[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 992 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 992

Urging the President to appoint a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 7, 2006

Mr. Wolf (for himself, Mr. Payne, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Lantos, 
  Mr. Capuano, and Mr. Tancredo) submitted the following resolution; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Urging the President to appoint a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan.

Whereas in July 2004, the United States House of Representatives and Senate 
        declared that the atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan constitute 
        genocide, and the Bush administration reached the same conclusion in 
        September 2004, when then Secretary of State Colin Powell stated that 
        ``the evidence leads us to the conclusion that genocide has occurred and 
        may still be occurring in Darfur'';
Whereas more than 400,000 people have been killed by the Government of Sudan and 
        its Janjaweed allies since the crisis began in 2003, more than 2,000,000 
        people have been displaced from their homes, and more than 250,000 
        people from Darfur remain in refugee camps in Chad;
Whereas some rebel factions, which have targeted civilians in the Darfur region, 
        have intensified their attacks even after the signing of the Darfur 
        Peace Agreement in May 2006;
Whereas the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan 
        Egland, in late August 2006 stated that ``[i]nsecurity is at its highest 
        level since 2004, access at its lowest levels since that date, and we 
        may well be on the brink of a return to all-out war'';
Whereas despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006, violence 
        against civilians, peacekeepers, and humanitarian workers continues 
        unabated; and an estimated 12 humanitarian workers have been killed in 
        Darfur, including a nurse in September 2006;
Whereas in August 2006, the Government of Sudan began to deploy thousands of 
        government troops for a major offensive in Darfur, once again 
        threatening a major humanitarian catastrophe and risking the safety and 
        security of millions of civilians;
Whereas according to the Government of Sudan's plan, in a document submitted to 
        the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Government of Sudan 
        plans to deploy approximately 26,500 additional troops and 7,050 
        additional police to Darfur;
Whereas the objectives of this deployment are ``to deal with the threats posed 
        by the activities of groups that have rejected the Darfur Peace 
        Agreement and to gain control over the security situation and achieve 
        stability in Darfur'';
Whereas the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution expanding the 
        mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) for the 
        additional deployment of 17,300 peacekeeping troops and 3,300 civilian 
        police personnel as well as 16 formed police units to Darfur;
Whereas President Omar Bashir of Sudan has rejected the deployment of a United 
        Nations peacekeeping force to Darfur, even as First Vice President Salva 
        Kiir has publicly stated his support for the deployment of a United 
        Nations peacekeeping mission to Darfur;
Whereas implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the 
        Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) is 
        slow, raising serious concern about the commitment of the Government of 
        Sudan to fulfill its responsibilities;
Whereas in July 2005, although the Abyei Boundary Commission, established to 
        define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms, finished 
        its work and submitted its report to President Bashir, the President has 
        yet to implement the conclusions of the Commission, as called for in the 
        Comprehensive Peace Agreement;
Whereas the reconstruction and development of Southern Sudan and other 
        marginalized areas remains a major challenge, while the return of 
        refugees and displaced people to their homes in Darfur will require 
        major financial commitments and the establishment of a secure and safe 
        environment throughout Darfur;
Whereas in order to tackle these many and difficult challenges, the appointment 
        of a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan with a robust mandate and 
        access to, and support of, senior Administration officials, including 
        the President, is crucial;
Whereas Members of Congress and Senators, leading foreign policy experts, and 
        many nongovernmental organizations have called repeatedly for the 
        appointment of a Presidential Envoy for Sudan to effectively represent 
        the United States Government in heading off a further escalation of 
        genocide in Darfur; and
Whereas United States Government officials have diligently pursued peace 
        agreements to end the North-South conflict and the Darfur conflict and 
        the United States Government has provided more than $2 billion in 
        assistance to help the suffering people of Sudan: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the many years of tireless efforts of United 
        States officials who have helped secure the Comprehensive Peace 
        Agreement and the Darfur Peace Agreement;
            (2) strongly supports the appointment of an adequately 
        staffed Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan with a robust 
        mandate to develop and coordinate United States policy toward 
        Sudan with regular access to senior Administration officials; 
        and
            (3) strongly urges the mandate of the Presidential Special 
        Envoy for Sudan to include--
                    (A) deterring a further escalation of violence and 
                humanitarian disaster in the Darfur region of Sudan 
                while ensuring civilians are adequately protected and 
                the Darfur Peace Agreement is fully implemented;
                    (B) facilitating the development of an 
                international peacekeeping mission to Darfur with a 
                mandate to protect civilians and humanitarian workers;
                    (C) ensuring implementation of the Comprehensive 
                Peace Agreement, which ended the 21-year civil war in 
                Southern Sudan, Nuba, Southern Blue Nile, and Abyei and 
                helping secure a just peace in Eastern Sudan;
                    (D) coordination of reconstruction and development 
                work in Southern Sudan and other marginalized areas;
                    (E) coordination and monitoring of the return of 
                refugees and displaced people to their homes in Darfur 
                and southern Sudan;
                    (F) securing and consolidating peace in Northern 
                Uganda by working closely with the Government of South 
                Sudan and the Government of Uganda;
                    (G) coordination of efforts to ensure 
                implementation of the transformation of the Sudan 
                People's Liberation Army (SPLA) into a professional 
                armed force;
                    (H) work toward achieving a peaceful, stable, and 
                democratic Sudan by ensuring that free and fair 
                elections are held, as called for in the Comprehensive 
                Peace Agreement, by coordinating and implementing 
                programs necessary to achieve these objectives; and
                    (I) coordination of efforts to work toward 
                achieving accountability for the crimes committed in 
                Darfur by working closely with relevant individuals and 
                entities engaged in this area.
                                 <all>