Military

DATE=5/6/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=CONGRESS / WAR VICTIMS (L ONLY)

NUMBER=2-302939

BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE

DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A key member of the U-S Congress has introduced legislation that would provide funding to help protect women and children worldwide from the ravages of war. Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

TEXT: The measure would provide 45-million dollars for initiatives that promote physical and psychological well-being for women and children in conflict areas, as well as equal access to basic services.

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Joe Biden of Delaware, announced the Women and Children in Armed Conflict Protection Act at a Capitol Hill news conference.

/// BIDEN ACTUALITY ///

It is a small thing that makes a difference. My hope is this 45-million dollars is a down payment, a down payment on demonstration of our humanity and our concern.

/// END ACT ///

The legislation would, among other things, help refugees get access to work permits and micro-enterprise programs.

Supporters say the measure is needed because traditional humanitarian responses focus on providing food, medical care and shelter needs, while placing less emphasis on the safety and security of women and children.

Supporters say the situation for women and children in conflict areas has gotten increasingly dire over the past century.

Charles MacCormack is president of the non-profit relief organization, Save the Children.

/// MACCORMACK ACTUALITY ///

In one century, war has gone from being waged against civilians only five percent of the time to being waged against civilians 90 percent of the time. The vast majority of those victims are women and children.

/// END ACT ///

Actress Sally Field, who has done work in support of Save the Children, took part in the news conference, as did war victims' advocate Kim Phuc. Ms. Phuc was the subject of a Pulitzer-Prize winning photograph during the Vietnam War taken in 1972, when she was a child, running naked down a road, screaming in pain from the napalm that was burning through her skin. The photograph has come to epitomize the tragedy of the Vietnam War.

/// PHUC ACTUALITY ///

I hope many more people will become involved in this work to stop the sufferings in wars. No mother or father in the world wants what happened in that picture to happen again.

/// END ACT ///

Democratic Congresswoman Nita Lowey of New York and Republican Congressman Chris Shays of Connecticut plan to offer similar legislation in the House of Representatives. (signed)

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