[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 403 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 403

Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks 
against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western 
                                 Sudan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2004

   Mr. Wolf submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks 
against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western 
                                 Sudan.

Whereas since early 2003 a conflict between forces of the Government of the 
        Republic of the Sudan and rebel forces in the impoverished Darfur region 
        of western Sudan has resulted in attacks by Sudanese Government ground 
        and air forces against innocent civilians and undefended villages in the 
        region;
Whereas Sudanese Government forces have also engaged in the use of rape as a 
        weapon of war, the abduction of children, the destruction of food and 
        water sources, and the deliberate and systematic manipulation and denial 
        of humanitarian assistance for the people of the Darfur region;
Whereas United Nations officials and nongovernmental organizations have 
        indicated that the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region is 
        extremely urgent, particularly in light of restrictions by the 
        Government of Sudan on the delivery of humanitarian assistance for the 
        people of the region;
Whereas on December 18, 2003, United Nations Undersecretary General for 
        Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, declared that the Darfur region was 
        probably ``the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe'';
Whereas on February 17, 2004, Amnesty International reported that the 
        organization ``continues to receive details of horrifying attacks 
        against civilians in villages by government warplanes, soldiers and pro-
        government militia'';
Whereas on February 18, 2004, United Nations Special Envoy for Humanitarian 
        Affairs in Sudan, Tom Eric Vraalsen, declared following a trip to the 
        Darfur region that ``aid workers are unable to reach the vast majority 
        [of the displaced]'';
Whereas Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning medical 
        humanitarian relief organization and one of the few aid groups on the 
        ground in the Darfur region, reported that the region is the scene of 
        ``catastrophic mortality rates''; and
Whereas nearly 3,000,000 people affected by the conflict in the Darfur region 
        have remained beyond the reach of aid agencies trying to provide 
        essential humanitarian assistance and United Nations aid agencies 
        estimate that they have been able to reach only 15 percent of people in 
        need and that more than 700,000 people have been internally displaced in 
        the past year: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) strongly condemns the Government of the Republic of the 
        Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the 
        impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan and demands that 
        the Government of Sudan immediately cease these attacks;
            (2) calls on the international community to strongly 
        condemn the Government of Sudan for these attacks and to demand 
        that they cease;
            (3) urges the Government of Sudan to allow the delivery of 
        humanitarian assistance for the people in the Darfur region; 
        and
            (4) urges the President to direct the United States 
        representative to the United Nations to seek an official 
        investigation by the United Nations to determine if crimes 
        against humanity have been committed by the Government of Sudan 
        in the Darfur region.
                                 <all>