[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 102 (Wednesday, July 21, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H6525-H6536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DECLARING GENOCIDE IN DARFUR, SUDAN
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 467) declaring genocide in
Darfur, Sudan, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 467
Whereas Article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (signed at Paris on
December 9, 1948) 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
[[Page H6526]]
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) complicit 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; and
Whereas in March 2004 the United Nations Resident
Humanitarian Coordinator stated: ``[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 House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) declares that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur,
Sudan, are genocide;
(2) reminds the Contracting Parties to the Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
(signed at Paris on December 9, 1948), particularly the
Government of Sudan, of their legal obligations under the
Convention;
(3) declares that the Government of Sudan, as a Contracting
Party, has violated the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;
(4) deplores the failure of the United Nations Human Rights
Commission to take appropriate action with respect to the
crisis in Darfur, Sudan, particularly the failure by the
Commission to support United States-sponsored efforts to
strongly condemn gross human rights violations committed in
Darfur, and calls upon the United Nations and the United
Nations Secretary General to assert leadership by calling the
atrocities being committed in Darfur by their rightful name:
``genocide'';
(5) calls on the member states of the United Nations,
particularly member states from the African Union, the Arab
League, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, to
undertake measures to prevent the genocide in Darfur, Sudan,
from escalating further, including the imposition of targeted
means against those responsible for the atrocities;
(6) urges the Administration to call the atrocities being
committed in Darfur, Sudan, by their rightful name:
``genocide'';
(7) commends the Administration's leadership in seeking a
peaceful resolution to the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, and in
addressing the ensuing humanitarian crisis, including the
visit of Secretary of State Colin Powell to Darfur in June
2004 to engage directly in efforts to end the genocide, and
the provision of nearly $140,000,000 to date in bilateral
humanitarian assistance through the United States Agency for
International Development;
(8) commends the President for appointing former Senator
John Danforth as Envoy for Peace in Sudan on September 6,
2001, and further commends the appointment of Senator
Danforth as United States Ambassador to the United Nations;
(9) calls on the Administration to continue to lead an
international effort to stop genocide in Darfur, Sudan;
(10) urges the Administration to seriously consider
multilateral or even unilateral intervention to stop genocide
in Darfur, Sudan, should the United Nations Security Council
fail to act;
(11) calls on the Administration to impose targeted means,
including visa bans and the freezing of assets, against
officials and other individuals of the Government of Sudan,
as well as Janjaweed militia commanders, who are responsible
for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, Sudan;
and
(12) calls on the United States Agency for International
Development to establish a Darfur Resettlement,
Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Fund so that those
individuals driven off their land may return and begin to
rebuild their communities.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo).
General Leave
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I stand before Members tonight to urge their support for
House Concurrent Resolution 467 which declares genocide in the Darfur
region of western Sudan.
Unfortunately, there is no one among us who is unfamiliar with the
word ``genocide.'' Several of us have been personally affected by
genocide. The mere mention of the word evokes the horrific images of
the gas chambers of the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, the
mass graves of Srebrenica, and the bloodied streets of Rwanda. The
atrocities committed in these areas were heinous and must not be
belittled by casual usage of the word ``genocide,'' but I assure
Members the decision to bring this resolution to the floor and to make
such a declaration has been anything but casual.
Out of a preconflict population of 6.5 million in Darfur, an
estimated 30,000 people have been killed, another 300,000 face certain
death in the coming months. Up to 1 million have been internally
displaced, and 130,000 others have been forced to flee to neighboring
Chad. Remember that this is happening in a country that has undergone
the most horrific civil war for over 25 years, where 2 million people
have died and 4 million people have been displaced. Against that
backdrop, we now have Darfur.
Reports by refugees, internally displaced persons, and the United
Nations officials detail a systematic pattern of attacks against
civilians by government-supported militias who employ scorched earth
tactics, murder, rape and pillage with impunity. These attacks have
been conducted in a deliberate, sequenced, and systematic fashion, and
according to a recent report by the International Crisis Group, ``have
led to the depopulation of entire areas inhabited by the Fur, Zaghawa,
Massaleit and other small groups of black African origin.''
I believe, and this resolution affirms, that these atrocities meet
the definition of genocide as defined in the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, signed in Paris on
December 9, 1948.
The manager's amendment before you does nothing to alter the purpose
of the underlying resolution. The changes in the preamble are strictly
technical and perfecting. The changes in the Resolved Clauses include
clarifications in the new text which, one, make it clear that the
Government of Sudan has violated the convention, and the prevention and
punishment of the crime of genocide; two, call for specific actions by
member states of the United Nations; and three, recognize the
leadership of the administration in seeking a peaceful resolution to
this crisis.
On April 7, 2004, the same day that world leaders were gathered in
Kigali to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide,
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeared before the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights stating that reports of ethnic cleansing
from Darfur had left him with a ``deep sense of foreboding,'' and
called for decisive action. We are still waiting to see what decisive
action the United Nations will take.
I am particularly disappointed in the inaction of a few recalcitrant
members of the African Union, the Arab League, and the Organization of
Islamic Conference, who seem comfortable with sitting back while tens
of thousands of their African and Muslim brothers die. To this end, the
manager's amendment deplores the failure of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission to condemn the gross violations of human rights which
have taken place in Darfur, and calls on the United Nations and the
U.N. Secretary-General to assert their leadership by calling the
atrocities by their rightful name, genocide.
It also calls on members of the United Nations, particularly the
member states from the African Union, the Arab League, and the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, to undertake effective measures
to stop the genocide in Darfur.
The manager's amendment also includes language which commends the
robust response of the administration. This administration has taken
the lead in attempting to resolve this crisis and
[[Page H6527]]
deserves credit for their efforts. However, it is important to note
that the protection of human rights and the prevention of genocide are
not the responsibility of a few; they are the responsibility of us all.
The United States cannot do this alone. The United Nations, the
European Union, the African Union, the Arab League and others must step
up now if we hope to prevent this genocide from escalating.
True to form, Josef Stalin once callously remarked, ``One death is a
tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.'' Given his propensity for
mass murder, this remark comes as no surprise. I submit, however, that
those who have died, those who face death, and those who have lost
their homes in Darfur are not mere statistics. To really know this
tragedy is to think about the murder of the little boy and girl whose
corpses lie in the sand, to imagine their last moments of stark terror,
and to consider this brutal act repeated 30,000-fold.
Mr. Speaker, the resolution before you tonight is the product of a
truly collaborative effort and enjoys bipartisan support. If we are
going to attempt to solve this problem, we must first understand that
which confronts us in its totality. The first step is to acknowledge
that we are dealing with genocide. The next step is to take action to
stop the atrocities. Let us not look back 10 years from now, wishing we
had done more, saying what we have heard said oftentimes on this floor
and in halls around the world about Rwanda, ``I wish we would have done
more. I wish we would have taken action.''
{time} 2015
We do not want to be in that position again. This is the time. This
is the opportunity we have to take those steps, to take that action.
This is not a political issue as evidenced by the fact that there is
broad bipartisan support. This is an issue of morality. It calls upon
every single one of us in this room and on this planet to search our
own hearts and souls and to think about what it is we can do
individually to stop this tragedy. It is a calling. It is a moral
calling on us all.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
and I rise in strong support of this resolution. First I would like to
thank my good friend and distinguished colleague from New Jersey (Mr.
Payne) for introducing this critically important resolution and for his
leadership on issues affecting the entire African continent.
Mr. Speaker, Congress has the opportunity to take a historic step
today, to send a message to the entire world that we will no longer
deal with genocide in hindsight. Instead, we will denounce it when we
see it, we will take effective steps to stop it, and we will hold those
who commit genocide responsible for their monstrous actions. Today we
face one of the most tragic situations on the planet, the crisis in
Darfur, Western Sudan. The Sudanese government has planned, organized,
and carried out unspeakable atrocities against native black African
men, women, and children with the deliberate intent to engage in mass
murder. Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide says: ``Any act committed with the intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious
group is genocide.''
Mr. Speaker, exactly what is the case for declaring the crime of
genocide against the Khartoum government and its Arab surrogates? They
have killed tens of thousands of individuals based solely on their
African identity. They have caused serious bodily and mental harm to
over 130,000 people, dislocated from Darfur into horrendous temporary
camps in neighboring Chad. They have created over 1 million internally
displaced persons, destroyed their homes and livelihood, and left them
in uninhabitable and remote areas without food, medicine, and shelter.
These actions were taken specifically to bring about their physical
destruction through starvation, exposure, and disease. Khartoum has
deliberately and masterfully frustrated efforts to bring humanitarian
relief by the international community while conducting a vicious
campaign of terror against the men, women, and children of Darfur.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, they have targeted men and boys for killing and
used rape as a weapon of war against the women and girls of Darfur.
These actions have gone on far too long. But those of us who months
ago were crying out for some sort of action by the international
community have had reason in recent weeks to take some heart. Both our
own government and the United Nations have started taking steps to
intervene in this horrendous situation. I want to commend Secretary of
State Colin Powell for his recent visit to Darfur and his efforts to
stop Khartoum's genocidal efforts in their tracks. I also want to
commend my friend U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his recent trip
to Darfur where he too brought attention to the atrocities and demanded
the Sudanese authorities stop the human destruction and protect the
people of Darfur.
It is incumbent upon us to support an intervention protection force
that will stop the killing and protect citizens, humanitarian relief
workers and international monitors. We must work closely with the
African Union and the United Nations to bring peacekeeping forces and
diplomatic authority to change Khartoum's evil and monstrous policies.
Africa and the international community cannot stand by while black
Africans are deliberately killed because of who they are. This historic
action today by our Congress will signal to the world that we will no
longer deal with genocide in hindsight, but we will denounce it when we
see it and hold those who commit genocide responsible for their evil
actions.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Franks).
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. I thank the gentleman from Colorado for
yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I stand tonight with these distinguished Members in
support of House Concurrent Resolution 467, declaring genocide in
Darfur, Sudan. To date an estimated 30,000 civilians have been
murdered, more than 130,000 have been forced from their homes and have
fled to neighboring Chad, and more than 1 million people have been
internally displaced. If the international community fails to act, what
awaits these people is a terrible season of prolonged suffering and
painful death. Even now, mothers who have traveled miles fleeing their
husbands' murderers are watching their children starve. They are
helpless to end the violence. We are not. We must act. We cannot wait
until thousands more have died.
Mr. Speaker, the good news is that we can prevent the loss of life.
There is a way that our actions can matter. We have seen the faces of
women holding their emaciated babies to their chest with tears
streaming down their faces, and we have seen the photos of burned-out
villages. What is reflected in the eyes of these women is at once utter
relief at having found the camp and unimaginable grief in the tragic
and needless losses they have endured. Some of them bear the physical
scars of beatings and branding, but many more of them bear the
emotional scars of brutal rape by the evil Janjaweed militias.
Mr. Speaker, even in the camps, the people are not safe from harm.
The people in this crisis make an impossible decision every day. They
have to decide whether to send the old men and boys for firewood
fearing that they will be killed, or whether to send the women and
girls for firewood fearing that they will be raped. Mr. Speaker, this
horrifying choice is unacceptable. America and the world must demand
that humanitarian aid workers have access to these suffering souls in
order to bring them the food that they need, and further that credible
peacekeepers enter Sudan in order to provide the critical and
desperately needed security so that their lives, their future is not
further marred by the horrible choices they were forced to make in
order to survive.
Mr. Speaker, the people of Darfur should have a future. We must pass
House Concurrent Resolution 467. Anything less would be a disgraceful
failure before the eyes of God and humanity.
[[Page H6528]]
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, before yielding, I would like to ask my
colleague from Colorado if he would accommodate us by yielding some of
his time to us because we have a number of distinguished colleagues who
wish to speak on this issue.
Mr. TANCREDO. I would be happy to do so. I cannot do it right now
because we have at least one other colleague who is on his way and I do
not know how much; but whatever time we can yield, we will do so.
Mr. LANTOS. I appreciate the gentleman's accommodation.
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 4 minutes to my good friend from
New Jersey (Mr. Payne), the author of this important resolution.
(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me commend our leaders in the Committee
on International Relations, Chairman Hyde and Ranking Member Lantos,
for their tireless work in bringing this historic resolution declaring
genocide in Darfur, Sudan to the floor. Many people have held back on
using the word ``genocide'' out of fear that it is really a declaration
that they try to step around, but I really am so proud that this House
of Representatives is standing up and calling it like it is. As my
colleague from Colorado said, it is genocide. Let me just say that this
would have been impossible without the Tancredos and the Wolfs and the
Royces on the other side and fighters on our side such as the
gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky) and all of the members of
the Congressional Black Caucus and our dean, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Conyers).
This is something that we did not do 10 years ago when genocide was
happening in Rwanda. We looked the other way. But we are not going to
look the other way in 2004. We must also impress upon the world
community, the AU, the EU, the Islamic Front, all of the groups, that
they must come together and that they must declare and work towards
having civility return to Sudan.
But I want to remind the Congress that although we need to act now in
Darfur, that once the crisis is under control, we cannot rest on our
laurels and fool ourselves that this type of thing will not happen
again. Let me just remind the Speaker that this same government gave
sanctuary to Osama bin Laden from 1991 to 1996, allowing him to build
his terror network worldwide. In fact, I would argue that al Qaeda was
conceived and created in Sudan in the 1990s. Other terrorist acts are
also linked to the current officials still sitting in Sudan that have
not even been questioned.
It is important to recall that the government of Sudan's involvement
in international terrorism goes back a decade. The Sudanese government
was directly involved in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. The
mastermind of the 1993 bombing, Sheikh Abdel Rahman, who was sentenced
to life in 1995, received his visa from the same Khartoum government.
He was a guest of senior Sudanese government officials several weeks
before that happened at that time. Of the 15 men indicted for this
terror act, five were Sudanese nationalists. These Sudanese
nationalists had strong ties with Sudanese diplomats stationed right
here in New York at the Sudan Embassy at the United Nations.
In 1995, members of an Egyptian terrorist group tried to assassinate
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt when he was attending a meeting in
Ethiopia at the OAU summit. The 11-man assassination team had been
given safe haven in Sudan to prepare for the mission to kill the
Egyptian president. The weapons used in the assassination attempt were
reportedly flown into Ethiopia on Sudan Airways. The passports used by
the assassins were also prepared in Khartoum, according to a United
Nations report.
The point of listing all of this is to show a pattern. This is a
regime that does not care about human lives and to think that they will
stop at Darfur, we are fooling ourselves. We must begin to get serious
about our dealings with the government of Sudan. No more coddling them
because they have oil or because they have links to Islamic countries,
no more allowing the African Union to give excuses, no more allowing
the EU saying, What are we doing here?
We must act now. We must continue the pressure. I urge my colleagues
to support H. Con. Res. 467, declaring genocide in Darfur.
Mr. LANTOS. I want to thank my friend for his powerful statement.
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my good friend,
the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a distinguished member of
the Committee on International Relations.
{time} 2030
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in
permitting me to speak on this resolution, and I appreciate the
gentleman from New Jersey bringing it forward.
I think it is important that we are stepping forward to call what is
happening in this troubled country by what it is, genocide. As has been
referenced, we have already lost over 30,000 people. The best estimate
is that we are looking at a third of a million people if everything
goes right, and sadly, the path that we are on today is a million or
more.
I hope that this will be an important first step for us to
acknowledge, as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) put forth,
that this is different than when we stood by 10 years ago in Rwanda or
a dozen years ago in Bosnia; or sadly, the United States was not
forthcoming a generation ago in Europe during World War II. But I think
that experience has chastened us and, I hope, has sensitized us; and I
hope the language that is put forward here is just the beginning. By
all means, call it by what it is. By all means, move forward with the
United Nations.
But I would hope that when we think of having spent $200 billion in
round numbers in Iraq for actually a threat that has proven to be far
less, that we can put forward the same sort of energy and interest in
uniting the world community in making sure that we implement the
extreme diplomacy that is necessary, that we use the power of this
country from military to diplomacy to the moral suasion that we are
capable of to make sure that we tip the balance and move it in the
right direction.
I commend all my colleagues that are here this evening, late in the
evening, for sharing their concerns and trying to craft a bipartisan
approach. But I hope that this is but one of many steps of this nature
to highlight, and that we will continue to spotlight and speak for as
long as we are faced with this problem. We cannot ignore it, to let it
slip away.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf).
(Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Concurrent
Resolution 467, declaring genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
I want to commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for
introducing this important legislation. I want to personally thank the
gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and his staff and the gentleman
from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) for ensuring that this resolution reached
the floor in an expedited manner. I want to also thank the leadership
for allowing this to come up so quickly.
I also want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and
the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) and their staffs for their continued focus on
Darfur. I am proud that this resolution has the support of so many
Members standing side by side for the people of Darfur.
Mr. Speaker, I first stood on the floor of the House last March to
highlight the situation in Darfur and to call the world's attention to
the ongoing slaughter of innocent civilians. At that time, thousands
were dead and predictions of more death were certain; and since then
the world has finally awakened to what is occurring. Articles have been
written, protesters arrested, newspapers have carried the story on the
front pages. Now we all know, all the world now knows what is occurring
in Darfur, and we must act to stop it. Failure to do so will cost more
lives.
Unfortunately, the situation worsens on a daily basis. An estimate of
1,000
[[Page H6529]]
lives are now being lost every day. The situation has escalated to the
point that I can now firmly say that I believe that genocide is taking
place, and we all have a responsibility and a duty to the people of
Darfur to try to stop it in its tracks.
I went to Darfur with Senator Brownback. We met the people. We heard
their stories. I listened to the women tell us who had been raped over
and over. The people of Darfur are suffering.
Historically, in past cases, the world has been slow to act when
faced with genocide, but today it is different. Today we stand here in
the House, the people's body, staring genocide in the face. And today
we know what is occurring and we are not afraid to call it what it is,
genocide. The international community now has a moral and a legal
obligation to stop what is occurring and bring those responsible to
justice.
I want to commend the United States for taking the lead to help end
the crisis. Secretary Powell, I want to thank him and Secretary-General
Annan. They are to be commended for going to Darfur. I also want to
commend the United States Agency for International Development and the
team which has people on the ground.
The United States must continue to speak out, and I am proud tonight
that for the first time when genocide is taking place, the people's
House is speaking out. Every other time the resolutions took place
after it was over and all the people were dead.
I want to thank the Members on this side and the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Payne) for all his efforts from way, way back, and all of
them over there and the Members on this side. This is very important to
speak out for the voiceless, those who have no voice.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Lee), my friend and neighbor.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because, as we speak, genocide is
occurring in Darfur in the western Sudan.
And let me just thank our ranking member, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Lantos), for his sense of outrage and morality on this
issue, as well as the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) for his
consistent work to expose the atrocities as genocide.
Also, let me just recognize and thank the gentleman from New Jersey
(Mr. Payne) for his efforts as our ranking member of the Subcommittee
on Africa for always keeping African issues at the front of our
congressional legislative agenda. For so many years he has been
sounding the alarm, and finally tonight we are here. So I just want to
thank him for his constant sounding of the alarm for this and for the
people of the Sudan.
The murders, the rape, and the scorched-earth campaign in Darfur is
genocide. We call it what it is by supporting this resolution.
As a member of the Subcommittee on Africa, there has been no evidence
presented to indicate that this is not genocide. It is. It has been 10
years, Mr. Speaker, and the international community, particularly the
United States, must learn from the Rwandan tragedy. Like Rwanda, the
warning signs in Darfur were obvious. But we did nothing, and now the
international community is watching once again as millions of Black
Africans are wiped out of western Sudan.
The Bush administration has raised concerns and the United Nations
has denounced the ``ethnic cleansing'' executed by militias supported
by the Khartoum government, but this is beyond ethnic cleansing. This
is systematic and calculated genocide. Hundreds of thousands are
fleeing Darfur, fearing that they will become yet another statistic in
a malicious plan to rape, torture, and ultimately wipe out all Blacks
in the southwest region of Sudan.
As in other conflicts designed deliberately to humiliate and
eliminate people because of their identity, we have seen women and
girls targeted for rape in Darfur. How can we allow this travesty to
continue and not be outraged?
The inaction of this administration I think is unconscionable,
especially when we consider that one word, one word, ``genocide,'' can
make the difference between humanitarian assistance and international
justice for Darfurians.
Let us pass this resolution.
Why would the Bush Administration argue over the definition of
genocide, while murderers, rapists, the janjaweed, and the Khartoum
government have the blood of the Darfur people on their hands?
The government of Sudan is not our partner in peace.
Our sense of morality requires us to do everything possible to stop
this carnage. This bipartisan resolution will help save hundreds of
thousands of lives.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), our distinguished Democratic
leader, an indefatigable champion of human rights across the globe.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished ranking member for
yielding me this time and for his leadership on this very important
issue.
In the very short time allotted to me, I want to commend my
colleagues for being so vocal on this issue at this time and, frankly,
for a very long time. I have said before when we had another
resolution, an earlier resolution, on the floor that there is no Member
of Congress that I hold in higher esteem than the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for his work on human rights throughout the world.
And he has been a leader on this issue, visiting over the years,
warning America, warning the world of the impending disaster that was
there in one form or another over time.
And the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) has taken the lead in
the Committee on International Relations on this important issue, and
it has not been because Members of Congress, especially the
Congressional Black Caucus in the Congress, have not blown the whistle,
have not sounded the alarm, have not called the public's attention to
what is happening there.
And the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), of course, as the
cochair of the Human Rights Caucus, has been singing this song for a
very long time. Why do people not listen?
When the tragedy occurred in Rwanda, everyone was embarrassed, sad,
and contrite and said that it was not going to happen again. Never
again could we ignore all of God's children being destroyed by each
other and sit back and watch it happen to the tune of hundreds of
thousands of people.
We have now been told that 30,000 people will die in the Sudan, and
if we do not act, then hundreds of thousands more will die. How can we
tolerate this? How can we call ourselves persons who care about every
person living on the face of the Earth and not care about each and
every one of these children and their parents and their families in the
Sudan?
The issue today is one that we have discussed before. Is it ethnic
cleansing or is it genocide? And if it is genocide, then it should
provoke a reaction from all of the countries of the world who consider
themselves civilized and respectful of human rights and, quite frankly,
those of us and I know the motivation of the gentleman from Virginia
(Mr. Wolf) and some of our other colleagues on both sides of the aisle
in this regard springs from our belief that all of these people are
God's children, worthy of respect.
The Bible tells us that to minister to the needs of God's creation is
an act of worship; to ignore God's creation, which are these children,
is to dishonor the God who made them. Right now, the world is
dishonoring God. We are not committing acts of worship; we are
committing acts of negligence.
It is genocide, and the perpetrators of this genocide sit with
impunity in Khartoum and say they are engaged in all of this as a
matter of self-defense. Is it self-defense to rape women five, six
times over again so that they cannot even go home to their husbands in
a society which finds that unforgiveable on the part of the woman? Is
it self-defense to have children starve because food cannot get
through?
Seeing the pictures of those children challenges the conscience of
the world, and yet we are having a debate on semantics in the world.
But not in this House. In this House we know it, we call it for what it
is.
As the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) said, a calculated,
focused, intended elimination of these people; and that very clearly
spells out what the definition of genocide is and how what is happening
in the Sudan meets that standard and therefore should invoke certain
actions by the rest of the world.
[[Page H6530]]
We all believe very strongly that something has to be done. But in
light of what we said after Rwanda, we are considered hypocritical or
inconsistent or just with very poor memory if we do not act upon this
now. We must all answer for the genocide that is happening in the
Sudan.
So I commend my colleagues for their tremendous leadership. The
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne), the gentleman from California
(Mr. Lantos), the Black Caucus, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf),
and others have worked so hard on this for such a long time. The
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson) was just there last weekend and
brings back personal stories of what he saw. So I thank them. Any one
of us who wants something to happen there is deeply in their debt, as
are the people of the Sudan. We must make a difference on this. I thank
them for taking these steps to do so.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished Democratic leader
for her passionate and powerful appeal.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Conyers), distinguished ranking member of the Committee on the
Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
(Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, this is the proudest moment in the 108th
Congress and maybe even going all the way back to the anti-apartheid
resolution, the sanctions that were passed against South Africa.
{time} 2045
In the midst of the intense partisanship that has informed nearly
every issue that has come to the Congress, somehow the Members on both
sides of the aisle have come together in the most remarkable way. I
cannot explain it. I am humbled by it.
But I rise to say only this, that this is only the first step, Mr.
Speaker, because we have a long way to go now. Thank goodness that we
got this resolution in, which is easy to predict that it will succeed.
But we have the distinguished other body, we have to engage the
administration of this country, we have to go to the United Nations and
to the Security Council before anything begins to happen. So I know all
of us will join and continue this struggle.
I lift up the name, in addition to all of us, of the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert);
the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde); and the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Chairman Sensenbrenner), who have made all of this possible
tonight.
Just two weeks ago, my colleague from Virginia, Congressman Frank
Wolf, and I convened a bipartisan meeting of Members to develop an
action plan to address the catastrophic loss of life that is occurring
in Darfur, Sudan. We all agreed that the first critical step was to
raise the voices of the U.S. Congress in a call to action by declaring
unequivocally that what is happening in Sudan is genocide.
In my 39 years in the House of Representatives, I have never seen
such incredible bipartisan, bicameral cooperation. And in an election
year no less, with a highly polarized electorate. But the reason is
simple. The tragedy in Sudan is not a Democrat or Republican issue; its
not a Muslim or Christian issue; its not only an issue of race.
Genocide is a human issue. When genocide occurs, we must all stand up
and act with determination to end the systematic effort to exterminate
a people. These are the lessons of the Holocaust, of Cambodia, and most
recently, of Rwanda.
In Rwanda, we shrugged our shoulders and waited until eight hundred
thousand (800,000) people were killed, before we identified that event
as a genocide. In 1948, the United Nations put forth the Convention
Against Genocide and the United States and many other nations signed on
to that convention, agreeing to prevent genocide wherever and whenever
it happens. Our nation has taken an important role in this crisis--
negotiating a settlement to the war, providing the bulk of the
humanitarian aid, increasing the pressure on the Sudanese government.
Now--before it is too late to save the one million lives at risk of
death--now, we must rally our allies and the U.N. Security Council to
take action. Now is the time to authorize multilateral troops. Now the
world must send a clear message that genocide will no longer be
tolerated, anywhere.
If we can come together in this Congress on such an urgent human
issue, I believe that we can bring together our friends in Europe,
Africa, Asia and Latin America to address this genocide in the Security
Council. That effort is our moral imperative.
Passage of this historic resolution is the first time this body has
declared a humanitarian or political crisis to be genocide. This would
not have been possible without the efforts of my Republican
colleagues--Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Chairman of the
International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde (R-IL), Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Cass Ballenger (R-NC), Chairman of
the Africa Subcommittee Ed Royce (R-CA), Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA),
and Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO).
My fellow Democrats played a critical role in moving this resolution
to the floor, including--Congressman Tom Lantos, Ranking Member of the
International Relations Committee, Congressman Donald Payne, Ranking
Member of the Africa Subcommittee (D-NJ) and the sponsor of this
resolution, the many Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, under
the leadership of Congresman Elijah Cummings (D-MD).
And we must thank our friends in the Senate--Senator Sam Brownback
(R-KS) and Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) for their passionate, diligent
work and cooperation on this issue.
While I congratulate you all, I hope that the real victory will go to
the people of Sudan. This vote is an important step to saving lives. I
look forward to working with my colleagues in the Hose and Senate, the
Administration and the United Nations to continue this important effort
to stop this genocide.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my good
friend and neighbor, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I am so proud of the gentleman from Illinois
(Chairman Hyde); the ranking member, gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos); the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne); the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Conyers); the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo); the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf); the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms.
Schakowsky); and all of those on both sides of the aisle who have been
working so hard to bring this genocide to the attention of our own
government and to the world. We have people who are working very hard
to get something done.
My heart is heavy this evening because it has taken us much too long.
I know that the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) did give a word
of thanks to Colin Powell and Kofi Annan for making the trip and for
urging the Khartoum government to cooperate and stop the genocide. But
I say to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), we have to ask
Colin Powell and Kofi Annan and the President of the United States to
get tougher. They have got to get tougher. We are watching genocide
take place.
I am pleased about this resolution. Genocide has taken place in this
world far too many times, genocide that could have been stopped if good
people just took a little tougher action.
We have watched genocide time and time again, in most recent of
times, Rwanda. This does not have to continue. Over 30,000 people have
died; 1 million people stand to die as I stand here today.
So it is time to act and act now. We must first recognize that the
Khartoum government is part of the problem. They keep making promises,
but they lie. The minute they say they are going to cooperate, we turn
our backs, they are supporting the Janjaweed. They are indeed a part of
the problem. We must act, we must act now, and we must be tough. We can
stop this genocide.
Tonight, we define it for what it is with this resolution. Thank you,
I say to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne). It is genocide. Let
the word go forth, and it must be stopped.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Lantos) and ask unanimous consent that he be
allowed to control said time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hensarling). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that an additional
10 minutes to each side be devoted to discussing this all-important
issue.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my
friend
[[Page H6531]]
and colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I too want to add my
recognition, more than appreciation, but my recognition for the
gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and the ranking member, the
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), who never turn their back on
the issues of human rights. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne),
who was right continuously as he, I would like to say, plugged ahead on
being persistent in dealing with this question of Sudan and the
direction that we should take in this Congress. The gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner) and, of course, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Conyers), who has had a series of meetings that we have been
participating in over a number of weeks.
Let me suggest to you that this should be a night of action. The vote
on this resolution is in fact a statement that is long overdue. I might
refer you to the language of this resolution and its first resolve, and
that is that we declare that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan,
are genocide.
Let me cite to you Amnesty International, which indicates the horror
that is happening in West Darfur: ``I was sleeping when the attack
started. I was taken away by the attackers. They were all in uniforms.
They took dozens of other girls. They made us walk for 3 hours. During
the day, we were beaten and they were telling us, you the black woman,
we will exterminate you. You will have no God. All night we were raped
several times.''
I do not want to bring back the horrors of life that we led as slaves
in this country. I simply want to say many of us have had these
experiences, and when I say that, historically.
It is important for this Nation now to stand up, and I would
appreciate as this resolution is passed and passed in the Senate, that
our government now will stand and join us and say that genocide is
occurring in Sudan.
Yes, the government did offer a 10-point manifesto. I received it.
They said they were willing to deal with the Janjaweed. They were
willing to disarm them. They were willing to give humanitarian aid.
Well, let me tell my colleagues, I took that piece of paper, but they
did nothing. There are human rights violations going on, there are
rapes, there are abductions, there are destruction of villages and
property.
I would simply say this resolution lays out the road map. We declare
tonight that genocide is occurring in Sudan, and I would ask the
President of the United States to so declare so that we can move
forward and protect lives. Let not another Rwanda occur. We are in fact
our brothers' and sisters' keepers.
Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of this resolution. I commend my
colleague Mr. Payne for his foresight and courage to put forward his
bold resolution, when many in the Congress were hesitant. I also
commend the Chairman and Ranking Member, Congressmen Hyde and Lantos
for their leadership, in recognizing the crisis unfolding in Sudan and
moving rapidly to bring this resolution to the floor before the recess.
As it moved so efficiently toward the Floor of the House, I know
compromises were made on specific phrases and statements. Although I do
not agree with every line, I firmly support the resolution. It is time
that this Congress sends a strong message to Sudan and the world, that
the United States is ready to move boldly to stop the death and
destruction in Darfur.
It truly is time for an aggressive American and international
response to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. For the past year and a half,
ethnic-African communities have been under strategic attack by the
Arab-based Government of Sudan based in Khartoum and the Janjaweed
militias. The most recent campaign, fueled by vicious ethnic rivalries
and the Janjaweed's desire for territorial expansion, is having
devastating results. 30,000 people have already been killed by
systematic raids and deadly famine, and up to 1 million more are
expected to suffer the same fate if the United States, the United
Nations, and other international leaders continue to take the same
dangerously passive role in addressing the Government of Sudan and the
Janjaweed militia forces. We must move aggressively to stop the
bloodshed and suffering.
Over the past weeks, my colleague from Michigan John Conyers, has
been bringing together a growing bipartisan and bicameral group of
Members of Congress committed to moving aggressively toward creating
peace in Sudan. I was pleased to be a part of that group. As we
discussed the situation and learned from Senator Brownback and
Congressman Wolf about their recent trip to Sudan, where they saw the
ravages of the violence and the ongoing rape, intimidation and
terrorization of the ethnic African people, it became obvious that
indeed we were seeing genocide.
Formally labeling a situation as genocide, should trigger actions and
commitments that will protect potential victims, and punish
perpetrators of this war crime. We will need a strong collaborative
effort between the legislative and executive branches, to put the force
of the U.S. government to work to help the people of Darfur.
We must be committed to pushing through normal election-year
political barriers, and working together to save lives. This will only
be possible if the executive and legislative branches of our government
work in concert, to increase humanitarian relief, to galvanize
international support and coordination, and explore all possible
options to end the bloodshed in Darfur. We have a small window of
opportunity to help the men, women, and children in mortal peril in
Sudan. Ongoing Janjaweed violence combined with the upcoming rainy
season, may soon make relief impossible. If ever there were a case for
swift action to liberate a suffering people, it is now in Darfur.
A group of thirty of us in the House, from both sides of the aisle,
sent a letter yesterday to President Bush, asking him to meet with us,
to discuss how we can work together, put politics aside, and move
swiftly to rescue the people of Darfur. I hope the President will heed
our call to meet, to push for a stronger U.N. resolution that
acknowledges that this is genocide in Darfur, and to gather and lead a
true multi-lateral coalition to help make peace and then keep peace in
Darfur as necessary.
As we look toward forging that multi-lateral coalition, I must say
that I am concerned that the tone of parts of this resolution may not
be helpful in reaching out to the partners that we will ultimately need
in Sudan. I think using the word ``deplore'' in referring to the
failure of the Human Rights Commission to act appropriately in Darfur,
is unnecessary. Just as we are putting aside politics to work together
to save lives, I hope we can put aside our international grudges in
order to better lead an international collaboration. I am not arguing
whether each statement is true or false, just questioning whether it
each is helpful in achieving the result we are hoping for in Sudan. We
are still trying to undo the damage done by some of our rhetoric in the
march to war in Iraq. I hope we do not repeat that error. We should
reserve such language for our enemies, rather than casting it at our
potential friends.
Regardless, the most important part of this resolution is
acknowledging that this indeed is genocide in Sudan, and agreeing that
it is time that the United States and the international community start
dealing with Sudan and the Janjaweed as such. I am pleased that this
action is being taken. I hope we can continue to work together so
effectively as we shape the actions of this nation to save lives in
Darfur in the days to come.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my good
friend and distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Davis).
(Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend all of those
who have shown leadership on this issue.
I have been told that the only way that evil can triumph is that good
people do nothing. I believe it was Dante who suggested that the
hottest places in hell are reserved for those who declare neutrality
and do nothing in times of great moral crisis.
[[Page H6532]]
We have all heard the atrocities that are continuously being heaped
upon the people in the Sudan. It is time for us to act, and to act
convincingly.
We have to ask ourselves the question, if not us, then who? If not
now, then when?
I commend the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and all of those
who have demonstrated great leadership on this issue.
We are here tonight to sound the alarm, once again, on genocide in
Sudan. There is no room for neutrality in the face of the crimes being
committed there each day.
Amnesty International has renewed its charge that the international
community is not doing enough to protect women in the Darfur region and
the refugee camps in Chad where mass rape is being used as a weapon.
Since 1983, more than two million Black civilians have died during
the Civil War in the south of Sudan. That struggle was especially
brutal for the civilian population: slave raids resulting in the
enslavement of women and children, gang rape, ethnic cleansing, and the
imposition of famine conditions for hundreds of thousands.
On October 21, 2002, the President signed the Sudan Peace Act which
stated, in part:
``The acts of the Government of Sudan constitute genocide as defined
by the [United Nations] Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide (1948).''
That bill requires President Bush to certify, every six months, that
the government in Khartoum is negotiating in good faith for an end to
that Civil War. According to some sources, we may be close to a
framework for peace in that region.
On May 12th The New York Times carried this report:
``A team of U.S. diplomats led by Assistant Secretary of State for
Africa Charles Snyder is on its way to Kenya to help put the final
touches on an agreement to end Sudan's 21-year civil war, State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Wednesday.''
However, at the same time, Khartoum has launched a massive ethnic
cleansing of Black Africans in Darfur, in the western region of Sudan.
The same article in the New York Times reported:
``He said Snyder also would discuss with Sudanese officials the
situation in the western Darfur region where human rights groups charge
the Khartoum government and allied Arab militia are carrying out a
campaign of `ethnic cleansing' against Black African tribes, forcing
some 1 million people to flee their homes.''
Human Rights Watch and investigators for the United Nations have
documented widespread ethnic cleansing and have characterized the
situation there as ``crimes against humanity.'' More than 100,000 have
fled the region and are now refugees in neighboring Chad.
As the seasonal rains begin to set in, it is becoming more and more
difficult to move refugees to relative safety and to provide even
minimal subsistence. Malnutrition is at acute levels in the camps
especially among children.
So, while our diplomats expressed their ``grave concern'' to the UN
Human Rights Commission response to the murder, rape and forced
removals in western Sudan, the President gave his certification that
Khartoum was negotiating in ``good faith'' to end the decades old
struggle in the south.
If the President had chosen to withhold that certification, it would
have instituted a program of significant economic sanction against
Sudan.
How, one might ask, can the government of Sudan negotiate in ``good
faith'' to end genocide in one region, and openly engage in genocide in
another region?
And how, it is reasonable to ask, can our own government accept the
notion of negotiating in ``good faith'' in one region of the Sudan,
while conducting a ruthless genocide in another?
Mr. Speaker, only a short time ago we paused here to mark the tenth
anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. More than 800,000 died while the
world watched, and did nothing. Once again genocide is unfolding before
us. Those who have taken note have expressed their horror at what they
have seen. But where is the public outcry? Where are the front page
pictures? Where is the response of our government on behalf of the
American people?
The ominous sign is that our government is willing to turn its eyes
away from genocide in the West of the Sudan in favor of resuming oil
production in the oil rich Southern region.
The genocide in the South was characterized by both racial and
religious differences. The genocide in the Western region pits Muslim
against Muslim but retains the racial character of the genocide in the
South.
Mr. Speaker. In the name of fighting terrorism we have begun a
campaign under the rubric of the Global Peace Operations. Even though
President Bush has not formally announced the initiative, U.S. troops
are now active from Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden to the Atlantic
including Mali, Mauritania, Chad and Niger.
The question we now confront is this: is the slaughter of hundreds of
thousands, even millions of Africans, terrorism? If our struggle
against terrorism is truly global, can we be truly engaged in a global
war on terrorism, and not engage genocide in Africa?
Mr. Speaker, funding for State Department programs in Africa such as
the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance program and
the Enhanced International Peacekeeping Capacities have languished for
years.
If we are to engage in a new anti-terrorism initiative in Africa, I
would hope the President would consult with the Congress and with the
Congressional Black Caucus as to how the struggle against terrorism
will be shaped so as to protect the people of Africa as well as the
peoples of the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Mr. Speaker, on June 24 the U.S. Holocaust Museum here in Washington
took the dramatic step of closing access to its main exhibitions to
call attention to the horror underway in Darfur.
Around that same time U.N. Secretary General Koffi Annan and U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell paid a visit to the western Sudan.
Secretary Powell expressed his deep concern over what he saw with his
own eyes as an humanitarian crisis. But he failed to place the events
in the Sudan in their proper historical context: the world is once
again facing the onslaught of genocide.
When asked, Secretary Powell, speaking on behalf of this
administration, was asked if this was genocide responded, ``Let's not
put a label on things.''
Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that is exactly what we need to do. Our
failure to acknowledge genocide in the Sudan led directly to the
abdication of the G-8 leaders in their responsibilities to intervene to
save the lives of tens of thousands of African men, women and children
as called for by the International Genocide Convention.
Mr. Speaker, if America cannot remember the great lessons of history,
cannot confront genocide, or if we do not count the deaths of tens of
thousands of Africans as genocide then the days ahead are sure to be
some of the saddest and most difficult we have ever confronted.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my
friend, the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson).
(Mr. JACKSON of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, in 1994, the U.S., along with rest of the world, stood
and watched as 800,000 men, women and children were slaughtered in
Rwanda. In April of this year, the world community marked the 10th year
of the modern-day genocide in Rwanda and said never again.
Today, we are in danger of failing to honor that commitment, and this
resolution goes a long way to ensuring that the United States will play
a profound role in stopping the genocide.
The Darfur region of western Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is
engulfed in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Since 2003, the
Sudanese government and their murderous Arab militias, known as the
Janjaweed, have waged a deliberate and systematic campaign of rape, of
torture, of starvation and murder of innocent Darfurian civilians.
If genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a
national, ethnic, racial or religious group, then the deliberate
killings of tens of thousands of black Sudanese happening right now
certainly qualifies. The U.S. Government must call it genocide. The
term ``genocide'' not only captures the fundamental characteristics of
the Khartoum government's intent and actions in western Sudan, but it
also invokes clear international obligations, and that is why this
resolution is so important.
Mr. Speaker, on the ground, we are trying our best to get aid to the
Darfurians during the rainy season. U.S. Administrator Natsios from
USAID said that even if we are successful, 300,000 Darfurians will lose
their lives; and if we do not act immediately, 1 million Darfurians are
sure to lose their lives or be at risk.
The answer, Mr. Speaker, beyond the declaration of genocide, is to
ensure that the AU, that the various Arab governments in the region,
along with the United States, provide immediate
[[Page H6533]]
military relief so that aid can get to Darfurians immediately. The
United States Government has 2,000 troops in Jabudi; 2,000 troops. They
are the closest troops, the closest opportunity that we have, to ensure
that the Janjaweed are disarmed, so that aid workers can get aid to the
people in Darfur.
So beyond the declaration of genocide, we must move to provide the
security for the Darfurians and keep the Janjaweed from continuing
their murderous efforts in Darfur.
Mr. Speaker, as parties to the Genocide Convention, all permanent
members of the UN Security Council and more than 130 countries
worldwide, are bound to prevent, stop and punish the perpetrators of
genocide--a unique crime against humanity in international law.
The international legal definition of the crime of genocide is found
in Articles II and III of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of Genocide. Article II describes two elements of the crime
of genocide. A crime must include both elements to be called
``genocide'':
1. the mental element, meaning the ``intent to destroy, in whole or
in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, as such'', and
2. the physical element, which includes: Killing members of the
group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to
bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing
measures intended to prevent births within the group, and forcibly
transferring children of the group to another group.
Since 1993, the Sudanese government and their militia have
implemented a reign of terror in Darfur. An estimated 30,000, have been
killed in the last year. More than one million black Sudanese have been
forced from their homes. The attackers have raped civilians and
destroyed their villages. They have destroyed the crops, livestock and
farms upon which the region's people depend. They have poisoned their
water supply. They have launched systematic and indiscriminate aerial
bombardments and ground attacks on unarmed civilians. They have
deliberately blocked humanitarian assistance to the region.
If the Sudanese government continues its brutality, or the
international community fails to adequately intervene, as many as 1
million more Darfurians are at-risk of dying of starvation and disease.
In the words of one New York Times columnist, if the people of Sudan
``. . . aren't victims of genocide, then the word has no meaning.''
Mr. Speaker, there is a genocide taking place in Sudan and we must
stop it. We call on the Administration to immediately lead an
international effort to stop the death and destruction in Darfur.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel), a member of the Committee on
International Relations.
Mr. HOEFFEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time
and applaud his leadership on this issue.
I am honored to stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle
tonight to declare that the ethnic cleansing occurring in the Sudan is
in fact genocide, to demand that the world recognize that it is
genocide, and to urge the United Nations Security Council to take the
necessary action to stop the violence and to get humanitarian aid to
Darfur Province immediately. There is not a moment to lose. We must act
now.
I would also urge my colleagues to consider the additional step of
joining the protest that has been under way at the Sudanese embassy for
the past 3 or 4 weeks and to consider whether an act of civil
disobedience in furtherance of the declaration of genocide and in
furtherance of immediate humanitarian aid to Darfur Province would be
appropriate to be taken and whether it would meet your standards.
Because the world is watching what we do. We failed to act when tragedy
struck Rwanda. We cannot fail to act again.
I would add to the excellent congressional resolution of the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and the fine work of all my
colleagues the necessity to take individual acts of civil disobedience,
to protest the unresponsive Sudanese government that is unleashing this
terror, this genocide, on innocent civilians, failing to admit what
they are doing, and not allowing humanitarian assistance to come to the
aid of these innocent millions of people.
The time to act is now. There is not a moment to lose.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my good
friend and neighbor, the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Lofgren).
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, we know the leaders of this effort. They
have been mentioned with great gratitude, the chairman of the committee
and ranking member, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and
others.
But I would like to talk about really the extraordinary experience I
have had in the last several weeks with members not on the Committee on
International Relations, but who came together to say we need to do
something about this disaster in the Sudan.
We have a very partisan situation here in the House of
Representatives, but participating in these meetings were the most
conservative and the least conservative Members, and everybody in
between. And although we do not agree on a lot, we agree on this: the
world cannot stand by while genocide is committed in the Sudan.
{time} 2100
We need to lead an international effort to stop the violence. We need
to make sure that we participate in the humanitarian aid that is
necessary. We worked together to make sure that this resolution could
be supported, could be heard today, and that we take this first step.
We agree we need to call it for what it is: genocide.
I am proud to be a Member of this House this evening and to be a part
of the great American tradition of all Members of the House of
Representatives working together for the good of the world and for what
is good and just and right with our conscience.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), our distinguished colleague
and my good friend.
Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H. Con. Res. 467. We have a moral and
ethical responsibility to stand up today and declare the situation in
Darfur genocide. At the very time that an historic peace was being
brokered to settle the north-south civil war in the Sudan, the Sudanese
Government was financing and arming a Muslim Arab militia, the
Janjaweed, who used those funds and arms to terrorize the Muslim, but
not Arab, population of Darfur. Recently, humanitarian groups have
uncovered documents which showed the Sudanese Government supplied the
militia with soldiers who were promised government impunity.
By aligning with the government, the Janjaweed has managed to avoid
widespread condemnation. Whether by direct slaughter or starvation, the
Janjaweed will have caused the death of 300,000 people by the end of
this year without effective counteraction.
Sudanese leaders have restricted international media access to
Darfur, thus allowing the Janjaweed to carry out their scorched earth
tactics undeterred. While crops are destroyed and villages are razed,
the non-Arab Muslim population has been forced to abandon the
countryside which sustained them and gather in internment camps near
the large towns to live in squalor, or flee to refugee camps in
neighboring Chad, which is too poor to provide assistance.
Survivors of the Janjaweed's campaign paint a horrifying picture.
Women and girls are systematically raped and left to die, and thousands
are marched to their deaths, while the Sudanese Government denies the
survivors humanitarian aid, shelter, drinking water, and food. The
Sudanese Government is culpable in crimes against humanity in Darfur.
With this resolution, Congress declares genocide in Sudan and demands
that the Sudanese Government, the United Nations, and all concerned
stop the genocide in Darfur before the crisis there worsens and engulfs
the entire region in conflict.
I urge Members to support the legislation.
[[Page H6534]]
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my
good friend, the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), our
distinguished colleague.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, my heartfelt gratitude to all of those
who made it possible to bring this bipartisan resolution to the floor
tonight, and particularly to my colleague, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Payne), who has long toiled to make this evening happen and
this resolution happen.
Some issues transcend the regular business of this House, the
important business of policymaking, and transcend partisan politics,
and move into the realm of moral imperative.
The genocide that is occurring at this moment in the Sudan, the
murder and the rape of women and girls, even little girls at this
moment, is one of those moral imperatives. And if we in this most
powerful nation on Earth fail to act when our actions could prevent
much, even if not all of the loss of life, then we share in the blame.
I stand here tonight not only as a Member of Congress, but as a Jew
and as a grandmother. Each year in the Capitol Rotunda, there is a
solemn and inspiring ceremony to mark the Holocaust, the slaughter of 6
million Jews by the Third Reich, and one of the themes of that event is
never again. But it did happen again, and the gentleman from Colorado
(Mr. Tancredo) listed the scenes of genocide since World War II, and
now in the Sudan. And this House and the other body and the
administration have a choice to make: Do we or do we not act to stop
it?
Every day that we delay, a minimum of 1,000 people die. We have to
make a choice tonight. Before we leave this body for 6 weeks, we need
to make a choice. And as a grandmother, I do not want to look into the
eyes of my grandchildren who say to me, Grandma, you were here when
thousands of people died. What did you do to stop it? I want to be able
to say, I did help to stop it. We all need to make that choice.
This resolution is so important, but it is just a first step. The
other body needs to act. This administration needs to act. We need to
call it what it is and we need to proceed to stop it.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my friend
and colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff).
(Mr. SCHIFF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, 57 years ago, nations stunned by the Nazi
systematic acts of genocide declared, ``Never again.'' Ten years ago,
confronted with the death toll of the Rwandan genocide, leaders of the
same nations again declared, ``Never again.'' Today, tens of thousands
of women, men, and children have been murdered and hundreds of
thousands continue to suffer. Today, again, people are being targeted
and killed because of their ethnic identity only 1,000 miles north of
Rwanda in Darfur, Sudan.
Mr. Speaker, 800,000 innocent people lost their lives in Rwanda. We
hesitated, and nearly a million people died for our hesitation. On the
10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide this April, world leaders
again expressed their determination to prevent future humanitarian
catastrophes. Tragically, only a few short months later, we find
ourselves standing by again, unwilling to take the necessary steps to
end the crisis in Darfur. Ten years ago, we failed the people of
Rwanda. We must not fail again.
I join my colleagues in calling upon the administration to apply
sustained pressure on the government in Khartoum. I call upon the
President to speak out against the atrocities in Darfur, to use both
economic and political leverage. Every day we delay, every day we
think, every day we consider the best course of action and the most
appropriate definition for the crisis is another day innocent people
are being killed, tortured, and watching their families lose their
lives.
International cooperation and support of the United Nations is
essential, but the most direct path to limiting the threat is increased
pressure from the United States. Experience has shown that we must not
delay in classifying the loss of life in Darfur as genocide. Otherwise,
by the time we have prepared our definitions, it will be too late. The
facts on the ground and in the ground will have removed all doubt, and
we will be left to murmur, without confidence or conviction, ``Never
again.''
Mr. Speaker, 57 years ago, nations stunned by the Nazi's systematic
acts of genocide declared ``Never Again''. Ten years ago, confronted
with the death toll of the Rwandan genocide, leaders of the same
nations again declared ``Never Again''. Today, tens of thousands of
women, men, and children have been murdered and hundreds of thousands
continue to suffer. Today, again, people are being targeted and killed
because of their ethnic identity, only 1,000 miles north of Rwanda in
Darfur, Sudan.
Eight hundred thousand innocent people were murdered in Rwanda. We
hesitated and nearly 1 million people died for our hesitation. On the
10-year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide this April, world leaders
expressed their determination to prevent future humanitarian
catastrophes. Tragically, only a few short months later, we find
ourselves standing by again, unwilling to take the necessary steps to
end the crisis in Darfur. Ten years ago, we failed the people of
Rwanda. We must not fail again. Ten years ago we were preoccupied with
our mission in Bosnia, Somalia was fresh in our minds, and we were wary
of getting involved in Rwanda. Today we are preoccupied with the
aftermath of the conflict in Iraq and, again, we are wary of committing
American resources to end the bloodshed in Sudan.
As we have hesitated, some 30,000 people have already been murdered
in Darfur and another million have been displaced from their villages
and farms. Hundreds of thousands of individuals are caged in
concentration camps where women are systematically raped and men are
killed for scavenging food. Government-sponsored Arab militias continue
to systematically terrorize the African Muslim inhabitants of the
region--destroying villages, raping and murdering civilians, and
poisoning precious wells with the bodies of the dead. Although the
administration has taken some important first steps to confront the
crimes being committed in Darfur, much remains to be done.
The administration has rightly called for humanitarian access to the
region and for the deployment of international cease-fire monitors. The
administration has denounced the atrocities in Darfur. Still, a
catastrophe of these proportions requires a deeper commitment to
action; we must treat the problems at the root of this crisis. The
thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes and land
must be given safe and voluntary passage to return. More cease-fire
monitors must be deployed to the region. The government in Khartoum
must be persuaded to stop blocking international humanitarian
assistance to the 2.2 million people of Darfur in desperate need of
food and medicine. President Al-Bashir must be required to control the
Janjaweed militiamen who, even now, continue their campaign of terror
against the innocent people of Darfur. It is intolerable that these
militias have not yet been disarmed and demobilized.
I join my colleagues in calling upon the administration to apply
sustained pressure on the government in Khartoum. I call upon the
President to speak out against the atrocities in Darfur and to use both
economic and political leverage to elicit cooperation from the Sudanese
government. Every day that we delay, every day that we think, every day
that we consider the best course of action and the appropriate
definition for the crisis in Darfur is another day that innocent people
are being killed, are being tortured, and are watching their families
being killed and tortured before their very eyes.
International cooperation and support from the United Nations will be
essential to the long-term resolution of the Sudanese situation. Yet
the most direct path to eliminating the threat to African Muslims in
Darfur is increased pressure from the United States. Experience has
shown us that we must not delay in classifying the loss of life in
Darfur as genocide--otherwise, by the time we have prepared our
definitions, it will be too late--the facts on the ground, and in the
ground, will have removed all doubt. And we will be left to murmur
without confidence or conviction--never again.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to my
friend and colleague, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott).
(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I cannot forget the event in the Kigali
Airport when I traveled with President Clinton to Rwanda and he spoke
to Rwandans and apologized for our failure to act.
There was a woman sitting there who had lost all of her family in
front of her
[[Page H6535]]
eyes. There was a priest there who had his arm cut off. There were
people sitting there that the President acknowledged as people that the
United States did not act to save.
We have that same opportunity. We have it. It is in our hands. We
have the capacity, and we must exercise our solemn duty to humanity for
justice for everyone.
No one on this floor, no one in this building should ever want to sit
in a meeting like that again and say, we are really sorry; we knew it
was going on, but we did not do anything. We must act.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to my
good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush).
(Mr. RUSH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I am here this evening because of this
resolution. I cannot think of another resolution, another matter before
this body in the last few months or years that is more important than
this resolution, the Payne resolution.
Mr. Speaker, we have at this time an opportunity to stand up for
justice and to stand up for peace and to stand up for what is right. We
have an opportunity at this time to stop the genocide that is occurring
in the Sudan. And, Mr. Speaker, now is the time when we must take
action as a body. It is on us. We have had the horrible experience of
witnessing and apologizing indeed for the Rwandan holocaust, and now we
are faced here 10 years later with something similar going on in the
Sudan.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford to allow this genocide that is
occurring in the Sudan to continue. We must rise up to the occasion. We
must forget about those partisan things that divide us. We must come
together as a body, as a Congress, indeed, as a nation; and we must
show the world the way to eliminate the kind of racial and religious
hatred that exists in this world. We must rise up and show the example.
The future of this nation, the future of this world is at stake,
because if we allow genocide to occur in the Sudan, if we do not do
anything about it, then, Mr. Speaker, genocide will occur in almost any
place throughout this world.
We have an opportunity and we have an obligation. Let us not fail the
people of the world.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the remaining time to the gentleman
from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic whip and
indefatigable fighter for human rights across the globe.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hensarling). The gentleman from Maryland
(Mr. Hoyer) is recognized for 30 seconds.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr.
Tancredo), my friend, for yielding me this time, and I thank the
ranking member for yielding me this time.
I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) for acting. We are
acting too late, but it is never too late to do the right thing.
We live in a new world, a world in which it is impossible to say that
we do not know, that we have not seen, that we have not heard. Because
we live in such a world, to remain silent and inactive is an immoral
act; it is an act of indifference and negligence that condemns us as
human beings.
The Second World War and the Holocaust have been referenced, the
Holocaust appropriately so, because that was an act of eliminating a
people because of the fact that they existed. This is an act of trying
to eliminate a people, not because they are aggressors, not because
they are a danger, but because they exist.
It is incumbent upon not just the United States, but on all the world
to act when it is confronted with genocide. It is an act of self-
preservation for us to recognize what is being done and to act, for if
we do not, we will not live in either a safe or a civilized
international community.
{time} 2115
Very frankly, we watched in the past decade a genocide occur in
Bosnia and Kosovo, and we interviewed some blue helmets who were there
on the ground and reported back that, yes, they had seen atrocities
committed, but their assignment there was to report, not to act.
The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) mentioned Dante's reference
to those who maintain their neutrality in the face of moral outrage.
This is an important act we take, but it is not enough, because words
will not save those children. Words alone will not protect those women
from assault and ravage. Words will not feed those people. Words will
not prevent the death; but words hopefully will be the beginning of
action, a call to morality, a call to civilization, a call to the
international community to live out the promises that it included in
the United Nations charter, with hope of a new and better and safer and
more moral world. That is what this resolution is about.
I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne). I thank him for
his commitment, his leadership, and his steadfastness. I urge all of my
colleagues, all of us, everyone, Republican, Democrat, liberal,
conservative, north, east, south and west, to affirm this commitment,
this definition, this call to action, this call to a moral world.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. TANCREDO. I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos).
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, this is a noble moment for this body, but it
is only a first step. There is a built-in mechanism ready to go to save
the people of Darfur, and I call on NATO to use its capabilities to
deploy the necessary troops to save the people of Darfur. There is no
nobler goal for NATO, which was designed to protect human life, to do
so now in west Sudan.
I want to thank all of my colleagues for their contribution. This is
a noble moment for the House of Representatives. I urge all of my
colleagues to vote for this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to just simply thank a couple of people who have worked
tirelessly on this, staff people. One is Joan Condon, the Committee on
International Relations professional staff, for her tireless work on
this important issue. And of course someone on my staff is Molly
Miller, who has been dedicated to this issue and was recently in Sudan
and has a heart for this issue. I want to thank all of my colleagues
for their brilliant words this evening and their heartfelt commitment
to this wonderful goal.
Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 467
which declares that genocidal acts are occurring in Darfur, Sudan and
are directed at the indigenous Muslim population by the Muslim
government in Khartoum and in conjunction with the Janjaweed militia.
The situation in Sudan is dire. The statistics are alarming and
depressing. The numbers of casualities, deaths, rapes, injuries and
displaced refugees beg the question, how can the world, the U.N., the
United States and other civilized nations witness the murder of 30,000
innocent civilians, the forced removal of 130,000 people from their
homes to Chad, and the displacement of more than one million people and
do nothing.
In Sudan, we are witnessing a crisis that can be stemmed by proactive
international leadership, but that leadership must include decisive
action. The action necessary include using every measure possible to
get the government of Sudan to allow more African Union military
advisors into the country to monitor events. The leadership necessary
requires our government to do everything possible to isolate the
current government in Khartoum as a pariah in the international
community, including: implementing a travel ban on senior Sudanese
officials, establishing an embargo on all arms, freezing all government
assets and the assets of affiliated organizations for the Sudanese
government until such time as it modifies its behavior, and begins to
feed and protect the civilian Sudanese population. And finally, we must
strive to ensure that food, medicine, clothing and peacekeepers are
delivered to the Darfur region of Sudan before the rainy season
descends upon the weak, defenseless and despairing masses in Sudan.
We must send the message to the Sudanese government and to the
Sudanese people that the inhumane acts undertaken by Muslims against
other ethnic African Muslims is deplorable and disgraceful. The
religion of Islam which is predicated on values of peace and tolerance
is being tainted and shamed by a
[[Page H6536]]
minority segment of the government that sanctions genocide and denies
it is occurring. I rise in strong support of this resolution and
encourage my colleagues to stand up for the people of Darfur, Sudan and
to challenge and shame the government of Sudan into taking appropriate
action to rectify an ever expanding tragedy.
Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res.
467, which calls the current situation in Sudan by its proper name:
genocide.
Throughout years of civil war, the government in Khartoum and its
militia sympathizers slaughtered tens of thousands of people in
Southern Sudan and enslaved many others. Over the past two decades, it
is estimated that more than two million people have died from war
related causes and famine. Now violence has escalated in the Darfur
region of the Western Sudan, where government-sponsored militias have
been ruthlessly targeting various ethnic groups. More than 30,000
civilians have already been brutally murdered and approximately one
million civilians have been forced to flee their homes and are now
either internally dispatched or seeking refuge in neighboring Chad.
These numbers cannot capture the horror of daily life in Sudan where
violence, death and disease run rampant and young men cannot go outside
the refugee camps for fear of being killed. Any woman or girl who dares
to leave in search of food or water instantly becomes a target for rape
or murder. With each passing day, more and more people are suffering
and dying. The United States must act swiftly to end this genocide and
punish those responsible for these heinous crimes against humanity.
By considering this resolution, we are taking the first step in what
will be a long road to ending years of violence in Sudan. The
President, the Secretary of State, the U.N. and the international
community must all declare this genocide and offer all assistance
possible to end the atrocities occurring in Sudan. It is my hope that
the international community will come together and send a multi-
national force to Sudan to provide security and to help with the
delivery of humanitarian aid. If the world community is unwilling to do
so or cannot do so in a timely manner then I believe the U.S. should
send a force of its own to Sudan.
Although I was an ardent opponent of the war with Iraq, I do believe
that in certain instances unilateral force is both necessary and
justified. This is undoubtedly one of those times. Tens of thousands of
people have already died and thousands more will perish if we stand by
and do nothing. If the world remains silent in the face of genocide,
then America alone must act. The America that I know and believe in is
a moral leader in the world and taking the leading role in bringing an
end to genocide in Sudan will save thousands of lives and move us
closer to fulfilling our true destiny.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the sponsor of this
resolution, Mr. Payne, as well as Chairman Hyde of the Committee on
International Relations, and all of the members who have worked to
bring H. Con. Res. 467 to the floor. I think it's very important that
Congress act on this resolution before the August recess. Tonight the
House of Representatives will go on record declaring the atrocities
being committed in the Darfur region of Sudan to be ``genocide.'' H.
Con. Res. 467 is a statement for the world, and a stark warning to the
Sudanese government.
We've heard about the atrocities government-backed militias are
perpetrating in Darfur. This resolution cites an estimated 30,000
innocent civilians brutally murdered, more than 130,000 people fleeing
to neighboring Chad, and more than one million people internally
displaced. The Africa Subcommittee that I chair has held several
hearings on Sudan. We've heard about the human suffering. We have also
heard about how this killing is targeted and systematic. Villages are
razed, crops are burned, and wells are poisoned. I fully support this
resolution's determination that genocide is occurring in Sudan, as it
played out in Rwanda ten years ago.
Those doing the killing need to understand that the world is
changing. We have international courts to hold human rights criminals
accountable. Information is being collected. The days of impunity are
ending. That is a message that this resolution sends.
H. Con. Res. 467 deplores the failure of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission to take appropriate action on Darfur. Earlier this
year, the Commission failed to support a United States led effort to
strongly condemn gross human rights violations in Darfur. Others just
don't care. The administration has taken the lead in seeking an end to
the slaughter in Darfur, and addressing the humanitarian crisis there.
Why do we seem to care about Darfur more than African governments? We
desperately need African engagement, and outrage, on Darfur. It is
Africans who are being slaughtered.
Indeed, the administration deserves much credit for achieving a
north-south peace accord in Sudan. It has played a very good hand with
the cards it was dealt. Congress has been supportive of these
negotiations, including with the Sudan Peace Act. But now we have a
genocide in the west of Sudan--in Darfur.
Peace isn't divisible in Sudan. It's a cliche, but in Darfur,
Khartoum is showing its true colors. Today, that government is hearing
loud and clear that there will be no U.S. aid or improved relations, no
support for the peace process, as long as the killing continues in
Darfur. Maybe that matters to Khartoum; to be honest, maybe it doesn't,
which is a possibility we need to prepare for. That is why H. Con. Res.
467 urges the administration to seriously consider multilateral or even
unilateral intervention to stop the genocide should the United Nations
Security Council fail to act. I don't think it needs this urging.
The suffering in Darfur is moving the American people. There's an
awakening to the horror being afflicted there. Tonight, the House of
Representatives is amplifying these concerns for the world.
Mr. TANCREDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hensarling). The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con.
Res. 467, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________