provinces, we are working to make sure that the minerals leaving the drc can be traced to the origins and abusive armed forces are cut out of the trade. finally, it is worth emphasizing that the renewed cooperation of the drc and the other nations is a cornerstone of the progress. the cooperation while vastly improved over the last two years needs to deepen further in the face of new developments such as the emergence of the independent southern sudan, and helping to

empower the congolese people and the government to address the challenges they face will take time and persistence. the u.s. government intends to stay a strong partner over the long term. the drc has focussed the attention of the united states and the government and the activities under the assistant of african affairs incorporated with the ambassadors in the field, and interagency and the ngo community partners and the donor community. mr. chairman, and members of the committee, thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak to you today and i will submit a longer version for the record. thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. ambassador, thank you very much for your testimony. i'd like to yield to the second distinguished witness. >> good afternoon, chairman smith, ranking member payne, members of the subcommittee. thank you for invite meg to discuss with you about the foreign assistance activities of the usaid and the democratic republic of congo which is particularly relevant in

recognition of the international women's day today. my name is raja, and i'm the deputy developmental administrator in the african bureau since october of 2010 and prior to joining the government, i had an opportunity to work on the continent for 17 years, including the congo and the -- and to address the themes that ambassador yamamoto has raised to the peace and security and progress toward governance and economic development and health and well-being of the population. as part of the presidential policy directive on economic, on development which was issued recently, and in support of our policies toward the democratic republic of congo, and administrator shaw's efforts to look at the review and look at our approaches to our assistance

on the continent we really have taken an effort to look at congo as a very complex challenge in terms of sudan and in somalia, so we have really got a strategy review that is going on the look at the complex operations on the continent. drc is yet another example of a place where diplomacy and development are critical to assisting the congolese solutions for their current challenges and lay the groundwork for meeting the aspirations of the population at the end of the day, and build a nation that contributes to regional stability. and in that effort, we work with both regional organizations, international partners and national institutions, both in the short term and in the long term. u.s. recognizes enormous challenges, financial resources required to improve the conditions and in that regard, the u.s. government continues to be the largest donor in drc providing $306 million in

bilateral assistance in fiscal year 2010 and plus support to the u.n. peacekeeping operations, and the multilateral institutions like the undp and u.n. agencies. u.n. foreign assistance is coordinated among agencies through country assistance strategy that outlines our plans for the u.s./congolese cooperation in addressing the immediate needs as well as long-term development needs. in addition, we are one of 19 bilateral and multilateral donors participating in the common assistance framework established in 2007 with government of the democratic republic of the congo. this gives us the opportunity as the international community to really leverage our assets and how we bring pressure and establish a dialogue with the congolese on the objectives in the congo. mr. chairman, i would like to review the major development challenges in the drc and

current summary of the usaid activities to address them. written testimony has been submitted. the drc, and in particular in the east continues to experience instability, violent conflict, and widespread population displacement. a key area of oconcern remains the lord's resistance army, and usaid promoting community through reconciliation, and infrastructure and livelihoods recovery and reintegration. our office is a foreign disaster assistance and food for peace are ongoing commitments to provide emergency humanitarian and relief where lar are active. we are currently working as a regional strategy in support of the lra issues as part of the northern uganda strategy as well to find the linkages in northern uganda and the congo. we are guards to the conflict minerals, our activities are in support of the 2010 dodd/frank legislation which includes

reporting requirements for mineral origins, and drc, the legal mineral trade fields are improved an undermines legitimate economic activity. to reduce the security and governance problems regarding the conflict trade and conflict minerals that result in the violence, usaid seeks to improvens forment of the drc mining code through our regulatory support and rehabilitation of roads and build capacity for better monitoring and transparency including certification. adds dressing human rights a abuses and gender-based violence is a high priority for the usaid. it is to provide services for victims of rape, and survivors and families including rape counseling and legal aid where women are afraid to report to the local authorities and how we deal with the local justice to

support their efforts. more importantly, we support women, survivors and livelihoods. many times they are not participating in the community recovery activities that are taking place. in addition to addressing the immediate needs of the survivors usaid has supported drafting critical legislation and subsequent prosecution related to sexual violence, and this continues to be an ongoing challenge given the weakness in the justice institutions and sectors, and we are trying to work with both at the national level and the community justice mechanisms at the moment. in turning to democracy and governance, usaid works on capacity building among legislators, civil society organizations and media. we also work to improve the independence of the judicial sectors and bring legal services to remote populations, such as mobile courts where they are possible. in preparation of the drc's

presidential and elections planned for this fall, usaid continues to build on the strengths and centers of outreach and mobilization. more than 8.2 million voters across the drc's 11 provinces are expected to be reached by civic education programs and leveraging other resource programs to leverage the population in a transparent manner. in terms of social services, health sectors are our largest priority at the moment given the violence and in termings of preventing a lot of the health related epidemics that we find in the congo. usaid seeks to strengthen primary health care in addition to the support for hiv and aids and we support malaria programs. as chairman smith mentioned, we support two important fis you la hospit -- fistula hospitals which have

treated 2,000 women and received repair surgeries in 2010 and we plan to extend the outreach of the services. we have brought together 12 providers of the services to ensure that there is a network that they learn and exchange ideas on these issues. and we also contributed to the national fistula strategy in the congo. lastly, in alignment with feed the future initiative that the usaid is investing in africa, the promoting agricultural sector as a means of economic growth is a high priority for usaid. in fiscal year 2010, programs assisted nearly 40,000 householes and more than 500 producers in associations of improving the agricultural management practices and use of technology. in conclusion, despite many des the complex challenges to development, us foreign assistance is making a difference with children being reunited with families after

being trafficked or abused. health care workers are gaining skills necessary for cure rative measures. across areas where foreign assistance is needed, we are promoting approach that addresses long-term sustainable development. members of the subcommittee, thank you for your attention and i look forward to answering your questions and providing additional information. thank you for your testimony. >> let me start off by, mr. aflak in his testimony with regards to the elections.

i would ask whether or not you think that gap would be bridged and by whom? he requests that the u.s. government takes a hard look and asks if offering the assistance to truly support a free and fair election is there. >> with regards to the strategy, is that going to be coming soon or has it been sent up today? if you could give us a timeline for that and give us an idea of what would be included.

it has dropped in the recommendations made in the tip report. one of the key recommendations is to punish other law enforcement personnel accused of unlawfully constricting child soldiers. i'm wondering if you could tell us. this report was issued last year in the beginning of summer. whether or not any progress has been made in the area of trafficking both for labor and child soldiering if you could address that. do you anticipate that the numbers will go up in terms of repair and by how many? do you have a slope as to how you hope to build that capacity

for fistula and on the issue of faith-based. we will be hearing from the catholic relief services in our second panel. if we want to combat all health issues, the estimates are up to 70% of health care is provided by faith based organizations or churches in africa and it would seem that we want to better utilize that monechanismechanis. and then during my trip part of what caused me to go there, was the on going problem you know it is bad enough that soldiers in the army and militia groups are

committing terrible crimes against women, but we discovered that the peace keepers were committing these crimes against young children. i had three hearing on the abuse by peace keepers. but she was emphatic that there needs to be a zero tolerance policy regarding women and children. i know that has changed but we were told there are some 33 allegations since january of 2010 to february of this year. you need more than only two investigators which i think

enables how these crimes are committed. so if you could address that as well. >> in terms of the elections being held in november, we see it as part of a broader strategy required to build a coalition in congo. and we have three charges. one is partner in terms of financial resources. we are contributing to a basket fund at the moment. and we are working to see how that gap can be filled in the coming months. and taking support and technical assistance with some degree of support from our regional

organizations. we are working with the other partners to see how we can fill the gap at the moment. >> can i ask how much we contributed? >> i would have to get back to you. >> it was higher i know that. >> no, it was well over i think $80 million. >> during the 2006 elections, i was an observer. the ambassador is now head of manusco. it was a difficult, challenging process to identify who the voters are. we used a variety of resources. the catholic church who registered the parishioners.

we usedd creative way to do it. we try to make it as transparent as possible and each election to be better than the last one. we have a country with so many challengeth t challenges. and the lack of capacity and institutions are charges that we work with the drc to overcome and to insure that these eligses a elections are better than the ones before. i guess we should go to your other question. here in the congress have addressed the issue on security and exchange regulatory process. and just to kind of briefly oversee on the conflict

minerals. we are enhancing how to protect those areas in conflict. enhance regulation of the trade. strengthen regional efforts to monitor and protect civilians and promote responsible resources. as you know, it is perhaps one of the richest countries in the world. i want to give you a story we have been talking to other donors in other countries who are benefiting from the minerals and resources. the chinese. they told us that we found fascinating. there is more airable land in the congo than all of china. yet china is able to meet the basic needs of the population that is 20 times greater than the drc. why is that? what is that we need to do more to insure that we have a rihave

country that meets the benefits of the region. and the water can fuel energy for half of the african contine continent. yes, on the tip report, the drc is a third tier tip. we have of course removed the drc reluctantly from a go of benefits. it came after two years. we wanted to see it has to be part of a bill. but it has to address the needs of the people. those are some of the things that i know you are very passionate about. the next thing that you address is the efforts of faith based

groups such as crs and other groups. you are correct. we provide $6.8 billion of assistance to the african continent. of that 85% is administered through ngo groups. we have learned that it is -- tremendous accuracy, low overhead cost and they have creative and innovative approaches. we must address the programs that africa is facing today. let me address what we in the government is try to address. how do you aggress tddress the

against women? we work on programs that tries to elevate the status of women to show girls that their moms are the heros in the family. we are going to have problems. we have kids going to community schools. we have moms getting loans and we now know that women will repay loans at a higher rate than men. for the men, looking at techniques and technologies and have that community strengthen and bonded and sustainable. what happens we found, is that it raises the status of women and expands to other communities.

in our $360 million approach, we are looking at security sector reform. without it, you are not going to have a security force which is r reliable, dependable and accountable to the people. you don't want them to be a source of crime and violence against the people. what we are doing is to promote accountability through training and prosecution. the other issue is securing that the systems will be paid. making sure that the money gets into the accounts so that the commanders are not pilfering the money of the nco's or the other

military trainees. the other thing is to train police forces to help protect the rights of civilians. the other issue is on nanusko. when congressman pane was there, we looked at the abuse of manuk. and at that time, the srsg was ambassador bill swing. we looked hard to see how we could do training programs. in that context. in the state department, we have over the last decade trained 120,000 troops. that is 36 battalions from our

26 partnered countries. what they are doing is to address african problems through african solutions. of those, 77,000 remain in peace keeping operations. we know their quality is good. and that they maintain a high quality. that is what we need to do in other parts of africa where we see instability. >> thank you mr. chairman. on the issue regarding traffickitraffic ing persons, we are approaching it from a human rights issue. in that regard, we have spent $3 million in anti-trafficking projects in drc working with unicef to reintegrate former soldiers. help them put in systems to monitor families and communities where this is taking place.

in addition, we are working with the organization of migration to build awareness and capacity of the government of the democratic group to stop this and address the issues raised in the tier iii status. on the issue of repairs, we are finding in our assessment of our current activities that so far, we have dealt with repairs as part of the violence generated in the war in conflict situations. but we think there is also fistula issues regarding the domestic violence and population increases that are happening in communities. we are approaching it both fros a treatment for gender based violence as well as domestic violence and sort of population issues regarding young girls who

are having children quite young age as well as the number of children they are having which is also another reason for the fistula situation in the congo. on the issue regarding faith-based organizations and working with -- communities, we believe the fundamental issue of community reconciliation has to be done through local organizations. promoting community reconciliation can't be done at the national institutions. we are working with our colleagues in oti and places in the east to see what network social networks that exist currently and how do we tap into those social networks including churches and mosques and other institutions on the ground. in terms of elections that is

another challenge we are facing. as my colleague said, we view this as a transformation. how do we set benchmarks for assessing progress in that process? in 2006 i was in the congo and we see that each election is an opportunity for us not only to fund the event, the idea of an election, but all of the question questions that we would have to deal with. what institutions do we have to build for the next eligection. we are managing our resources.

lastly, in terms of all of these issues that we are dealing with ungoverned spaces. seven are viewed in the eastern areas which are considered ungoverned on many levels. there are 40 million other people in the rest of the congo that we are balancing the complex interventions for complex crises. those are the issues that we are managing at the moment. in terms of the budget. administrator shaw is coming up to the hill next week. i would leave that to him to talk about congo as part of the broader budget issues. >> i want to thank you for including in your written

submission some of the outstanding accomplishments especially in the area of mitigating ma ternal mortality. we have enabled over 351,000 deliveries. as we know, the greatest why of mitigating that is by having a skilled attendant. so that is good news contained in your testimony. mr. payne? >> thank you, very much. as it has been mentioned, secretary clinton visited the eastern congo and she was moved and gave a very strong report about what was going on there. i was on that trip although i left before she visited the congo. but, in my assessment, the u.s.

needs to refocus all parts of our government on a chiefing clear results in two critical issues. which were actually mentioned on her trip. the first priority should be to reduce civilian suffering and the second would be to ensure that next year's elections would be fair and free. i wonder if you could comment quickly on those two. i have a series of questions. >> you are absolutely correct mr. congressman. stability and -- is key and that is part of our security sector refor a proerefor reform approa. there are going to be areas that

we need greater improvement on. as long as we continue to make the progress we have since 2006, we should be in a good shape as we head to the next elections as well. >> roger? >> in terms of the elections, after usaid's experience in sudan and the enormous lift to make the referendum happen, i think we are working toward what institutions can we lay the ground work for now. as we set the tone for the sub national elections that we hope will take place. i think it is a commitment to the transformation of congo is a critical element of our aid strategy at the moemment. you didn't have the dollar amount that we contributed to the 2006 elections and what is

in the budget for the 2011 elections? >> right. i can come back to you with that. i'm sorry about that. on the 11, it is part of the budget disgressions that ad min straighter shaw would like to talk with as part of the overall dg budgets we are looking for within the agency. both for africa and for the agency. >> of course, we can almost guarantee failure if we do not supply the appropriate -- it was daunting at the last election, which i attended also. and the logistics of getting balance to remote places. they were able to bring in

pallets and it was so important. we could almost guarantee a failure if we don't have the proper amount of which of course comes to the congress. you don't appropriate that is something that we need to perhaps have a discussion on this side of washington. i just have a -- could you give me a definition of difference between manuk and maniscule? it tends to get gray sometimes. so, anyone have -- try to take a shot at that? i don't want you to jump at it but. >> in french or -- >> um, yeah. >> um, the issue with the

progress between those was on the mandate. in other words to articulate exactly what the precise mandate would be for the un operation. and one of the things that was additional or added to that was, in what circumstances will these forces address you know the fdlr, the lra process? and one of the additions to the manusco mandate was looking more at the lra problem. but i would have to go back to and refer to other experts who know the technical and legal distinction between the two. >> um-hum. initially they were criticized, i guess it was early on about their lack of aggressiveness in their chapter vii mandate.

there had been a reaffirmmation of chapter vii. is there a more aggressive stance on the part of the forces? >> the, the problem with the definitions is the ability to respond. i know that roger he mece has requested assets in other words to address the ability to deploy his troops to areas of instability. you had disarmed groups coming in and taking over the airports. but those are some of the major charges facing it today. not only the budget but the capacity to respond quickly. >> we have also reinforced our

message with the un agencies that we were committed to a peace keeping mission and we wouldn't be able to do our work without the environment created by the peace keeping mission in the east at the moment. and we have made that message clear to the government to those who have come around to establishing a better relationship and improving a relationship with the peace keeping mission. >> and about the fdlr, initially, they were very involved with the government, however, there seemed to be a position where the government had been working towards the in filtration of the fdlr. in other words, had the

agreement between rwanda and the drc, is there an effort at one time it seemed fdlr were even a part of the forces have all of that changed and is the interharm way and those that still rome around the eastern congo still a problem? yes, the fdlr remains a continued issue. from our process to today. we continue to work with the rewanr rwanda groups s because it is threat to the violence against the civilians and is a major obstacle to peace and stability in the region. that continue z s to be a top

priority. >> i had a chance to speak to m mr.mese earlier in regard to the cndp. has that lessened the tension there in the area or as his forces still roaming and doing destructive work? >> the encunda's detention or house arrest is one area. but you still have continued members of the fdlr who continue to rome. and you have other high profile individuals who are creating havoc. and one is a war criminal and part of the groups. he fought with the forces and he is very well armed. that remains a problem. >> i think one of the issues we are facing with the fdlr in

terms of the community development issues is the command and control is not clear on different parts of the east on where they have impact and where they don't in terms of command and control. i think both the bilateral agreement gives one framework but i think we'll have to work as an international community both at the political level but also in communities who have reached out under the program and other efforts to see how we can minimize the damage that they do to the communities. >> okay my time has expired. i wonder, what is the prospect of a special on voen voy being appointed? we asked that one be considered. mr. swing was very effective. what is the status now?

>> we continue to take that under advisement. after the departure of howard last year, we have continued to do the work that he has started as well as other senior officials and, again, depending on the budget, and other objectives, we continue to take that under advicement. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> m >> thank you again for coming and thank you for your testimony. the united states is constantly called upon to clean up messes throughout the world. now that is a testament to the generosity of the american people, as well our unique position as an exceptional world power. as well, compared to european assistance particularly france

and belgium given the colonial legacy here. >> in terms of the united states, we have still the largest donor in terms of our support through the peace keeping agencies through the un service agencies like unicef. and we continue to lead on this. i think we are working with our partners to continuously find ways to partner with our countries. it is a balancing act.

we are in constant discussions with our british partners, the eu, the world bank. both on the bilateral to see where we bring our relative expertise. we lead where they bring their political will. so it is a constant negotiations between us and our partners. >> the second question and perhaps you could answer this. it is against the law in the united states to provide military assistance to countries who use child soldiers. we have exceptions for that x, t with that said that doesn't absolve our responsibility from continuing to push at the highest levels to end this practice. what specifically is being dub done in this regard?done

in this regar in this regard? >> you know we have, overall, on the child soldiers, it is not just through out the continent and around the world as we establish on the rankings, and address two work with these countries to address those problems and to ensure that a, they understand those problems and that they address them and that we work to find a solution. throughout africa from chad to other countries where there is reports of child soldiers, we have worked with those troops that we've helped let's say train to ensure that they observe our legal aspects that we have.

we remain committed that those that we work with are meeting the legal notes established by you the congress on these distribution of the assistance. >> that is an appropriate response for areas that are under our direct influence. but in terms of a robust push at the highest levels what are we doing? >> we are trying to right now we are working with the troops which is a major challenge to work on. military justice, and also to ensure that they develop the justice systems to bring to justice those individuals that are in violation. those that have violated the law in rape and human rights abuse, but those who have trained child

soldiers and that becomes an accountability issue within the agency. and for our part working to ensure the professionalization of the military as well as the police to follow up and to work with the communities and sectors so that these abuses do not occur. but it is going to be a long-term process. but we are making those efforts. >> the time that the gentlemenman has, has expired. >> thank you mr. chairman, congratulations again on your chairmanship. we notice a slight new jersey tilt to the leadership here. but we do appreciate you being here and bringing attention to

this topic today. i want to take a personal welcome to the ambassador for his leadership and time we spent with him in eiththiopia and the great work that you do there. this topic is timely. in terms of assessing the efforts to address challengeths and extreme poverty. and in particular, the gender baseded violence against women and children on this day is important being international women's day. also, we've heard many talk about the high risk of relapse there when there was a concerted effort around the elections in 2006. many believe that we mistakenly

scaled down our efforts there. and so certainly as we lead up to this next national election. i think it is important that we have a robust engagement there. i've seen some statistics with regard to there being over 14,000 new cases of sexual violence reported in the drc including thousands of child victims. and my question is, how is usaid and it's bilateral assistance working to address the needs of children in the eastern congo and how is the u.s. assisting unicef in their efforts to address these challenge tthss?

>> we look at the issue of the high rate of violence against women and the high rate of death. what we tried to do with other groups is to look at how we kca address the needs of the communities to ensure not only security sector reforms but to look at how we can bring strength to the communities to protect themselves against the violence.

>> i want to turn to my colleague who can turn to the details on the program. >> thank you. >> in terms of the sexual and gender based violence, we work on three levels. one is so that survivors have access to care and treatment. the second is we have 5,000 local service providers that we want to expand the number of providers that provide services to children. and in terms of unicef, we have worked with them in yeern ceast congo on protection.

about 1,000 children have gone through all three and we support and fund unicef and they use those services to deal with community. the issues of women and children we deal with in terms of reb reconciliation of the community level. we have youth issues and we also deal with them through health care and local administration issues. we view it as a cross cutting issue where we have opportunities to support women and children. it should be something that go as cross all of our interventions we provide for specific issues -- specific treatments. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> you've made several references to the upcoming elections. >> given thedition that was made to revise the constitution in january to reduce the number of election rounds from two to one. is there hope that it could be reduced and what plans are the us and the international community discussing should violence occur? i know it is not automatic. but -- >> very important on the violence is obviously, the manusco plays a critical role as far as on the security and on

the electoral process. in 2006 they were key in getting the ballots out and bringing them back. right now, the usaid has provided $5 million for training, voter registration and education which remains key. and to continue to reach out through educational process to bring in as many of the people who are eligible to vote to be a par tticipant in the election. on the issue on the ballot counting, we what have done is to make sure that the opposition groups do have member s at the aiv areas where the ballots are are being counted. we have met with the candidates as well as the local candidates and the presidential level, that is mogutu and the former speaker.

as well as president himself. and to understand not only to have a dialogue among all of the groups and parties but to work out systems and measures to work together to ensure that the ballot counting and the vote there is a process in place which can be lived with by all the parties who are contesting the elections. >> all right. thank you. >> usaid looks at this in terms of what institutions are critical to ensure that it is transparent and limit the fraud and address the changes that we need to do. we are providing technical assistance to the independent election commission in the country. we are working with the parliament to make sure that working with administration at

local levels to see how they can participate in the election. the other critical element for us is the population. how do we get the population involved in ensuring that they get out there. so they report on the instances that they do find weak ness in the process. we recently received discussions about elections teams from the international community and how to organize that so that we are able to provide some views on what is going on in this process. >> i have a question for both of you, to what extent do you think

the legislation that senator durban and i got into the bill in terms of conflict mainral is mineral is going to have a positive effect in reducing the amount of money available to the rebels to carry on the chaos that has gone on for the last five, six or seven years? >> well, as you know, we work closely with the staff members on that legislation. that has remained a key aspect in our dealings for the last several years. but also tracking it. and also how it is being utilized. and denying those illegal traders from benefiting from those conflict minerals. what i think the legislation and what does is strengthen and support what we have been doing which is to the people in thesy

va villains in areas and timber, have them benefit from the resources that are being mined. i think that helps us in that regards. and it strengthens those communities. and the issue is to hold traders and smelters and users accountable to ensure that those moneys and funds will benefit the people as well as those we are creating. >> i think the impact of the leb le legislation has been that the due diligence that the companies are taking very seriously. we are working with the governments to establish this. the second area of impact is our ability to have them look at it

as part of a broader extract or framework that we are providing technical assistance. and largely at the community level, gep again is what role do they play. and we have prevented people from traveling in between these sites they have been able to keep this process going. so we are investing in rural infrastructure to access to these areas where we think that there is a high instance of trafficking and conflict minerals. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. i would like to thank our distinguished panel for your testimony. i would echo the words of my good friend. we hope you will consider a special representative.

mr. afleck makes a strong appeal in this tem hfl and mr. prende actor ben afleck and the wife of senator john mccain testified during the second part of the hearing. >> i would like to welcome panel number two beginning with mr. ben afleck who is the founder of the eastern condo group. he is a passional advocate he founded the eastern congo initiative or eci. with the mission of helping the people of the congo support approaches that created a sustainable society in the long troubled region. eci is the first grant making initiative focused on working

with and for the people of eastern congo. since 2007 mr. afleck has made multiple trips to africa. he has focused on understanding the causes of conflict on the continent and learning about african solutions to the problems affecting the drc. and then we will hear from miss francesca degolish. spearheading the effort to incorporate prevention and response in programming in conflict and disaster effect. >> miss walsh works with displaced communities and has spent a considerable amount of time in the eastern congo

helping partners design effective responses to psycho social and medical needs of m sexual violence. we will also hear from a best-selling author. he is co-founder of the project to end crimes against humanity affiliated with the center for american progress. he has worked with the white house and under president clinton. unicef, the international crisis group and the u.s. insti stute of peace. he has authored ten books and appeared on tv programs and has been here frequently. and i would like to if she would like to come to the witness table cindy mccain who has been a leader on issues dealing with health care for africa including

the american voluntary medical team leading medical missions and is the wife of the distinguished senator from arizona. john mccain, but has worked with pragts smile and the land removal group, the halo trust. if you would proceed. >> thank you very much. this is very excited about this. it is a great honor. thank you all very much for including me today. mr. chairman mr. ranking member and members of the subsubcommit. eci is the only u.s. based grant making organization entirely focused on working with and for the people of eastern congo. and area that carries the distinction of being the deadliest and most volatile region of the country and one of the most deadly in the world.

estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced and lead to over 1,000 rapes being committed every month. 5.4 million people have lost their lives in the conflict since 1998. many of these deaths were children under the age of five. not all were killed in combat. but perished due to other causes such as illness. the efforts that help protect the most vulnerable among the population including child soldiers, survivors of sexual violence. eci works closely with groups. i thank you for your attention to congo and for holding this important hearing on behalf of eci i request to submit a

written statement for the record. this hearing occurs on the anniversary and i think it is appropriate to call attention to the suffering of women and girls in eastern congo as well as the strength they exhibit in the face of on going atrocities. i'm pleased to recognize cindy mccain who recently joined eci as a founding member. we just returned from eastern congo where we saw first hand the tragedy and triumph of the people there. there are many reasons most of the people, to be hopeful about congo's future. i want to share with you a story about a woman who shows the potential of the people is there to transform themselves. she was tap tourcaptured at the

of 14 and was raped every day by her captures until she found her freedom through the thick jungle in what makes up the second largest rain forest in the world. she discovered she was pregnant. counselors found her and took her in. they provided her with counseling and while caring for her new daughter used her skills to start a business and return to school. i met her, she is in her third year of studying law and advocates for the rights of women using her own story. i would witnessed remarkable efforts to promote growth and reduce conflict. the record is not promising. congo risks heading into a deeper spiral of violence that

could lead to more fighting and suffering. in 2006, mip yullions of the pe in the congo voted in more than 50,000 polling places around the country. the people elect eed joseph cabilla as president. a great time of excitement. in 2007, the u.s., along with others in the west, drew back involvement. instead of continuing a high level offen gab engagement, it treated as if it was a well-functions state. this notion was quickly dispelled when rebels raged a new battle against the government that brought another round of death, displacement and destruction. our government has a long history of involvement in the congo. from our shameful role on the

murder of -- to admirable recent efforts. u.s. government provided key funding for the 2006 elections and played a major role in bringing back peace and development to the area. secretary of state, hillary clinton, visited the region and u.s.aid has provided millions of dollars of assistance to the congo since the 1990s. this has paid dividends there. but with elections coming up we must develop a cohesive strategy and fully engage. today with elections months a way, the u.s. is not focused on

congo. that paired with congo's recent history should remind everyone of the fra guigility of congo's progress and stability. the united states can and should play an active role in ensuring a fair election. the last time congo collapsed armies came in from across africa as i said before, five million people died. five million people have died since 1998 because of the conflict there. we must learn from history and do our part to see that this never happens again. in this time of heightened concern over federal spending some suggest that we turn a blind eye to the crisis in congo. i believe it would be foolish to allow the congo to again, fall into a state of crisis or

further chaos. if it were to collapse again as members of this sub commit knte know we have to do better. we have to have stronger diplomacy. the path requires another disaster that could require hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance. i suggest that the u.s. find a way to do more. come november we must be able to look ourselves in the eye and say that we did what our principles demanded. we helped democracy emerge in a place where tragedy was the alternative. in 2010 document was created to

strengthen the democracy. this paper commissioned and reviewed by experts encourages the steps to be taken in the congo. i request that a summary of the paper be included in the record. >> absolutely. >> thank you. >> i have included it in the written testimony. one, the u.s. government must do more to protect civilians, women, girls, boys and men in the and men. in the onslaught of violence in the eastern congo. two the u.s. government must do more to support the 2011 elections which we've bhrd already. the u.s. should support robust election monitoring by congolese civil society and by credible international organizations. three, to ensure that the united states steps up to the serious challenges to stability in africa posed by the congo, the president with the secretary of state, should appoint a special representatives to the great lakes region of central africa.

the appointment should occur as soon as possible in order to coordinate the u.s. response to the challenges in the congo. we also believe that the treatment of conflict minerals, demobilization and security sector reform and the lower resistance army are of serious concern. and cohesive strategy. this is an ambitious agenda. but it can be accomplished. in december 2005, then-senator obama introduced a bill called the democratic republic of congo. promotion act of 2006. this bill had a bipartisan list of senate co-sponsors including then-senator hillary clinton. on december 6th, 2006, it was passed by the house by voice vote. on december 22nd, 2006, president bush signed the bill into the law. the majority of the our recommendations are found in this very law. they simply need to be implemented. thank you, mr. chairman, for your very strong support of this. important legislation. we place special emphasis on the

upcoming elections and a great lakes special adviser in the state department. this special adviser would serve as a point of accountability and important and necessary coordinating function, maybe most relevant in these tough economic times, disappointment would inevitably ensure efficiencies are found across multiple investments and diplomatic effort. we strongly public we continue to place congo in the back burner of u.s. policy, it will come back to haunt us. federal budget may be zero-sum game but our morality, our sense of decency, our compassion for our fellow human beings is not. recognizing one tragedy need not diminish understanding in empathy for another. our basic humanity, our sense of compassion is not a fix number. it expands with our vision. it can grow with our purpose. but our moral compasses is fixed. our sunrise, our east as a

nation. even when we have failed has always pointed us towards what's right. now, not what's easy, not what's cheap. but what we can live with. and how we can sleep with ourselves at night. the values we hold true are priceless to us. they are the soul of our nation and rooted in our constitution, our bill of rights, our declaration of independence. we believe in being free from the tyranny of violence. we believe in life and liberty and we believe that basic human rights are not just important, not just something to be worked toward, but a fundamental right to be demanded for all mankind. these ideas make us who we are. they make us great. but if our foreign policy does not reflect these ideals, it completely undermines them. i have seen firsthand that termination of the promise of the congolese people. i hope you will consider visiting eastern congo to learn and see what i have. any of you are welcome to come

with me. the congolese people simply want to live their lives in peace, earn a decent living, and raise their families just like the rest of us. they want a voice in their country's governance. i will never give into the nay dlooi sayers who suggest is hopeless is not. deserve a better tomorrow and the eastern congo initiative will do our small part to ensure that it does. it is in the interest of all of us here to support the people of the congo, move forward toward democracy and respect for human rights and to move away from the multiple crises and horrors over the last 15 years. thank you very much. it is really an honor to be here. and i'm happy to expand on any of these points to answer your questions. thanks. >> sir affleck, thank you very much for your very eloquent and passionate statement and i do hope that the white house and the capital, the congress, is listening, to your strong appeal. congo cannot be on the back burner of u.s. foreign policy and i think as mr. payne and i have made very clear, i think that every member of our panel we strongly want that special

envoy, that special representative yesterday. and so your appeal today i think could be a pivoting point for the administration to say, now do it. time is running out. so thank you so very much. i'd like to now introduce ms. vega walsh. and thank you for your testimony. >> mr. chairman, i would like to submit my written statement for the record and i will briefly summarize. >> without objection, so ordered. >> thank you chairman smith for calling this very important hearing today and for giving catholic relief services an opportunity to testify. i would also like to thank the ranking member, mr. payne. mr. smith, i know how passionate you are about advocating for the survivors of sexual and gender-bapsed violence in the congo. and mr. payne, i know that your interest in the region has led you to travel to the congo several times even dating back to when it was call the zeir. let me also thank mr. mcdermott for his role as one of the original authors of the congo

conflict minerals provision that recently became law. this provision will help to curb sexual violence in the congo. this morning in buke abu close to 180,000 women marched in the streets advocating for their own rights. today being their day, international womens day. they march behind a banner that stated "we can stop violence," and they had slogans that included two key demands. the first being impunity for rapists must cease. and the second being that women must be included in all the political processes. as the sexual and gender-based violence adviser for catholic relief services i focus my efforts on the congo just because of the sheer mag touched the problem there and in this capacity i've had the privilege of working for and with many of

the women that march this -- some of the women that marched this morning. in eastern congo today is a cry for women to no longer be used as a battleground. and here it is a call for us to even make greater efforts to help them. searez work next drc since 1961 partners with the local catholic church to address the scourge of sexual violence. has an extensive network throughout the most remote areas of the country. this network allows us to reach the most isolated rape it's of rape survivors. also in the absence of an effective and functioning government administration, the catholic church's provided most of the basic services, such as health care and education for decades. it is thus gained the trust of the population, in eastern congo i have repeatedly come across rape survivors who have walked

many kilometers from their displacement camps to seek support at the nearest parish. the fear of sigmentization by their fellow camp dwellers coupled with the trust in the church drives them to seek assistance there. together, we have implemented numerous activities to respond to this crisis. we've provided access to life-changing -- surgeries. training for counselors and trauma healing for thousands of survivors in four provinces, income-generating and entrepreneurial skills for at least 1,500 rape survivors. community trading to mobilize military, police and transitional justice leaders and most recently, an innovated community-based early warning and protection project in three provinces. the funding for these projects do come from a variety of sources. but great majority of them come from the united states government. this partnership between the united states government srs and

the church in congo extends the reach and magnifies the impact of u.s. government assistance into remote areas with needy, vulnerable populations that could not be reached otherwise. it is critically important that the u.s. government maintain and expand this support for the essential responses i've just described as well as preserving and strengthening its partnership with the church and other faith-based organizations. if the drc is to have a future, the hundreds of thousands of womens who have been raped must continue to be able to access these services. and even within the context of scarce resources today, the u.s. can and should do more to combat the conditions that foster the use of rape as a weapon of war. i'd like to make these additional recommendations. one, the u.s. must use its leverage as a donor and as a partner to press the congolese government to fulfill its

security mandate, uphold human rights, and genuinely work to protect its civilians. the congolese government has requested more military support recently, such as the training of more battalions. the u.s. government has to link the support to measurable changes in key areas. two, the u.s. should condition its assistance on progress against impunity and survivor access to justice. as long as ranking military officers who condone and perpetrate rape roam free or as long as civilians accused of rape can continue to pay the equivalent of five u.s. dollars to get a jail -- to get a free out of jail card sexual violence will persist. three, the u.s. government urges the congolese it's u.s. government should urge the congolese government with its previous commitments to include

women in the political and priest processes. they should be respected and included and prepared for elections. indeed, violence against women in the drc is sympathyatic of women's second-class status and marginalization from decisionmaking. women have been consistently excluded from previous processes and continue to be sidelined from political power. one of the women who led in the march in back abu this morning is a director of the women's issues. when i telephoned her yesterday to tell her about this hearing, she was ecstatic because she knows the political leverage the united states government has with the congo. she drafted a declaration alongside her counterparts in the muslim and protestant communities and urged me to make these recommendations. ultimately, in order to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence in the drc, we need to stop the wider, more generalized conflict. the united states government

needs to more urgently engage diplomatically. the united states government can lead the process that will end the fighting and increase women's purchase of haitian in the political sphere. the mag tuftd seemingly never-ending humanitarian crisis and the potential for the fragile situation to get even worse demands a proportionate response. at this critical juncture with elections coming, the united states government must rise to the task as it did in the sudan and as long as violence persists the u.s. must continue to support the life-saving support in the drc. thank you. >> thank you so very much and thank you for the absolutely encouraging news about the 180,000 women marching. that is just incredible. and hopefully in a small way this hearing and the followthat up we will do it is all ongoing but i think this is an important

venue to say, now is the time for the administration to do much more and that goes for us as well. so thank you very that wonderful news. mr. pendergrass. >> thank you, chairman smith, and ranking member payne for your ongoing commitment to congo and human rights throughout africa. i'd like to ask that my testimony be submit to the record and to "people" magazine to mr. affleck and also like to set aside my written tom say a few things this afternoon about this unique moment that congo is facing. while women were marching in congo in bacabu this morning the 180,000, two of my colleagues from enough were in goma this morning and talked with one of the leading womens' rights advocates in the country, justine massika who some -- everyone probably on this panel knows and some you know and secretary clinton met when she was in congo last -- in 2009. and for this hearing, justine wanted to say the following.

quote, the link between conflict minerals and mass rape here in congo is crystal clear. so the first and foremost priority for ending the war here in congo is to set up a system to regulate the minerals trade and the upcoming elections, she said, is the critical window to push the government of congo on this issue since it will try harder to pleease the populatio before the vote. now i was in congo twice in the last six months and i would strongly concur with justine's assessment, that this is an unparalleled moment of opportunity to make real changes in congo. the election is the primary internalal factor, no question. but the u.s. congress' conflict minerals legislation spearheaded by mcdermott is the primal external factor and it's created a moment of uncertainties and anxieties and also of huge opportunities in the country. before we get to these opportunities, i wanted to make one commercial time-out on why we focus so much on the

economics of congo's war. of course we believe the conflict there is about more than conflict minerals, but let's take a look at the broader agenda and how it is compromised by the mafia-like economy there. now, everyone wants to reform, for example, the military. however, the military officer corps is the primary beneficiary of mining in the country. president kabila stays in power by allowing these officers free reign to make as much money as they can and cratering the rule of law throughout their eastern third of the country. number two, everyone wants to reform the justice system, of course. however, the military and civilian beneficiaries in government of this conflict minerals trade do not want a strong, efficient government. the rule of law will subvert this illegal economy. and the money now going into their pockets will go to the treasury. and that's simply unacceptable to this mafia. the third thing i want to bring is everyone of course wants to stop the fdlr and the other militias, however they sustain

themselves through mineral profits and everyone knows that and they often trade increasingly with the military itself. the congolese military. fourth, everyone wants clean elections. however, who in power would give up this gravy train? you lose and you're out. it's winner take all. they can't take the chance and they'll fix it. so everyone supports peace agreements, no question. however, even the peace deals in congo can make matters worse if we don't deal with the economic fuel for war. 1.5 million congolese people have been displaced since president mwamba and cab ail. back to the people of congo. ryan and i went over there over thanksgiving. we met an extraordinary congolese woman named marie. marie a rape survivor, twice over, and she's overcome her own trauma to found a womens organization who has helped other women to survive sexual

crimes. what she recommends and she said the following. please stop this bloody business. you're fueling conflict. families are being torn apart. women are being raped. communities are being destroyed. so armed groups can profit from their mines. companies should stop supporting this and do ethiccal business, she said. well, the good news is that because of the congressional legislation, because of your legislation, every one of you championed this, companies have to start trying now to do this ethiccal business, and some company are already moving ahead even beyond what the legislation is requiring them to do. but they need help from the united states government. and the key, i believe, as it has been on so many critical foreign policy issues in africa, the key is the united states congress. two critical processes are coming to fruition now that this subcommittee and the wider congress can influence. first, the security and exchange commission is going to issue very soon implementing regulations for your conflict

minerals legislation. we need to ensure that these regulations have serious teeth and do not delay the implementation of the bill. we have a letter that we're releasing today from congolese civil society organizations making this very point that we cannot countenance a delay in the implementation of the bill. strongly -- strong regulations will send a major signal to the actors in the supply chain that foament violence, that subvert the rule of law, that undermine good governance that they have to clean up their act. the second major opportunity now is the legislation that was discussed requires the executive branch to develop a strategy for dealing with conflict of minerals and ending the violence. that's the first. the branch hasn't been required by congress to have a strategy to actually end this thing. we've always wanted to deal with the symptoms. this it's bill says, how are you going to end it? well, that strategy was due over a month ago but it's still being

debated inside of the administration. that's a good thing. that means that you can have influence with over what the obama administration comes out with. a huge opportunity for the united states to make a critical difference in the congo. we think secretary clinton should lead in putting together a stake holders' meeting that involves the regional governments, particularly congo, at the center, the companies that matter, the united states and the european union, all together to launch a process that would result in an international certification system to end the conflict minerals trade in central africa. and we need a senior envoy to help spearhead this and all the other efforts that my fellow panelists and you have all spoken about and written to the administration about so passionately in the country and in throughout the region. u.s. leadership has helped do this with diamonds. we've done it with forestry. we've done it with fisheries. we've done it with a number of other products where, when the united states helped lead in bringing the companies and

governments in question together, standards were changed and this positively has impacted the lives of millions and millionings of people. well, now it's congo's turn. so if we act on the deadly minerals trade, it's not a magic wand but it is a catalyst and it's a domino that will help topple the etivis of greed and militarization that kills and rapes people in congo at a higher rate than anywhere else in the world. thank you very much for your leadership. >> mr. prendergast. thank you for your counsel. thank you so much. as previously discussioned and agreed by my friend mr. payne and i, the ranking member, i would ask you now to consent to welcome ms. cindy mccain to speak and participate as a witness on this panel and even though not prior noticed it. ms. mccain. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i don't intend to take long at all. but i would like to -- to thank you d