commitments and that. there are large numbers of countries that could do a heck a lot more, i would think, that are not. finally we will have of the questions, but it we could start with those. >> thank you, mr. chairman. as for the u.n. peacekeeping force, we anticipate their arrival in mid september. however, i want to note that the u.n. has already had senior officials on the graph to do planning and coordinating with the african union and french forces and european union troops are beginning to arrive. they have started to train 480 police and shot bounce from central african republic. we are also today having assistant secretary thomas greenfield who is with secretary carry meet with the african

union to discuss the deployment of additional african troops from rwanda, and we hope that that will take place very soon, and we are positioned to move those troops quickly. .. but at the e.u. presence will go from 100 at present to 500 present so that will bring us up to close to 9000.

>> military plan is the pentagon and the u.n. said that is a sufficient force with a robust mandate to bring some peace to these people who suffer? >> let me answer the question differently mr. chairman. spin terms of displaced members we have seen the number declined from 500,000 to 200,000 which is not to suggest that the situation is not atrocious and the removal of the muslims and the light of the muslims continues to those numbers so i don't want to be misleading but the fact that the number of internally displaced people is declining i think shows the french forces are having impact and we get these police trained we are hopeful those numbers will be sufficient to restore security. i think we will have to look at

this on a part do a basis to see what progress is being made but today the progress is not adequately of knowledge that. as for peacekeeping more broadly our missions in mali and south sudan are both under subscribed. we are in conversations with partners about posting up those missions as well as can and should into the missions that the south africa republic. it has been a difficult process to identify capable peacekeepers. finally and he spoke about diamonds and poaching. central african diamond exports are currently suspended under the kimberly process. we are hope all that is the government can restore authority in combination with the peacekeepers the legal diamond

exports can once again start and this would provide the government with revenue that is needed to pay salaries and provide other basic services. as for poaching because of the conflict is difficult to know how much poaching is taking place but it's clearly a problem in central africa. it's one of the countries that still has a significant population of elephants to poach. >> on the question of the funding distribution, it is true the u.s. is providing $7.5 million in funding to support conflict mitigation and reconciliation and peacebuilding including interreligious peacebuilding efforts. i would expect that these efforts would not require as much funding as the type of large-scale humanitarian operations that are being carried out for so many people

in the central african republic and in the region all of the neighboring countries are effect did. in addition some of the nongovernmental organizations that are responding to the humanitarian work are indeed faith-based groups and that includes catholic relief service that is speaking today they gets funding from the usaid office of war and disaster assistance. they are on the list of one of the groups that is providing logistic support and relief commodities in the region and in addition we have several high-level delegation says you have heard and one of those was interfaith group from the u.s.. that's additional costs that are not reflected in the 7.5 million. i think we are doing a lot and i think some of it is reflected in the funding and some of it is perhaps diplomatic efforts

within the state department space budget so we have the $100 million you have heard the support the current peacekeeping. we will support the un's peacekeepers as we do year in and year out thanks to the congressional appropriations. the $67 million in humanitarian assistance, working with nongovernmental organizations that are across the country, i think this network of nongovernmental organizations that are normal partners but that our presence in far-flung locations, hard to reach places across central african republic is very important for us. working in the neighboring countries. the u.n. is moving people away from threats as you have heard and the high-level visits but also other groups. art diplomats have participated in all the conferences on the central african republic that have taken place in new york and brussels and africa. we have now mr. simonton named

as a special representative. we are we are looking into having restoring the diplomatic presence in bangui and that was going on during this early april said it visits and then in addition to that we have this money for conflict mitigation and peacebuilding. >> could you provide the list of groups that are getting the money, humanitarian assistance and what might we anticipate going forward as it relates to faith-based? again i was moved and i'm sure the subcommittee was that bangle he was dealing with so much on an absolute shoestring and it was not going to let a certain certain -- single person go on helped even if they didn't have the money. it seems to me we need to be backstopping people that are on the ground have the credibility and have a record as he and so many others do. i just hope we are not bypassing for any other reason. if you could provide that for us

that would be very helpful. >> absolutely. on the issue of other countries not providing funding world food program, the resources are stretched thin not just in the central african republic that the entire region and it's a very difficult situation. they are doing so much good work there and also in the middle east with the syrian crisis to so i regularly meet with the world food program. one of their issues is that the european unions humanitarians echo had a cash flow problem so they will have funding later this year. they will provide it but you can't go back in time and take that funding from people. this is an example where a cash flow problem which is not unheard of in washington sometimes is actually having real damage on the ground so that's a shame. and then the other thing we would like to do is bring no didn't -- new donors to the table.

we have seen this in the syrian crisis in getting gulf states more involved but we need need countries to step forward and provide funding so that the u.s. shares stays an appropriaappropria te level. a robust level in the healthy level thanks to you all but also that it be multilateral undertaking. finally you have asked about restoring line order. i really think in talking to experts that it's not just a matter of peacekeepers but also a matter of the police and the judicial system, reasons. this is not my area but this is why i referred people they're so coming back we have met with our counterparts as a secretary for law-enforlaw-enfor cement and we are working to try to figure out what particular role can the u.s. play in addition to what other countries are doing to

help ordinary citizens enjoy the basic public safety that they used to enjoy in bangui and other cities and towns. >> you said pre-genocidal stage. it's a genocidal now? 's been mr. chairman we really haven't considered the question whether it's genocidal or not. the fact is horrible atrocities are taking place and we know at least 2000 people have died. i don't the get matters what word we use but the situation is horrible and we are doing everything we can to reverse it. >> i appreciate that. i do think it matters but i respect the difference. >> ms. bass. >> i can ask but -- i know there's going to be a call for

votes so we know we will be entrusted but anyway we will get started. i'm real concerned about as i mentioned in my opening comments about the displacement of the muslim population and essentially the stage that sets especially for extremists to enter that population. i believe ambassador jackson you were talking about the movement of the population toward the north so i'm wondering and i'm sure you share those concerns but if there is any evidence of that becoming problematic in terms of outside forces coming in and trying to take advantage of the fact that the revenge killings that have happened? >> congresswoman we have certainly been looking at the question of outside forces coming in just as the lord's resistance army has come in. to date we have not seen that

happen. but this separation of religious communities and de facto christian muslim areas is very troubling and i believe the sooner we can restore basic security so that people feel safer returning to their homes the sooner that we will be able to address this problem and avoid long-term consequences that will come from now. >> you know one of the things about rwanda that was so just hard to imagine but i know it's one of the reasons why the country has been successful in its development since the genocide but their whole reconciliation process, the fact that people really lived down the street and their neighbors are folks that might have slaughtered members of their family. i'm just wondering, i was just there for such a brief time but if the rwandans are involved in terms of helping the car

leadership toward the future of how to have the reconciliation process. >> i don't know there have been informal discussions with one of the reasons we have been so pleased to have rwanda and burundi contribute peacekeepers is because of their own history of genocide in both countries and we believe that the troops can talk with people and engage with people and encourage them to to avoid the conflict that we are seeing. >> and we did go to burundi so certainly have some concerns about what we saw there and what looms there in terms of the election next year. he mentioned the food supplies being below what is needed and i believe ambassadambassad or richard you said that the u.s. has been generous but other countries have been lacking and i believe the chairman asked the same question in terms of which countries in the dollar amount

and where you can answer it now or not. is that pretty much what you were asking? i would like to know that information as well because you now i am wondering if there are ways that we can step up the pressure on those other countries so that they do carry their fair share. >> we can work with usaid to get you the breakdown of who is contributing to the world food program specifically in the central african republic in the region but i want to repeat that one missing partner who is normally there with us at the europeans and it's an unusual thing this year that they are having cash flow problems. normally the u.s. and europe together lead the world in humanitarian response and other countries that year in and year out step forward including europeans and the european union are the canadians, strickland new zealanders korea more and more turkey and the turkish

ambassador. turkey is stepping forward to play larger a larger role as a donor internationally and then with syria we see gulf states stepping forward. we would like to see more countries who haven't been traditional donors join us, especially in a year like this one where we have three up with the united nation calls level 3 emergencies. syria, south sudan and the central african republic. i am proud that our country is doing so much. i'm proud with i meet with my counterparts of other countries that i can speak up about how much americans are doing but i also think this system only works when other countries join us in these kinds of enterprises enterprises. >> you know france is certainly playing a leading role. what are they doing in terms of pushing other e.u. countries. >> france is playing a leading

role in the situation in this particular country and also in terms of peacekeeping piece of it. they are not leaders necessarily on the humanitarian funding piece. in brussels they do get credit for country contributed to the overall european contributions but the department for international development is a leading donor is well within europe and the u.k. is the top donor with us on the international stage

to bring their talents connections ability to message especially in the case here of messages of peace, reconciliation stability and tolerance and i think that's a key way they can play. >> maybe we just described a row

we could play which was to facilitate the introduction for you because i hear all the time of people wanting to play very specific roles exactly like that in development. i will have another group of diaspora she needed. >> thank you mr. chairman and i guess this question is for you ms. jackson or for you mr. richard either one. the chad soldiers they came in and killed and injured so many. any identification or any idea of who they are any accountability? >> congressman weber we don't really know who they are but we will be looking at the units in terms of setting for future training and we need to look very carefully at the participation of chadians and

future peacekeeping operations based on their conduct and the central african republic. >> i think long-term we need to be sending the signal that won't need tolerated. somehow the perpetrators need to be brought to justice so there are no recurring incidents of that nature. any way to put pressure on their government to help aid in not? >> i understand that the chadian government is doing an investigation and we will look to ensure that they are held to account for their actions. >> i guess unlike ghetto mall shootings there is no video. there's absolutely no evidence to this. >> i'm not aware of any video. the only thing that i'm aware of our testimonies by some of the victims. >> which one of our agencies coordinates with the chadian government to say you have to do

more to bring these perpetrators to justice? who follows that? >> specifically our ambassador at large for war comes issues ambassador rap and he has been in the region. >> okay. i was doing a little research on that event and even al-jazeera news organization said this was an underreported occurrence. i looked at some of the news agencies and saw but they didn't give it the same coverage so i think it's imperative for us to keep it on the forefront to keep that pressure on so that those kinds of people will know that we won't allow this going forward. >> it may have been underreported in the united states but there was a lot of coverage in the region. the reason i know that is because it's still unfolding during our visit. when i was in chad they decided to bring their peacekeepers home and at the same time there was a

u.n. report on the incident they came out. there has been a lot of attention and these situations are complicated because you don't want peacekeepers abusing people in any way shape or form. they are there to protect. at the same time we had chad doing so much to try to restore stability overall and we needed more peacekeepers, not less. so you are absolutely right that we cannot support sending people to a country where they abuse the local people. that's not the purpose at all. so we have to be vigilant in keeping that from happening in the first place and holding people accountable when it does happen but i do think there is attention being paid to it rate i'm sorry we don't have specific answers for you today and i think we have to stay on top of it. >> thank you. i remember her colleague ranking member bass said religious differences were not the origin

of the conflict. would you elaborate on what you think is the origin of the conflict? >> congressman this is a country that has had a long tradition of conflict. you will remember that birkhauser was famous for his cannibalism. this is a country that has had complex between agriculturalists we have seen coup after coup. this is the third time we have evacuated our embassy because of unrest in the central african republic. there is a long and sad history here. i hope this time that we can do better to get it right so we don't have another repetition of the unrest. >> some of my research -- bankrupted the country and basically was gone.

whatever happened to him? was there an attempt to hold him accountable? >> we have actually spoken with president is easy, former president is easy and encouraged him to issue public statements calling for calm. we are looking at his role in the current violence and again as my colleague said we want to hold those accountable for the violence responsible. >> i think you all said earlier that and we are running out of town. i know they are calling votes. you expect more enforcements in mid-september, 480. >> the 480 central africans are undergoing training. i would expect that they would be after long before september. >> what does that mean in total?

seven to 8000? >> bossip lee 7000 we are looking at adding up italian of rwandans which would be 850 people. we are looking at adding 400 peacekeepers from burundi. that would bring the total to about 8200 plus 500 european troops in various countries would be 8700 total prior to when the peacekeeping operation would come into effect and if i may add congressman i think it's important to note that while the u.n. peacekeepers are not yet in place some of the troops that are there will transition to the u.n. force that the u.n. political mission is in place and the deputy is ambassador larry wohlers. >> i yield back. >> i'm going to do a lightning round here. i'm not able to come back. i have another commitment but get your pencils out please.

let this be a matter of record. first of all why is not the international court interceded in going after these murderers number one and number two you said the troops will be, the u.n. troops will get their in september of this year. why so long and i've not saying so long in a pejorative sense because perhaps you can describe the process you have to go through. i do not understand the process and if anything takes more than five minutes for me it's too long. how many u.n. troops will be there? when did these murders start to show up on stage radar in the u.n. as well? i'm curious to see because that goes to my question as to why is it taking so long. are the muslim and christian

world leaders, the world leaders are the muslims and christians, are they standing up and saying to their religious followers knock this off? do they have any role in representatives visiting over there telling their religious followers that this will not be tolerated from a religious standpoint? and since 1996 the drc, it's been embroiled in violence. over 5.4 million people have been killed. that's something that just does not take place over year and it's taking place over a year, years and my question is why not long before this and with that i yield back. >> so i will try to respond very quickly. we have become very aware of the

murders since november and december and that is where the bulk of the violence has taken place. in terms of the movement of the u.n. peacekeepers, the recruitment is what takes so long. one of the reasons the state department and the u.s. government supported the arrival and putting in place the african union force was precisely because they could deploy faster than the u.n. and since we are seeing a six-month roughly timetable for the u.n. deployment i think that our conclusion that we needed to get the african troops in place was the right one. but it's very important to make this transition to an oars roughly 8000 troops soon to almost 12,000 in september assuming we can find additional peacekeepers. and the religious leaders throughout various countries

including the holy see are taking the role. we are just in central african republic this week talking with religious leaders. the organization has a special envoy the former foreign minister of senegal was there with them. we believe the religious leaders are working well with their counterparts in the central african republic and doing what they can with the situation. >> don't you think would be beneficial if the religious leaders came out on an international level and made the statements? >> i do think it would be useful and just as we broadcast president obama's message to central africans in december i think having messages from world religious leaders could be useful. it's something we have been

discussing as we bring religious leaders to visit the central african republic. >> we are out of time on this vote but what role if any have the atrocities prevention board played? again we have all been raising this and you have been raising this. have they been awol or have they been part of the effort to try to prevent and now resolve this? >> mr. chairman the atrocities prevention board has met. their most recent meeting was looking at nigeria and burundi but there have been regular meetings and we have been working hand-in-hand to -- >> and cir? >> i haven't seen the agenda for all the meetings but i can get back to you. >> we certainly haven't heard any outcomes documented or recommendations from them. i'm just wondering what role they play.

as i said my opening is certainly has a great deal of promise and is the promise being met? >> mr. chairman i apologize. my colleague justifies there has been at least one apb meeting on central african republic. >> do you know with the recommendations were? >> i do not that i will get back to you. >> is seems people like yourself should at least know what this group is recommending. thank you. we stand in brief recess and i have a number of other questions but the vote includes that. a brief recess and then we'll come back to her second panel and thank you so very much. [inaudible conversations] >> the subcommittee meeting will come to order and i want to apologize to our distinct

witnesses for the delay. we did have a series of votes and there was no way the cut cut that any shorter. i would like to get to her second panel mr. scott campbell was the catholic relief services regional director for central africa. he coordinated programs and burundi cameron chad central african republic in the democratic republic of congo. the republic of congo and rwanda. he is coordinator food aid during the kosovo crisis overseeing the emergency response in 2004 tsunami in the northern province of aceh a and crs response to the 2010 earthquake in haiti. he also served as crs rep seventh of two angola haiti and they philippines and i would note parenthetically that i along with my other members applaud the work that was done during the tsunami in 2004 by crs and it's great to know that you were there making sure that

all happens because otherwise it would have been far worse than it actually was. i would like to introduce ms. madeleine rose a policy advocacy advisor for mercy corps a global agency that provides assistance to those being in country suffering from natural disasters economic collapse or conflict. she leads portfolios on sub-saharan africans inc

the ceo of feeeds advocacy mission and owns both feeeds llc witchcraft economics to fullman strategies for africa. she focuses on food security

education and the environment and energy economics development and self-help programs particular for small and medium enterprises. prior to the that she served as u.s. ambassador to nigeria and the republic of congo and was the u.s. permanent representative to the ecowas. she served twice as african director of the national security council at the white house. so we have a very distinguished panel of knowledgeable experts and i would like to yield to mr. campbell to begin testimony. >> thank you chairman smith and for this opportunity to testify on the half of catholic relief services. we are grateful to your leadership and the interest to the central african republic and it's people to find the regional director for catholic relief services covering central african region and seven countries do to congo's one and

burundi chad cameron and central african republic. crs is present in about 100 countries around the world and providing humanitarian assistance and development programming. we have been and clr since 1999 doing programming and worked very closely with our church partners in the country. i worked -- our work is mostly funded by the u.s. government sarah's private funds and other sister agencies. i was recently in car in january and for three weeks in march and in fact my colleague ms. rose i met her there during the second visit. so i would like to share with you a few ideas about what has transpired there in the country and how we are prior sizing our work. first of all crs is present throughout the whole breadth of the country from the southeast

covering the lra affected areas and we have a very important usaid funded program there working with communities affected by the lowest resistance army. we are present in the capital with our partners in the south as well as in the northwest. during my most recent trip i was in those angola and saw the refugees as you explained earlier in this testimony. during that visit i was involved with the distribution of nonfluid items to communities that just a few weeks prior had been attacked by silicon rebels and this was in the area called ujkaj. the whole area had been completely pillaged or burn down

and almost all the houses people had very little left and of course as you are well aware people had very little to begin with even before the crisis. so the situation is surely desperate for tens of thousands of people. crs is also distributing and will be 7000, households reaching 37,500 people. we have done that already and we will do the same in the coming months in those angola as well as loki and the south. in those same areas we have an initial plan to provide shelter kits for households that have been destroyed during the same month in may. advocates include wood for windows, doors and tarps for roofing. the pillaging and the destruction is also rendered much of the country extremely

food insecure. this is the second consecutive planting season that has hampered -- has been hampered by the crisis. seeds, tools, farm animals are scarce or nonexistent in much of the region and with the planting season is upon us crs is disturbing seeds for crops and farming tools for 10,000 households to respond to the critical food security situation. additionally other economic activities have been disrupted making life even more difficult. trading in importation of goods have been hindered because muslim traders have fled. truckers here coming to the country because of attacks and looting. when i was in kooky and areas i saw heaps of cotton that had not been sold. this is cotton that had been harvested from last year so the

much-needed cash income has not been flowing because of the crisis. generally more than half the country will need some sort of humanitarian assistance as a result. but dire as the situation is much of what i've been describing concerns the exterioe outside of the people who are affected. he may -- more compelling story however is what is happening inside people's hearts and minds because of the problem. it is critically important first to understand that this is not a religious war. no head of any faith group has led the fight against another faith group. i spoke to leaders including the mayor and his deputies in that city and hurt on them that they did not want to see their muslim neighbors leaving the country. please spoke to the youth and

women of the idp camp which i run a clean means liberty school when in fact it was very much like a prison. and they exists -- expressed a desire to stay so there is a willingness among a portion of the population to return to the pre-crisis reality where people lived and worked together harmoniously in a piece. to that and crs has been working directly with the interreligious platform led by the catholic archbishop the present of the crs islamic and she and the leader of the evangelical alliance. crs has brought together faith leaders and bangui and subtwelve in their respective communities to participate in two to three day workshops on social cohesion and reconciliation. this has also since included parliamentarians and other

community leaders. we are closely working with the minister of communications and reconciliation of the new interim government. in fact we will be sending her to rwanda to see how the process worked in that country and in fact crs was part of that process over the past 20 years and one of our rwanda and staff is now working in car to share the work he has done and learned and rwanda there in car. the workshops we have done have been truly transformative and i will give one example to illustrate. one of the leaders expressed how before the workshop he had every intention of buying a gun and shooting at least one person from the other faith community. at the end of the workshop he

explained, i don't have those feelings anymore. i am ready for reconciliation. so they hate fear and vengeance pent-up as individuals in that country. people need and feel that desire for release to prepare themselves for reconciliation with the others in their community. the workshops have also included muslim faith leaders in some of the most difficult neighborhoods in bangui where much of the fighting is evident. they were considered the heartland's. they attended and as a result of that time decided not to leave the country as planned and this is just mexico. given the opportunity, the space and the support people in the country want to rebuild the social fabric of society.

i saw truckloads of muslims leaving the country during my december january visit. our office shares a wall with the embassy of the democratic republic of congo and across the street is the ambassador to cameroon and his refs -- residents in a relieving every single day. we have seen direct we people pouring out of the country. so this is the first step. the workshops are the first steps preparing the hearts and minds of leaders in the country for reconciliation and then they can enter into a process, a dialog across communities. why this is important is because it has an immediate act as i was saying earlier to release people from those burdens but it also has the longer-term effects of social cohesion to heal the wounds caused by the conflict and which is the most effective

bulwark against manipulation of the most extremist entities intent on serving their own aims in the future. it really works against the radicalization that can also be happening as these different communities move across borders. but more funding is required to cascade them through the country. this is not something that can only be pinpointed in certain areas. it should be cascaded throughout the country. so i see that there is real hope for car to build the communities as before, to be productive and harmonize. with this in mind crs and the usccb make the following recommendations to the u.s. government. first adequately fund and support u.n. peacekeeping efforts to ensure that relief and recovery activities are --

securitiesecuritie s absolute paramount. we need the right conditions in order to operate effectively. second, provide ongoing leadership and robust funding for humanitarian efforts in car. the u.s. government should also help galvanize other donors to fulfill their pledges for humanitarian assistance in the country. all efforts must support the displaced and those who are hosting them to their immediate needs so that their immediate needs are met as well as their return when conditions allow so that they can rebuild their livelihoods and plant their farms and support their families. support the voluntary return of refugees so the country can restore its rich cultural diversity. in fact we have plans of doing some cross-border work as well. along the ways that i've

described the workshops. in fact the workshops are paid for by the u.s. government. the usaid the people involved were extremely quick in releasing funding to enable us to do that in subtwelve and bangui. also in tikrit -- integrate social cohesion torn apart by recent fighting and to prevent future outbreaks of violence. third affirmed the commitment over the long-term we confirm a special representative in the u.s. government's plan to reopen the embassy. he further called upon the usg to develop plans to address longer-term needs over the next three to five years. this should prioritize

reintegration of ex-militia and economic livelihood activities to focus on youth. young men need to be enrolled in reintegration programs that are practical and need to protect job activities. prioritize long-term economic needs such as reconstruction of people's productive assets keeping conflict sensitivity in mind and recognize that election should not be rushed. but the process fully incorporates all car citizens especially those muslims who have fled and wish to return. any election held should be well organized, free and fair toward a cycle of illegitimillegitim ate leaders who have neglected the needs of the central african people. so mr. chairman and ranking member bass and members as a subcommittee thank you for your

time. >> thank you very much for your solid recommendations and thank you for the good work that todd mccarrick and so many others have done. his recent visit was galvanizing and underscore the point you made strongly and that is that this is not about leaders of religious faiths conducting either jihad or any kind of religious war that people are exploiting shamanism in order to kill and rape and to maim so thank you for bringing that strongly for it. i wo

and how the international community could be helpful. his response was simple. he asked for a replacement pencils and paper which had been looted during the crisis so that he could get back to work processing cases. pencils. conflict raged all around us across the street as civilians prepared convoys get his primary

request was for a pencil to go back to work and restore a semblance of justice to the community. i tell the story because it underscores the complexity of an overlooked element right now. we are dealing with a multifaceted conflict in the humanitarian catastrophe in one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world. this means that every humanitarian activity will be more expensive. capacity building will fundamentally take longer and political and economic recovery will require long-term sustained engagement. three weeks after this committee november 19 hearing -- as other witnesses have testified here today the cycle of retaliatory violence has gone so far out of control that has deteriorated into religious cleansing. mercy corps sees many the same trends emerging today that we have seen before in the drc the

sea dance another context the become entrenched in protected violence. this includes criminality sexual abuses and other crimes committed with impunity across the country massive and protected displacement of protective crises developing and ungoverned and difficult to access militia controlled territories. citizens growing impatient with the absence of services transitional government losing faith in the prospects of legitimate civilian rule armed actors actively targeting recruiting disaffected youth and most alarmingly popular support for de facto s. no religious partition of the country that would divide the country between north and south along major resource belts. if we fail to address the crisis mercy corps is concerned the situation could metastasize into a new decades long conflict transcending the south sudan. while the current situation is terrific it is not hopeless.

there are promising examples of community based -- humanitarian development have the commitment and absorb it capacity to his scale additional funding made available. mercy corps currently sees via priority seats of which must be met and addressed simultaneously. the first is my colleague said is to restore security and reinforce protection. mercy corps concurs wholly with the catholic relief services for peacekeeping funding and we would also like to add to quick additions. the first is congress consult regularly with the interagency to ensure maximum u.s. support in the interim and also to see you what created nonfinancial diplomatic tools we might be able to leverage that hasn't been pulled out of the toolbox just yet. secondly just to underscore my colleagues comments about not rushing towards elections. we oppose efforts to accelerate elections towards a february 2015 deadline if those

processes would exacerbate the risk were undermined the legitimate prospects for peace. secondly we asked for an increase in support for peaceful and reconciliation issues. the deployment of military police alone will not ensure peace and security as y'all know. as the senior most religious leader stated we must disarm the hearts and minds of central africans. third we ask to fulfill urging anitere needs. the degree of human suffering is staggering if the 2014 humanitarian appeal only 20% funded. the first party for conger should be protecting appropriations funding for the international disaster assistance and migration assistance accounts. unfortunately the administration's fy2015 budget request of congress cuts 20% and mra by 33%. for 3%. connected international respondents will have a difficult time addressing humanitarian needs.

fourth target interventions towards the protection and empowerment of women and girls. from january to march of this year over 90% of the rape cases we have seen in our centers have been gang rapes committed by armed actors. this is a very significant increase in rape cases that mercy corps has seen. condition women have been marginalized across all aspects of the response and risking marginalized reconciliation and recovery processes as well. fifth secure commitments now for transition. to date the u.s. is not committed funds or communicated its strategic intentions and car beyond december 2014. this sends mixed signals to send traffic and partners in international demand domain about u.s. intentions to engage in the medium to long term. efforts to reopen the us embassy in subsection of the prioritize and ask back in congress could also be helpful in accelerating the engagement of financial institutions in car.

20 years after the rwandan genocide and subsequent crisis in drc as you stated in your opening remarks mr. chairman u.s. estate of the prevention of mass atrocities constitute a core moral and national security priority. if the u.s. takes its commitments to preventing mass atrocities seriously now as is the moment to secure long-term support for recovery. atrocities prevention cannot be understood simply as mobilizing resources in the face of eminent are already ongoing atrocities against civilians. it must be seen as investing in infrastructure to them long before they start. there is along what i had for recovery in car but recovery is possible critical. thank you again for the opportunity to test opportunity to testify in your continued support to the people of the central african republic and i look forward to any questions. >> thank you very much free testimony in your work. >> chairman smith, ranking member bass and members of the sub and many thank you this opportunity to testify at this

critical moment for the central african republic. i've been working as a field researcher and traveling to the country over the past two years. last time in february i spent three weeks in the capital of bangui looking at the drivers of violence and the role of natural resources and the prospects for sustainable peace. members of the government aid workers and local journalists. i also talked with the business sector diamond traders and people with first-hand knowledge of agriculture in the country. i also went to the idp camps and met many displaced people. the people i attribute told me that what has been described as religion goes much deeper. the crisis stems from a the lack of leadership and exclusion of the people from the decision-making process. it's not so much a region but social economic and political

grievances from decades of marginalization. many combatants are motivated by the promises of economic gains rather than religion. central african fighters and their allies are part of a broader regional and international complex system in which outside countries and armed groups compete for state control natural resources and the general influence for resources and central africa. i also learned that diamonds and elephant ivory are funding the seleka militia from sudan including balaka. natural resources have attracted the governments of chad sudan south africa china and france and interventions by these governments have influenced security dynamics in the country. interest of chad and sudan especially has contributed to the conflict.

mercenary fighters from each of these countries were part of the movement and committed horrible atrocities and looted. the international community as a whole can take a few critical steps but we must act as quickly as possible. deployed mediators to facilitate it up them up piece and reconciliation process and support efforts to rebuild the state institutions that have come to a virtual standstill. we must investigate illicit diamond and ivory trading and cut off funding sources for the armed groups. we must hold those accountable who engage in economic and criminal activity. u.s. diplomatic engagement in the region recognizes and addresses the interests of the mania or so are involved and illicit forces of financing for violent actors can directly contribute to sustainable peace. if the u.s. government assumes

low-cost diplomatic initiatives now that this international efforts we could prevent mass atrocities in the long run. americans have provided viable financial and diplomatic support for the international peacemaking efforts in tunis gup. the appointment of ambassador as special representative will add momentum to these efforts. as the u.s. charge the future of its critical engagement i urge congress and demonstration -- administration to not only attacked the acute medium needs in the country boasts -- otherwise they fear will not be able to bring sustainable peace of the country which has experienced more than five military coups since independence in 1960. first the u.s. should continue to support ms. scott and provide strong support for the peacekeeping mission. further it should encourage the

u.n. to promote an inclusive bottom-up peace and reconciliation process in the country, decentralized nature of the conflict profusion of different actors and the lack of a central command for many the armed groups that the nation requires following a peaceful approach that addresses the armed groups through local negotiations and local dialogues and reconciliation processes. ..

third, the u.s. should adopt a regional approach to diplomatic engagement and there is an urgent need to recognize the interests of those who are drawn to the natural resources and exploit of state institution levels in search for profits. the tri-border region is where rebel groups operate. and this includes international partners and america must continue to address violence in the country. countries resources include people with nothing left. thank you very muchcome and i will be happy to take any

questions. >> thank you for your testimony and recommendation. >> thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member. and members of the committee. i want to thank you for including me in these very difficult conversations. and i have worked on central african regional issues and also when i was view u.s. ambassador to the congo. and this was also a time of great conflict and human suffering. the question the committee is seeking views upon today is whether or not the central african republic is already in the throes of a pre-genocide atmosphere or already embroiled in genocide. samira remarks will address this

and other elements that might be important to consider as we work toward helping ca and the violence that we see today. and i first want to say something that is very similar to what my colleagues on the panel have said about the sheer devastation of the humanitarian crisis. there have been on the border area many times between central africa republic and the republican congo and my years in the past and it remains part of the complex. for more than a decade military instabilities and insecure environment has really been the focus of this environment there. and it has caused internal issues which have never been fully resolved in this includes the mercy of violence. this includes what we see today.

because of the continued instability and not being on the radar screen, the international community for more than a decade in december of 2012 area the events event since then has set into motion two things. revenge killing by christian groups, which is now spawned into sectarian violence. in addition over the last several days we are hearing unconfirmed reports of what i would call perverse revenge killing purportedly from our militia from muslim enclaves in the north to nearby towns such as attacking two days ago, a hospital and killing christians as well as workers near the border with chad. these enclaves only exists because muslims have been forced to run from sectarian violence as well as groups also presenting christians who want to live in peace with their muslim neighbors from doing so. and therefore we have, as you know, the following.

revenge killing, which has now turned into sectarian violence, a segregated country along lines, large numbers of displaced persons afraid and hungry, attacks on convoys and evacuating people and looming potential for famine and for the spread of disease, and most importantly impunity. you have impunity in these forms and these are the elements that could possibly lead down the road to something that we have not seen before. a two-way genocide as many oppose horrendous revenge killings upon each other. if we allow this to happen, this will be a new challenge for the country in and the international community on top of the already critical military in crisis and

thousands of internally displaced persons already on the umbrella as it is the only place that they feel remotely comfortable. the estimable can be suggested as the way forward women to recognize that the administration is working full-time on the humanitarian crisis with the internally displaced persons and as you are already aware, there are many donors that have not stepped up to the plate to provide assistance as with peacekeepers in the 2000 french troops in the 5000 african troops as well as 150 troops that have just arrived should all be commended. but we also need to double down on ensuring that their troops did not seem to support one religious group over another. having served in the u.s. government for many years am i also recognize the time needed for the 12,000 person u.n. peacekeeping mission by

september 2014 and that every effort is being made to advance this. but, mr. chairman, ranking member, the reality may get ahead of the arrival, and we can see that now, particularly with what we are hearing about reverse revenge killing that is really taking place with the coming backend and attacking other villages. and thus as we bounce this, we may need to jump now to concurrently work with the transitional government and others to set up what we are calling peace groups or peace commission in rule areas, particularly in the enclaves and it will articulate both their fear and hatred and the dam for this done to them or their families and to address the overall environment of crimes against humanity and the impunity issue or that we are

likely seen as the current de facto segregation of car, moving into something worse, such as a two-way genocide from the likes of which we have not been before. the potential is there, mr. chairman. we can't move it to help people without addressing these two issues. in general, keith reconciliation service, such as we have seen in sierra leone, south africa, and even the commune once we have seen in rwanda, they generally have begun with fragile ability that has been in the lord. and what we are suggesting here is that these things happen concurrently now because you have to have a way for a release valve to happen concurrently, he will not be able to give to the level of this civility that you're trying to speak. and this may prohibit unless

something is established for release all. and this includes addressing conflict and a lot of the groups that are here today really have that information for you and those good ideas. and i would be remiss if i don't mention this issue without having served in nigeria with the resurgence that happen there. events like what we have seen in car, although we might not think that it could get worse, it can. it can spiral out of control so quickly and so fast and i think that we need to be mindful that there is the potential for those to come in here and take advantage of the unstable environment and a segregated environment of both muslims and

christians. not only fueling more hatred but also bringing with them more violent methods such as terrorist attacks that we haven't yet seen that could come in. and i'm specifically thinking about fundamentalist groups to provide these tactics and training to help in these enclaves because we have segregated societies there. and i think it's important that we pay attention to the. and i want to ensure that working with other groups are really worried about this issue and we want to bring to your attention today. i want to thank the subcommittee again for allowing me to share these views. and i'm happy to address these questions and i would like to submit my revised remarks to the committee. >> without objection. the full sentence will be made a part of the record. we have another appointment as

well. >> thank you, mr. chair. i appreciate your flexibility. and i want to thank all of the panelists and we appreciate your contributions. i want to ask if we could just expand a little bit more. for example, you're talking about reconciliation process beginning. and you mentioned the traditional processes that happen and you know if anybody else is attempting to do that? >> as far as i know right now, no one has attempted to do that. these are ideas that have terminated and i did hear a college mention this. but what we are talking about is a little bit different than

that. because we will be going into the enclaves and having to russians now in these communities. and i think it's important that we look at traditional ways of arbitration similar to what rwanda dead. we need to find out what those similar ways have been in this context with the respect of ethnic groups because sometimes those ways are white different from ethnic group to ethnic group and we need to work with those as well as locate outside examples and bring those. but there are other examples out there as well. >> i would like to continue conversations about this and look at how we can make that concrete.

>> they really have it now, but there has been a lack of urgency. last july many of us are raising these issues in earnest. i know when he came to testify, he was fresh and he could quickly become another one that you might make that point very clear as he testified here. and yet the u.n. punted for weeks and now months and they seem to be standing up.

i did ask ambassador but when the deployment actually occurs and we're still months away from not even though there is augmentation going on in certain troops. especially if it is right sites are not being driven by how much my potentially will be able to fund this. but what is necessary to do the job and do it as effectively as possible. and if they don't have a right mandate or people, it doesn't happen. and i mentioned it earlier, there is a safe haven with cities and of course they had horrible rules of engagement.

this parenthetically be met with a dutch peacekeepers testifying here soon after all after the muslim men were slaughtered and he said he couldn't believe it. they were handing over the men and we have seen that replicated in whole or in part all over the world. so we are moving with sufficient resources and you point this out in your testimony. all of you have said that we have importance of robust force and security and all of the rest. this includes 20% funded. three quarters is not funded. pointing out that the first parody for congress, thank you for underscoring that to be protecting us funding for

assistance and the migration refugee accounts to ensure that we can meet this throughout 2014 and into 2015. then you point out the blindingly that the admin is rations 2015 budget request cuts the international disaster assistance funds by 20% in 2014 levels and the mra account by 33%. also as has been said throughout this hearing, the other donors are those who need to step up to the plate as well. and you are on the inside for so long. so how do we get the administration itself and by extension congress realize that this crisis is being underfunded and we do take our cues from the administration.

and it's not just something that we throw over the side especially the experts that can help a. so i think that your admonishment of us to meet this need, particularly in the budget has been proffered by them in the ration is a very serious for all. so you might want to speak to them as well. unlike a modest want to say, i have a lot of questions. but the work, you know, that there is a heightened sense of expectation and hopefulness than they have been diminished over the last several weeks and is that true they had the backstopping that they need as

head of state and finally when it comes to children's issues, what are the kids doing. and i appreciate you talking about that one individual simply because you and your workshops have inspired him to seek this. and this includes child mortality in this includes further spread of disease. the stocking of a whole slew of diseases if you can speak to that as well. because these are all issues that it helps us as much

specifics as possible so we can respond accordingly particularly with the resources. >> i understand you have to leave shortly. and i would ask a friend if he may have a question as well before you have to make your departure. >> ami take this issue first because i think that is a very extremely important one. and we should have learned lessons from rwanda which should be applied here. i think that the u.s. planners should be involved in this. they can be working with the u.n. department of peacekeeping operations to really make sure that we have it right this time. in terms of not only the size of the element of the force so that you're not only addressing the peacekeeping mechanism that may be an addition to the police

keeping mechanism out there as well. because you need the space for security and also the policing so that you can maintain or keep the security. because every time they move to a different location in the fallout of that previous really protected area that is no longer there and we should've learned lessons in terms of better managing the numbers and making sure we have the right guys. and i ain't more dialogue with our planners in the u.n. i think it really needs to be done so we can get these numbers right this time and get the mix right. because we may need peacekeepers are the various combinations of them. but definitely we need both types of forces on the ground. and in terms of the interim president, let me take my hat off to her because he is definitely trying to manage a difficult situation as well as all the international support

that they can provide to her. but i would add that some of the examples have been provided by my colleagues here, including the idea of possibly having these peace groups commissions began. and i think we really need to work with her and transitional government to make that happen because they have to have this. we are not able to do these things without the transitional government as well. so we have to get the buy-in on some of these ideas that we are working in lockstep and not encounter step with each other. in terms of famine and disease, you heard earlier about stats on what they have in terms of the idp's. you're also missing the other point in terms of normally you have a harvest season due to the violence. so there are normal food stocks that are there that also

diminish your so in addition to having a reduced amount of relief food you also have a reduced amount of this. so i am worried about potential for famine and i think that's something that our administration needs to look down the line maybe three or four months because we could have this conversation in august and september quite differently as we are facing famine on top of an already bad situation. >> or cut that has been proposed, we would like to mention this in the international disaster relief account. >> estimates she's absolutely right. that's going to impact everyone's availability to do their job on the humanitarian ride. so we can't diminish any of

these things. we have a triplex of issues that we haven't had order. and that is a big one. also addressing this as well. >> thank you, chairman. i will just go down to listen to the questions. under this mandate, from this perspective, we are happy with a mandate and we think it has a well-thought-out mandate that is chronologically strategic about what it's supposed to achieve soapsuds with a clear intent to protect civilians and transitions into the state building down the line, which we think is smart. were also very happy with the language that requires us to work with humanitarian and human rights partners in devising a comprehensive protection strategy, which is kind of new and innovative language and critical. that means we would need to allocate resources to do this

risk assessment and then plan this strategic response, which is really good. and i think what is below that that we have to report this, which we have stated and well know about. especially the fluidity of this is so constant. and it changes everyday and their are new threats in different parts of the country. the focus is on this and as i said, it would be really great for the administration to deal of pressure with a briefing on the rationale behind these cuts and how they think that we will respond in south sudan and syria. with the displacement and protracted situations and i

think that would be a good initiative. also i want to underscore the fact that we have to keep fighting for crisis response underscores the fact that we are not investing enough in prevention and this is expensive, more expensive the longer they unravel, and yet we have very specific mechanisms available. and it's one of the newest tools it was developed in 2010 and they were able to respond very quickly. that is a great thing that we should be scaled up so beyond just this rapid response structure with the foreign assistance priorities and how we can have a more proactive convention. so from my perceptions on the

ground, there still is faith in the government, but it is waning. the transitional government has a support package to pay and restore these functions so they can prevent to provide services and we are happy with the world bank announcement earlier this week. but we also think that the imf really needs to get involved and we've recently heard that they plan to have an assessment team in july, which we think is not fast enough. if congress could help accelerate that process, it would be so great. there have been a lot of comparison of this. but what i was trying to katrina testimony and what we are saying is that it's actually unfolding

into something where there is a massive displacement crisis and it only responds to the media immediate needs about thinking of the root causes that caused the conflict in the first place. and that we will end up having to spend billions of dollars and still have this crisis and that is why we are encouraging long-term investment with clinical reconciliation so that we don't fall into a similar crisis down the line. quickly on reconciliation, there are local initiatives going on already on reconciliation, but a lot of it has been completely dissed away. so there is a need to invest, but there are local capacities that can begin so that the u.n. mediation support unit has been working on this plan and their primary task of the next three months is to whine all the

different influencers and power players can start to rebuild a strategy. so i think the big key for congress is to stay engaged in the process and see where there are gaps and needs for support that is coordinated with the local and high-level efforts are coordinated to make sure that we don't lose a connection between grassroots and the elite of society which for so long has it been there. which is a big undercurrent of the crisis. >> thank you so much. once again i would say that the important point here is not just a matter of how many troops. i am not a military planner, so i can't talk about that. but a lot of this is a political

process that has stalled and there is a transitional government that shows we still have hope. but the ability to deliver is very limited because she had no army or judges and she doesn't have a state budget at the moment. so her ability to respond is extremely limited. that is where the international community needs to come in so we could provide her with financial support to bring out this political mandate. and i think secondly, the reconciliation process needs to start now at the grassroots level because you have all of these different groups that are operating in different parts of the country. so you can't just call the usual

suspects in this way and try to have a roundtable in that way. we need to have a team of negotiators outpour advisors that can actually travel around the country and talk about where the local issues here. because once the dialogue starts, and that's also what we heard from the religious community last year, it is possible to reconcile this. but it's not happening at the moment. >> i would agree that the new interim president is not giving his support of needs to make an impact. they are losing credibility every minute of the day and i went to the mass where the president had attended as well and he was very clear. the police and the army is not

part of this process and they talked about how that had been the case in sierra leone and other places as well. so the population that is supposed to be part of rebuilding the government and the friday were not even involved in the process. so with regard to support i think i see in three different ways a support which has been the security and as i said, the interim government. and they cannot move forward under the very governments that we have over the past several

so how do we best assist recognizing the sovereignty of a foreign government to come in where it is not the united states trying to put their particular stamp on a country and a culture that we really do not want to americanize. how do we get that message across and how do we very quickly on the policing side of it and if you look at train police and military, that is a very long process that does not

happen in a month or two. so it almost requires this. what is the best solution to that? and as you mentioned recognizing that we have limited resources area so how do we best that the priority for what we do first to start this process. madam ambassador, i will start with you since i know you have to leave. >> thank you so much. >> i think that this is extremely important. one thing that can be done on the un's died, because we think can be done with the u.n. mandate as well if they included in the mandate. so your timeline about training is down the line for the people. but to bring this in as part of the u.n. mandate, you can do that to solidify whatever

today's you do make in terms of security. so that is one way to east start by bringing in the police units as part of the u.n. peacekeeping effort. seeking build on the police under their least establish or begin to establish security units that can go and try to maintain the areas that have already been secured or that need to be re-secured and look at training way down the line. >> is that something that the current government would welcome? and politically, what would we have their? remapped i think that it is a thing that the transitional government needs a lot of support on. i think it is something they understand that without that kind of constant security that they will never reach their goal of the international community to provide stability for this. so i think it's something that they would consider positively.

i think it is something that we need to actually encourage the u.n. to take a look at including inviting police units as part of the u.n. force. one of the areas that i really think we have not spent enough time on is the impunity issue. i say that because part of the reconciliation is for people to be able to see the international community is taking this question of impunity very seriously. that is what the former leaders as well as others. and we haven't really addressed that as of yet. >> with the marginal judicial system, how do you do that? how functional do you have that impunity where it gets dealt with? >> we do this in the criminal

court, an internal system cannot deal with crimes against humanity itself. so that is a mechanism. that is an area where we can at least begin the dialogue and have them look at this question with some of leaders that are out there and somehow cause caused the current violence and some that i was on slippery underlying causes that are in this today. so i think it is something that we can do and that is part of one of the mandates, which is to look at the issues where the country itself cannot manage it own system in a way that you can address the question. >> so can you comment, if you would, please, on the prevention board and how that has played an organism play in, or what role does it play in terms of this at this point? has anyone commented on that? >> we heard earlier today that

maybe there was one meeting. that there may be others it may be better placed to answer that and i am. >> i see that they are all looking at you. >> okay. from my perspective, as a community that has collectively worked on this, and our opinion is that this plays a very important role. for the comments at the state department didn't know about, that was a problematic response and there was potential opportunity for congress to ask about his possibly the case and i would love for you to. >> i kind of did ask. to follow up and say that we now have interagency structures to raise red flags to the highest

level. how is it possible that the state department wasn't looking at this intentionally in november and december and i think that is a follow-up opportunity. and he did play an important role. they were convening behind the scenes at the state department was the key of sharing information in august, september, october, and november. and they did have open sessions with the partners so that we could express what we were seeing. and that would not have happened without this and still are questions are what happened in march and were does the atrocities prevention said on parallel with other national intelligence priorities. if it was irrelevant until these atrocities were occurring, how

are we better elevating that prioritization framework and how can we get ahead. >> and had we put a better emphasis ahead of the curve instead of after the current? >> yes to in 2013, they are required to create a national intelligence estimate on threats everywhere in the world and it's not public, obviously, but we understand it is being created. so figuring out where it was on this list, i think it would be a really great case study for us to explore where the breakdowns are in that system. but we do think that there has been progress in that because of this existence and because of the core commitment, they response was faster than ever would've done and quickly i would just add where we think there needs to be more progress

moving forward and one would be unlocking this information sharing problems and have problems in long-term funding across the board. recognizing that you can't solve crises and challenges in 12 months and we need multiyear assistance programs that let us really deal with the complexity of these problems. third would be to codify or commitment in law. so under this, you know, that might not live beyond the obama administration was congress codifies it into law. >> okay. so let me bring it down. if we were to only do two things in the next 90 days, what would be. now, i know that we need policing and all of that. but if we could only do two things and say this is the most

critical time because we are underfunded and under that, and that was the focus. and they're saying we have to act immediately. and there are lives being lost. so how do we do this if we were to say the next 90 days, you could do anything that you wanted to do, what would it be in terms of how you would prioritize the involvement there. and mr. campbell, we'll start with you. >> security would be first because we need that operating environment and the situation is

so volatile that until that is stabilized, nothing else can move and then we have such a need. particularly over and above before we get to the immediate response. that has to come. and because of how this has evolved, the is a long-term disaster. particularly with food security. and as i have said, this is two years of consecutive problems even in these. smack her for. >> i would concur that we are trying to find these

peacekeepers and also to explore across the agency if there are ways for the united states to increase as the and in the near term. number two would be to pass a bill authorizing this assistance funding that transcends the regular appropriations calendar. so that not just financial assistance but for a five-year strategic response bill that includes humanitarian development and political commitments seeing this through the transition. >> but i would like is if you want, not for open testimony, but if you would cement with the budget would look like and what the parameters would look like. i don't need a cadillac or a rolls words version. and i need something less than that.

>> and we need to think a little bit outside the box. in more troops and police. i firmly believe we will be able to contain the violence. it is another method to stopping the violence that has not been tried and i firmly believe that it will make a huge difference on the ground once people stop to talk together. >> what would be their motivation to talk? >> motivation is that nobody is really in a good situation. people are being attacked daily. so my experience from talking to local people, people are seeking leadership and seeking guidance and it is much more important to stop the dialogs and to push for

additional peacekeeping. realistically speaking, i just don't see where the finance and troops are going to come from at this moment. >> let me follow up and then we will let you finish. because i know we are pressing on time limits for everyone. you mentioned diamonds and a few of the other things. including outside influences are at war component or percentage of this is whether he has a lot or any of the others, what kind of presence would use the them having and this. >> it is not something that we have dean today. what we have been is the alliance and key members using this approach in control of these areas to finance this group. and most of those commodities went through because of the

relations with the sudanese government and members of the militia. so i think that is where we would have to look. i recognize that these are more long-term issues that will not have an immediate fit. that is why do not raise it is the most crucial point. >> thank you. i also have to echo peace and security is number one. you need both police and security. but going back to the impunity issue because it has been so double-sided. first of all because it shows if you bring leadership to the justice system, you have a better chance of reconciliation happening on the ground. if people see that the leaders that have put the country in the situation that it is in now, being brought to justice, i think that it better helps reconciliation process on the ground.

>> that becomes motivation for them to talk, as the gentleman was talking about, if they can't operate without impunity? you might guess, if you have the, then what is the motivation or even if we have more peace groups. i think it encourages people when they see the leadership is brought to justice they have if they have a chance of survival and i would encourage that we begin a dialogue in looking at possibly the car and bringing some of these leadership to justice. last, and it was touched on briefly, the complicity issue by various elements throughout the region. i do think that that has historically been a problem with car. and you do have various complicity is and supports coming from different countries around the world and what their role is, whether it is in the economic resource side order of

the political influence side. we have an influence in terms of outside complicity in helping to destabilize this. that has not changed. so we need to bring the voice to some of the leaders around the region and those that we know that are there. >> mr. chairman, i yield back. i appreciate your patience before we conclude, a couple of final questions as relates. yesterday in this room the foreign affairs committee passed a resolution that i introduced way back in september and held a hearing on and did an op-ed on the need for a war crimes tribunal that would be patterned after an ad hoc that we had in sierra leone in the former yugoslavia. and as we all know, it has not had anything other than one

conviction in over a decade. eighteen investigation, and it seems to have all kinds of internal constraints, which a lot have to do it the way it is configured, it does not have an affect. in one of the things that it did is we had a number of scenarios of what that ad hoc tribunal would look like, but you have to have the ability to go after more than one after order what they often do, only 18 indictments in over a dozen years, it is not a record that gives a lot of hope that we will have a consequence for here. so my question would be, should we be looking at an ad hoc tribunal as it relates to this

and what we are trying to get off the ground for syria. and secondly, ms. rose, you mentioned and talked about target intentions towards protecting women. our landmark law, greg simpkins is our chief of staff on the subcommittee and i learned horrifyingly that peacekeepers were raping little girls. here are the peacekeepers with a duty to protect and a mandate to protect that had not been properly vetted and were actually raping little girls. we have three hearings on it. the u.n. did issue a zero-tolerance policy to its credit and did good work at least on paper and some try to do it for real. but we went there and visited not only the peacekeepers but also a place called heal africa, where so many women were being

gang raped by armed individuals, as he pointed out in testimony, getting a faith-based approach helping them get their lives back to deal with it, that is just unthinkable, yet they were getting real help. ambassador sanders, is it a problem of trafficking and we haven't heard a lot about that, have they been complicit in any way? just the other day we heard of all of those young girls students being trafficked in nigeria because people are so frustrated. and those young girls were sold into slavery. abducted and sold into slavery. and i'm wondering if anything like that is happening. have there been any reports of

trafficking and are we all making sure that the peacekeepers that are being deployed are vetted so they are able to be a part of the solution. >> thank you, mr. chairman. on the question about this, the bigger macro issue is the impunity. whether it is a tribunal where the icc, think it is the message that it sends in the vehicle that we choose. and i think that most vehicles will be useful because you do have this international.and you're right on the number of convictions and at least it brings an international zeroing in as well as you could probably do this as well. but i think it is a question of impunity. i haven't heard acerbically on trafficking.

but let me just say that i would not surprise if that is also an underlying issue that is going on. if it hasn't started, there is always the potential instability for that to become another weapon of war. of trafficking young men and women in that circumstance. so i think that is another thing that you are right to put on the table and it's one thing that we have to watch. and in fact, i am headed to nigeria right now and so i don't know but my flight leaves at 2:30 p.m. so if that is okay, thank you so much. >> thank you so much again. i will talk to the issue of the peacekeepers. there have been several incidents where peacekeepers have been involved in violent acts against civilians and we talked about this earlier today

were 30 civilians were killed. some soldiers were even special forces inside the country, which is just horrible and needs so much more international scrutiny. and i would also just take this opportunity to day that i am publishing a report about the violence in the country or we can learn a lot more about ideas or to thank you for this opportunity. >> we deeply appreciate that c-span has given the american people the opportunity to hear about this tragedy from experts who are living it. >> you will find that you can get that at our budget page. >> thank you. >> on the question of justice, i would have three points.

mercy corps is an agency. i don't have an opinion on whether they have an opinion. but there are three points to think about. one would be that we really need to talk to central africans and asked him what his justice. and that's one of the questions that we asked on the ground. is a community-based or statutory and will make you feel safe. and there are funds to do those types of surveys, but not enough and we need to allocate their voices in the debate. so we do have some structures where we engage in the dialogues and put together the survey if it takes time and secondly just to highlight that i think that in the immediate term in preventing violence, community-based conciliation is the best approach. so with these centers the justice system has ground to a halt and we have adjusted our strategy to do a community-based healing and reconciliation we found out to have got the

result. and so also i would say that there is a third point about support to this day. police are there, please still have civil servants that want to serve that haven't been able to. so that is a piece of the justice puzzle. and then of course, the issue of silence. i don't have information on complicity of peacekeepers, but i'm have to ask my staff. regardless of whether it happened or not, the priority is ensuring the due diligence that is put into place immediately so that any new troops that come in and those that will be transitioned are going through that process now. so the sooner, the better. third, on the point of holistic services and whether we are adequately funding them, mercy corps is funded from the peace

and security act and africa bureau for our services. as to highlight something that started in congress is working on the ground to really save lives. but we aren't seeing the international response carved out right now. i would like to highlight that that secretary of state john kerry wants this say from the start initiative. it is supposed to wrist on the grants would be made available. but i think this is a good example of asking if this is coming to realize because we haven't seen it yet. so thank you so much. ..