[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 137 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.Con.Res.137
                                    Agreed to September 22, 2004        

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four


                          Concurrent Resolution

Whereas in Darfur, Sudan, more than 30,000 innocent civilians have been 
  murdered, more than 400 villages have been destroyed, more than 
  130,000 men, women, and children have been forced from their villages 
  into neighboring countries, and more than 1,000,000 people have been 
  internally displaced;
Whereas the United States Government has been, and remains as of 
  September 2004, the largest contributor of assistance to the people 
  of Darfur, having provided over $200,000,000 in assistance, which 
  constitutes more than 70 percent of the total assistance provided to 
  that region;
Whereas the United States has pledged $299,000,000 in humanitarian aid 
  to Darfur through fiscal year 2005, as well as $11,800,000 in support 
  of the African Union mission in that region, and is likely to provide 
  support in excess of those pledges;
Whereas United States citizens and private organizations, as well as 
  the United States Government, have admirably worked, at great risk 
  and through great effort, to ease suffering in Darfur, Sudan, and in 
  eastern Chad;
Whereas based on credible reports, Congress determined in late July 
  2004 that acts of genocide were occurring in Darfur, Sudan, and that 
  the Government of Sudan bears direct responsibility for many of those 
  acts of genocide;
Whereas expressing its grave concern at the ongoing humanitarian crisis 
  and widespread human rights violations in Darfur, including continued 
  attacks on civilians that place thousands of lives at risk, the 
  United Nations Security Council on July 30, 2004, unanimously adopted 
  Security Council Resolution 1556, which called upon the Government of 
  Sudan to fulfill immediately its obligations to facilitate 
  humanitarian relief efforts, to take steps to disarm immediately the 
  Janjaweed militias responsible for attacks on civilians and bring the 
  perpetrators of such attacks to justice, and to cooperate with 
  independent United Nations-sponsored investigations of human rights 
  violations;
Whereas the Government of Sudan has failed to take credible steps to 
  comply with the demands of the international community as expressed 
  through the United Nations Security Council;
Whereas according to press reports, reports from nongovernmental 
  organizations, first-hand accounts from refugees, and other sources, 
  the Janjaweed attacks on the civilians of Darfur continue unabated as 
  of September 2004;
Whereas there are credible reports from some of these same sources that 
  the Government of Sudan is providing assistance to the Janjaweed 
  militias and, in some cases, that Government of Sudan forces have 
  participated directly in attacks on civilians;
Whereas the United States Government, after conducting more than 1,000 
  interviews with survivors and refugees, has determined that genocide 
  has occurred in Darfur, that it may still be occurring, and that both 
  the Janjaweed and the Government of Sudan bear responsibility for 
  these acts;
Whereas the Secretary of State has determined that the attacks by the 
  Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed on the non-Arab people of 
  Darfur and their villages are based on race, not religion;
Whereas the United States has recently introduced a new resolution in 
  the United Nations Security Council that calls for the Government of 
  Sudan to cooperate fully with an expanded African Union force and for 
  a cessation of Sudanese military flights over Darfur;
Whereas the introduced resolution also provides for international 
  overflights of the Darfur region to monitor the situation on the 
  ground and requires the United Nations Security Council to review the 
  record of compliance of the Government of Sudan to determine whether 
  the United Nations should impose sanctions on Sudan, including 
  sanctions affecting the petroleum sector in that country;
Whereas the resolution also urges the Government of Sudan and the 
  Sudanese People's Liberation Movement to conclude negotiations on a 
  comprehensive peace accord and, most important, calls for a United 
  Nations investigation into all violations of international 
  humanitarian law and human rights law that have occurred in Darfur in 
  order to ensure accountability;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in United Nations Security 
  Council Resolution 1556, emphasized that the Government of Sudan 
  bears primary responsibility for respecting human rights and 
  protecting the people of Sudan;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1556 calls upon the 
  Government of Sudan to cooperate with the United Nations;
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Commission, established in 1946 
  and given the responsibility of drafting the Universal Declaration of 
  Human Rights, is responsible for promoting respect for and observance 
  of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all;
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that all 
  human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, that 
  everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the 
  Declaration regardless of race, color, sex, language, religion, 
  political or other opinion, or national or social origin, property, 
  birth, or other status, that everyone has the right to life, liberty 
  and security of person, that no one shall be held in slavery or 
  servitude, and that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, 
  inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment;
Whereas the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, 
  done at Paris on December 9, 1948 (hereafter in this resolution 
  referred to as the ``Genocide Convention''), delineates the criteria 
  that constitute genocide and requires parties to prevent and punish 
  genocide;
Whereas Sudan is a state party to the Genocide Convention and remains a 
  member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights;
Whereas the Secretary of State determined that, according to United 
  States law, the Government of Sudan is a state sponsor of terrorism 
  and has been since 1993 and therefore remains ineligible for United 
  States foreign assistance;
Whereas due to the human rights situation in Darfur, it would be 
  consistent with United States obligations under the Genocide 
  Convention for the Secretary of State and the United States Permanent 
  Representative to the United Nations to seek the immediate suspension 
  of Sudan from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and, in 
  the event a formal investigation results in a determination by the 
  United Nations that genocide has occurred in Darfur, the ultimate 
  removal of Sudan from such Commission; and
Whereas it is a mockery of human rights as a universal principle, a 
  challenge to the United Nations as an institution, and an affront to 
  all responsible countries that embrace and promote human rights that 
  a government under investigation by the United Nations for committing 
  genocide against, and violating the human rights of, its own citizens 
  sits in judgment of others as a member in good standing of the United 
  Nations Commission on Human Rights: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
        (1) recognizes and approves of the findings of the Secretary of 
    State that genocide has occurred and may still be occurring in 
    Darfur, Sudan, and that the Government of Sudan bears 
    responsibility for such acts;
        (2) supports the Secretary of State's call for a full and 
    unfettered investigation by the United Nations into all violations 
    of international humanitarian law and human rights law that have 
    occurred in Darfur, with a view to ensuring accountability;
        (3) supports the resolution introduced by the United States 
    Government in the United Nations Security Council on September 9, 
    2004, with regard to the situation in Darfur;
        (4) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States 
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take immediate 
    steps to pursue the establishment of a formal United Nations 
    investigation, under Article VIII of the Genocide Convention, to 
    determine whether the actions of the Government of Sudan in Darfur 
    constitute acts of genocide;
        (5) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States 
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take immediate 
    steps to pursue the immediate suspension of Sudan from the United 
    Nations Commission on Human Rights;
        (6) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States 
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take further 
    steps to ensure that the suspension of Sudan from the United 
    Nations Commission on Human Rights remains in effect unless and 
    until the Government of Sudan meets all of its obligations, as 
    determined by the United Nations Security Council, under United 
    Nations Security Council Resolution 1556 of July 30, 2004, and any 
    subsequent United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding 
    this matter;
        (7) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States 
    Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take steps to 
    ensure that, in the event that the formal investigation of acts of 
    genocide in Sudan results in a determination by the United Nations 
    that genocide has occurred or is occurring in Darfur, the United 
    States Government takes appropriate actions to ensure that Sudan is 
    removed from the United Nations Human Rights Commission;
        (8) calls upon the member states of the United Nations 
    Commission on Human Rights to convene an immediate special session 
    to consider the urgent and acute human rights situation in Sudan 
    for the purpose of considering whether Sudan should be suspended 
    from membership in such Commission; and
        (9) expects the Secretary of State to report to Congress on 
    progress made toward taking the actions and accomplishing the 
    objectives outlined in this resolution not later than 60 days after 
    the date on which Congress agrees to the resolution.
  Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.

  Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.