[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 96 (Tuesday, July 13, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8050-S8051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 404--DESIGNATING AUGUST 9, 2004, AS ``SMOKEY BEAR'S 
                           60TH ANNIVERSARY''

  Mr. SMITH (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 404

       Whereas Smokey Bear's service to the United States for 60 
     years has protected the Nation's forests above and beyond the 
     call of duty;
       Whereas Smokey Bear has been dedicated to educating 
     Americans of all ages and particularly America's youth, the 
     future stewards of our forests, about the need for vigilance 
     concerning forest health and wildfires;
       Whereas Smokey Bear's message of vigilance can also be 
     applied to the need (1) to remove unnatural accumulations of 
     hazardous fuels from the public forests of the United States; 
     (2) to clear defensible space around homes and escape routes 
     in the wildland-urban interface; and (3) to suppress forest 
     fires that threaten communities or valuable natural 
     resources;
       Whereas the Smokey Bear campaign is the longest running 
     public service campaign in the history of the United States;
       Whereas Smokey Bear was the first individual animal ever to 
     be honored on a postage stamp;
       Whereas the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture 
     is committed to increasing public information and awareness 
     about wildfires and forest protection;
       Whereas the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture 
     is devoted to changing the public's behavior concerning 
     wildfires in an effort to maintain and protect the natural 
     resources and wildlife of the United States; and
       Whereas the Forest Service of the Department of 
     Agriculture, the National Association of State Foresters, and 
     the Advertising Council have provided extraordinary support 
     and dedication to the purpose and efforts of Smokey Bear: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates August 9, 2004, as ``Smokey Bear's 60th 
     Anniversary''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling upon the people of the United States to observe the 
     day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
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 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 124--DECLARING GENOCIDE IN DARFUR, SUDAN

  Mr. BROWNBACK (for Himself, Mr. Corzine, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Lieberman, 
Mr. DeWine, and Mr. Fitzgerald) submitted the following concurrent 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 124

       Whereas Article 1 of the 1948 United Nations Convention on 
     the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide states 
     that ``the contracting parties confirm that genocide, whether 
     committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime 
     under international law which they undertake to prevent and 
     to punish'';
       Whereas Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and 
     Punishment of the Crime of Genocide declares that ``in the 
     present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts 
     committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a 
     national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) 
     killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or 
     mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately 
     inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to 
     bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) 
     imposing measures intended to prevent births within the 
     group; and (e) forcibly transferring children of the group to 
     another group'';
       Whereas Article 3 of the Convention on the Prevention and 
     Punishment of the Crime of Genocide affirms that the 
     ``following acts shall be punishable: (a) genocide; (b) 
     conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) direct and public 
     incitement to commit genocide; (d) attempt to committed 
     genocide; and (e) complicity in genocide'';
       Whereas in Darfur, Sudan, an estimated 30,000 innocent 
     civilians have been brutally murdered, more than 130,000 
     people have been forced from their homes and have fled to 
     neighboring Chad, and more than 1,000,000 people have been 
     internally displaced;
       Whereas Andrew Natsios, the Administrator of the United 
     States Agency for International Development, has predicted 
     that 300,000 civilians in Darfur will die within the year 
     under ``optimal conditions'' in which humanitarian assistance 
     is provided, and that as many as 1,000,000 civilians in 
     Darfur are at risk; and
       Whereas in March 2004 the United Nations Resident 
     Humanitarian Coordinator stated:

[[Page S8051]]

     ``[T]he war in Darfur started off in a small way last year 
     but it has progressively gotten worse. A predominant feature 
     of this is that the brunt is being borne by civilians. This 
     includes vulnerable women and children . . . The violence in 
     Darfur appears to be particularly directed at a specific 
     group based on their ethnic identity and appears to be 
     systemized.'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) declares that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, 
     Sudan, are genocide;
       (2) reminds the President and the international community 
     of their international legal obligations, as affirmed in the 
     1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and 
     Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
       (3) urges the President to call the atrocities being 
     committed in Darfur, Sudan by their rightful name: 
     ``genocide'';
       (4) commends the leadership of the President in seeking a 
     peaceful resolution to the conflict in Darfur, Sudan and in 
     addressing the humanitarian crisis caused by that conflict, 
     including the provision of assistance to meet immediate 
     humanitarian needs in Darfur, Sudan and Eastern Chad;
       (5) urges the President to seek a United Nations Security 
     Council resolution under Chapter VII of the United Nations 
     Charter that directs the Member States of the United Nations 
     to impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for 
     the atrocities committed in Darfur, Sudan, authorizes a 
     multinational force to guarantee humanitarian access and 
     security for foreign aid workers and internally displaced 
     persons, urges a halt to violence committed by armed militias 
     and by the armed forces of Sudan and the safe, secure, and 
     the sustainable return of internally displaced persons and 
     refugees to their homes, creates a Commission of Inquiry to 
     investigate the unfolding genocide, recommends measures to 
     create accountability in Darfur, Sudan, and calls for the 
     establishment of a formal peace process for permanent 
     resolution of grievances between Darfurians and the 
     Government of Sudan;
       (6) calls on the Administrator of the United States Agency 
     for International Development to establish a Darfur 
     Resettlement, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Fund to fund 
     assistance for those driven off their land so that they may 
     return and begin to rebuild their communities; and
       (7) urges the President to provide political and financial 
     support to the African Union to promote its effective 
     intervention in Darfur, Sudan to achieve security, 
     humanitarian assistance, and accountability.

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