Congressional Record, Volume 150 Issue 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)

[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4931-S4936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 497, S. Con.
Res. 99.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the concurrent
resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:

A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 99) condemning the
Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its participation
and complicity in the attacks against innocent civilians in
the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
concurrent resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on
Foreign Relations with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble:

(Strike the parts shown in black brackets and insert the
parts printed in italic.)

S. Con. Res. 99

[Whereas, since early 2003, a conflict between forces of
the Government of the Republic of the Sudan, including
militia forces backed by the Government, and rebel forces in
the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan has resulted
in attacks by ground and air forces of the Government of
Sudan against innocent civilians and undefended villages in
the region;
[Whereas the militia forces backed by the Government of
Sudan have also engaged in the use of rape as a weapon of
war, the abduction of children, the destruction of food and
water sources, and the deliberate and systematic manipulation
and denial of humanitarian assistance for the people of the
Darfur region;
[Whereas United Nations officials and nongovernmental
organizations have indicated that the humanitarian situation
in the

[[Page S4932]]

Darfur region is extremely urgent, particularly in light of
restrictions by the Government of Sudan on the delivery of
humanitarian assistance for the people of the region;
[Whereas, on December 18, 2003, United Nations
Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland
declared that the Darfur region was probably ``the world's
worst humanitarian catastrophe'';
[Whereas, on February 17, 2004, Amnesty International
reported that it ``continues to receive details of horrifying
attacks against civilians in villages by government
warplanes, soldiers, and pro-government militia'';
[Whereas, on February 18, 2004, United Nations Special
Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan Tom Eric Vraalsen
declared, following a trip to the Darfur region, that ``aid
workers are unable to reach the vast majority [of the
displaced]'';
[Whereas Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-
winning medical humanitarian relief organization and one of
the few aid groups on the ground in the Darfur region,
reported that the region is the scene of ``catastrophic
mortality rates''; and
[Whereas nearly 3,000,000 people affected by the conflict
in the Darfur region have remained beyond the reach of aid
agencies trying to provide essential humanitarian assistance,
and United Nations aid agencies estimate that they have been
able to reach only 15 percent of people in need and that more
than 700,000 people have been displaced within Sudan in the
past year: Now, therefore, be it]
Whereas, since early 2003, a conflict between forces of the
Government of the Republic of the Sudan, including militia
forces backed by the Government, and rebel forces in the
impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan has resulted in
attacks by ground and air forces of the Government of Sudan
against innocent civilians and undefended villages in the
region;
Whereas the militia forces backed by the Government of
Sudan have also engaged in the use of rape as a weapon of
war, the abduction of children, the destruction of food and
water sources, and the deliberate and systematic manipulation
and denial of humanitarian assistance for the people of the
Darfur region;
Whereas, on December 18, 2003, United Nations
Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland
declared that the Darfur region was probably ``the world's
worst humanitarian catastrophe'', and in April 2004 reported
to the United Nations Security Council that in Darfur, ``a
sequence of deliberate actions has been observed that seem
aimed at achieving a specific objective: the forcible and
long-term displacement of the targeted communities which may
also be termed `ethnic cleansing' '';
Whereas, on February 17, 2004, Amnesty International
reported that it ``continues to receive details of horrifying
attacks against civilians in villages by government
warplanes, soldiers, and pro-government militia'';
Whereas, on February 18, 2004, United Nations Special Envoy
for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan Tom Eric Vraalsen declared,
following a trip to the Darfur region, that ``aid workers are
unable to reach the vast majority [of the displaced]'';
Whereas Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-
winning medical humanitarian relief organization and one of
the few aid groups on the ground in the Darfur region,
reported that the region is the scene of ``catastrophic
mortality rates'';
Whereas, on April 20, the United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights delayed the release of a report
citing gross human rights abuses, crimes against humanity,
and war crimes committed in Darfur in a bid to gain access to
Sudan for investigators;
Whereas the Government of Sudan continues to deny
humanitarian assistance for the people of the Darfur region
by denying them unrestricted access to humanitarian aid
organizations;
Whereas attacks on civilians in Darfur continue despite an
April 8, 2004, temporary cease-fire agreement; and
Whereas nearly 3,000,000 people affected by the conflict in
the Darfur region have remained beyond the reach of aid
agencies trying to provide essential humanitarian assistance,
and United Nations aid agencies estimate that they have been
able to reach only 15 percent of people in need and that more
than 700,000 people have been displaced within Sudan in the
past year: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, [That Congress--
[(1) strongly condemns the Government of the Republic of
the Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the
impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan and for its
failure to take effective actions to stop militia attacks on
civilians in the region, and demands that the Government of
Sudan immediately take actions to cease these attacks;
[(2) calls on the international community to strongly
condemn the Government of Sudan for its participation and
complicity in these attacks and demand that such attacks
cease;
[(3) urges the Government of Sudan to allow the delivery of
humanitarian assistance to people in the Darfur region; and
[(4) urges the President to direct the United States
Representative to the United Nations to seek an official
investigation by the United Nations to determine if crimes
against humanity have been committed by the Government of
Sudan in the Darfur region.]
That Congress--
(1) strongly condemns the Government of the Republic of the
Sudan and militia groups supported by the Government of Sudan
for attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished
Darfur region of western Sudan, in violation of Article 3 of
the Geneva Conventions, done at Geneva August 12, 1949, and
entered into force October 21, 1950, which specifically
prohibit attacks on civilians, and demands that the
Government of Sudan immediately take actions to cease these
attacks;
(2) calls on the Government of Sudan to grant full,
unconditional, and immediate access to Darfur to humanitarian
aid organizations, the human rights investigation and
humanitarian teams of the United Nations, and an
international monitoring team in compliance with the
temporary cease-fire agreement that is based in Darfur and
has the support of the United States and the European Union;
(3) encourages the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development to work with donors to
develop a plan to pre-position and deliver humanitarian
assistance to Darfur, including a plan for delivery of food
by air if necessary;
(4) calls on the Secretary of State to develop a plan for
further bilateral and multilateral action in the event the
Government of Sudan fails to immediately undertake the
actions called for in paragraph (2), including a plan to seek
a Security Council resolution addressing the Darfur
situation;
(5) deplores the inaction of some member states of the
United Nations and the failure of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission to take strong action with respect to the
crisis in Darfur; and
(6) urges the President to direct the United States
Representative to the United Nations to--
(A) seek an official investigation by the United Nations to
determine if crimes against humanity have been committed by
the Government of Sudan in the Darfur region; and
(B) work with the international community to ensure that
the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity in
Darfur are accountable for their actions.

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I wish to make a brief comment. First, I
ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be agreed
to, the concurrent resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the amendment
to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble, as amended, be agreed to,
the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, and that any
statements relating thereto be printed in the Record, with no
intervening action.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee amendment, in the nature of a substitute, was agreed
to.
The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 99), as amended, was agreed
to.
The amendment to the preamble, in the nature of a substitute, was
agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

S. Con. Res. 99

Whereas, since early 2003, a conflict between forces of the
Government of the Republic of the Sudan, including militia
forces backed by the Government, and rebel forces in the
impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan has resulted in
attacks by ground and air forces of the Government of Sudan
against innocent civilians and undefended villages in the
region;
Whereas, the militia forces backed by the Government of
Sudan have also engaged in the use of rape as a weapon of
war, the abduction of children, the destruction of food and
water sources, and the deliberate and systematic manipulation
and denial of humanitarian assistance for the people of the
Darfur region;
Whereas, on December 18, 2003, United Nations
Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland
declared that the Darfur region was probably ``the world's
worst humanitarian catastrophe'', and in April 2004 reported
to the United Nations Security Council that in Darfur, ``a
sequence of deliberate actions has been observed that seem
aimed at achieving a specific objective: the forcible and
long-term displacement of the targeted communities which may
also be termed `ethnic cleansing' '';
Whereas, on February 17, 2004, Amnesty International
reported that it ``continues to receive details of horrifying
attacks against civilians in villages by government
warplanes, soldiers, and pro-government militia'';
Whereas, on February 18, 2004, United Nations Special Envoy
for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan Tom Eric Vraalsen declared,
following a trip to the Darfur region, that ``aid workers are
unable to reach the vast majority [of the displaced]'';
Whereas, Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-
winning medical humanitarian relief organization and one of
the few aid groups on the ground in the Darfur region,
reported that the region is the scene of ``catastrophic
mortality rates'';
Whereas, on April 20, the United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights delayed the release of a report
citing gross human rights abuses, crimes against humanity,
and war crimes committed in Darfur in a bid to gain access to
Sudan for investigators;
Whereas, the Government of Sudan continues to deny
humanitarian assistance for the people of the Darfur region
by denying

[[Page S4933]]

them unrestricted access to humanitarian aid organizations;
Whereas, attacks on civilians in Darfur continue despite an
April 8, 2004, temporary cease-fire agreement; and
Whereas, nearly 3,000,000 people affected by the conflict
in the Darfur region have remained beyond the reach of aid
agencies trying to provide essential humanitarian assistance,
and United Nations aid agencies estimate that they have been
able to reach only 15 percent of people in need and that more
than 700,000 people have been displaced within Sudan in the
past year: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That Congress--
(1) strongly condemns the Government of the Republic of the
Sudan and militia groups supported by the Government of Sudan
for attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished
Darfur region of western Sudan, in violation of Article 3 of
the Geneva Conventions, done at Geneva August 12, 1949, and
entered into force October 21, 1950, which specifically
prohibit attacks on civilians, and demands that the
Government of Sudan immediately take actions to cease these
attacks;
(2) calls on the Government of Sudan to grant full,
unconditional, and immediate access to Darfur to humanitarian
aid organizations, the human rights investigation and
humanitarian teams of the United Nations, and an
international monitoring team in compliance with the
temporary cease-fire agreement that is based in Darfur and
has the support of the United States and the European Union;
(3) encourages the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development to work with donors to
develop a plan to pre-position and deliver humanitarian
assistance to Darfur, including a plan for delivery of food
by air if necessary;
(4) calls on the Secretary of State to develop a plan for
further bilateral and multilateral action in the event the
Government of Sudan fails to immediately undertake the
actions called for in paragraph (2), including a plan to seek
a Security Council resolution addressing the Darfur
situation;
(5) deplores the inaction of some member states of the
United Nations and the failure of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission to take strong action with respect to the
crisis in Darfur; and
(6) urges the President to direct the United States
Representative to the United Nations to--
(A) seek an official investigation by the United Nations to
determine if crimes against humanity have been committed by
the Government of Sudan in the Darfur region; and
(B) work with the international community to ensure that
the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity in
Darfur are accountable for their actions.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I do want to draw attention to this
terrible tragedy unfolding in the Darfur region of Sudan. I have had
the opportunity to travel to the Sudan a number of times, many times
over the last several years, and care greatly for the people there, as
do all of our colleagues who are in this Chamber today.
I thank Senator Brownback for his tremendous leadership on this
issue. He will come to the floor later today to comment on this
important resolution. He has shown steadfast commitment throughout for
the people of southern Sudan.
I also thank Senator Feingold. He and I have had the opportunity to
work together for many years on the Africa Subcommittee and have worked
together to draw attention to the terrible civil war in Sudan, which
has displaced millions of people. A million people have died over the
last 20, 22 years.

I also thank my colleague from Tennessee, Senator Alexander, who now
chairs the African Subcommittee, as well as Chairman Lugar and Senator
Biden, and all the colleagues who have worked on this issue.
The international community estimates that 1 million--1 million--
Sudanese in the Darfur region have been displaced by the ongoing
attacks by government-backed militias. At least 110,000 Darfur Sudanese
have sought refuge in Chad. But even there the militias have been able
to cross the border and attack the refugee camps. It is an ongoing
tragedy.
The outgoing United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Khartoum says
the continuing atrocities are nothing short of genocide.
Since the violence began in February of last year, up to 30,000
Darfur natives have been killed. The U.N. coordinator warns that the
raping, looting, and mass destruction being perpetuated is ``more than
just a conflict.'' He warns that, ``It is an organized attempt to do
away with a group of people.''
On Monday, a U.N. mission returned from a 6-day inspection of Darfur.
The team concludes that many of the violations they investigated may
constitute war crimes and/or crimes against humanity. Their report, due
to be completed by the end of this week, is expected to confirm many of
the accounts of mass murder, multiple rapes, aerial bombings, and
ground attacks.
The crisis only threatens to worsen. Later this month, the rainy
season will begin. Aid experts tell us the massive yearly flooding may
seriously hinder their efforts to distribute desperately needed aid and
medical supplies. Amnesty International warns that the impending rains
are a ticking timebomb in the countdown to disaster.
The situation in Darfur is dire. I take a special interest in the
plight of the Darfur people because of my own contact with the
Sudanese. I have traveled extensively throughout southern Sudan. I have
had the opportunity to perform medical mission work in that part of the
world in a hospital in a little village called Lui. I have visited the
Nuba Mountains in central Sudan, the Blue Nile region north of there,
as well as Pabong, which is one of the oil regions in which there has
been a lot of displacement.
Recently, in August, I was in southern Sudan, where I had the
opportunity again to operate and perform surgery and serve the
community there in this hospital in Lui, the only medical facility in
about a 150-mile radius of that small village.
Through these travels, I have had the opportunity to take care of
patients who have come in with war-torn injuries, and who are suffering
from the plight of this civil war, a brutal war--the innocent people
there who are being shattered day in, day out, by civil war.
I wanted to share with my colleagues the suffering of the people of
southern Sudan and thus wholly endorse this resolution. We have all
worked together--Senators Brownback, Feingold, Biden, Lugar, Helms, and
many others--to enact a Sudan Peace Act in the past. That bill, indeed,
provided a framework for peace negotiations in Sudan.
This past September, shortly after we were in southern Sudan, I was
heartened by the cease-fire by the Khartoum government and the Sudanese
rebels. Peace, it seemed, at that point in time might finally come. But
now my hopes are wearing thin. The government of Khartoum absolutely
must take responsibility for its complicity in the systematic murders
and atrocities being committed in Darfur by the Janjaweed.
On Tuesday the U.S. Agency for International Development delivered
the first of four aid airlifts planned for the week. The Agency is
providing thousands of blankets and temporary shelter and medical
supplies and food. But even with the best, the most hopeful, the most
optimistic projections that the Darfur crisis can be controlled, the
most optimistic say it will continue for another 18 months, even if
Khartoum right now starts cracking down on the Janjaweed militias.
Hence, there is not time to waste. Literally millions of lives are in
the balance. We must draw the worlds's attention to the crisis in
Sudan.
This week's elections of Sudan to a third term on the United Nations
Human Rights Commission is a travesty. It undermines the credibility of
the Commission but, more importantly, it signals to the Sudanese people
that the highest human rights body in the world has abandoned them and
ignored their plight.
I stand alongside the administration in its unqualified disapproval
of Sudan's inclusion in the U.N. Human Rights Commission. By approving
S. Con. Res. 99, however, this body rightly condemns the actions of
Khartoum and Darfur. We put Khartoum on notice that the Senate will
continue to scrutinize and hold accountable acts of commission or
omission by the Khartoum government that violate their citizens' human
rights.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does the majority leader reserve the
remainder of his time?
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, that completes leader time. That should not
take away from morning business.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Democratic leader.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I, too, will use my leader time and
reserve the

[[Page S4934]]

remainder of the allocation for our Democratic colleagues to use the
other time in morning business.
I share the sentiment expressed by the majority leader with regard to
S. Con. Res. 99, regarding the Sudan. It is past time that we were
heard on this troubling situation. I commend Senators Feingold and
Brownback as well for their leadership.
Late last year, United Nations Under Secretary General for
Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland called the developing situation in the
Darfur region of Sudan, where two rebel groups have been locked in a
battle with Sudanese government forces and government-backed militias
since February 2003, ``the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe.''
Mr. Egeland has seen a lot of disaster, and he does not use terms
like catastrophe loosely. In a world increasingly torn asunder by
ethnic and regional conflicts, calling Darfur the world's worst
catastrophe is saying something. Unfortunately, it appears that Egeland
has chosen the right word to describe this situation.
Amnesty International has reported that it ``continues to receive
details of horrifying attacks against civilians in villages by
government warplanes, soldiers, and pro-government militia.'' Doctors
Without Borders reported that the regions is the scene of
``catastrophic mortality rates.''
And American government and international estimates suggest that
nearly 3 million people have been affected by the terrible fighting in
Darfur; 700,000 have been displaced; 100,000 have fled to neighboring
Chad, and 30,000 have been killed.
Meanwhile, international aid agencies estimate that, as a result of
this fighting, they have been able to help only 15 percent of the
people who need it. The Sudanese Government has systematically and
deliberately denied humanitarian assistance for, and international
access to, this region.
At the same time, credible reports suggest the militia forces backed
by the Government of Sudan are engaged in the use of rape as a weapon
of war, are abducting children, and are destroying food and water
sources. If all this were not sad and outrageous enough, the Sudanese
Government--the same one that is complicit in these atrocities--just
Tuesday was chosen to serve on the United Nations Human Rights
Commission. Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times recently described
the situation in the Darfur region this way: I can't get the
kaleidoscope of genocide out of my head since my trip last month to the
Sudan-Chad border: the fresh graves, especially the extra-small mounds
for children; the piles of branches on graves to keep wild animals from
digging up corpses; the tales of women being first raped and then
branded on the hand to stigmatize them forever; the isolated peasants,
unfamiliar with electricity, who suddenly encounter the 21st century as
helicopters machine-gun their children.
Each of us hoped we would leave this hatred, violence and ethnic
cleansing behind in the 20th century. At the very least, we must now
ensure we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. I was heartened when
the United States recently voted against a resolution backed by the
United Nations Human Rights Commission because it didn't do enough to
condemn ethnic cleansing in Darfur. And I am pleased that the President
condemned the Sudanese Government's actions there. But that is just a
first step.
If the Government of Sudan ever wants to be welcomed into the
community of nations, it must take concrete steps that befit a member
of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. It must immediately take
actions to cease the attacks in Darfur. It must allow the delivery of
humanitarian assistance to people in the Darfur region. President Bush
must direct the United States Representative to the United Nations to
seek an official investigation by the United Nations to determine if
crimes against humanity have been committed by the Government of Sudan
in the Darfur region.
This is the very least the international community must do, and we
must do it now. Any delay will have a terrible cost in human lives.
Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise with several of my colleagues
today to bring to the attention of this body a severe situation in the
western part of Sudan. The Darfur region is facing an acute
humanitarian catastrophe, which has been cited by some individuals as
the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.
For over a year now, government-backed militias have been carrying
out savage attacks on innocent civilians and have engaged in the use of
rape as a weapon, abducted children, destroyed food and irrigation
systems and burned villages. We are gravely concerned about the
violence that persists, despite the April 8 cease-fire agreement.
Recent estimates report that 3 million people are beyond the reach of
aid agencies trying to provide assistance in Sudan, and mortality rates
in the Darfur region are catastrophic.
The Darfur disaster has forced staggering numbers of people to flee
their homes. More than 800,000 people have been displaced, with more
than 100,000 of them crossing the border into neighboring Chad. Less
than half of these refugees are living in UNHCR camps. Refugees
International reported yesterday that 540 refugees in Chad are near
death due to lack of food. To make matters worse, the rainy season is
expected soon, at which time roads will be impassable and the delivery
of aid extremely difficult.
Human Rights investigators have finally been allowed into the region
and we anticipate their findings later this week. However, initial
reports indicate that their movements were severely restricted, despite
numerous requests for full access to the region. The international
community must continue to call on the Government of Sudan to grant
visas to the humanitarian organizations who are ready and waiting to
provide much-needed assistance in Darfur.
Civil war has left carnage during the two decades of fighting in
Sudan. The largely Arab-Islamic North had been fighting the
predominantly African-Christian and animist South over issues of
religion and Sharia law. Negotiations have included tough compromises
over issues of power- and wealth-sharing. I believe that continued
pressure on Sudan to end the suffering in Darfur can lead to a
negotiated settlement between the North and the South, which we hope to
see in the coming days. But we cannot wait for this agreement to
address the current situation; the humanitarian crisis in Darfur
warrants immediate attention by the international community.
Today the Senate passed S. Con. Res. 99, condemning the Government of
Sudan for their complicity in attacks against innocent civilians and
calling on them to immediately end such brutality. It calls on Sudan to
grant immediate and unconditional access to Darfur for humanitarian and
human rights organizations and for a cease-fire monitoring team. In
addition, it calls on the USAID Administrator to develop a plan for the
delivery of humanitarian assistance, by air if necessary. Furthermore,
the resolution urges the Secretary of State to develop a plan for
further bilateral and multilateral action in the event that the
Government of Sudan fails to immediately allow access, including a plan
to seek a Security Council resolution addressing the Darfur situation.
Finally, S. Con. Res. 99 urges the President to direct the U.S.
Representative to the United Nations to seek an official investigation
to determine if crimes against humanity have been committed by the
Government of Sudan in Darfur and work with the international community
to ensure that the individuals responsible for such crimes are
accountable for their actions.
I thank my colleagues for their support of this important resolution.
The 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide was an important reminder
of the devastating effects that international blindness can have on a
population. Just this week, Sudan was voted back onto the U.N. Human
Rights Commission, despite protests by the United States. How can a
nation who allows for nearly 1 million displaced persons, catastrophic
deaths, and the threat of continuing death and disease, remain on the
very body of the United Nations which is responsible for preventing
such atrocities?
We have a moral responsibility to the people of Darfur, let us not
wait until another life is lost.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, on Tuesday, the Foreign Relations Committee

[[Page S4935]]

discharged a resolution which speaks to the situation in Darfur, Sudan.
I am alarmed by reports of atrocities there. I am worried that genocide
may be unfolding.
We need to make a determination about what is going on in Darfur and
respond accordingly. Administration officials have termed it ethnic
cleansing. This would be horrific in and of itself. But we also have to
ask whether or not Khartoum's actions are an intent to destroy in whole
or in part a particular ethnic or racial group or groups. If so, what
should we do about it? These are questions we must answer right away.
As you know, the administration has been heavily involved in
negotiations between the government in Khartoum and southern Sudanese
rebels. If an agreement is reached, it will bring an end to twenty
years of civil war between the Muslim north, and non-Muslim south.
It will end 20 years of attacks against Muslims in the Nuba mountains
and southern Sudanese; 20 years during which the government of Sudan
targeted civilians either with its military forces, or through
government allied militias; 20 years during which 2 million people have
died; 20 years during which millions were displaced both within Sudan
and beyond its borders.
The war sparked outrage among members of the international community
because of the brutality of attacks against men, women and children.
Some cast the war as Muslim versus Christian. I think this captures
only a fraction of the story. Arab militias took southern, non-Muslims,
black Africans captive as slaves. They pursued a scorched earth policy
in southern villages. Muslims living in the Nuba Mountains, who happen
to be black, were victims of attacks as well. One is left to wonder if
the real cause of the attacks wasn't good old fashioned racism. And
while the United States continues to spend valuable diplomatic time and
political capitol to bring an end to the north-south conflict, history
is repeating itself in western Sudan.
Early last year, ethnic minorities living in western Sudan took up
arms to protest Khartoum's arming of Arab militias in the region, and
what they believed was economic marginalization by the government in
Khartoum. The wisdom of this course of action on the part of the rebels
may be debatable. What is not debatable is the disproportionate
response of the government--ethnic cleansing in Darfur by means of a
well orchestrated campaign of attacks aimed specifically at non-
military persons who belong to the same ethnic groups as the rebels.
Khartoum is employing the same tactics in Darfur that they used
against those living in southern Sudan: Aerial bombardment of civilians
with helicopter gun ships and planes, and attacks by government
supported Arab militias known as janjaweed, which employ scorched earth
tactics against villages inhabited by black Africans. We are receiving
reports of a variety of abuses perpetrated by the janjaweed--routine
rape of women, murder of men, the wanton burning of children--from
credible sources working in Darfur. In my view, these deliberate
attacks and atrocities against civilians constitute crimes against
humanity.
President Bush's statement on Sudan issued on April 7, while helpful,
was inadequate. He condemned the atrocities in Darfur, but the
statement does not speak to the ethnic nature of the attacks. We all
know that ethnic cleansing has the potential to turn into genocide. By
failing to highlight this very dangerous dimension of Khartoum's
campaign, the president failed to speak to the most alarming aspects of
the crisis.
The statement says that President Bush expressed his views condemning
the atrocities directly to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Since
U.S. officials have acknowledged that the actions constitute ethnic
cleansing, describing them as well ``organized,'' and
``comprehensive,'' I sincerely hope the President took Bashir to task
about the particular evil of such actions. Given the vagueness
President Bush's statement, however, one is left to wonder.
Our Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, Rich Williamson,
has said that 30,000 people are dead as a result of the conflict. One
million people--25 percent of the population--are displaced, according
to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR.
All of them are in dire need of assistance because on top of razing
entire villages and firebombing civilians, in addition to burning
crops, raping women, torturing men and throwing children into burning
huts, on top of all the misery the government has heaped on the people
of Darfur for months, Khartoum has refused to allow humanitarian relief
organizations free, unfettered, regular access to the region. According
to the State Department, it takes aid workers 2 months to get visas.
And this is an improvement--it used to take 3 to 4 months.
After pursuing a scorched earth policy in Darfur for months--burned
crops, stolen cattle and poisoned wells--the government's latest
outrage is cynically ordering people to return to their homes. The few
agencies on the ground in the area indicate that people cannot venture
even 100 yards outside the displaced persons camps without being
attacked. Even if they are able to make it home safely, there is
absolutely no likelihood of people surviving in communities that
literally no longer exist. At this point, return is not an option and
Khartoum is well aware of this.
And the attacks by the janjaweed continue despite the April 8 cease-
fire agreement.
Over 100,000 people have fled across the border into Chad. They too
are still subject to attack from the janjaweed. UNHCR is in the midst
of attempting to relocate refugees farther from the border to enhance
their safety. Only half of refugees are living in camps in more secure
locations. The other half are making do the best they can. A report
issued by Refugees International indicates that many refugees are
living in the open with no food, water or shelter.
According to UNHCR's public documents, it needs $27 million to
address the needs of refugees in Chad. It has less than half of that on
hand. Soon the rainy season will make roads impassible, preventing the
delivery of food and shelter materials. The World Food Program is
attempting to stockpile food in advance of the rains, but they have a
35 percent funding shortfall as well. We have contributed significant
funds, but we and the rest of the international community need to do
even more.

Congress needs to do more as well. S. Con. Res. 99 speaks to the
nature of the violence and urges the President to do two main things:
First, develop a plan to deliver humanitarian aid to the nearly 1
million people who have been driven from their homes that does not
necessitate permission from the government of Sudan. I hope that this
plan includes immediate use of the commodities we are holding in the
Emerson Trust stockpiles. I would also encourage the administration to
come up with a way to deliver food through neighboring countries,
including Chad.
Let me also say that I expect and welcome a request in the
forthcoming supplemental for money to meet the humanitarian needs
engendered by the crisis in Darfur.
Second, it urges the Secretary of State to develop options to
increase sanctions on Sudan if the attacks in Darfur do not stop
immediately.
I co-sponsored this resolution because I think that these are
important steps. They are only steps however. If we do not see any
change on the ground by the end of May, we should go even further than
this resolution suggests.
We should amend the Sudan Peace Act, which was aimed at jump-starting
the north-south peace process, so that it is relevant to the situation
in Darfur. Three changes are essential. First, the act, Public Law 107-
245, imposes sanctions on the government of Sudan if the President
determines that it is not making a good faith effort to negotiate a
peace agreement. The act should be amended to require that the
President certify that neither the government nor government allied
militias have attacked civilians in Sudan 30 days from the enactment of
the act and every 90 days thereafter. If the President cannot certify
such, then the sanctions in section 6, paragraph 2 should be triggered.
The same certification should apply to humanitarian access. This is
already in the legislation, however the requirement is obviously not
explicit enough

[[Page S4936]]

for the White House. Despite the restrictions placed on the non-
governmental organizations attempting to go into Darfur, on April 21,
the President certified the government of Sudan had not unreasonably
interfered with humanitarian efforts. Making the law more explicit may
prevent another such mistake.
Finally, we should add a requirement that our permanent
representative to the U.N. Security Council pursue a Security Council
Resolution condemning the government of Sudan for its actions in
Darfur, and calling for accountability for those who are found
responsible for orchestrating and carrying out the atrocities.
Mr. President, the administration has said that it will not attempt
to secure the north-south peace agreement at the expense of the people
in Darfur. I agree. In fact, a north-south agreement will be
meaningless in the face of ethnic cleansing in western Sudan. I believe
that we must ratchet up the pressure on the Government of Sudan, and
our partners in the international community to bring an end to the
criminal acts of the government in Khartoum.

____________________