[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 99 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 99

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 8, 2004

 Mr. Brownback (for himself and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following 
 concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its 
participation and complicity in the 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, including militia forces backed by the 
        Government, and rebel forces in the impoverished Darfur region of 
        western Sudan has resulted in attacks by ground and air forces of the 
        Government of Sudan against innocent civilians and undefended villages 
        in the region;
 Whereas the militia forces backed by the Government of Sudan 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 it 
        ``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 displaced within Sudan 
        in the past year: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 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 for its failure 
        to take effective actions to stop militia attacks on civilians 
        in the region, and demands that the Government of Sudan 
        immediately take actions to cease these attacks;
            (2) calls on the international community to strongly 
        condemn the Government of Sudan for its participation and 
        complicity in these attacks and demand that such attacks cease;
            (3) urges the Government of Sudan to allow the delivery of 
        humanitarian assistance to 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>