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







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 723

 Calling on the President to take immediate steps to help improve the 
   security situation in Darfur, Sudan, with a specific emphasis on 
                          civilian protection.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2006

   Mr. Lantos (for himself, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Tancredo, Mr. Payne, Mr. 
Rangel, Mr. Berman, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. McGovern, 
Mr. McCotter, Ms. Lee, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. McNulty, Mr. 
  Gordon, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Mr. 
Kildee, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Crowley, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rush, Ms. Watson, Mr. 
Cardoza, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. Owens, Mr. Engel, Mr. Clay, Mr. 
 Ackerman, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Visclosky, Mr. Wexler, and Mr. Conyers) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                       on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Calling on the President to take immediate steps to help improve the 
   security situation in Darfur, Sudan, with a specific emphasis on 
                          civilian protection.

Whereas the United States Congress and Administration are on record as declaring 
        that the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan are genocide;
Whereas the April 8, 2004, N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement, calling for an end to 
        hostilities in Darfur has been flagrantly violated by the Government of 
        Sudan and its proxies, the Janjaweed militias, which have continued to 
        engage in acts of genocide against innocent civilians;
Whereas the African Union (AU) deployed the African Union Mission in Sudan 
        (AMIS) to Darfur to monitor the violence and, in spite of attacks on 
        AMIS observers that has resulted in kidnappings and deaths, AMIS has 
        protected civilians from further violence and, according to Human Rights 
        Watch, while the mandate of AMIS does not allow for proactive protection 
        of civilians, AMIS has been successful in creating pockets of security 
        for displaced persons simply through its presence;
Whereas rebel movements known as the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the 
        Justice and Empowerment Movement (JEM) have violated the N'Djamena 
        Ceasefire Agreement and such violations have contributed to growing 
        instability;
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, as of February 22, 2006, Janjaweed 
        militias were still attacking innocent villagers in retaliation for 
        encounters with rebel forces;
Whereas subsequent to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between 
        the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Sudan 
        People's Liberation Army (SPLM/SPLA) on January 9, 2005, the Government 
        of Sudan refused a proposal from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement 
        (SPLM) to send joint troops to protect civilians and disarm the 
        government-supported militia;
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Kofi 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 nearly 2,000,000 people have been internally displaced, 3,000,000 people 
        are dependant on international assistance to survive, and more than 
        200,000 people are refugees in neighboring Chad due to the conflict in 
        Darfur;
Whereas Human Rights Watch reported on February 16, 2006, that Janjaweed 
        militias and Chadian rebel groups with support from the Sudanese 
        Government were launching deadly cross-border raids on villages in 
        eastern Chad, further escalating the humanitarian crisis for the people 
        of Darfur;
Whereas Salim Ahmed Salim, the AU Special Envoy for the Darfur Talks and Chief 
        Mediator at the ongoing talks in Abuja, Nigeria, indicated that all 
        parties to existing ceasefire agreements were increasingly resorting to 
        military attacks in contravention of such agreements and impeding the 
        distribution of humanitarian aid to millions of people in need and that, 
        in each month since October 2005, the violence in Darfur has worsened;
Whereas the ongoing assault on civilians by Sudanese Government forces and 
        Janjaweed militias requires forces larger than the current AMIS forces 
        and with a stronger mandate than such AMIS forces in order to adequately 
        protect civilians in Darfur;
Whereas the United States has demonstrated leadership on the Sudan issue for 
        years 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 Secretary-General Annan initiate contingency planning for a 
        transition from AMIS to a United Nations peacekeeping operation;
Whereas, although the United Nations Security Council has concurred with this 
        recommendation and taken steps toward establishing a United Nations 
        peacekeeping mission for Darfur, reports have concluded that it could 
        take up to a year for such a mission to deploy fully;
Whereas, as the deteriorating security situation in Darfur indicates, the people 
        of Darfur cannot wait that long for security to be reestablished;
Whereas the international community currently has no plan to address the 
        immediate security needs of the people of Darfur; and
Whereas all members of the international community must participate in efforts 
        to stop genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the Africa 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--
                    (A) the continued genocide against civilians in 
                Darfur by the Government of Sudan and government-
                sponsored militias; and
                    (B) the continued violations of the N'Djamena 
                Ceasefire Agreement by both parties to the agreement;
            (3) calls upon both parties to the N'Djamena Ceasefire 
        Agreement--
                    (A) to abide by the terms of the N'Djamena 
                Ceasefire 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 withdraw all military aircraft from the 
                region;
                    (B) to cease all support for Janjaweed militias and 
                rebels from Chad; and
                    (C) to disarm all Janjaweed militias;
            (5) 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;
            (6) calls on NATO to extend its current mission of advisors 
        to the African Union, as requested by the leadership of the 
        African Union;
            (7) calls upon the United Nations Security Council to 
        approve as soon as possible, pursuant to Chapter VII of the 
        Charter of the United Nations, a peacekeeping force for Darfur 
        that is well trained and equipped and has adequate troop 
        strength;
            (8) urges the President to take steps immediately to help 
        improve the security situation in Darfur, including by--
                    (A) proposing that NATO--
                            (i) implement an interim civilian 
                        protection force using ground and air assets 
                        under centralized planning, direction, and 
                        control, to protect civilians until a United 
                        Nations peacekeeping force is fully deployed in 
                        Darfur; and
                    (B) requesting supplemental funding to support AMIS 
                and a NATO mission in Darfur;
            (9) calls upon NATO allies to support such a NATO mission; 
        and
            (10) calls upon NATO headquarters staff to begin prudent 
        planning in advance of such a NATO mission.
                                 <all>