Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act Signed

The U.S. Peace Corps has experienced a large number of assaults on its volunteers overseas, especially sexual assaults, more than one thousand of which were reported between 2000 and 2009 out of a volunteer population that barely exceeded 8,000 in any of those years. And the Peace Corps as an institution has been accused of not handling volunteer safety and security well.

Yesterday, the Peace Corps Director announced that:

President Obama [has] signed into law the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011, codifying a number of the reforms the Peace Corps has put into place over the past two years to better protect and support Volunteers. The Act is named in honor of Kate Puzey, a Peace Corps volunteer who died while serving in Benin in 2009.

The new law codifies and expands many of the reforms the agency has put in place to enhance safety and security and ensure compassionate and effective response and support to all volunteers. The Peace Corps has:

• Hired a nationally recognized leader in victims’ rights to serve as the agency’s first victim advocate. Victims of crime can now turn to a skilled and experienced Peace Corps staff member dedicated to making certain volunteers receive the emotional, medical, legal, and other support they need both during and after their service.

• Updated and expanded training for volunteers and staff on sexual assault awareness, risk-reduction strategies, bystander intervention, and reporting and response procedures.

• Created an external body of leading experts in the field of sexual assault and returned Peace Corps volunteers to provide advice on Peace Corps’ sexual assault risk reduction and response strategies.

• Established procedures to ensure that allegations by Peace Corps volunteers are handled confidentially and appropriately.

You can read the bill at the Library of Congress website, here.

In addition to codifying measures the Peace Corps already has in place, the law also creates a new requirement that will involve Diplomatic Security more directly with the safety and security of PC volunteers.

SEC. 7. CONFORMING SAFETY AND SECURITY AGREEMENT REGARDING PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS SERVING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

(a) IN GENERAL.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Peace Corps shall consult with the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security and enter into a memorandum of understanding that specifies the duties and obligations of the Peace Corps and the Bureau of Diplomatic Security of the Department of State with respect to the protection of Peace Corps volunteers and staff members serving in foreign countries, including with respect to investigations of safety and security incidents and crimes committed against volunteers and staff members.

This MOU will be something to watch. Exactly what duties and obligations concerning Peace Corps volunteers will DS pick up? And how much can anyone really do about volunteer safety and security, given the very isolated nature of volunteer assignments?

Peace Corps Suspends Operations in Niger

U.S. Embassy Niamey put out this warden message today:

This warden message is to inform U.S. citizens that as a result of safety and security concerns, Peace Corps has decided to temporarily suspend their operations in Niger. U.S. Embassy operations in Niamey have not changed.

The local security environment has been tense for some time, especially outside the capital of Niamey. Previous warden messages noted that the embassy prohibits travel outside Niamey for Americans on official business, and that there is a kidnapping threat.

Peace Corps Volunteers are very fast on the keyboard. Although the Niger volunteers were evacuated to Rabat only last night, at least three have already blogged about the experience.

Peace Corps Niger has been suspended indefinitely due to security concerns. I had been at my amazing village for a nine days before I had to leave. All volunteers have been safely evacuated to Morocco for a transition conference where we will look at all our options. (Niger Rider)

This morning, at 5:30 a.m., I boarded a plane to Morocco and say goodbye to Niger, potentially for forever.

On Wednesday, Peace Corps Washington decided that terrorist activity, mainly Al Queada, in Niger has grown to dangerous levels and Americans are no longer safe. A suspension was issued for Peace Corps Niger and all volunteers were evacuated. All 97 Niger PCVS are now in Morocco for what is called a transition conference. We will spend the next few days discussing our options and officially ending our Niger service.

The last few days have been incredibly hard for all of us. I was at the PC training site for in-service training when the news was delivered and was flown to Zinder the next day so I could go to Dantchiao, pack my things and say goodbye. I had a total of one hour to leave behind the life that has given me so much and shaped me into a better person. I was allowed two nights in Zinder to continue organizing and bidding farewell. On Saturday, Team Zinder departed its home and we spent the night in Mardi and both teams continued on to Niamey for more briefing and the final night in Niger ... Words cannot describe how sucky this [is] ... My service has ended before it really began. (This Anasara Life)

I had only been there 48 hours (on Saturday) when I received the text message: two Frenchmen had been kidnapped in Niamey at a bar the night before. I sat in my concession for awhile thinking "this is not good." A little over a year ago, Peace Corps had given an optional Interrupted Service to volunteers and had removed an entire training class after an attempted kidnapping; this was much worse - they had been taken, there was no ransom, and they were killed during a rescue mission.

Still, I knew my villagers would do anything they could to protect me, and I still felt completely safe in my rural town. Then, Saturday afternoon, I had a terrifying experience that somewhat changed my perspective on things. I heard a motorcycle stop outside my concession, and soon after one of my host moms yelled that someone wanted to see me - I came outside to see a man in all camouflage holding a ginormous gun. Needless to say, I started mumbling words of terror in English and ran into my mom's house. Eventually, I figured out he was a policeman sent from a nearby village to come check on me after the night's events, but the whole encounter made salient to me how if something were to happen, I really wouldn't have many options.

-- snip --

Then, on Wednesday, my first day of work at the health hut, I got the call. It was a 6 minute 30 second conversation at 10:13 am, I hadn't even been there for two hours. "This is going to be really hard for me to say, so I'm just going to read it to you" ... I woke up my parents, at what was 1:30 am their time, tears streaming down my face, "They're pulling us out. I have to pack all of my things. Peace Corps is evacuating Niger." (Back in Africa)

Evacuation was probably the right call. Still, it's hard not to feel sympathy for the PCVs, who were a new group that had only just begun their two-year tour in Niger.

Murdered PCV in Benin Kept a Blog

A U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, Kate Puzey, age 24, was murdered last week in Benin, where she had spent two years teaching English.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported about her today (Georgia Peace Corps Worker Killed in Africa) and noted that she kept a blog: Being in Benin, trials and tribulations of a mud hut princess.

Her last post was on October 14, 2008, and it is followed by numerous RIP comments from her friends that began coming in yesterday. Rather poignant stuff.