[Pages H4970-H4974]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY ACT OF 2017

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 2484) to ensure that the United States promotes the
meaningful participation of women in mediation and negotiation
processes seeking to prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent conflict.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 2484

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Women, Peace, and Security
Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Around the world, women remain underrepresented in
conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict
peace building efforts.
(2) Women in conflict-affected regions have achieved
significant success in--
(A) moderating violent extremism;
(B) countering terrorism;
(C) resolving disputes through nonviolent mediation and
negotiation; and
(D) stabilizing societies by enhancing the effectiveness of
security services, peacekeeping efforts, institutions, and
decision-making processes.
(3) Research suggests that peace negotiations are more
likely to succeed and to result in durable peace agreements
when women participate in the peace process.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the meaningful participation of women in conflict
prevention and conflict resolution processes helps to promote
more inclusive and democratic societies and is critical to

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the long-term stability of countries and regions;
(2) the political participation, and leadership of women in
fragile environments, particularly during democratic
transitions, is critical to sustaining lasting democratic
institutions; and
(3) the United States should be a global leader in
promoting the meaningful participation of women in conflict
prevention, management, and resolution, and post-conflict
relief and recovery efforts.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

It shall be the policy of the United States to promote the
meaningful participation of women in all aspects of overseas
conflict prevention, management, and resolution, and post-
conflict relief and recovery efforts, reinforced through
diplomatic efforts and programs that--
(1) integrate the perspectives and interests of affected
women into conflict-prevention activities and strategies;
(2) encourage partner governments to adopt plans to improve
the meaningful participation of women in peace and security
processes and decision-making institutions;
(3) promote the physical safety, economic security, and
dignity of women and girls;
(4) support the equal access of women to aid distribution
mechanisms and services;
(5) collect and analyze gender data for the purpose of
developing and enhancing early warning systems of conflict
and violence;
(6) adjust policies and programs to improve outcomes in
gender equality and the empowerment of women; and
(7) monitor, analyze, and evaluate the efforts related to
each strategy submitted under section 5 and the impact of
such efforts.

SEC. 5. UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PROMOTE THE PARTICIPATION
OF WOMEN IN CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACE
BUILDING.

(a) Requirement.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and again four years thereafter,
the President, in consultation with the heads of the relevant
Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees and make publicly
available a single government-wide strategy, to be known as
the Women, Peace, and Security Strategy, that provides a
detailed description of how the United States intends to
fulfill the policy objectives in section 4. The strategy
shall--
(1) support and be aligned with plans developed by other
countries to improve the meaningful participation of women in
peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peace
building, transitional processes, and decision-making
institutions; and
(2) include specific and measurable goals, benchmarks,
performance metrics, timetables, and monitoring and
evaluation plans to ensure the accountability and
effectiveness of all policies and initiatives carried out
under the strategy.
(b) Specific Plans for Departments and Agencies.--Each
strategy under subsection (a) shall include a specific
implementation plan from each of the relevant Federal
departments and agencies that describes--
(1) the anticipated contributions of the department or
agency, including technical, financial, and in-kind
contributions, to implement the strategy; and
(2) the efforts of the department or agency to ensure that
the policies and initiatives carried out pursuant to the
strategy are designed to achieve maximum impact and long-term
sustainability.
(c) Coordination.--The President should promote the
meaningful participation of women in conflict prevention, in
coordination and consultation with international partners,
including, as appropriate, multilateral organizations,
stakeholders, and other relevant international organizations,
particularly in situations in which the direct engagement of
the United States Government is not appropriate or advisable.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the President, in implementing each strategy submitted under
subsection (a), should--
(1) provide technical assistance, training, and logistical
support to female negotiators, mediators, peace builders, and
stakeholders;
(2) address security-related barriers to the meaningful
participation of women;
(3) encourage increased participation of women in existing
programs funded by the United States Government that provide
training to foreign nationals regarding law enforcement, the
rule of law, or professional military education;
(4) support appropriate local organizations, especially
women's peace building organizations;
(5) support the training, education, and mobilization of
men and boys as partners in support of the meaningful
participation of women;
(6) encourage the development of transitional justice and
accountability mechanisms that are inclusive of the
experiences and perspectives of women and girls;
(7) expand and apply gender analysis, as appropriate, to
improve program design and targeting; and
(8) conduct assessments that include the perspectives of
women regarding new initiatives in support of peace
negotiations, transitional justice and accountability,
efforts to counter violent extremism, or security sector
reform.

SEC. 6. TRAINING REQUIREMENTS REGARDING THE PARTICIPATION OF
WOMEN IN CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACE
BUILDING.

(a) Foreign Service.--The Secretary of State, in
conjunction with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall ensure that all
appropriate personnel (including special envoys, members of
mediation or negotiation teams, relevant members of the civil
service or Foreign Service, and contractors) responsible for
or deploying to countries or regions considered to be at risk
of, undergoing, or emerging from violent conflict obtain
training, as appropriate, in the following areas, each of
which shall include a focus on women and ensuring meaningful
participation by women:
(1) Conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution.
(2) Protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and
trafficking in persons.
(3) International human rights law and international
humanitarian law.
(b) Department of Defense.--The Secretary of Defense shall
ensure that relevant personnel receive training, as
appropriate, in the following areas:
(1) Training in conflict prevention, peace processes,
mitigation, resolution, and security initiatives that
specifically addresses the importance of meaningful
participation by women.
(2) Gender considerations and meaningful participation by
women, including training regarding--
(A) international human rights law and international
humanitarian law, as relevant; and
(B) protecting civilians from violence, exploitation, and
trafficking in persons.
(3) Effective strategies and best practices for ensuring
meaningful participation by women.

SEC. 7. CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development may establish guidelines or take other steps to
ensure overseas United States personnel of the Department of
State or the United States Agency for International
Development, as the case may be, consult with appropriate
stakeholders, including local women, youth, ethnic and
religious minorities, and other politically underrepresented
or marginalized populations, regarding United States efforts
to--
(1) prevent, mitigate, or resolve violent conflict; and
(2) enhance the success of mediation and negotiation
processes by ensuring the meaningful participation of women.
(b) Collaboration and Coordination.--The Secretary of State
should work with international, regional, national, and local
organizations to increase the meaningful participation of
women in international peacekeeping operations, and should
promote training that provides international peacekeeping
personnel with the substantive knowledge and skills needed to
ensure effective physical security and meaningful
participation of women in conflict prevention and peace
building.

SEC. 8. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

(a) Briefing.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
first submission of a strategy required under section 5, the
Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development and
the Secretary of Defense, shall brief the appropriate
congressional committees on existing, enhanced, or newly
established training carried out pursuant to section 6.
(b) Report on Women, Peace, and Security Strategy.--Not
later than 2 years after the date of the submission of each
strategy required under section 5, the President shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a report that--
(1) summarizes and evaluates the implementation of such
strategy and the impact of United States diplomatic efforts
and foreign assistance programs, projects, and activities to
promote the meaningful participation of women;
(2) describes the nature and extent of the coordination
among the relevant Federal departments and agencies on the
implementation of such strategy;
(3) outlines the monitoring and evaluation tools,
mechanisms, and common indicators to assess progress made on
the policy objectives set forth in section 4; and
(4) describes the existing, enhanced, or newly established
training carried out pursuant to section 6.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed
Services, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed
Services, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives.
(2) Relevant federal departments and agencies.--The term
``relevant Federal departments and agencies'' means--
(A) the United States Agency for International Development;
(B) the Department of State;
(C) the Department of Defense;
(D) the Department of Homeland Security; and
(E) any other department or agency specified by the
President for purposes of this Act.

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(3) Stakeholders.--The term ``stakeholders'' means
nongovernmental and private sector entities engaged in or
affected by conflict prevention and stabilization, peace
building, protection, security, transition initiatives,
humanitarian response, or related efforts.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.

general leave

Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record on H.R.
2484.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Women, Peace, and Security Act,
H.R. 2484.
I want to recognize Representatives Kristi Noem and Jan Schakowsky. I
want to recognize the two of them for their bipartisan effort in
putting together this legislation, this important piece of legislation.
I think it is going to have a great impact.
I also want to thank Mr. Engel for his important leadership.
Our consideration of this measure is really the culmination of many
years of bipartisan work by Members of the House, including
Representative Jan Schakowsky and Representative Kristi Noem, and by
our prior administration officials, as well, who have worked on this,
and many advocates--many advocates--who want to see better, more
sustainable solutions to ending wars, to combating terrorism, and to
improving human rights around the world. What we are seeing today is
that women's participation is really essential to confronting these
fundamental challenges.
Last year, the Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing where we
heard powerful testimony about the importance of including women in
peace negotiations and in the security negotiations and security
institutions that have been set up around the globe. Women, of course,
have the fundamental human right to have their voices heard in
discussions affecting their lives and their families' lives, and that
is a case in and of itself that we must continue to make.
But women's participation is also critical to realizing better
outcomes with respect to these negotiations. Simply put, when women are
at the negotiating table and it affects their community, peace is more
likely. Compelling research shows that peace agreements are much more
likely to be reached, and certainly more likely to last, when women's
groups are genuinely involved.
Women peacemakers often press warring parties to move beyond mere
power-sharing agreements--which, of course, benefit only a small
percentage of fighters--to more comprehensive and longer term accords
which benefit the civilian population as a whole.
We have seen this play out from Colombia to Rwanda, to Sri Lanka,
where women's groups have pushed for practical solutions to deescalate
and resolve the conflict, and certainly, in Northern Ireland, where,
indisputably, the bravery and perseverance in the face of reprisal and
pressure led women on both sides of that conflict to stay engaged until
there was a lasting peace; at least, until today, there is a lasting
peace in Northern Ireland, and that is because of their involvement.
Efforts to keep the peace through policing and peacemaking missions
also--this is an additional point--benefit from women's participation
because it leads to better crime reporting and higher levels of trust
within the communities they serve.
Women are essential to confronting one of the greatest national
security threats of our time, and that is the spread of violent
extremism because, if we think about it, women, of course, are truly on
the front lines of this fight. They possess unique insights into the
community, into their families, and are capable of gathering
information often that men cannot or do not see. Yet their input is
frequently overlooked, and I would just give one example, of many.
Activist Wazhma Frogh in Afghanistan recalls when women from a small
Afghan village tried desperately to warn a government official that
young men in their community were being recruited by Islamist militants
at the local weddings, the minister laughed them off. He said: The
militants that we are fighting are much too sophisticated to go and
recruit at the weddings here in the community. Well, of course, a month
later, unfortunately, some of those same young men that had been
recruited attacked a bus, killing 32 civilians.
My committee has heard similar stories from women around the world
who want to reclaim their communities from the spread of radical
ideologies. We must acknowledge women as partners in this fight, and
that is why the legislation before us today recognizes that it is in
our national interest to promote women's participation in resolving
violence and conflict.
This concept has been building support for some time. The Bush
administration was right to press hard for women's participation in
peace negotiations and political processes in Iraq and Afghanistan and
elsewhere, and the Obama administration expanded on these programs to
require a governmentwide approach to women's inclusion in conflict
resolution overseas.
Today, this bipartisan legislation before us builds on these efforts.
It will continue to require a governmentwide strategy to promote
women's participation, along with specific goals and benchmarks and
regular reporting to Congress in order to gauge progress.
It also requires that appropriate State, USAID, and Defense
Department personnel receive training in how to facilitate women's
participation in conflict resolution, security initiatives, and efforts
to protect civilians from violence and to protect them from
exploitation.
I urge all Members to support this measure's passage.
I again thank Kristi Noem and Jan Schakowsky for their good work on
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Committee on Armed Services,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, June 12, 2017.
Hon. Edward R. Royce,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to you concerning H.R.
2484, the ``Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017.'' There
are certain provisions in the bill which fall within the Rule
X jurisdiction of the Committee on Armed Services.
In the interest of permitting your committee to proceed
expeditiously to floor consideration of this important
legislation, I am willing to waive this committee's further
consideration of H.R. 2484. I do so with the understanding
that by waiving consideration of the bill, the Committee on
Armed Services does not waive any future jurisdictional claim
over the subject matters contained in the legislation which
fall within its Rule X jurisdiction.
Please place a copy of this letter and your response
acknowledging our jurisdictional interest into the
Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on
the House floor. Thank you for the cooperative spirit in
which you have worked regarding this matter and others
between our respective committees.
Sincerely,
William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry,
Chairman.
____

Committee on Foreign Affairs,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, June 12, 2017.
Hon. William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry,
Chairman, House Armed Services Committee,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for consulting with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs on H.R. 2484, the Women, Peace,
and Security Act of 2017, and for agreeing to be discharged
from further consideration of that bill so that it may
proceed expeditiously to consideration by the House.
I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure
does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the
Committee on Armed Services, or prejudice its jurisdictional
prerogatives on this bill or similar legislation in the
future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an
appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any
House-Senate conference on this legislation.
I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 2484 into the
Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate
your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward
to continuing to work with your Committee

[[Page H4973]]

as this measure moves through the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Edward R. Royce,
Chairman.

Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure.
I want to thank the bill's authors, Representative Schakowsky and
Representative Noem, for their years' worth of work on this measure. I
also want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for helping
move it forward.
Wherever there are conflicts around the world, women and girls face
particular vulnerabilities, but they also possess unique abilities to
bring peace and prosperity to their communities.
Research has shown that getting women involved in conflict resolution
and peace building leads to better outcomes. That is why the Obama
administration launched its executive order on Women, Peace, and
Security in 2011 to make sure women had a seat at the table when it
came to conflict prevention and resolution.
Thanks to the Obama administration's efforts, the United States has
worked to include women in conflict prevention, negotiation, and
resolution. We have promoted efforts to enhance the physical and
economic security of women around the world, and we have sought to
break through the barriers that have stopped women from being full
participants in peace processes.

{time} 1800

The bill we are considering will make these policies permanent. It
would build on what the Obama administration has accomplished by making
sure agency personnel across our government are fully trained on the
unique strengths women bring to conflict prevention and resolution. It
would also require annual reporting so Congress can stay apprised of
these efforts.
Making this strategy permanent is absolutely imperative. It is
important that we fully recognize and appreciate how women's
participation can help make our foreign policy stronger.
I am pleased to support this measure, and I urge all my colleagues to
do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the
gentlewoman from South Dakota (Mrs. Noem), a member of the Committee on
Ways and Means and the author of this important bill.
Mrs. NOEM. Mr. Speaker, you can't hardly turn on the TV today or open
a newspaper, scroll through your news feed without learning of another
outbreak of violence around the globe. Especially in a world as
volatile and insecure as ours is today, we have a responsibility to
take full advantage of proven peace-building tactics. This includes
involving women in conflict prevention and resolution.
Research covering conflicts from Northern Ireland to Africa has shown
that peace agreements are 35 percent more likely to last at least 15
years when women are involved. Even knowing this, women are many times
left out during negotiations.
The truth is that conflict knows no gender, just as peace should know
no gender. With that said, women are many times impacted by conflict in
different ways than their male counterparts.
ISIL, for instance, has used human trafficking and sex slavery, which
disproportionately impacts women, as an income-generating business for
their terrorist activities. Women need to be able to play a major role
in addressing this and finding solutions to combat it.
Moreover, in many war-torn countries, women control large segments of
the economy. In fact, women are the sole income earners in nearly one-
third of all households worldwide. While their husbands and sons are
serving as soldiers, women are running the markets, the schools, other
public and private institutions. By virtue of that, they are running
the local economy and have an unmistakable voice in community
discussions. Their understanding can prove invaluable when mitigating
conflict and building peace.
Particularly in areas where increased stability creates greater
security for the United States, we must make sure that the work that we
are doing produces lasting results.
I am confident the Women, Peace, and Security Act and the
accountability it provides will help produce sustainable outcomes for
Americans, and that also touches on our national security.
While our U.S. Government, in recent years, has made efforts to
include women in peace negotiations, the bipartisan Women, Peace, and
Security Act better ensures that women have a seat at the table during
these discussions through meaningful congressional oversight. It is but
one instrument in a toolbox our military and diplomatic leaders can use
when looking at producing long-term results, and leaders can use it
when looking to produce peace, but it is still a tool that we should
not ignore.
I am grateful to my colleagues: Representative Jan Schakowsky for all
of her passionate work on this issue; Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking
Member Eliot Engel for their efforts on this legislation as well.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5
minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the coauthor
of this bill, a true advocate for women, and my colleague.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Congressman
Joaquin Castro, for yielding to me.
I am so proud to rise in support of H.R. 2484, the Women, Peace, and
Security Act, which I introduced along with my partner, Kristi Noem. We
have been working on this bill for quite a while.
I want to really thank Chairman Ed Royce for not only his eloquent
words today and his clear description about why this is so important,
but for working closely with us to make this day a reality. I am
hopeful that we will be able to go through the Senate and get this bill
finally enacted.
The Women, Peace, and Security Act promotes the participation of
women in the peace process and is a step forward for our security and
our economic prosperity as well. When women are involved in peace
negotiations, a peace agreement is more likely to last. In fact, the
International Peace Institute found that a peace agreement is 35
percent more likely to last for at least 15 years if women participate
in drafting the agreement. The study also found that with each 5
percent increase in women's participation in the political process, a
nation is five times less likely to use violence when faced with
international crisis or conflict.
When women and girls are equal partners in all aspects of
decisionmaking, countries are more likely to be peaceful and
economically prosperous.
Despite the strong evidence in favor of women's political
participation, women remain underrepresented in conflict prevention,
conflict resolution, and the post-conflict peace-building efforts that
are happening around the world, and the United States can help to
change that.
The Women, Peace, and Security Act will build upon the 2011 National
Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, which made clear that the
meaningful inclusion of women in peace and security processes is
imperative for national and global security. And you heard how in
Northern Ireland and all the way to Rwanda, the participation of women
has been absolutely essential.
Our legislation establishes women's participation as a permanent
element of U.S. foreign policy. It would encourage the United States to
assist women mediators and negotiators by addressing barriers to their
equal and secure participation in the peace process.

It would institute comprehensive training modules on the protection,
rights, and specific needs of women in conflict and require the
administration to evaluate the impact of U.S. foreign assistance on
women's meaningful participation.
In addition, Women, Peace, and Security Act would require the
President to report to Congress its strategy to promote women's
participation in conflict prevention and resolution, and it would
empower Congress to exercise oversight of that strategy's
implementation.
The United States plays a crucial role in encouraging peace
agreements all over the world. By making sure

[[Page H4974]]

that we bring women into the peace process, we can improve national and
global security.
So, once again, I just want to thank Congresswoman Noem, my partner
on this bipartisan legislation, as well as Chairman Ed Royce and
Ranking Member Eliot Engel, for their support. I want to thank the many
advocacy groups who have been persistent throughout these years in
bringing it to us, the evidence of the success of women when women
participate in the peace process.
So I thank the gentleman again for yielding.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time to close.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, seeing no other speakers on my
side, I am prepared to close as long as there are no other speakers on
the majority side.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank, once again, Chairman Ed Royce, Ranking
Member Engel, and Representatives Schakowsky and Noem for their hard
work.
I again urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, from Liberia to Northern Ireland, to, frankly, all over
the planet, we have watched women play pivotal roles in pushing their
governments, in pushing combatants and politicians to bring an end to
conflict.
In recent years, we have seen armed conflicts flare around the world,
producing the largest number of refugees on record. Efforts to
negotiate an end to these conflicts are more important than ever. We
know that when women are included in these discussions, we are more
likely to see an enduring peace.
As a witness at our hearing on women's participation explained:
``Including women is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart
thing to do.''
The legislation before us today will strengthen U.S. efforts to
promote the inclusion of women in peace negotiations in order to create
more sustainable agreements and more stable partners for the United
States and for the U.S. allies.
So, again, I want to thank Representatives Noem and Schakowsky for
their bipartisan work. I also want to particularly thank the staff on
both sides of the aisle who have worked so hard over the past couple of
years, including Jessica Kelch, Cassandra Varanka, Brittany Comins,
Elizabeth Cunningham, and Janice Kaguyutan. We appreciate all of your
good work.
Mr. Speaker, with that, I ask for an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2484,
the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 which expresses that the
United States should be a global leader in promoting the meaningful
participation of women in efforts directed at conflict prevention,
management, and resolution.
This bill directs the President to develop and submit to Congress a
Women, Peace, and Security Strategy that will:
1. Be aligned with other nations' plans to improve and encourage
women to participate in peace and security over processes, conflict
prevention, peace building, and decision making; and
2. Lay out goals and evaluation plans to measure strategy
effectiveness.
Additionally, H.R. 2484 directs that employees and contractors of the
Department of State, Department of Defense, and the U.S. Agency for
International Development that personnel deployed to countries or
regions at risk or emerging from violent conflict be provided training
in conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution.
This training will allow those deployed to these regions to
collaborate and support women who live in these conflict ridden
communities to develop peace and security strategies.
As a member of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, I
understand the importance of women's security and its role in conflict
prevention and resolution.
This is why in the 114th Congress I introduced H. Res. 528 that seeks
to create a Victims of Terror Protection Fund for the displaced
refugees, migrants and victims of Boko Haram's terror in the region,
many of which are women and children.
One reason women play such a critical role in the peacebuilding
process is because they constitute half of every community.
Educating women and men to work in tandem is an imperative step
toward instilling peace in communities and mending broken bonds.
An important aspect of H.R. 2484 is the inclusion of training
personnel who work firsthand in these conflicted regions regarding
international human rights laws and the protection of trafficked
people.
Nearly 21 million people have fallen victim to human trafficking
globally, and more than half of them are women and girls.
These numbers are staggering, and victims who have been liberated
from this awful slavery require special consideration and support to
overcome the horrors they have experienced with the aid of women
peacekeepers.
Women serve as incredible advocates for peace as central caretakers
of the family and have already played prominent roles in peace
processes in the Horn of Africa.
Overall, H.R. 2484 makes an important contribution by requiring the
agencies that focus abroad to collaborate on incorporating women in the
peacebuilding processes.
I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2484, the Women,
Peace, and Security Act of 2017.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say a few words
in support of Representative Kristi Noem's Women, Peace and Security
Act (H.R. 2484). Among other things, it highlights the role women must
play in peacemaking.
In the limited time we have, I would just like to highlight the role
of one woman who served as a peacemaker, whom I have had the
opportunity to get to know--Nuala O'Loan, who served as the Police
Ombudsman in Northern Ireland from 2000 to 2007, and someone who has
contributed to our understanding in the Congress as she twice testified
at hearings held on the Northern Ireland peace process.
Baroness O'Loan--she was made a Dame of the British Empire and a
member of the House of Lords in recognition for her role in the cause
of peace--had the difficult task of looking into how the police handled
the Omagh bombing. That bombing, by a splinter group of the Irish
Republican Army, was intended to reignite sectarian tension and stop
the movement towards peace that was memorialized in the Good Friday
Agreement. The bomb was indiscriminate, however, killing both
Protestant and Catholic alike, and helped underscore the need for
peace.
In the ensuing years, Baroness O'Loan became known as an even-handed
intermediary. Indeed, she was so even-handed that she was criticized by
extremists on both sides, and her retirement party was boycotted by
hardliners from the Unionist and Republican camps. On the other hand,
the average citizen, whether Protestant or Catholic, supported her in
her role as Police Ombudsman in roughly equal numbers, something that
was borne out by independent polling.
Nuala O'Loan is but one example of a woman serving as peacemaker.
There are many more Nualas around the world, and I applaud
Congresswoman Noem for encouraging us to recognize the role these women
play in helping bring a little light to the darkness.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 2484.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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