[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
NIGERIA AT A CROSSROADS: THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH,
GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
DECEMBER 13, 2018
__________
Serial No. 115-174
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov,
or http://http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
33-670PDF WASHINGTON : 2018
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office,
http://bookstore.gpo.gov. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center,
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Phone 202-512-1800, or 866-512-1800 (toll-free).
E-mail, [email protected].
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California
DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TED POE, Texas KAREN BASS, California
DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island
MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California
PAUL COOK, California LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
RON DeSANTIS, Florida [until 9/10/ JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
18] deg. ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
TED S. YOHO, Florida DINA TITUS, Nevada
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois NORMA J. TORRES, California
LEE M. ZELDIN, New York BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois
DANIEL M. DONOVAN, Jr., New York THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
Wisconsin TED LIEU, California
ANN WAGNER, Missouri
BRIAN J. MAST, Florida
FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida
BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
THOMAS A. GARRETT, Jr., Virginia
JOHN R. CURTIS, Utah
VACANT
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and
International Organizations
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina KAREN BASS, California
DANIEL M. DONOVAN, Jr., New York AMI BERA, California
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr., JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
Wisconsin THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York
THOMAS A. GARRETT, Jr., Virginia
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
WITNESSES
The Honorable Tibor P. Nagy, Jr., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
African Affairs, U.S. Department of State...................... 4
Mr. Ramsey Day, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for
Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development.............. 13
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
The Honorable Tibor P. Nagy, Jr.: Prepared statement............. 7
Mr. Ramsey Day: Prepared statement............................... 15
APPENDIX
Hearing notice................................................... 34
Hearing minutes.................................................. 35
The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress
from the State of New Jersey, and chairman, Subcommittee on
Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International
Organizations: Material submitted for the record............... 36
NIGERIA AT A CROSSROADS: THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS
----------
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2018
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health,
Global Human Rights, and International Organizations,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m., in
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H.
Smith (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Smith. The subcommittee will come to order. And good
afternoon to everyone.
Let me, first of all, thank our very distinguished
witnesses, Ambassador Nagy and Ramsey Day, for doing double
duty 2 days straight. You were there yesterday doing what I
thought was a tremendous job on the whole of Africa and today
with a very specific focus on Nigeria. So thank you, above all,
for your leadership but also for spending a considerable amount
of time with the full committee and now the subcommittee. So
thank you.
The reason why we have called you back is to focus on
Nigeria, obviously. And let me say how we do believe that the
upcoming election is an inflection point. February 19th could
be a great day, and we are hoping that it will be, but there
are still some unanswered questions, and perhaps you could
provide some insights to those questions.
Nigeria is so large and robust that, as the saying goes, as
Nigeria goes, so goes Africa. Having been there so many times,
I believe that is true. They are wonderful, wonderful people.
There is a great deal of faith there, both Muslim and
Christian. But there are also some problems brought by a
minority number of people that continues to plague the large
masses of people who suffer from those problems.
Its economic and political leadership in sub-Saharan
Africa, like I said, is extremely important. A stable and
prosperous Nigeria contributes to stable and prosperous
neighbors. Conversely, an unstable Nigeria wracked by poverty
and violence does not contribute to the well-being of its own
citizens nor of its neighbors but could lead to a
destabilization.
Nigeria today is clearly at a crossroads. We are seeing
continuing violence along ethnic and religious lines,
exacerbated by economic, social, and political tensions
coinciding with this upcoming major election. The incumbent,
President Buhari, is seeking a second consecutive term, but, in
a way, it is his third overall if you count the fact that he
served as head of state from 1983 to 1985 following a military
coup which installed him.
President Buhari won election in 2015 in part because he
promised to end Nigeria's endemic corruption and defeat the
terror group Boko Haram. Since then, however, he has, frankly,
disappointed. Boko Haram has been somewhat contained, and it
still remains a threat, though, in terms of actual violence,
the total deaths attributable to Boko Haram now is surpassed by
clashes instigated in large part by well-armed Fulani
extremists, which is often labeled the herder-farmer violence.
In the first half of 2018, per the International Crisis
Group, over 1,300 Nigerians have been killed in this conflict
in Nigeria's Middle Belt. It is a horrible loss of life. Though
the greatest number of victims in this particular conflict are
Christian farmers, other groups in the country have suffered,
including Nigeria's Shia Muslims in the state of Kaduna, who
were targeted by government forces in 2015 in what is known as
the Zaria massacre.
Igbo, who predominantly come from the south and who still
remember the brutal war for Biafran independence nearly half a
century ago, are also feeling alienation, particularly after a
call in 2017 by a radical group for Igbo to be cleansed from
northern Nigeria and forced to return to their traditional
homeland in the south.
I think many others are very concerned about the apparent
inability, perhaps even reluctance, of the Nigerian Federal
Government under President Buhari to stop the violence or even,
at times, to unequivocally condemn the attacks. This concern is
exacerbated by the fact that, in any election, politicians seek
to maximize the support of their base, and, in this particular
case, it is President Buhari's ethnic and religious base which
is contributing to much of the tension.
Thus, it is critically important that political leaders
such as President Buhari, religious leaders such as the Sultan
of Sokoto, and institutions such as the cattlemen's
association, Miyetti Allah, all of whom have influence among
the Fulani, unequivocally condemn the attacks and use their
power and influence to promote peace and reconciliation.
In that regard, there have been a number of proposals aimed
at promoting peace, which should be commended. As president of
the Senate, Dr. Saraki, who is in the audience today--and
welcome; thank you for being here--is himself a Muslim leader
who sought to create the Religious Equity Commission, which
aims at promoting peace among different religious groups.
On one of my trips I made to Nigeria, I met with Archbishop
Kaigama, the archbishop of Jos, which was the center of much of
the conflict and where many of the churches were firebombed. We
met with survivors from those churches. Archbishop Kaigama
worked closely with the imam who was his counterpart in
humanitarian and peace-building projects. And I can tell you,
the respect and admiration for each other was actually awe-
inspiring. They both said nothing but superlatives and how they
wanted to work together for peace in the Jos area.
Thus, there are a number of hopeful initiatives in Nigeria
which can be built upon. And I am looking forward to hearing
from our two very distinguished witnesses today about what our
Government is doing to promote peace and stability in Nigeria
and what we are doing to help ensure a free and fair election
followed by, depending on the outcome, a peaceful transition of
power.
And let me also say how we are all looking forward to
insights you could provide to this subcommittee fresh on the
heels of the framework that was announced this morning, which I
hope you will spend some time conveying your impressions of it
and where it will lead in terms of U.S. policy vis-a-vis the
subcontinent.
I would like to now yield to my good friend and colleague,
Karen Bass.
Ms. Bass. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this critical and
once again timely hearing.
And I want to thank our witnesses. Long time no see. You
are here for a second day, and we definitely appreciate you
taking the time to be here again. You know that your presence
here is important because it does send a message that the
United States remains committed to engaging across the African
continent.
We all know that Africa is a region of strategic importance
and diplomatic relevance. The U.S.-Nigeria relationship is one
of the most important in Africa, given Nigeria's size and
political and economic role in the region.
Nigeria will hold Presidential elections on February 16th
and gubernatorial and legislative elections just a few weeks
later. These elections are highly anticipated and also expected
to be highly contested. This has led some analysts to argue
that the elections could lead to fragmentation of the party,
defections to other parties, or even violence.
While concerns of violence have grown, positive signs have
emerged. Just yesterday, 70--70, wow--Presidential candidates,
including the main opposition candidate, pledged to hold a
peaceful vote. While this hearing is focused on the election,
it would be useful for you to provide us an update on broader
issues affecting the country, such as security concerns,
including the ongoing conflict with Boko Haram and the Niger
Delta militants.
Nigerian security forces have been accused of serious human
rights abuses. The State Department's 2017 human rights report
documents allegations by multiple sources of extrajudicial and
arbitrary killings as well as torture, periodically, in
detention facilities, including sexual exploitation and abuse,
use of children by some security elements, looting and
destruction of property. I am very interested in knowing how we
are holding them accountable.
On the economic front, I would be curious to know if
Nigeria has diversified its AGOA exports beyond petroleum.
Given that Nigeria is one of Africa's largest consumer markets,
are we doing anything to help facilitate opportunities for
American business?
Returning to the topic of this hearing, some may recall
that the 2015 elections were also very competitive and were
viewed as a critical test for the country's leaders, security
forces, and people. They were widely held as historic and as
demonstrating Nigeria's commitment to democratic principles. My
hope is that the country will have another peaceful election so
that they can continue to address the economic and security
challenges facing the country.
Thank you, and I yield back.
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Ms. Bass.
Let me introduce, first, the Honorable Tibor Nagy, Jr., the
Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs at the
U.S. Department of State.
Ambassador Nagy has served over 30 years, 20 of which were
spent in Africa as the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, the United
States Ambassador to Guinea, and was Deputy Chief of Mission in
Nigeria, Cameroon, and Togo. Ambassador Nagy has also won
awards for his management of the United States Embassy in
Lagos, Nigeria, during political and economic crises.
Following his retirement from the Foreign Service,
Ambassador Nagy served as vice provost for international
affairs at Texas Tech University, where he lectured on Africa,
foreign policy, international development, and U.S. diplomacy.
Ambassador Nagy arrived in the U.S. as a political refugee
from Hungary. He received his B.A. from Texas Tech University
and MSA from George Washington University. He has been married
to his wife for 47 years, and the couple has three adult
children--the first triplets born in independent Zimbabwe.
We welcome you back again. I am not sure what you are doing
tomorrow, but perhaps you want to come back again tomorrow as
well.
We will then hear from Mr. Ramsey Day, who serves as Deputy
Assistant Administrator for the Africa Bureau at USAID.
Prior to joining USAID in January 2018, Mr. Day was the
senior director for the Center for Global Impact at the
International Republican Institute. Mr. Day has held numerous
positions within the international development and foreign
policy communities, both in the U.S. and various overseas
posts.
He served as country representative for USAID in Montenegro
and at the USAID headquarters in Washington, DC, within the
Legislative and Public Affairs Bureau and as Chief of Public
Liaison, where he led the Agency's public outreach efforts. He
was also Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor for USAID Europe in
the Eurasia Bureau, advising the Assistant Administrator and
other officials on development policy, communications, and
legislative issues.
Mr. Day holds a B.A. from the University of Mississippi and
a master's in public administration focusing on international
global affairs from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Thank you both for being here.
And, Ambassador Nagy, the floor is yours.
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TIBOR P. NAGY, JR., ASSISTANT
SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Ambassador Nagy. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With your
permission, I have submitted a longer version of my remarks for
the record, and I will read the abbreviated version.
Mr. Smith. Without objection.
Ambassador Nagy. Thank you very much, sir.
Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, thank you for the
opportunity to testify today on the upcoming elections in
Nigeria. I am also pleased to be joined by my USAID colleague
Ramsey Day.
The Department of State views Nigeria's February 2019
national elections as a critical test which could have
significant consequences for the democratic trajectory of not
only Nigeria but the entire continent.
The 2015 elections, although by no means perfect, was a
step forward, resulting in Nigeria's first-ever democratic
transfer of power to a nonincumbent party.
In advance of the 2019 elections, the United States does
not support any candidate, only a free, fair, transparent, and
peaceful democratic process that reflects the will of the
Nigerian people.
Through diplomacy, robust public engagement with youth and
civil society, and democracy and governance programs, we are
helping Nigeria strengthen its democratic institutions and
processes.
The U.S. Government has developed a strategy with three
main objectives: One, support of free and fair electoral
process, including technical assistance to Nigeria's election
institutions, civil society, and political parties, as well as
U.S. Government monitoring of the election around the country.
Two, prevent and mitigate electoral violence, including
conflict monitoring, peace-building programs, and peace
messaging.
And, three, support civil and political engagement,
including Nigerian election observings and vote tabulation,
social media campaigns to engage youth, get-out-the-vote
campaigns, voter education, and efforts to counter
disinformation.
To advance our strategy, we have high-level diplomatic
engagement from Washington as well as officials based in
Nigeria. Earlier this year, President Trump welcomed President
Buhari to the White House and conveyed our expectations for a
credible election. And two Secretaries of State, USAID
Administrator Green, and many others have traveled to Nigeria
or met with senior Nigerian officials to underscore our
commitment as well.
The State Department also hosted the Nigerian Independent
National Electoral Commission, or INEC, chairman in late
October to observe U.S. preparation for midterm elections and
discussed challenges surrounding Nigeria's elections. During
this visit, INEC Chairman Yakubu observed early voting in
Maryland and met with congressional staff, U.S. electoral
experts, and U.S. Government officials, to include USAID
Administrator Green and Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Hale.
I recently returned from Nigeria as part of my first trip
back to the continent, and it was great to be back where I
served as Charge d'Affaires in 2016 and Deputy Chief of Mission
from 1993 to 1995 and convey our expectations and concerns for
the elections in person. I met with leadership from the two
main political parties, INEC Chairman Yakubu, civil society
organizations, delivering public messages on the elections with
key stakeholders.
That is just a summary of our Washington-focused diplomatic
engagement on these elections. Our Ambassador and the mission
in Nigeria are working to advance our goals every day.
My colleague from USAID will tell you more about USAID
programs in support of our three objectives.
And I assure you, the U.S. Government will remain intensely
focused on the Nigerian elections in the coming months. I know
many of you are watching the elections closely, and we share
many of your concerns.
We are monitoring and messaging to mitigate a few areas of
risk that could jeopardize a fair process. Examples include:
Potential attacks on the legitimacy of INEC and the electoral
process for political gain; intimidation by security forces;
attacks on election institutions or violence toward voters,
observers, or electoral officials; an inability of internally
displaced persons or persons with disabilities to vote; voter
suppression; armed gangs for voter intimidation and other
drivers of electoral violence; and widespread vote buying.
On November 18, the start of official campaigning, our
mission in Abuja released a statement with 25 like-minded
missions to express our desire to see free, fair, transparent,
peaceful elections. We will be watching closely for instigators
of violence or those attempting to undermine the democratic
process.
I can tell you from my experience that I fear there will be
some violence, as has been the case with previous elections.
But I only anticipate localized violence, not nationwide
conflict.
We are already seeing increased tension as the election
approaches, as politicians turn to identity politics to improve
their popularity, with potentially serious consequences for
national unity. Nigeria has weathered such tensions before, but
the U.S. Government takes the risk of any loss of life
extremely seriously.
While in Nigeria, I asked officials from both major parties
to sign pledges that their candidates would conduct peaceful
campaigns, and both major candidates have now signed such a
peace pledge.
In assessing potential hotspots for violence, we look at
places that are historically volatile around elections, such as
Rivers and Borno states. We look at states that are currently
tense, especially if state-level politics are contentious, like
those in Benue, Plateau, as well as those in high-stakes
locations with large populations, such as Kano. We regularly
engage with civil society organizations in these hotspots and
support their peace-building efforts.
USAID programs and our public diplomacy campaigns also
support peace campaigns across the country, such as
#VoteNotFight. Through our YALI network Nigeria campaign,
Nigerians made over 10,000 pledges to boost voter
participation, reject violence, and vote with integrity.
As I said in a speech in Nigeria, only the Nigerian people
can determine lasting solutions and a path forward toward peace
and stability. 2019 indeed will be a significant year for
Nigeria. It will be 20 years since the country returned to
democratic rule. And this election's youngest voters have never
known a Nigeria without democracy. The upcoming elections
provide Nigerians an opportunity to shape their country and
solidify its place as a democratic leader in Africa.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Ambassador Nagy follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
----------
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Ambassador.
Mr. Day?
STATEMENT OF MR. RAMSEY DAY, SENIOR DEPUTY ASSISTANT
ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR AFRICA, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Day. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, and distinguished
members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify today regarding the upcoming elections in Nigeria.
I also want to thank my State Department colleague and
friend, Assistant Secretary Tibor Nagy, for his excellent
description of our concerns and challenges in supporting
Nigeria's electoral process.
USAID is deeply committed to supporting free, fair,
transparent, and peaceful elections in Nigeria. We know that
Nigeria's success in achieving sustained, broad-based
advancements in economic and social development for its people
can only be achieved if good governance is a daily reality for
all Nigerians.
Since the 2015 election, our support has provided
continuity in assisting stakeholders with gubernatorial off-
cycle elections and in the lead-up preparations to the 2019
general elections. Our programmatic efforts have been in
partnership with the U.K.'s Department for International
Development, or DFID, in addition to regular coordination with
civil society groups as well as multilateral and bilateral
donors.
USAID's programs align with the three objectives that
Assistant Secretary Nagy has laid out, that the election be
credible, peaceful, and inclusive.
First, we assist Nigeria's Independent National Electoral
Commission, or INEC, to institutionalize key reforms that
ensure a more credible and accountable electoral process. USAID
continues to work with its partners to support INEC through
training both resident electoral commissioners on alternative
dispute resolution mechanisms and judges who will adjudicate
any suits brought after the elections.
Second, as Assistant Secretary Nagy has also indicated, we
don't expect large-scale nationwide violence, though history
does tell us there will likely be some localized conflict,
particularly in areas that are already suffering from chronic
instability. We continue to work with local organizations,
international development partners, and, of course, our
Nigerian counterparts to encourage peaceful participation and
tolerance.
And to mitigate the risk of violence, USAID has included
violence prevention efforts into all of our programs
nationwide. One example, of course, is the Vote Not Fight
campaign, already referenced, whose peace ambassador is a
leading Nigerian performance artist. Another campaign is the
Stop Violence Against Women in Elections, which works with
local civil society organizations.
In addition, USAID supports INEC by engaging civil society
organization in each geopolitical zone to do live conflict
mapping. And we will share this information with INEC.
Third, USAID programs strengthen Nigerian civil society's
capacity to monitor the elections. Local partners are preparing
to field over 3,000 domestic observers for the 2019 electoral
process. These observers are trained in conducting parallel
vote tabulations, or PVTs, using a systematic methodology that
independently measures official voting results. When PVTs
confirm official election results, they can increase confidence
in the electoral process.
Our programs also work with Nigerian major political
parties to become more representative and responsive to their
citizens and to increase their oversight of government
programs.
USAID is also funding an international election observation
mission to provide impartial observation of the electoral
process, enhance the credibility of the elections, and to
support the peaceful transition of power. In addition, this
mission will highlight the need for inclusivity so that women,
youth, persons with disabilities, internally displaced persons,
and other marginalized groups have full access to participate
in the electoral process.
And as you have heard me say, USAID's goal is to end the
need for foreign assistance. Administrator Green has emphasized
that it is our core belief that each country must lead its own
development journey. And we are focused on ending the need for
foreign assistance not because we wish to retreat from our
friends but because but we believe in them.
USAID is committed to encouraging peaceful elections. The
2015 election was historic, as it marked for the first time in
Nigeria's history that there was a peaceful transition of power
to a nonincumbent party, an illustration of the country's
commitment to democracy. Our interest is and always will be in
the integrity of the electoral process and that it accurately
reflects the will of the Nigerian people.
So thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Day follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
----------
Mr. Smith. Thank you very much, Mr. Day.
Let me begin by asking--I know that, in July, the U.K. and
USAID signed an agreement, an MOU, or added to the MOU, to
increase the amount of money, I think it is $60 million over 6
years that we anticipate; $34 million since 2014.
And I am wondering if you could maybe break out even
further how that money is being used. You have given us, I
think, a little taste of that, both of you. But, specifically,
is it going into ballot security, ensuring that the integrity
of the process is protected?
And, secondly, let me ask you, if I could, about the
clergy, Christian, and the Muslim imams and the other leaders.
Are they being mobilized to send those same messages about, to
prevent and mitigate electoral violence, the whole idea of vote
and shun any kind of violent attacks?
I mean, if there is a crescendo, I would think such words
and actions by the two major faith groups of people there, it
could have, I think, a very good, calming effect. And I know
you have thought of that, so if you could speak to that.
And the election monitors. How many people are we talking
about? Are they coming from Europe? Are they coming from the
EU? Are they coming from here too? You know, total deployment
anticipation? Where will they go? Or is that to be decided as
we get closer?
I know, because I chaired the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly, that election
monitoring is critical to ensuring that ballots are counted
right, that people don't vote twice--all the problems that
could plague an election. And then, when a verdict is given, if
it is a positive one, based on the evidence, it further
legitimizes the outcome.
So if you could delve further into that election-
observation side of it as well.
Mr. Day. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As you noted, we have a tremendous partnership with DFID,
and all of our programs are, of course, in support of the three
kind of objective areas that Assistant Secretary Nagy
mentioned.
Much of that is technical support to INEC. So we have,
ultimately, three partners: The International Republican
Institute, the National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs, as well as IFES, the International Federation for
Electoral Support. So the technical support to INEC is through
IFES. And then the International Republican Institute supports
political party strengthening, encouraging responsive platforms
to the citizens.
And then we have a robust program with civil society
organizations working on activities, everything from get-out-
the-vote campaigns, to the PVTs, voter education. And then, of
course, there are major issues about misinformation all
throughout Nigeria, and so a lot of our civil society partners
will work on many of those issues as well.
In terms of the election observation mission, there are
kind of three primary components to that. There is the local
observers, the local monitors, which are generally Nigerian.
And that is by far the largest component of this, roughly
around 3,000 observers. And they will be in, I believe it is
775 or 774 polling stations all around the country.
The international observers come from all around the world
at the invitation of IRI and NDI. Generally, about 40 members
will be in that delegation, and they will be distributed all
around the country, roughly around 12 states. They are in
consultation with INEC and amongst themselves to determine
where they will actually be deployed, but we can get you
information about where they ultimately are decided upon. I
don't believe those decisions have been made yet, but we can
certainly check on that.
And then we also have an Embassy observer commission from
the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, where there will about 30 or 40
staffers that will also go out into the country as well.
So it is a robust observation mission. And you are
absolutely right, it is critical.
Mr. Smith. In terms of access to media, it is very often
the case where there is a state-run media, but especially where
opposition candidates can't get their views out. Is that
presenting any problems? It is not the day of election that
matters only; it is everything that precedes it.
Mr. Day. You are absolutely correct. Our electoral support
program has been going since the previous election. So it is
important to know that these programs didn't start just a
couple of months ago; they have been going on for months.
Now, some of the technical items will be coming together
pretty soon. When we talk about the printing of manuals and the
actual ballots that IFES is also advising INEC on, those, of
course, come together in the last several months prior to the
election. But the political party support, the civil society
support has been going on for years.
Mr. Smith. There were reports in The Vanguard that the
accounts of leading opposition candidate Governor Peter Obi
have been frozen by the government. There have been reports by
Premium Times that the top Presidential challenger's sons'
apartment was raided in Abuja.
Furthermore, we have received a report and a copy of a memo
by a Nigerian Embassy targeting a Nigerian human rights lawyer
for testifying before this committee.
Is the U.S. concerned of repression against opponents by
the Nigerian Government? And what are we doing to ensure that
Nigeria does not violate the rights of citizens who have those
contrary views?
Ambassador Nagy. Yes, Mr. Chairman, we are absolutely
concerned with those activities and those reports.
And I would like to just make a general comment. When I
went to Nigeria, one of the things I was specifically looking
for was the activities of our Embassy, how engaged they were in
this whole process, how closely they were following the
elections. And I have to tell you, of all the Embassies I have
seen during my career, I have never seen one as hyperactive and
as actively involved in following these events day to day.
Ambassador Symington deserves commendations for marshaling
the resources for sending his officers everywhere in Nigeria,
for maintaining an ongoing active engagement, especially with
the Middle Belt violence, with dialogue on all side with the
imams, with the pastors, with the various churches, with the
groups, with the Nigerian Government.
While I was there, as I mentioned, I was there just for a
couple of days, but he set up sessions with me for the leaders
of both political parties, for the electoral commission, and
then with a whole group of civil society who would be following
the elections.
So, personally, I was so impressed that our mission is so
engaged to pursue exactly these types of things. Wherever there
are human rights violations, they will complain about it, they
will take it to the people involved.
While I was there, the Osun state run-off had gone on,
which had not gone off very well because there are reports of
security forces intimidating the voters. And we went to the
Foreign Ministry. Ambassador Symington met that right on,
talked about it. I just have to say that I have been impressed
with the activity that that mission has displayed.
Mr. Smith. I appreciate that.
And final question. The higher the visibility, I think,
shown by other governments toward this election, the better. I
am wondering if there is any--and maybe you mentioned it, Mr.
Day, but--African Union top leaders who might be traveling,
including observers on election day. And perhaps Secretary
Pompeo could consider going to send a message that there be a
free and fair, transparent, and violence-free election.
Mr. Day. Thank you. I have not seen the makeup of the
international observation mission yet. I don't know that the
invitations have been sent out. But we can certainly check, and
we will keep you posted.
Ambassador Nagy. And, of course, Mr. Chairman, I don't know
the Secretary's travel schedule, but I will be happy to pass
that on.
Mr. Smith. Please do. I think it would send a very clear
and a very positive message.
Ambassador Nagy. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Smith. Ms. Bass?
Ms. Bass. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Nigeria's election commission received generally positive
reviews of its administration of the 2015 elections. Were there
areas where further improvements in election administration
were needed? And if so, have they been addressed?
Several groups involved in monitoring the pre-election
environment, including IRI and NDI, have identified challenges
that could potentially undermine the credibility of upcoming
elections, including delays in finalizing the legal framework
for elections. President Buhari recently refused to sign into
law revisions to the Electoral Act. How might that affect the
upcoming election?
Mr. Day. Thank you, Congresswoman.
In terms of kind of the progress that INEC has made, you
know, as the Assistant Secretary mentioned, he and I have both
met with Chairman Yabuku in the last several months. And I
think our impressions--I certainly can't speak for the
Ambassador, but my own impressions were that there is
significant capability there and there is significant political
will, which I think is absolutely critical to the success of
these elections and any elections.
Ms. Bass. Uh-huh.
Mr. Day. You know, there certainly are significant
challenges. One of the items that I think we have been
certainly encouraged at, in kind of watching INEC over the last
several years, is that they have been responsive to
recommendations.
For example, there was an issue in 2015 that continues to
be an issue in some of the gubernatorial issues that we saw in
Ekiti and Osun about voter privacy. And we have made those
recommendations known to INEC, and we have noticed that they
are changing the configurations of some of the rooms. As well
as they have banned cell phones in the voting booths, so you
can't take a picture and then go prove to others that you have
voted in the proper way.
Ms. Bass. Uh-huh.
Mr. Day. And so they have been responsive, and that is
certainly an encouraging sign.
That said, there are still tremendous both mechanistic
challenges as well as administrative challenges and budgetary
challenges as well. So still challenges remain, without
question.
Ms. Bass. You know, I wonder how you ban cell phones. Do
you search people before they go--you know, so is it just
something that they encourage people not to have cell phones?
You don't have to answer that.
You mentioned a couple of the violence prevention programs,
and I wanted to know if you can give a little more detail.
Like, what is the Vote Not Fight and the Stop Violence Against
Women campaign? Because I believe you said we are supporting
the programs. I just wondered, what do the programs do?
Mr. Day. We can get you more details on the actual
programmatic activities of those. So we will submit those to
the record.
Ms. Bass. So I also wanted to know how they are dealing
with hate speech, and are there any groups monitoring hate
speech during the campaign period?
I think it is kind of important for us to look at the issue
of hate speech in other countries, because we could probably
learn from them, since hate speech is a problem before our
elections too, especially considering before the midterm we had
four acts of domestic terrorism right before our election.
Maybe there is something that we could learn from our countries
on hate speech.
Ambassador Nagy. Yes, the Embassy considers hate speech a
very important issue, and they are monitoring it actively and
will challenge it where it comes up.
Ms. Bass. What do they do?
Ambassador Nagy. In addition to the--they do it with the
radio. They do it with press reports. They also do it with the
amount of--we have a considerable number of local employees at
the Embassy who follow events around the country. In addition
to Embassy Abuja, of course, we have Consulate Lagos that also
does that. And as with any other Embassy, we get a considerable
amount of reporting from the larger community, from local
organizations.
Ms. Bass. So you are describing--will you respond to the
hate speech?
Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Ms. Bass. Okay.
Ambassador Nagy. Publicly with media letters, with going to
the Nigerian Government, with actually going to the local
government.
Ms. Bass. And the hate speech is not coming from the
government though.
Ambassador Nagy. No.
Ms. Bass. That was a question. It is not.
Ambassador Nagy. No.
Ms. Bass. It is coming from the political parties?
Ambassador Nagy. However, to be fair, I mean, we will see
where it comes from, because in Nigerian elections sometimes it
will come from local governments----
Ms. Bass. Uh-huh.
Ambassador Nagy [continuing]. Not necessarily the national
party structure, but from nefarious angles around the country.
Ms. Bass. And so we denounce it? We make a----
Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely.
Ms. Bass [continuing]. Statement denouncing it?
Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely.
Ms. Bass. Is that what they do as well?
Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely they will denounce it.
Ms. Bass. Maybe we could learn. This man went through an
awful lot.
I am speaking about your election. You had to deal with
that.
Ambassador Nagy. Representative Bass, may I also talk--you
asked a question about the failure of the President to sign the
new electoral law.
Ms. Bass. Yes.
Ambassador Nagy. The civil societies were very disappointed
in that. The President mentioned that doing it this close to
the elections might disrupt the elections. I am not giving that
credibility or noncredibility; I am just telling you what he
said.
The good news is that the electoral commission has been
acting as if the new law has actually come into effect. So our
Embassy's analysis is that not signing the law is not going to
deleteriously affect the elections. So it will not have a
negative effect on the election. It would have been nice if it
had been signed.
Ms. Bass. Right. Right.
So what are your greatest concerns with respect to the
upcoming elections?
Ambassador Nagy. I believe that the greatest concern is
violence, number one. Number two is the use of security forces
for one side or the other.
Ms. Bass. Uh-huh.
Ambassador Nagy. Not allowing voters to express their
desire. As I mentioned in the first----
Ms. Bass. But do you think, though, that the infrastructure
for the election is okay? I understand what you are just
describing, but in terms of it being a credible election,
assuming that you don't have that----
Ambassador Nagy. We believe the infrastructure is fine. It
is the human actors; if there is going to be any problem, it is
going to come from that side.
I mean, I have followed Nigerian election since 1993. There
are always some angles which are out of what we would consider
the norm. The 2015 ones were considerably better than previous
ones. Everybody is saying that, at a minimum, they would expect
this round of elections to meet the standard set by 2015.
Ms. Bass. Uh-huh.
Ambassador Nagy. One of the considerations we need to think
about is that in 2015 it was not as competitive as it is this
year, because in 2015 there was the belief that there was such
a negative reaction to President Jonathan that now President
Buhari would win.
This time, when I was there--and I talked to a large number
of people--there is absolutely no certainty. As we have seen,
there have been defections from one party to the other, back to
the other party, back again. And I think we can expect that to
continue going into the electoral period.
Ms. Bass. So how would you describe that donors are
coordinating their efforts to help Nigeria facilitate a free
election?
And I am wondering about our support as well. Do we have
enough support to NED, National Endowment for Democracy, that
then supports NDI and IRI?
Mr. Day. There is significant coordination at the
grassroots level, of course, between the various partners of
USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy.
In terms of supports to them, this is the largest electoral
support program that USAID has on the continent for 2018. So it
is----
Ms. Bass. For 2019?
Mr. Day. For 2019. Excuse me. So this is a robust effort.
And it has been going on--as I mentioned to the chairman, it
has been going on for quite some time. So it is not just
something that has just come up in the last few questions.
Ms. Bass. How do you compare it to what we are doing in
DRC, which we talked about yesterday?
Mr. Day. Depending on how you measure it, this is----
Ms. Bass. I mean, meaning our support.
Mr. Day. In terms of our support? Depending on how you
measure it, whether it is the size of the observation mission,
the number of local observers, et cetera, or funding levels, it
is comparable, but I do believe that the Nigeria support
program is larger.
Ambassador Nagy. Because, Representative Bass, in Nigeria,
we are talking about, I think, 85 million voters.
Ms. Bass. Yeah.
Ambassador Nagy. I mean, my gosh.
Ms. Bass. I know. But I just think of the----
Ambassador Nagy. Yeah. Wow.
Ms. Bass [continuing]. Instability in DRC. You know what I
mean?
Ambassador Nagy. And you saw the news last night from DRC
and the destruction of the voting machines and----
Ms. Bass. Yes. Not a good sign.
Ambassador, final question. I want to know what your
reaction is to a major security partner using the words of our
Commander in Chief to endorse violence against unarmed
civilians. Do you know what I am talking about?
Ambassador Nagy. No, ma'am.
Ms. Bass. The statements that were made about the caravans
coming over the border. Essentially, the President was saying
that, if people threw rocks, then he would consider that like,
you know, a gun and that our military could fire back. And then
there was a direct response in Nigeria to that which was
basically cosigning that.
And so, you know, the question is if you are concerned that
such rhetoric will make it even harder to get our security
partners to exercise restraint when dealing with unarmed
civilians.
Ambassador Nagy. I am certain that that was not the
intention.
Ms. Bass. No, I know it is not the intention. No, no, no.
Of course it wasn't the intention.
Ambassador Nagy. Yes. I----
Ms. Bass. My question and concern is, when you are out
there around the world and when comments or tweets or whatever
are made in the United States, then how does that impact you
trying to do your work or our Embassies trying to do their work
calling for restraint?
Ambassador Nagy. Well, the Embassies will just not use that
type of expressions or will say not to tie that to the two
sides.
Ms. Bass. Okay. Again, I just want to make sure you are
understanding me. I would not expect anybody----
Ambassador Nagy. Yeah.
Ms. Bass [continuing]. In the State Department to use that
kind of rhetoric. My question is, when people hear that
rhetoric being used here, that was clearly used as an excuse in
Nigeria to then harm civilians.
Ambassador Nagy. Right. Our Embassies would in no way
support that. Absolutely.
Ms. Bass. I yield back.
Mr. Smith. Mr. Garrett?
Mr. Garrett. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am going to go off on a tangent for a moment, because it
is my understanding--and this is totally unrelated--that Turkey
has now bombed targets inside of Iraq. And I want them to know
that somebody in this country is watching. Like, today, as we
sit here, it is happening. And that is just intolerable. And I
hope that they take notice of the fact that we have taken
notice.
Back on the subject matter at hand, has any provision been
made to ensure ballot access for displaced peoples in the
upcoming election?
Ambassador Nagy. Representative, that is one of the
things--I mentioned that was one of our concerns, was the
ability to have elections amongst all the displaced people. So,
yes, absolutely, that is a concern, and that is an issue that
the Embassy is following.
Mr. Garrett. But I believe your exact reference was to
IDPs, correct?
Ambassador Nagy. Both----
Mr. Garrett. And we are on the same team here, right? I
mean, I think----
Ambassador Nagy. Yeah.
Mr. Garrett [continuing]. I want to advance the same agenda
you do, which is free and fair elections in Nigeria----
Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely.
Mr. Garrett [continuing]. And a Nigeria where people are
tolerant of one another.
Ambassador Nagy. Yeah.
Mr. Garrett. So I am grateful that the answer is yes. But
do you have any idea what percentage of the people who are
refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean right now are
Nigerian or from the Lake Chad region?
Ambassador Nagy. I am sorry, I don't. We can check on that
and get back to you.
Mr. Garrett. I don't want you to have to do that. But would
you concede--and, again, we are on the same team here.
Ambassador Nagy. Yeah.
Mr. Garrett. Would you concede that there is a significant
number of displaced people from the Lake Chad region in Nigeria
who are moving north and even trying to----
Ambassador Nagy. I would suspect yes.
Mr. Garrett. And so these people, essentially--and, again,
I am on your team here.
Ambassador Nagy. Yeah.
Mr. Garrett. It is by training as a prosecutor, so I want
you to know that this is not adversarial. But these people
aren't going to have an opportunity to vote, right?
Ambassador Nagy. No.
Mr. Garrett. They are voiceless. And if we want to create a
Nigeria where people can live side by side regardless of
ethnicity or religious differences, these people won't have a
say in shaping a future if they ever choose to return, right? I
mean, it is----
Ambassador Nagy. That would be problematic. I did want to
say that, with some countries--and I am not sure if Nigeria is
one of them--that they will allow voting at their Embassies for
their expatriate populations. But like I said, I am not sure
what the rules are in Nigeria.
Mr. Garrett. Well, that might be something that I would ask
you guys to look into, right? I think that is a great idea. We
know, you know, the ports of debarkation of a lot of these
refugees. And even if a handful of displaced Nigerians who were
not internally displaced were able to go to an Embassy or
consulate and vote, that would be awesome, right?
Do we know of any specific efforts by Fulani militants or
Boko Haram to disrupt the election and the electoral process?
Ambassador Nagy. No specific information, but I am sure
that that would be an aspirational goal of theirs.
Mr. Garrett. Now I am going to walk the dog backwards a
little bit. Do we know any nation-states or entities contained
within definable nation-states that might be responsible for
funding of Fulani militants or Boko Haram?
Ambassador Nagy. No. I don't.
Mr. Garrett. Okay.
Ambassador Nagy. I absolutely do not.
Mr. Garrett. Yeah. And, again, that is probably out beyond
your purview, but you get it. I mean, all this stuff sort of
lays on top of----
Ambassador Nagy. Not nation-states. Absolutely not.
Mr. Garrett. So there are no Middle Eastern countries that
you can speak to that we can track funding Boko Haram or
Fulani?
Ambassador Nagy. No.
Mr. Garrett. Okay.
And digging a little bit deeper down into stuff that
matters to the election but not directly election-related, has
Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS?
Ambassador Nagy. There are two parts of Boko Haram. They
have both pledged allegiance to ISIS, but when Boko Haram broke
into two in 2016, ISIS went with the break-off unit that we now
call ISIS West Africa. The original Boko Haram has been kind of
pushed aside by ISIS, and they are the least effective of the
two branches.
Mr. Garrett. Right. And I want to tell you that I ask
questions sometimes that I do know the answer to, not to make
you look bad but to make sure that somewhere there is a video
record of the fact that somebody in this country is tracking
this.
And, tragically, the word ``ISIS'' tends to move U.S.
foreign policy. And when you have things like Boko Haram acting
as a bad actor, not just in interfering with elections but
interfering with life itself, that if we can tag them with
their ISIS allies, maybe the global community will feel more
compelled to act.
Which dovetails with my next question, which is rather
informal. But I believe it was about 4 years ago that President
and Mrs. Obama took part in the Bring Back Our Girls hashtag
campaign, right?
Ambassador Nagy. Uh-huh.
Mr. Garrett. But this last April would have been 4 years.
What happened to it? And I know it is not within your official
responsibility. What is going on there?
Ambassador Nagy. I am not sure how many of the girls have
been retrieved.
Do you know?
Mr. Day. It is my understanding, but through just reading
reports, that the majority, if not all, of those girls have
been returned through various means. However, there have been
other kidnappings. And so there are numerous issues throughout
the northeast and Middle Belt, of course.
Mr. Garrett. One of us is right, and one of us is wrong.
And I am not saying this because I think you are wrong. I could
be wrong. Right into the camera. But my understanding is that
about half the girls have still not been retrieved. And I guess
the global community has sort of moved on to the next big
hashtag.
That is in no way, shape, or form to impugn anyone. I thank
Mrs. and President Obama for their activity to that end. But I
won't forget about these human beings who are living, in my
understanding, in many cases in forced marriages, who have been
subject to violence to include rape.
And, again, the reason sometimes I ask questions I know the
answer to is if somebody hopefully can metaphorically weaponize
this video to say the United States is still freaking watching
and that we won't tolerate regimes that tolerate entities that
do this to their subjects, to human beings.
Ambassador Nagy. Also, Representative, may I add, there was
a second kidnapping from Dapchi. And all of those girls have
been returned, with the sole exception of one.
Mr. Garrett. Super. Thank you. And, again, I am on the same
team as you guys. I am trying to work within my
responsibilities in this branch of government while you do
yours from yours.
The other thing that strikes me as sort of tragic is there
is a debate in the global news community on the number of
people killed in the herder-farmer violence and the Fulani
militant movements, Boko Haram movements, and there is a debate
as to the proportion of those killed. So I believe someone
affiliated with the administration said 60,000 Christians have
been killed by Muslim radicals.
Now, I know that the good guys and the bad guys weaponize
information for propaganda purposes. Do we have a number on the
people who have been killed? And do you have any idea as to the
proportion of who has been killed? I know that both sides have
lost people, and every human life has value. But what sort of
numbers do you have on that?
Ambassador Nagy. The best number I can give you, this year,
up to now, has been about 1,300 directly in the herder-farmer
violence. I do not have the proportion breakout as to who was
who.
Mr. Garrett. I am sorry. This year, 1,500?
Ambassador Nagy. Thirteen hundred this year.
Mr. Garrett. Okay.
Ambassador Nagy. But that is just the Middle Belt violence.
That is not anything related to Boko Haram or anything like
that. That is just that. And, again, those numbers, I also
understand, are very problematic.
Mr. Garrett. Right.
Ambassador Nagy. Because----
Mr. Garrett. Well, I am asking you for your best guess,
knowing that at least nobody that I can find knows the real
answer.
Ambassador Nagy. Yeah. Exactly. That is the best I can give
you. And like I said, we can get a breakout as to who is who.
But my view of----
Mr. Garrett. Has the violence and bloodshed
disproportionately affected the Christians in the south?
Because my understanding is it has, but there are literally
arguments from AFP and other legitimate news outlets saying we
don't really know who the dead people are. Has it been
disproportionately levied against one community by another, to
your knowledge?
Ambassador Nagy. To my knowledge, I am not certain. I would
guess that disproportionately there have been more farmers
killed than herders.
Mr. Garrett. Okay.
Ambassador Nagy. That is from my experience.
Mr. Garrett. Again, I am not--this isn't----
Ambassador Nagy. That is my experience, not my direct
knowledge.
Mr. Garrett. Right. Sure.
Mr. Day, anything to flesh that out?
And I know there are no wrong answers. I am trying to
gather information, having already tried to gather information,
and bounce what I have heard off of what you guys got.
Mr. Day. My impressions are the same.
Mr. Garrett. Okay.
When we shape policy--and, again, the vast bulk of American
foreign policy is going to come out of the executive branch,
rightly so. But when we shape policy, we have to shape it with
the right information, right?
And this is not me finger-wagging at you guys.
And I get frustrated because this body, good Members like
Ms. Bass, who has left now, and Mr. Smith, if we can't get the
right information, we can't formulate the right legislative
policy to support the executive implementation of foreign
policy.
So we could do this all day long--and, again, I am on your
team. This is not adversarial. We could do this all day long in
Nigeria. We can work our way up into South Sudan and Sudan, and
then we can move up across the Sinai into Syria and Iraq and go
over to Burma, and it is just--so the ignorance is literally,
if you live in Nigeria or any number of places, deadly. So,
just venting.
I thank you guys immensely.
And thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Smith. Thank you, Mr. Garrett.
Let me just ask, if I could, Mr. Day, in the area of
conflict mitigation and the money that we spend there, you
know, I have counted up the number of tolerance projects, 18 of
them, 4 building bridges, a number of engaging communities in
peace in Nigeria, building bridges between farmers and herders.
And I am wondering if you could speak to the success of
that. Again, how well-included are clergy, both Muslim and
Christian, in those efforts? We know that in South Sudan the
clergy is extraordinarily involved with conflict resolution and
building bridges. And if you could just speak to that here.
And what is the impact this might have on this election? I
mean, these have been going on for a while. It is a tremendous
initiative. Is it having results? If you could speak to it.
I noticed one of the costs was $4.8 million from 2012 to
2018. So, you know, you didn't just start doing it; it has been
ongoing.
But if you could speak to its success and the impact on the
election too.
Mr. Day. Sure. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
You know, in certain states in Nigeria, particularly Borno
state in northeast Nigeria, it is extremely difficult for USAID
programs to operate. And so many of our programs in northeast
Nigeria are going to be based on humanitarian assistance. There
are acute humanitarian assistance needs, particularly in Borno
state.
We have more activity, of course, in the Middle Belt. And
we have seen, where we do have conflict mitigation and
antiviolence programs, we have seen a decrease in violence. So
that has been encouraging.
So gaining access to the areas in which we need to be
working is critical. In some places it is just very difficult
to get in there.
We continue to see farmer-herder conflict. The timing of
these elections are during a time in which we very well may see
additional herder-farmer conflict because of the movement. So
it is something that we are continuing to watch and monitor.
There is also intercommunal fighting as well. So that is
another issue that is something that is incredibly important.
But we have a wide range of programs for dispute resolution
and alternative dispute mechanisms. But where we have been able
to operate, we have seen significant success.
Mr. Smith. Generally speaking, are the clergy and imams
being brought in for a united front, particularly in the final
month of the election, the final 2 weeks to the election?
Ambassador Nagy. No, absolutely. And I wanted to point--
there have been just a couple of extraordinary examples. For
example, the imam who saved hundreds of Christian villagers
when the village was attacked by Muslim Fulani.
The Embassy keeps just a constant outreach. Again, I would
just like to underline that that is one mission that stays
constantly on the ground. They are sending the Ambassador, the
Deputy Chief of Mission to the area, and they engage with
everybody, and especially motivating the clergy of both sides,
because they are the key, they are the ones that people
respect.
Mr. Smith. Let me just ask very briefly, yesterday, the
President signed the 5-year extension of PEPFAR. And for the
record, I am the prime sponsor of that bill and was very happy
to do so. I was here when Henry Hyde sat in this chair and led
the effort to do the original President's Emergency Plan for
AIDS Relief, which was, I think, an extraordinary global health
initiative unmatched by anything that this country has ever
done.
Sixteen million people have been saved, 2 million children
who otherwise would have been HIV positive from their moms.
That has not happened. And then the prevention side, the ARVs,
for those with the positive test, have been extraordinarily
effective. It even makes them less likely to transmit the
disease because it reduces the viral loads.
But one of the things that this committee has done, we have
had also hearings on Chemonics and, you know, the supply chain
and lateness. And I am wondering if you--Nigeria is one of the
few countries where the U.S. Government manages the entire
health system supply chain for ARVs. And I am wondering how
that is working in Nigeria.
We have been concerned in the past that if your ARV is
late--or any other medicine, frankly, but that too--your
chances of being sicker escalate.
Mr. Day. Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding that the
programs we have for combating HIV and AIDS in Nigeria are
operating as planned. However--and I haven't been made aware of
any major issues in Nigeria--it still remains a highly complex
environment in which to operate. But we will look into any
major issues, and we will certainly get back to you.
Mr. Smith. Okay. I appreciate that.
Having just been with a good friend and colleague, Karen
Bass, in South Sudan--we were just in Ethiopia, as well, on
another trip--one of the things that was so appalling in South
Sudan was the theft of food and medicine, but particularly
food, intended for the most disadvantaged. And it was
government troops and others that took it. And I know you know
very well, both of you, how disappointing that is. And a lot of
mechanisms have been put into place to try to mitigate that
thievery, which takes the food literally out of the hands of
starving people.
Let me just ask, finally, if you could, maybe speak to,
again, the launch today, some of the highlights, if you would
like. Or you could get back to us for the record, you know.
And, without objection, we will include, you know, major
portions, if not the whole thing, into this record. Because I
think, you know, today is a momentous day, when you make such a
huge announcement.
And, Mr. Garrett, do you have anything else?
And would you like to speak to it or just submit it for the
record?
Ambassador Nagy. I would like to go back to you for the
record later. The one thing I did say this morning is that we
had an engagement session afterwards, and I said that it is the
type of policy that I have been waiting for for a long time.
But I will be very happy to get back with the details, sir.
Mr. Smith. That would be great.
I do have one final question. I was the House sponsor of
the Global Magnitsky Act. We ended up putting it into the NDAA.
The actual idea came from a bill I did in 2004 called the
Belarus Democracy Act, holding people to account by visa denial
and disallowing their ability to be involved with financial
transactions. That then became the Magnitsky Act. And Dr. Bill
Browder, who has testified here several times before this
committee, really championed that so effectively and then said
it ought to be global. It is global.
And I am wondering, especially with this election coming
up, if the word could at least be out there that if you commit
violence--and that goes before or after any election--that you
are not going to get a visa to come here, we are going to have
names, and you are not going to be able to do business here.
And our hope would be that the EU--the way they do it with the
Belarus Democracy Act.
I have met with Lukashenko a number of times, the man that
runs Belarus, and he is none too pleased with that act because
he and so many people were affected--it is now waived because
they have let out the political prisoners and there has been
some reform. But it seems to me, until there is a penalty
phase, there are some people who will never get it.
And so hopefully you will have that as something to try to,
again, chill any violence that might be committed, atrocities
and the like, against people in this upcoming election.
Ambassador Nagy. As a matter of fact, Mr. Chairman, yes,
that is one of our points in discussing these elections, is
that we will not hesitate to apply that to those committing
human rights violation, interfering with the democratic
process, and a list of other things. And that is a very, very
effective tool. Thank you very much, sir.
Mr. Smith. Thank you. And thank you for your willingness to
use it, because if it is, obviously, a penalty that stays on
the shelf and collects dust, then it is not only disrespected,
it is laughed at. So my hope would be that there would be a
robust use of it.
Again, thank you. We are looking forward to seeing you next
year. And without any--Mr. Garrett, anything?
This hearing is adjourned, and I thank you.
[Whereupon, at 3:07 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
[all]