Legislative Victories

The Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act
For more than 17 years, the rebel group "the Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA) has been battling the Government of Uganda (GOU) for political power; the war has created a humanitarian disaster that has left generations of children in crisis. More than 20,000 children have been kidnapped by the LRA and over 1.2 million people have been forced into displacement camps.

The Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act was signed into law on August 2, 2004. World Vision supporters contributed to the passage of this bill by voicing their concern for the people of Uganda. The Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act:

>	supports a peaceful resolution to the conflict
>	calls upon the U.S. to work with the Ugandan government and the international community to provide humanitarian aid and development assistance
>	calls for increased protection of displaced civilians, particularly women and children

The U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis,
and Malaria Act
Signed by President Bush on May 27, 2003 the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief approves $15 billion for AIDS prevention, treatment and care. World Vision President Richard E. Stearns expressed hope that the new law will serve as a catalyst for other world leaders to designate more funds for similar efforts as well.

Programs funded by the legislation could prolong the lives of 2 million people infected with AIDS, as well as prevent 7 million additional infections and care for children orphaned and made vulnerable by the disease.

Currently, all G-8 nations provide funding for AIDS prevention care and treatment through bilateral programs and multilateral initiatives like the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. However, none gives more than 0.8 of one percent of their annual budget to fight the spread of AIDS.

This is a tremendous victory in the battle against the AIDS pandemic; however, the money still must be appropriated over the next five years, so we still encourage you to continue speak out on this very important issue.

The Clean Diamond Trade Act

Legislation to prohibit the import of so-called "conflict diamonds" – gems mined in African nations that help to fund human rights abuses - passed the Congress on April 10, 2003.

The Clean Diamonds Trade Act culminates a three- year effort by the Campaign to Eliminate Conflict Diamonds, a coalition of more than 150 human rights, humanitarian, and faith-based organizations and a bi-partisan alliance of Members of Congress.

The bill, also endorsed by the diamond industry, is designed to choke off a key funding source for rebel groups in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and other nations. The illegal mining and selling of diamonds also has been associated in published reports with the al Queda terrorist network.

The legislation will enforce an international system known as the Kimberley Process Certification System, which will ensure that diamonds entering the United States are legally mined and traded. Among the bill's provisions:

>	Oversight and monitoring of the industry certification process: There will be government oversight and annual audits of the diamond industry's chain of warranties for "clean diamonds."
>	Mandated US government coordination: Key administration agencies, including the State Department, the Treasury Dept., US Trade Representative's office, and the Departments of Commerce and Homeland Security, are responsible to ensure full coordination and compliance with the Kimberley Process.
>	Comprehensive monitoring and reporting: Annual and semi-annual reports, as well as a General Accounting Office report will provide monitoring on problems with the Kimberley Process and will also include information on countries not participating in the Kimberley Process and yet still attempting to export diamonds to the U.S. Monitoring will also be done on countries attempting to circumvent the certification process through the polishing of rough diamonds.

The PROTECT Act
On April 10, 2003, Congress passed the PROTECT Act (Prosecuting Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003). This legislation provides a number of new measures that will help protect children from sexual exploitation.

Endorsed by World Vision, the PROTECT Act establishes the national "Amber Alert" network and "Code Adam" systems to recover abducted children, stronger laws to combat child pornography and exploitation, increased penalties for sex offenses against children (including life imprisonment for repeat offenders) and important enhancements to current "sex tourism" laws.

Of particular interest are the enhancements to U.S. sex tourism laws that impact many of the children World Vision serves in developing countries. World Vision has advocated for these changes to current U.S. law in order to better protect children abroad from American pedophiles that travel to poor countries to engage in sex with minors. The PROTECT Act strengthens existing U.S. law by increasing imprisonment penalties to 30 years for convicted sex tourists, criminalizing persons or organizations that assist or organize sex tours, and better enabling federal prosecutors to convict offenders by modifying burden of proof requirements. In addition, the new law establishes parallel penalty enhancements that apply to the production of child pornography overseas.

"We applaud Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) for their outstanding leadership in creating this new law," said Mettimano. "The sexual exploitation of children is an abomination and should not be tolerated anywhere. The United States has a duty to convict and punish any U.S. citizen that travels abroad to sexually abuse children."

This year, World Vision is launching a sex tourism prevention program in the United States. This project will utilize the media, Internet and partnerships with the U.S. travel and tourism industry to deter U.S. citizens from sexually exploiting children overseas, and in the United States. This new law will provide a stronger foundation for succeeding in this work.

Each year millions of children are sexually exploited through pornography and prostitution in countries such as Cambodia, Costa Rica, Thailand, India and the United States. Organized "sex tours" for Americans and others traveling abroad exacerbates this problem. A survey conducted in December 2001 by World Vision and the Cambodian Government indicates that Western pedophiles accounted for about 38 percent of all child sex offenders in three principle destinations for tourists in Cambodia. ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking of Children) estimates that 25 percent of sex tourists worldwide are U.S. citizens.

The Sudan Peace Act
President Bush signed the Sudan Peace Act into law on October 21, 2002. The House approved the bill with only eight dissenting votes on October 7, and the Sen- ate unanimously approved it October 9.

For more than 20 years, Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war between the Islamic Sudanese government based in Khartoum and rebels from the mostly Christian and animist southern regions. The new legislation provides aid to Sudanese citizens, requires the United States to monitor peace negotiations and allows for sanctions if Khartoum interferes with humanitarian efforts.

Serge Duss, World Vision's director of Public Policy and Advocacy, said he is confident the act will make the country safer for aid workers helping those in need. "Lack of security has been the main hindrance to delivery of humanitarian assistance in Sudan," he said. "This legislation could turn things around for the better."

Private organizations supporting the Sudan Peace Act include the American Anti-slavery Group, American Jewish Committee, Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom, Christian Solidarity International, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Servant's Heart and World Vision.