The Humanitarian Crisis in Somalia Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity to discuss the tragic humanitarian situation in Somalia. As you know, I returned yesterday after a four-day visit to the region. Together with Jim Kunder, director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) at the State Department, I visited two refugee camps on the Kenya/Somali border. In Liboi, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees is feeding as many as 42,000 Somali refugees, while in El Wak, 15,000 refugees are being assisted. On Monday, I traveled into Somalia to Belet Weyne, a city in western Somalia near the Ethiopian border. There, the International Red Cross is feeding 30,000 people. Save the Children-United Kingdom has opened a special supplemental feeding program for severely malnourished children. Two thousand children depend on this program to survive. An additional 60,000 Somalis receive aid in the region surrounding Belet Weyne. As we meet today, an enormous human tragedy is unfolding in Somalia--both in the refugee camps on the border and in Somalia itself. As many as 30,000 people have been killed just in Mogadishu alone since November. Estimates are that there could be as many as 5,000 to 7,000 dying a week from the famine and conflict that exist throughout Somalia. The most striking thing about the camps is the silence. Despite the suffering, the children do not cry out. They simply wait patiently for the next bowl of food. Women too weak to stand still raise their hands in the gentle, ancient greeting of Somalia. All of them wait in silence for help or for death, never certain which will come first. In many ways, Somalia has moved beyond tears and cries. It has been reduced to a level of desperation almost beyond the imagining of any American. And yet, Americans and volunteers from many other nations are there now, putting their own lives at risk each day as they try to ease the suffering amidst what must be the worst humanitarian disaster in the world. RELIEF AGENCIES Mr. Chairman, before I address the international response to the Somali crisis, I want to commend the courageous work of the relief organizations in Somalia. Under extremely dangerous and difficult conditions, these organizations are performing an invaluable and crucial service. In my mind, they are the real heroes and heroines of this crisis. Crisis in Somalia - 2 July 22, 1992 I would like to mention specifically some of the individual relief organizations working in Somalia today: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has led the relief The International Medical Corps is providing emergency medical CARE has begun to distribute food in Mogadishu. World Concern is providing medical assistance in Kismayu. UNICEF is supporting airlifts to Mogadishu and supplying health kits Save the Children-UK is doing supplemental feeding for severely Mediciens Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) is providing The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is assisting the In addition, many indigenous Somali organizations, including the Red I would also like to commend Jan Westcot, the OFDA representative for RELIEF EFFORT Despite the courageous efforts of relief organizations, the reality is that many people continue to die. Relief is not getting to those in need. The problem is not so much a lack of food in the country, but a lack of security to deliver the food to the most vulnerable--the women and children of Somalia. Guns are everywhere. Even in Belet Weyne--considered a relatively stable and secure area of the country--I heard occasional gunfire. There were hundreds of automatic weapons in the town from more than a dozen countries--Russian, Chinese, American, Czech, and on and on. Because of the security situation, much of the relief supplies has been looted. Banditry has become a way of life for tens of thousands of Somalis. The mandate would be simple: To provide protection for relief workers and guard relief supplies in route to those most in need. To date, Mr. Aideed, leader of one of the two main factions in Mogadishu, has rejected an armed U.N. security force. He believes that a U.N. force would prop up his rival, Ali Mahdi. Mr. Chairman, I believe the situation has reached the point where the U.N. should go forward with the security force with or without Aideed's or Ali Mahdi's consent. This is not without substantial risk and cost. But I believe it is a risk worth taking. Every day hundreds of relief workers in Somalia put their lives at risk. Every day hundreds of children die. The cost for this force could be substantial. But we are already spending over $60 million this year on relief. We must be willing to put forward the additional resources to ensure that the food gets to those in need. DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS While the international community works to deliver more relief to those in need, efforts to resolve the underlying conflict must continue. Under Secretary General Boutrous Ghali, the United Nations has taken the lead in Somalia. The Secretary General has appointed Mohammed Sahnoun, former Algerian ambassador to Washington, to be his special envoy for Somalia. I met Ambassador Sahnoun in Nairobi and am very impressed by his dedication and abilities. The United States should strongly and vocally support his efforts. In addition, it is essential that Ambassador Sahnoun have the full support of the U.N. system in New York. Resolving the conflict will not be easy. Somalis are fiercely independent nomadic people with strong loyalties to their clan and sub-clan. After years under the repression of President Siad Barre, long-running conflicts have surfaced, pitting sub-clan against sub-clan. To the competing political factions, we should also make it clear that it is highly unlikely that any U.S. administration would be willing to recognize a government that has come to power by means of massacring its citizens and destroying its capital city. Crisis in Somalia July 22, 1992 Ambassador Sahnoun has outlined a plan of dealing with the Somali conflict on a regional basis, working through the local elders. Peace efforts must be based on these traditional institutions. It is at these local and regional levels that a lasting settlement will emerge. Gone are the days when the Americans or the Soviets pick winners or losers. CONCLUSION Mr. Chairman, many may wonder why we should care about what is happening in Somalia. Sometimes it seems that África is an endless source of disaster and crisis--in Ethiopia, in Mozambique, in Sudan, or the drought that now grips all of southern Africa. Some may believe that Africa is hopeless, that no matter what we do, it is never enough. I can understand that belief, even though I do not share it. I know also that the administration does not share it. I would particularly like to commend the thoughtful contributions that are being made, not only to the problems of Somalia but to the rest of Africa, by our assistant secretary of state Hank Cohen.. Throughout my years in the Senate, both as chairman and as ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs, I have believed that Africa is a special place--one with enormous problems and spectacular potential. Even though the problems continue to overshadow and even overpower the potential, I still believe that one day Africa will come into its own and contribute more to the world than we now give to it. I believe the United States has a specific moral ́obligation to Somalia. Throughout the long years of the Cold War, Somalia and the rest of the Horn were of strategic importance to the United States. If the Soviet Union still existed today, we would never have allowed Somalia to disintegrate in this way. The question we must now face is whether our concern for human beings is as great as our past fear of the Soviet empire. I strongly believe we must answer that question in a clear and strong affirmative. Senator KENNEDY. As we are talking about airlifting aid into Sarajevo, one has to ask where we are in terms of Somalia. With the kind of description that she has given and the reports that are coming out, is the situation in Somalia going to have a similar priority for the United States, and also with the United States' leadership in the United Nations. Would you comment? Mr. EAGLEBURGER. Yes, sir, Mr. Chairman. In fact, what I would like to do is ask Ambassador Zimmerman to comment because he was just there and I think is more up to date on this than I am. Ambassador ZIMMERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I was in the Horn of Africa over the last 2 weeks, looking at the refugee problems there. I talked at great length to the International Red Cross people, who are the most visible presence working in Somalia. They confirmed what Senator Kassebaum has said that this is an enormous refugee problem. Many of them said it was the worst refugee problem they had ever seen, and they are experts in the field. I think we are going to have to be responsive to this. Both the United Nations and the International Red Cross have issued appeals for help in Somalia. We intend to be responsive to both of those appeals. UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS IN SOMALIA Senator KENNEDY. Well, Senator Kassebaum recommends sending 500 United Nations peacekeepers, just like we have in Sarajevo. Does the administration support that? Mr. EAGLEBURGER. I am not sure that we have focused on the subject quite as specifically as that. I know we are having some consultation Senator KENNEDY. Well, would you give us a response on it? Mr. EAGLEBURGER [continuing]. With the United Nations, but I will give you some more. Senator KENNEDY. The proposal was made yesterday over in the House, but I think the point is well worth underlining; it is a human tragedy taking place that is probably unequaled in any part of the world. Maybe it is not, but it is certainly of enormous proportion, and I think it is a fair question to ask why we are not moving in Somalia as we are in Yugoslavia. If you would get back and let me know? Mr. EAGLEBURGER. I will get back to you. Senator KENNEDY. Thank you. [The information referred to can be found in the appendix.] REFUGEE ADMISSIONS AND RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT Mr. EAGLEBURGER. Regarding the U.S. refugee admissions program, if current trends continue, and barring major unforeseen developments, the numbers of persons requiring permanent resettlement in the United States could decline by the mid-1990's. The President's proposal for fiscal year 1993 allows for the funded admission of 122,000 refugees, a reduction of 10,000 from the current fiscal year level. You may recall that this year's figure was increased from the President's original estimate to allow for the admission of refugees from the Soviet Union whose departure in the |