Strongly condemning slave auctions and the exploitation of migrants and refugees as forced laborers in Libya, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 644) strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let me start by thanking Congresswoman Bass, the ranking member of our subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. I thank her for authoring this important resolution, because modern-day slavery continues to devastate the lives of tens of millions of human beings around the world. The perpetrators of these dastardly, disgusting acts prey on the defenseless. They prey on those without power, including preying on young children.

I think many of us have had an opportunity or a responsibility to work with survivors of human trafficking in our districts. I can tell you that one of the things that it taught me was the horror of trafficking lies not in statistics; it lies in stolen lives.

These crimes are common for one reason: they are profitable and people get away with it. The International Labor Organization estimates that there is $150 billion in illegal profit made from forced labor each year, making human trafficking the third most valuable criminal enterprise on the planet and providing fuel to violent extremist organizations.

Unfortunately, Libya has become a major center of human trafficking. The country continues to be a fractured and failed state. There is no government to control its territory. This vacuum, when combined with Libya's proximity to Europe, has made Libya the primary transit hub for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa attempting to reach Europe.

Various bad actors, including extremist groups, have taken advantage, profiting from the unrest by mercilessly preying on migrants and refugees from some of the poorest and most war-torn countries in the world. News reports tell of people being forced to work without pay; others have shown people being sold at slave auctions in Libya.

The resolution before us today rightfully condemns these dehumanizing acts and calls on all parties in Libya to investigate these crimes and to hold perpetrators accountable. It urges the United Nations to investigate and to impose sanctions against those responsible for these abuses, and it calls for greater access for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor and publicly report on refugees and migrants in Libya.

Finally, the resolution calls on the administration to address these issues in a strategy to tackle Libya's political and security challenges, and to ensure

that the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report fully reflects the situation in Libya.

The Government of National Accord in Tripoli has made some encouraging steps toward investigating some of these crimes, but all parties, nationally and internationally, must do more to stop this exploitation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution, which puts the House on record as standing against modern- day slavery and other forms of human trafficking in Libya.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, I thank the author of this measure. I thank Representative Karen Bass for her work on this resolution. She is the ranking member of our Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. I also thank Ranking Member Engel for his work on this resolution.

The world was shocked by the videos of the slave auctions in Libya. The videos are proof that slavery and human

trafficking exist, despite efforts to eradicate these evils. The resolution before us now shines a light on this human trafficking in Libya.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 644, strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya, and for other purposes.

In November 2017, CNN broke a story about modern-day slavery in Libya with a grainy video that shows an auctioneer standing in front of a group of young men shouting: ``Big strong boys for farm work. 400, 700, 800.'' The video left people shocked and sparked protests outside of Libyan Embassies here in the U.S. and across Africa and Europe.

In April 2017, the U.N. Migration Agency, the International Organization for Migration, gathered evidence and issued a warning about slave markets in Libya. While there were warning signs from various organizations that migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers were suffering abuse, it took actual video evidence for the world to pay attention.

Libya has become a primary transit hub for migrants and refugees attempting to reach Southern Europe by sea, and various organizations estimate that there are between 400,000 and 1 million migrants and refugees in the country. Refugees and migrants are routinely subjected to grave human rights abuses committed by Libyan officials and security forces, as well as armed groups and criminal gangs who are often working in close cooperation and to mutual financial advantage.

How did we get here and what is the solution to this crisis?

Refugees and migrants in Libya are exposed to horrendous human rights violations in a country where institutions have been weakened by years of conflict and political division. The end of Qadhafi's regime in 2011 led to significant political turmoil and insecurity within Libya. Since then, there has been no effective government in place in the country. Today, three governments, divided along geographical and ideological lines, combine for power, each with limited control over parts of the country. The collapse of government and security institutions has made the trafficking in refugees a lucrative business.

This resolution condemns slave auctions and the exploitation of migrants and refugees as forced laborers in Libya. It also calls upon all parties to the conflict, including parties to the Libyan Political Agreement, to investigate and eradicate the slave auctions and to manage migration flows and migrant detention centers in a humane manner.

I want to also mention that the Congressional Black Caucus was at the head of this effort. We immediately called upon the Libyan Ambassador to come to the Hill to explain what was happening in the country and how the government intended to respond.

I have to say that she was very open in stating that the country needs the help of the international community to address this crisis. And she explained to us that she was aware that there were parts of her country that basically were not governed by any of the three governments and that they needed international assistance to manage this.

These auctions exposed the interconnected and complex nature of this crisis. Any solution to this problem will require a holistic and comprehensive strategy for Libya and the sending countries across Africa that promotes democratic governance, rule of law, respect for human rights, and creating economic opportunities.

The United States must remain focused and continue to promote U.S. values at home and around the world. This includes speaking out publicly when we see human rights abuses.

The bottom line is that slavery is a crime against humanity, and we cannot sit idly by while people around the world are exploited. I join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in support of this bipartisan resolution strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 644, which strongly condemns ongoing slave auctions in Libya of migrants and refugees.

Mr. Speaker, it is critical that we swiftly and unequivocally condemn these acts of unspeakable cruelty that have no place in the civilized world.

According to reports, an estimated 150,000 people--refugees fleeing conflict and economic migrants in search of better opportunities in Europe--cross Libya's borders each year.

But a clampdown by the Libyan Coast Guard meant fewer boats made it out to sea, leaving the smugglers with a backlog of would-be passengers on their hands.

With estimates of 400,000 to almost one million people now stranded in Libya, smugglers have become masters and the migrants and refugees have become slaves who are sold for as little as $400 each.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to share with this chamber the story of a young man named Victory, a 21-year-old Nigerian who fled his village and spent a year and four months--and his life savings--trying to reach Europe.

Victory made it as far as Libya, where he says he and other refugees were held in grim living conditions, deprived of food, abused, and mistreated by their captors.

When his funds ran out, Victory was sold as a day laborer by his smugglers; after weeks of being forced to work, Victory was told the money he had been bought for was not enough.

He was returned to his smugglers, only to be re-sold several more times--the smugglers also demanded ransom payments from Victory's family before eventually releasing him.

We know of at least 9 sites in which these horrors reportedly are commonplace.

The open sale of humans into slavery exposed in Libya in 2017 shocked the world.

United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley denounced the practice, saying ``there are few greater violations of human rights and human dignity than this.''

However, without a capable government in the country, the practice has continued unabated while media interest ebbed.

Mr. Speaker, it is contrary to the values of this nation to stand by and watch these atrocities continue.

H. Res. 644 denounces the trafficking of--and violence against-- innocent migrants in Libya, and proposes several concrete measures to a lasting infrastructure that upholds basic human rights for migrants in Libya.

First, the resolution calls on the Libyan government to investigate and end the slave auctions, as well as provide for humane management of migration flows.

Second, the resolution calls upon the United Nations to investigate the allegations of forced labor and demands that Libyan authorities to allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to regularly monitor and publicly report on the situation of refugees and migrants in Libya, and impose sanctions against Libya if the nation fails to end forced labor.

Third, the resolution calls upon the African Union to conduct an independent investigation of forced labor in Libya, to assist migrants who wish to return to their homelands, and to impose sanctions against Libya should the forced labor continue.

Fourth, the resolution highlights the importance of adequately staffing, funding, and supporting the United States State Department and the Agency for International Development to provide humanitarian assistance for migrants and to develop a comprehensive strategy to address the political and security situation in Libya including issues related to migrants and refugees in detention centers.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for H. Res. 644 and standing true to our nation's commitment to advancing human rights in Libya, and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure.

I thank the ranking member of the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee, Ms. Karen Bass of California, for her hard work on this legislation.

For several years, Libya has been a hub for African migration to Europe, with an estimated 700,000 to 1 million refugees and migrants currently in the country.

Last year, I was shocked and horrified to see multiple news reports documenting the existence of slave auctions in Libya, where these migrants and refugees were put up for sale. It is unbelievable that, in the year 2018, we could still have slavery anywhere in the world, just absolutely unbelievable.

Since then, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights found that many migrants who enter Libya are forced to work for no pay. This is also unacceptable. We cannot accept a world where human beings are auctioned off, treated like property. It is unbelievable. These are some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and we cannot stand by as they are mistreated.

This resolution strongly condemns slave auctions and the exploitation of migrants and refugees as forced laborers in Libya. It also calls upon all parties to the conflict in Libya to investigate and eradicate slave auctions and forced labor involving migrants and refugees, to hold those identified in the investigation accountable in courts of law, and to examine the extent to which profits earned through the exploitation of these migrants may be fueling conflict in Libya.

Importantly, the measure also calls upon the United Nations to investigate this slave trade and forced labor in Libya and expand U.N. Security Council sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for this atrocity. The international community must hold accountable those who are responsible for these heinous crimes.

It is also important that we have full information so that we can address this issue and understand what we are dealing with. That is why it is so important that this resolution also urges the Secretary of State to ensure that Libya is fully and accurately covered in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. This measure sends a clear message. By passing it today, we say, unequivocally, that we will not stand for this inhumanity.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass), the very distinguished ranking member of the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, the United States cannot stand by as human beings are auctioned off, forced to work for no pay, and treated without dignity or respect. Congress must speak out and condemn this horrific situation in Libya.

Mr. Speaker, I support this measure. I urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, by now, we have all seen the horrifying video of a slave auction in Libya. It is outrageous. Migrants and refugees, most of them Black Africans, are being preyed upon, held in detention camps, and bought and sold like property.

Mr. Speaker, the United States cannot stand by as an idle spectator to the plague of slavery in Libya. People are not property.

Last week, members of the Congressional Black Caucus and I met with Libya's Ambassador. She agreed that the Libyan Government will conduct a transparent investigation, but they do not have the capacity to do so. That does not absolve the United States of its responsibilities.

We must immediately investigate allegations of slavery and forced labor in Libya. We need to impose sanctions if Libya fails to end slave auctions and forced labor. We must ensure the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development are adequately staffed to respond to the situation in Libya.

Mr. Speaker, Congress should adopt the bipartisan H. Res. 644, which will do all these things and more