[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 276 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 276

      Calling for the urgent deployment of a robust and effective 
  multinational peacekeeping mission with sufficient size, resources, 
leadership, and mandate to protect civilians in Darfur, Sudan, and for 
    efforts to strengthen the renewal of a just and inclusive peace 
                                process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 19, 2007

 Mr. Biden (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Brownback, Mrs. 
  Clinton, Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
Mikulski, and Mr. Harkin) submitted the following resolution; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
      Calling for the urgent deployment of a robust and effective 
  multinational peacekeeping mission with sufficient size, resources, 
leadership, and mandate to protect civilians in Darfur, Sudan, and for 
    efforts to strengthen the renewal of a just and inclusive peace 
                                process.

Whereas hundreds of thousands of people have died and approximately 2,500,000 
        people have been displaced in Darfur, Sudan since 2003;
Whereas Congress declared on July 22, 2004 that the atrocities in Darfur were 
        genocide;
Whereas President George W. Bush has repeatedly decried the genocide in Darfur, 
        stating, for example, on April 18, 2007, ``that genocide is the only 
        word for what is happening in Darfur--and that we have a moral 
        obligation to stop it'';
Whereas the crisis in Darfur and the surrounding region continues and has in 
        fact in some ways worsened despite the efforts of the United States, the 
        United Nations, the African Union, and the international community;
Whereas on August 30, 2006, the United Nations Security Council approved United 
        Nations Security Council Resolution 1706 providing that the existing 
        United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) ``shall take over from [the 
        African Mission in Sudan (AMIS)] responsibility for supporting the 
        implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement upon the expiration of 
        AMIS' mandate but in any event no later than 31 December 2006'', and 
        that UNMIS ``shall be strengthened by up to 17,300 military personnel 
        ... up to 3,300 civilian police personnel'', which ``shall begin to be 
        deployed no later than 1 October 2006'';
Whereas the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir rejected United Nations Security 
        Council Resolution 1706 and refused to allow the United Nations to 
        deploy a peacekeeping force to Darfur;
Whereas Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Alpha 
        Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union, led efforts to reach a 
        compromise with President al-Bashir by convening a summit of interested 
        governments and international bodies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 
        November 16, 2006;
Whereas as a result of the Addis Ababa summit an agreement was reached by all 
        parties, including the United Nations, the African Union, the European 
        Union, the Government of Sudan, the United States, and China, which 
        called for a three-phased deployment of a hybrid United Nations-African 
        Union peacekeeping force to Darfur of no less than 17,000 military 
        troops and 3,000 civilian police, with a primarily African character, 
        but open to non-African troop and police contributors;
Whereas the agreement stated that the United Nations-African Union hybrid force 
        would have a strong mandate to protect civilians and that the 
        peacekeeping force must be logistically and financially sustainable, 
        with support from the United Nations;
Whereas President al-Bashir has repeatedly obstructed the Addis Ababa agreement 
        since its signing by reneging on and redefining the terms of his 
        commitment to allow the deployment of the full hybrid United Nations-
        African Union force;
Whereas on June 11, 2007, President al-Bashir pledged to accept unconditionally 
        the full United Nations-African Union hybrid deployment;
Whereas some subsequent speeches and statements by President al-Bashir have 
        contradicted that claim of acceptance while others have reinforced it;
Whereas diplomatic efforts to secure President al-Bashir's genuine acceptance 
        and facilitation of the full United Nations-African Union hybrid force 
        must not lead to weakening of the structure, capacities, or mandate of 
        that force in exchange for President al-Bashir's full compliance;
Whereas history has repeatedly demonstrated that the ultimate success or failure 
        of any peacekeeping force depends significantly on its size, resources, 
        mandate, mobility, and command structure;
Whereas to establish conditions of peace and security, the peacekeeping mission 
        must be accompanied by a peace-building process among the parties to the 
        conflict;
Whereas such a process will require a sustained, coordinated, and high-level 
        diplomatic attempt to unify the rebel groups in the region and 
        engagement with the rebels and the Sudanese government in order to forge 
        a comprehensive political settlement;
Whereas under the international humanitarian law of the Geneva Convention 
        Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at 
        Geneva August 12, 1949 (6 UST 3516) and the Protocols Additional to the 
        Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, done at Geneva June 8, 1977, all 
        parties to the conflict in Darfur are required to refrain from attacks 
        on civilians and on medical and other humanitarian personnel, and all 
        perpetrators should be held accountable for violations of international 
        humanitarian law; and
Whereas failure on the part of the international community to take all steps 
        necessary to generate, deploy, and maintain an effective United Nations-
        African Union hybrid peacekeeping force will result in the continued 
        loss of life and further degradation of humanitarian infrastructure in 
        Darfur: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) urges the President of the United States to--
                    (A) work with members of the United Nations 
                Security Council and the African Union to ensure the 
                expeditious deployment of the United Nations-African 
                Union hybrid peacekeeping force under Chapter VII of 
                the United Nations Charter and operating under United 
                Nations guidelines and procedures for command and 
                control with a mandate affirming that civilian 
                protection is a primary mission objective;
                    (B) strongly encourage the member states of the 
                United Nations that have the capabilities to do so, to 
                contribute collectively approximately 19,500 military 
                personnel and up to 6,500 police to implement the 
                mandate, as is currently under discussion in the United 
                Nations Security Council;
                    (C) work bilaterally and with member states of the 
                North Atlantic Trade Organization, the United Nations, 
                the European Union, the African Union, and other 
                capable partners to--
                            (i) rapidly implement pre-deployment 
                        programs and provide equipment to United 
                        Nations standards, with a special focus on 
                        African peacekeepers, in order to ensure that a 
                        full complement of peacekeepers can be 
                        deployed, sustained, and rotated as necessary; 
                        and
                            (ii) provide the United Nations-African 
                        Union hybrid force with--
                                    (I) sufficient logistical support 
                                and airlift capacity;
                                    (II) necessary vehicles, fixed-wing 
                                aircraft, and helicopters for tactical 
                                reconnaissance and armed deterrence; 
                                and
                                    (III) other equipment;
                    (D) work with members of the United Nations and the 
                African Union to--
                            (i) ensure that substantive civilian 
                        mission components are rapidly established and 
                        able to capitalize on any opportunities to 
                        advance the political and peace processes which 
                        the successful deployment of the United 
                        Nations-African Union hybrid force may create;
                            (ii) reinitiate a peace-building process 
                        among the parties to the conflict as part of a 
                        sustained, coordinated, high-level diplomatic 
                        effort to forge a comprehensive political 
                        settlement; and
                            (iii) ensure the security, maintenance, and 
                        expansion of humanitarian access to those in 
                        need and promote a return to the rule of law in 
                        the region;
                    (E) work with members of the United Nations, the 
                African Union, the European Union, and other donor 
                nations to ensure that adequate financial support is 
                provided to peacekeepers serving in the current African 
                Mission in Sudan, and the planned hybrid United 
                Nations-African Union force; and
                    (F) work with Congress to ensure robust funding for 
                the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping 
                mission in Darfur;
            (2) urges the Secretary-General of the United Nations and 
        the Chairperson of the African Union to make every effort to 
        expedite the urgent generation, rapid deployment, and effective 
        administration of the full United Nations-African Union hybrid 
        force;
            (3) urges Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the 
        Government of Sudan to abide by the agreement of President al-
        Bashir to fully accept and facilitate the deployment of the 
        United Nations-African Union hybrid force without condition;
            (4) urges the President's Special Envoy to Sudan to 
        continue his legislative outreach, including offering to brief 
        Congress every 60 days on the status of deployment of the 
        United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force and 
        parallel measures to enable peace in Darfur through an 
        inclusive political process; and
            (5) urges President George W. Bush, the United Nations 
        Security Council, the African Union, the European Union, the 
        League of Arab States, nations in the region, and individual 
        nations with significant economic or political influence over 
        Sudan to--
                    (A) hold President al-Bashir and the Government of 
                Sudan accountable for any failure through neglect or 
                obstruction to fully facilitate the deployment of the 
                full United Nations-African Union hybrid force for 
                Darfur; and
                    (B) be prepared to implement meaningful measures, 
                including the imposition of multilateral sanctions, an 
                arms embargo, and a no fly zone for Sudanese military 
                flights over Darfur, if the Government of Sudan 
                obstructs deployment of the agreed upon peacekeeping 
                mission.
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