[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 531 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 531

   To urge the President to appoint a Presidential Special Envoy for 
                                 Sudan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 14, 2006

Mr. Lieberman (for himself, Mr. Burns, Mr. Reid, Mr. Bond, Mrs. Murray, 
Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Talent, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Snowe, and Ms. 
Cantwell) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   To urge the President to appoint a Presidential Special Envoy for 
                                 Sudan.

Whereas, on July 22, 2004, the Senate and House of Representatives declared that 
        the atrocities occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan are genocide;
Whereas, on September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell stated before 
        the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, ``When 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.'';
Whereas, on September 21, 2004, in an address before the United Nations General 
        Assembly, President George W. Bush affirmed the finding of Secretary of 
        State Powell and stated, ``At this hour, the world is witnessing 
        terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, 
        crimes my government has concluded are genocide.'';
Whereas various nongovernmental organizations have estimated that up to 400,000 
        people have died in Darfur from combat, hunger, and disease since 
        February 2003;
Whereas prominent human rights groups, think tanks, and members of Congress have 
        called for the appointment of a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan;
Whereas Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who had acted as the lead 
        negotiator and coordinator for the United States Government toward 
        Darfur, resigned from that position on June 19, 2006;
Whereas Ambassador Zoellick was instrumental in securing the peace agreement 
        among the Government of Sudan and rebel factions on May 5, 2006, and was 
        described by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as ``indispensable in 
        our efforts to bring peace to Sudan and to end the violence in Darfur'';
Whereas other United States Government officials deeply involved in Darfur are 
        departing public service or moving to new positions, including White 
        House Policy Advisor Michael Gerson, National Security Council Senior 
        Director for African Affairs Cindy Courville, and the State Department 
        Special Representative to Sudan Michael Ranneberger; and
Whereas the crisis in Darfur, and generally Sudan, continues to command urgent 
        attention due to the ongoing displacement of roughly 2,500,000 people, 
        the continuing instability in the region, the fragility of the May 5, 
        2006, peace accord, the spread of the conflict to neighboring Chad, the 
        lack of security that prevents multilateral organizations and 
        nongovernmental organizations from providing assistance to the most 
        vulnerable displaced persons of Darfur, the reluctance by the Government 
        of Sudan to allow a robust United Nations presence in that country, and 
        the difficulties involved in assisting the African Union Mission in 
        Sudan and transitioning that body into a United Nations force: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Senate commends the efforts of former Deputy 
        Secretary of State Robert Zoellick in Darfur and the 
        contributions of White House Policy Advisor Michael Gerson, 
        Ambassador Cindy Courville, and Ambassador Michael Ranneberger; 
        and
            (2) it is the sense of the Senate that--
                    (A) the United States urgently needs an individual 
                of Ambassadorial rank and high stature to devote 
                exclusive attention to Darfur and related issues 
                concerning peace and stability in Sudan;
                    (B) such individual should formulate and coordinate 
                policy, lead negotiations, engage with parties to the 
                conflict to monitor their compliance with the terms and 
                deadlines of the May 5, 2006, Darfur Peace Agreement, 
                gather resources from donors, and ensure that this 
                crisis retains high visibility and remains a top 
                priority for the United States Government until it is 
                substantially resolved; and
                    (C) the President should, at the earliest date 
                possible, appoint a Presidential Special Envoy for 
                Sudan with the rank of Ambassador and should provide 
                not less than $250,000, to support the Presidential 
                Special Envoy, in accordance with Senate Amendment 3719 
                to H.R. 4939 of the 109th Congress, as agreed to in the 
                Senate on May 3, 2006.
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