Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Just and Lasting Peace in Sudan Act of 2008

Definitions

For purposes of this Act: (1)

Appropriate congressional committees

The term appropriate congressional committees means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. (2)

Government of sudan

The term Government of Sudan means Sudan’s Government of National Unity. Such term does not include the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). (3)

SPLM

The term SPLM means the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The United States Government rightfully declared the atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan to be genocide. More than 450,000 people have been killed and an estimated 2,500,000 people have been displaced since the crisis erupted in 2003. (2)The Government of Sudan continues to commit atrocities against innocent civilians in Darfur. According to a March 25, 2008, report by the United Nations Secretary-General, increased hostilities in Western Darfur over the reporting period have led to significant displacement and loss of civilian life, while also inhibiting humanitarian access to civilian populations affected by the fighting. (3)In October 2007, the Government of Southern Sudan suspended the participation of its ministers, state ministers, and presidential advisors from Sudan’s Government of National Unity to protest measures taken by the National Congress Party and to demand full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). (4)Implementation of the CPA by the Government of National Unity has been selective and at times deliberately slow. The Government of Sudan has not yet implemented the Abyei Boundary Commission (ABC) recommendations. The ABC was mandated to define and demarcate the area known as the 9 Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms transferred in 1905 to Kordofan in North Sudan. (5)The ABC was chaired by former United States Ambassador to Sudan Donald Peterson, with active international engagement. In July 2005, the ABC submitted its final report to the Sudan’s presidency. According to the CPA, upon presentation of the final report, the Presidency shall take necessary action to put the special administration status of Abyei Area into immediate effect. (6)According to a September 2007 report by the United Nations Secretary-General, the lack of administration in Abyei has hampered CPA activities and left gaps in policing, public sanitation, and health services. Continued intransigence on this issue is likely to lead to war. (7)The Government of Sudan is well known to signing peace agreements and make commitments but has consistently failed to honor these agreements. (8)Efforts to hold individuals accountable for the genocide in Darfur have not been successful in large part because the Government of Sudan refuses to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and protects indicted individuals by the ICC. (9)In April 2008, Special Envoy Richard Williamson and a Government of Sudan delegation led by Nafi Ali Nafi, a man responsible for many of Sudan’s international terror links and domestic atrocities, met in Rome to discuss normalization of relations between Sudan and the United States. (10)Nafi Ali Nafi was the security chief when Sudan gave safe haven to Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, a period when Bin Laden began to build his terror network. Nafi was also a key player in support of Gama’a Islamia, a group that tried to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The weapons used in the assassination attempt were reportedly flown by Sudan Airways, and after the failed attempt, one of the assassins was flown to Sudan on Sudan Airways.

Codification of existing sanctions in support of a just and lasting peace in Sudan

(a)

In general

Sanctions against the Government of Sudan that were imposed pursuant to any provision of law, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, including sanctions against the Government of Sudan that were imposed pursuant to any executive order or other administrative action, shall remain in effect against the Government of Sudan and shall not be lifted pursuant to such provisions of law until the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Sudan has met the conditions described in subsection (b) for a period of not less than one year. (b)

Conditions described

The conditions referred to in subsection (a) are the following: (1)The Government of Sudan fully implements the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). (2)The Abyei Boundary Commission (ABC) recommendations are implemented and oil revenue shares are paid retroactively. (3)The Government of Sudan hands over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) all indicted individuals without any delay. (4)The Government of Sudan ends its atrocities against innocent civilians in Darfur and other parts of Sudan. (5)The Government of Sudan allows the deployment of the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) forces and allows unhindered access to humanitarian workers. (6)The Government of Sudan ends its ties with known terrorist organizations and individuals. (7)Senior officials in the Government of Sudan are held accountable for crimes committed in the Nuba, South Sudan, Southern Blue Nile, and Eastern Sudan. (8)Senior officials in the Government of Sudan are held accountable for their support for Osama bin Laden and other terrorist groups. (c)

Monitoring mechanism

The President of the United States shall establish a mechanism to monitor and ensure that the Government of Sudan is meeting the conditions described in subsection (b). (d)

Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that the United States Government should not normalize relations with the Government of Sudan until the conditions described in subsection (b) have been implemented for a period of not less than one year as described in subsection (a).