1.
This Act may be cited as the
Darfur Accountability Act of
2005
.
2.
In this Act:
(1)
Appropriate congressional committees
The term appropriate
congressional committees means the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives.
(2)
The term Government of
Sudan means the National Congress Party-led government in Khartoum,
Sudan, or any successor government formed on or after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
(3)
The term member
states means the member states of the United Nations.
(4)
Sudan North-South Peace Agreement
The term Sudan
North-South Peace Agreement means the comprehensive peace agreement
signed by the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation
Army/Movement on January 9, 2005.
(5)
Those named by the UN Commission
The term those named by
the UN Commission means those individuals whose names appear in the
sealed file delivered to the Secretary General of the United Nations by the
International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary
General.
(6)
The term UN
Commission means the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to
the United Nations Secretary General.
3.
Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)
On July 22, 2004, the House
of Representatives and the Senate declared that the atrocities occurring in
Darfur, Sudan are genocide.
(2)
On September 9, 2004,
Secretary of State Colin L. Powell stated before the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate, [w]hen we reviewed the evidence compiled by our
team, along with other information available to the State Department, we
concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of
Sudan and the [Janjaweed] bear responsibility—and genocide may still be
occurring
.
(3)
President George W. Bush, in
an address before the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 2004,
stated, [a]t this hour, the world is witnessing terrible suffering and
horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has
concluded are genocide
.
(4)
On July 30, 2004, the United
Nations Security Council passed Security Council Resolution 1556, calling upon
the Government of Sudan to disarm the Janjaweed militias and to apprehend and
bring to justice Janjaweed leaders and their associates who have incited and
carried out violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and
carried out other atrocities in the Darfur region.
(5)
On September 18, 2004, the
United Nations Security Council passed Security Council Resolution 1564,
determining that the Government of Sudan had failed to meet its obligations
under Security Council Resolution 1556, calling for a military flight ban in
and over the Darfur region, demanding the names of Janjaweed militiamen
disarmed and arrested for verification, establishing an International
Commission of Inquiry into violations of international humanitarian and human
rights laws, and threatening sanctions should the Government of Sudan fail to
fully comply with Security Council Resolutions 1556 and 1564.
(6)
United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1564 declares that if the Government of Sudan fails
to comply fully
with Security Council Resolutions 1556 and 1564, the
Security Council shall consider taking additional measures
against the Government of Sudan as contemplated in Article 41 of the
Charter of the United Nations, such as actions to affect Sudan's petroleum
sector or individual members of the Government of Sudan, in order to take
effective action to obtain such full compliance and cooperation
.
(7)
United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1564 also welcomes and supports the intention of the
African Union to enhance and augment its monitoring mission in Darfur
and urges member states to support the African Union in these efforts,
including by providing all equipment, logistical, financial, material, and
other resources necessary to support the rapid expansion of the African Union
Mission
.
(8)
On February 1, 2005, the
United Nations released the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry
on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, dated January 25, 2005,
which stated that, [g]overnment forces and militias conducted
indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced
disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual
violence, pillaging and forced displacement throughout Darfur
, that
such acts were conducted on a widespread and systematic basis, and
therefore may amount to crimes against humanity
, and that the
magnitude and large-scale nature of some crimes against humanity as well
as their consistency over a long period of time, necessarily imply that these
crimes result from a central planning operation
.
(9)
The Report of the
International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations
Secretary-General notes that, pursuant to its mandate and in the course of its
work, the UN Commission collected information relating to individual
perpetrators of acts constituting violations of international human
rights law and international humanitarian law, including crimes against
humanity and war crimes
and that the UN Commission has delivered to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations a sealed file of those named by the UN
Commission with the recommendation that the file be handed over to a
competent Prosecutor
.
4.
It is the sense of Congress
that—
(1)
the atrocities unfolding in
Darfur, Sudan, have been and continue to be genocide;
(2)
the United States should
immediately seek passage at the United Nations Security Council of a resolution
that—
(A)
requires member states to
freeze the property and assets of, deny visas to, and deny entry to—
(i)
those named by the UN
Commission;
(ii)
family members of those named
by the UN Commission; and
(iii)
any associates of those named
by the UN Commission to whom assets or property of those named by the UN
Commission were transferred on or after June 11, 2004;
(B)
urges member states to submit
to the Security Council the name of any individual that the government of any
such member state believes is or has been planning, carrying out, responsible
for, or otherwise involved in genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity
in Darfur, along with evidence supporting such belief so that the Security
Council may consider imposing sanctions described in subparagraph (A) against
those individuals described in such subparagraph;
(C)
imposes sanctions or
additional measures against the Government of Sudan, including sanctions that
will affect the petroleum sector in Sudan, individual members of the Government
of Sudan, and entities controlled or owned by officials of the government of
Sudan or the National Congress Party in Sudan, that will remain in effect until
such time as—
(i)
humanitarian organizations
are granted full, unimpeded access to Darfur;
(ii)
the Government of Sudan
cooperates with humanitarian relief efforts, carries out activities to
demobilize and disarm Janjaweed militias and any other militias supported or
created by the Government of Sudan, and cooperates fully with efforts to bring
to justice the individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes, or crimes
against humanity in Darfur;
(iii)
the Government of Sudan
cooperates fully with the African Union, the United Nations, and all other
observer, monitoring, and protection missions mandated to operate in
Sudan;
(iv)
the Government of Sudan
permits the safe and voluntary return of displaced persons and refugees to
their homes and rebuilds the communities destroyed in the violence in Darfur;
and
(v)
the Sudan North-South Peace
Agreement is fully implemented and a new coalition government is created under
such Agreement;
(D)
establishes a military no-fly
zone in Darfur;
(E)
supports the expansion of the
African Union force in Darfur so that such force achieves the size and strength
needed to prevent ongoing fighting and violence in Darfur;
(F)
urges member states to
accelerate assistance to the African Union force in Darfur;
(G)
calls on the Government of
Sudan to cooperate with, and allow unrestricted movement in Darfur by, the
African Union force in the region, international humanitarian organizations,
and United Nations monitors;
(H)
extends the embargo of
military equipment established by paragraphs 7 through 9 of Security Council
Resolution 1556 to include the prohibition of sale or supply to the Government
of Sudan; and
(I)
supports African Union
efforts to negotiate peace talks between the Government of Sudan and rebels in
Darfur, calls on the Government of Sudan and rebels in Darfur to abide by their
obligations under the N’Djamena Ceasefire Agreement of April 8, 2004 and
subsequent agreements, and urges parties to engage in peace talks without
preconditions and seek to resolve the conflict;
(3)
the United States should work
with other nations to ensure effective efforts to freeze the property and
assets of and deny visas and entry to—
(A)
those named by the UN
Commission;
(B)
any individuals the United
States believes is or has been planning, carrying out, responsible for, or
otherwise involved in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in
Darfur;
(C)
family members of any person
described in subparagraphs (A) or (B); and
(D)
any associates of any such
person to whom assets or property of such person were transferred on or after
June 11, 2004;
(4)
the United States should
support accountability through action by the United Nations Security Council,
pursuant to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, to ensure the
prompt prosecution and adjudication in a competent international court of
justice of those named by the UN Commission;
(5)
the United States should not
provide assistance to the Government of Sudan, other than assistance necessary
for the implementation of the Sudan North-South Peace Agreement, the support of
the southern regional government in Sudan, or for humanitarian purposes in
Sudan, unless the President certifies and reports to Congress that—
(A)
humanitarian organizations
are being granted full, unimpeded access to Darfur and the Government of Sudan
is providing full cooperation with humanitarian efforts;
(B)
concrete, sustained steps are
being taken toward demobilizing and disarming Janjaweed militias and any other
militias supported or created by the Government of Sudan;
(C)
the Government of Sudan is
cooperating fully with efforts to bring to justice those responsible for
genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity in Darfur;
(D)
the Government of Sudan
cooperates fully with the African Union, the United Nations, and all other
observer, monitoring, and protection missions mandated to operate in
Sudan;
(E)
the Government of Sudan
permits the safe and voluntary return of displaced persons and refugees to
their homes and rebuilds the communities destroyed in the violence in Darfur;
and
(F)
the Sudan North-South Peace
Agreement is fully implemented and a new coalition government is created under
such Agreement;
(6)
the President should work
with the African Union and other international organizations and nations to
establish mechanisms for the enforcement of a no-fly zone in Darfur;
(7)
the African Union should
extend its mandate in Darfur to include the protection of civilians and
proactive efforts to prevent violence, and member states should support fully
this extension;
(8)
the President should
accelerate assistance to the African Union force in Darfur and discussions with
the African Union and the European Union and other supporters of the African
Union force on the needs of such force, including assistance for housing,
transportation, communications, equipment, technical assistance such as
training and command and control assistance, and intelligence;
(9)
the President should appoint
a Presidential Envoy for Sudan—
(A)
to support the implementation
of the Sudan North-South Peace Agreement;
(B)
to seek ways to bring
stability and peace to Darfur;
(C)
to address instability
elsewhere in Sudan; and
(D)
to seek a comprehensive peace
throughout Sudan;
(10)
United States officials,
including the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense,
should raise the issue of Darfur in bilateral meetings with officials from
other members of the United Nations Security Council and relevant countries,
with the aim of passing a United Nations Security Council resolution described
in paragraph (2) and mobilizing maximum support for political, financial, and
military efforts to stop the genocide in Darfur;
(11)
the Secretary of State should
immediately engage in a concerted, sustained campaign with other members of the
United Nations Security Council and relevant countries with the aim of
achieving the goals described in paragraph (10);
(12)
the United States fully
supports the Sudan North-South Peace Agreement and urges the rapid
implementation of its terms; and
(13)
the United States condemns
attacks on humanitarian workers and calls on all forces in Darfur, including
forces of the Government of Sudan, all militia, and forces of the Sudan
People's Liberation Army/Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, to
refrain from such attacks.
5.
(a)
At such time as the United
States has access to the names of those named by the UN Commission, the
President shall take such action as may be necessary to immediately freeze the
funds and other assets belonging to anyone so named, their family members, and
any associates of those so named to whom assets or property of those so named
were transferred on or after June 11, 2004, including requiring that any United
States financial institution holding such funds and assets promptly report
those funds and assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
(b)
Beginning at such times as
the United States has access to the names of those named by the UN Commission,
the President shall deny visas and entry to—
(1)
those named by the UN
Commission;
(2)
the family members of those
named by the UN Commission; and
(3)
anyone the President
determines has been, is, or may be planning, carrying out, responsible for, or
otherwise involved in crimes against humanity, war crimes, or genocide in
Darfur, Sudan.
(c)
Asset reporting requirement
Not later than 14 days after
a decision to freeze the property or assets of, or deny a visa or entry to, any
person under this section, the President shall report the name of such person
to the appropriate congressional committees.
(d)
Notification of waivers of sanctions
Not later than 30 days before
waiving the provisions of any sanctions currently in force with regard to
Sudan, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report describing the waiver and the reasons therefor.
6.
(a)
Reports on stabilization in Sudan
(1)
Not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with
the Secretary of Defense, shall report to the appropriate congressional
committees on efforts to deploy an African Union force in Darfur, the capacity
of such force to stabilize Darfur and protect civilians, the needs of such
force to succeed at such mission including housing, transportation,
communications, equipment, technical assistance, including training and command
and control, and intelligence, current status of United States and other
assistance to the African Union force, and additional United States assistance
needed.
(2)
The Secretary of State, in
conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit not less than every 60
days until such time as the President certifies that the situation in Darfur is
stable and that civilians are no longer in danger and that the African Union is
no longer needed to prevent a resumption of violence and attacks against
civilians.
(b)
Report on those named by the UN Commission
At such time as the United
States has access to the names of those named by the UN Commission, the
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
listing such names.
(c)
Reports on accountability
(1)
No later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act and every 30 days thereafter, the President
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the status
of efforts in the United Nations Security Council to ensure prompt prosecution
and adjudication of those named by the UN Commission in a competent
international court of justice.
(2)
The reports required under
paragraph (1) shall describe—
(A)
the status of any relevant
resolution introduced in the United Nations Security Council;
(B)
the policy of the United
States with regard to such resolutions;
(C)
the status of all possible
venues for prosecution and adjudication of those named by the UN Commission,
including whether such venues have the jurisdiction, personnel and assets
necessary to promptly prosecute and adjudicate cases involving such persons;
and
(D)
any ongoing or planned United
States or other assistance related to the prosecution and adjudication of cases
involving those named by the UN Commission.