[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 723 Engrossed in House (EH)]








H. Res. 723

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                    September 26, 2006.
Whereas the United States Congress and the President are on record as declaring 
        that the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan are genocide;
Whereas the United States has demonstrated leadership on the Sudan issue for 
        years, including by mediating Sudan's North-South Peace Agreement, by 
        declaring genocide in Darfur, by providing nearly $1 billion in 
        humanitarian assistance over time, and by having United States Permanent 
        Representative to the United Nations John Bolton, in his first action as 
        President of the United Nations Security Council, request in February 
        2006 that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan initiate 
        contingency planning for a transition from the African Union Mission in 
        Sudan (AMIS) to a United Nations peacekeeping force;
Whereas the African Union deployed AMIS to Darfur to monitor the violence and, 
        in spite of attacks on AMIS observers and the fact that the recently 
        improved AMIS mandate still does not provide sufficiently for proactive 
        protection of civilians, AMIS has been successful in creating pockets of 
        security for displaced persons simply through its presence;
Whereas the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement of April 8, 2004, the Abuja Protocols 
        of November 9, 2004, and the Darfur Peace Agreement of May 5, 2006, have 
        not resulted in a cessation of hostilities in Darfur;
Whereas the Government of Sudan and its armed militia groups continue to commit 
        crimes against humanity and engage in genocidal acts in Darfur, in spite 
        of the presence of AMIS forces, and, in early September 2006, launched a 
        major offensive in Darfur, in direct violation of the Darfur Peace 
        Agreement;
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Annan has indicated that, ``People in 
        many parts of Darfur continue to be killed, raped, and driven from their 
        homes by the thousands.'';
Whereas it has been reported that an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 people have 
        died in the conflict-affected area of Darfur and eastern Chad, and due 
        to the number of areas that cannot be accounted for, the total number of 
        deaths may be higher;
Whereas the ongoing assault against civilians by Sudanese Government forces, 
        Janjaweed militias, and rebels necessitates the deployment of a larger, 
        more capable international peacekeeping force with a strong mandate to 
        protect civilians in Darfur;
Whereas, although the United Nations Security Council approved Security Council 
        Resolution 1706 (August 31, 2006) which provides for the deployment of a 
        United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur to include up to 22,500 
        personnel, the Government of Sudan has rejected the terms of such 
        Resolution and alternatively issued an ultimatum to AMIS to extend its 
        current mission beyond September 2006 without transitioning to a United 
        Nations peacekeeping force; and
Whereas on the same day on which the Government of Sudan issued its ultimatum, 
        the African Union stated that it would quit the war-ravaged Darfur 
        region if the Government of Sudan did not allow a United Nations 
        peacekeeping force to take over AMIS: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) for its 
        actions in monitoring the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement in Darfur and 
        its role in diminishing some acts of violence;
            (2) strongly condemns the continued genocide and violence directed 
        against civilians in Darfur by the Government of Sudan and government-
        sponsored militias, as well as attacks perpetrated against civilians by 
        rebels in Darfur;
            (3) calls upon all parties to the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement--
                    (A) to abide by the terms of the N'Djamena Ceasefire 
                Agreement and the Darfur Peace Agreement; and
                    (B) to engage in good-faith negotiations to end the conflict 
                in Darfur;
            (4) calls upon the Government of Sudan immediately--
                    (A) to comply with United Nations Security Council 
                Resolution 1706 (August 31, 2006), support the transition of 
                AMIS to a United Nations peacekeeping mission, and facilitate 
                the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers throughout Sudan 
                toward that end;
                    (B) to withdraw all offensive military aircraft and 
                personnel from the region;
                    (C) to cease all support for Janjaweed militias and rebels 
                from Chad; and
                    (D) to disarm all Janjaweed militias;
            (5) calls upon the international community to provide sufficient 
        funding to support the AMIS mission as it transitions to a United 
        Nations peacekeeping mission;
            (6) calls on the African Union to work closely with the United 
        Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to strengthen 
        its capacity to deter violence and instability until a United Nations 
        peacekeeping force is fully deployed in Darfur;
            (7) calls on NATO to extend its current mission of advisors to the 
        African Union, as requested by the leadership of the African Union;
            (8) urges the President to take steps immediately to help improve 
        the security situation in Darfur, including by proposing that NATO 
        support an interim civilian protection force with sufficient ground and 
        air assets under centralized planning, direction, and control, to 
        protect civilians and facilitate the deployment of United Nations 
        peacekeepers in Darfur;
            (9) calls upon NATO allies to support such a NATO mission;
            (10) calls upon NATO headquarters staff to begin prudent planning in 
        advance of such a NATO mission; and
            (11) urges the President to take immediate steps to work through 
        diplomatic channels to obtain the support of the People's Republic of 
        China, the Russian Federation, and United States allies in the Arab 
        League to secure the compliance of the Government of Sudan with United 
        Nations Security Council Resolution 1706 and support full funding for 
        the United Nations peacekeeping force in Sudan.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.