[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2497-S2498]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 17--CALLING ON THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY 
ORGANIZATION TO ASSESS THE POTENTIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF AND REQUIREMENTS 
     FOR A NATO-ENFORCED NO-FLY ZONE IN THE DARFUR REGION OF SUDAN

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. 
Feinstein, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Obama, and Mrs. Boxer) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 17

       Whereas the Government of Sudan continues to commit crimes 
     against humanity and engage in genocidal acts in the Darfur 
     region of Sudan;
       Whereas the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
     between the government in Khartoum and the Sudanese People's 
     Liberation Army on January 9, 2005, has not resulted in an 
     improvement of the security situation in Darfur;
       Whereas, on January 26, 2005, the Government of Sudan 
     bombed the village of Rahad Kabolong in the state of North 
     Darfur, killing an estimated 100 people;
       Whereas, in February of 2005, the African Union reported 
     that the security situation in Darfur had deteriorated over 
     the course of the previous four months;
       Whereas, in March 2005, Doctors Without Borders issued a 
     report that stated that rape of women in Darfur continues 
     unabated;
       Whereas United Nations officials have stated that at least 
     70,000 people have died due to violence and insecurity in 
     Darfur, but that the total is likely higher;
       Whereas, according to the United Nations, the number of 
     people internally displaced due to the conflict in Darfur has 
     risen over the past year to nearly 1,850,000, and over 
     200,000 people are refugees in neighboring Chad;
       Whereas aid organizations believe that approximately 1,000 
     people per day are dying as a direct and indirect result of 
     the conflict in Darfur;
       Whereas neither the mandate nor the troop strength of the 
     African Union Mission in Sudan is adequate to protect 
     civilians in that country; and
       Whereas all members of the international community must 
     participate in efforts to stop genocide, war crimes, and 
     crimes against humanity in Darfur: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) strongly condemns the continued attacks on civilians in 
     Darfur;
       (2) calls on all parties to abide by the terms of the April 
     8, 2004, N'Djamena cease-fire agreement;
       (3) calls on the Government of Sudan to immediately 
     withdraw all military aircraft from the region and disarm the 
     janjaweed militias;
       (4) commends the Africa Union Mission in Sudan for its 
     actions to date in monitoring the implementation of the 
     N'Djamena cease-fire agreement in Darfur;
       (5) urges the President to immediately direct the United 
     States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization to propose in the North Atlantic Council that 
     NATO assess and report to members on the potential 
     effectiveness of and requirements for a NATO-enforced no-fly 
     zone across the Darfur region of Sudan; and
       (6) calls upon NATO allies to support the dispatch of such 
     an assessment mission.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, the second reason I rise is literally a 
coincidental but important offshoot of what Christopher Dodd, Senator 
Dodd's father, did at the Nuremberg Trials. What they did--he and 
Justice Jackson--was they understood that you could uncover, deal with, 
and expose to the world atrocities humanity commits upon humanity and 
at the same time do it under the rule of law, give people a fair trial, 
actually abide by what we say we stand for.
  All of us are aware of the genocide now taking place in the Darfur 
region of Sudan. We passed a resolution last July which called 
Khartoum's abuses in Darfur genocide, which is what they were, what 
they are, and what they continue to be. The then-Secretary of State 
Colin Powell made the same assessment in testimony before the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee in September of 2004.
  The President of the United States, President Bush, signed 
legislation imposing sanctions on Khartoum for the actions in Darfur 
this past December. With the signing of the North-South Peace Agreement 
on January 9, administration officials believed the situation in Darfur 
would improve. Unfortunately, they have only gotten worse.

[[Page S2498]]

  The Government of Sudan and its proxy militia continue to attack 
civilians with impunity. An estimated 100 people were killed in an 
aerial bombardment in Sudan at the end of January.
  In February, the African Union officials reported that the security 
situation in Darfur had deteriorated over the past 4 months and said 
that the government and its allied militias were primarily to blame.
  This month, Doctors Without Borders has reported that rape continues 
as a routine practice, routinely used as a weapon against the women in 
the region with no sign of abating.
  The insecurity continues to hamper aid efforts, and on March 6, the 
United Nations forbade its workers from traveling to certain areas--the 
latest in a series of security measures put in place after aid workers 
were kidnapped and then killed. Aid organizations report that as many 
as 1,000 people a day are dying because of the lack of access to food 
and medicine.
  All told, violence and insecurity have resulted in at least 70,000 
deaths, although some believe the total to be much higher. The number 
of internally displaced persons has risen to nearly 2 million people. 
There are over 200,000 refugees in Chad alone. The current registration 
being conducted reveal that there are far more than the 20,0000 
refugees in neighboring Chad.
  The African Union Force in Darfur has made a noticeable difference in 
the areas they are able to reach, but it does not have the size, the 
mandate, or the capability to protect civilians in Darfur. AU monitors 
have come under fire from government allied forces and, in some 
instances, have been prevented from investigating allegations of cease-
fire violations.
  The AU faces a serious lack of capacity both at the headquarters 
level and at the level of member states. Out of a mandated 3,000 
troops, fewer than 2,000 are on the ground. And even at full strength, 
3,000 soldiers is not enough to prevent further abuse of civilians and 
to investigate cease-fire allegations in the area the size of France.
  It is evident to me that the administration--our administration--
needs to devote some focused time and attention to addressing the 
genocide in Darfur. Our current policy has not turned the tide. We need 
to redouble our efforts and bring an end to the genocide in Darfur. The 
question will be 5 years from now to all of us: Where were we? Where 
were we? What did we do when this genocide unfolded? There will be 
another Academy Award-nominated movie about the god-awful genocide that 
is taking place, the routine rape, the systematic elimination of a 
whole people.
  Today, I sent a letter to the President of the United States urging 
him to instruct our permanent representative at the NATO alliance, the 
so-called NAC, the North Atlantic Council, to propose that NATO assess 
and report immediately to members on the potential effectiveness of and 
requirements for a NATO-enforced no-fly zone across Darfur in the 
region of the Sudan. The reason I sent the letter is I am absolutely 
certain of what NATO will say. They are fully, totally capable of 
enforcing a no-fly zone out of Chad. The French could do it now.
  I have been one who has been critical of this administration. I 
apologize for discussing this in the middle of a bill we have been 
working on for a long time but, literally, events are overtaking us.
  I am confident that NATO will point out they are fully physically 
capable of taking and imposing a no-fly zone in the region. That will 
be significant. My friend from New Jersey has been a leader on this 
subject and this issue. He has been banging us about the head to do 
more. He has a much more expansive proposal, which I support, than what 
I am proposing today.
  I have stood in this Senate and defended our European allies against 
some of the broader allegations in the Bush allegation, but I must say 
today, I am tired of our French friends and others bleeding all over us 
about the plight of the people in Iraq, the plight of the people in 
other parts of the world, when it is fully within their capability 
right now that France could do this all by itself. Right now. They have 
the wherewithal, they have the aircraft, they are positioned, and they 
very much want to make sure that they are recognized as a major player 
in Africa.
  I am, quite frankly, more than disappointed--appalled--for all their 
talk that they are not acting at all. That does not relieve us of 
responsibility. The fact that another nation has the capacity and has a 
history that would warrant it taking the action that needs to be taken 
now, and does not, does not free us of an obligation.
  Today's Washington Post editorial page says that enforcing the no-fly 
zone in Darfur would require ``one squadron of 12 to 18 fighter 
aircraft backed up by 4 AWAC planes,'' and cites a retired Air Force 
general as their source for believing such. Let's find out whether they 
are right. I believe they are. I have no reason to doubt that this Air 
Force general has talked not only to them but to others. But let's make 
it official. Let's do an assessment. Let's force the NAC to make an 
assessment now. I believe they will come back with exactly what I have 
just stated--a squadron, backed up by AWAC, that will be able to take 
out those gunships that are being used now to decimate entire villages.
  As I said, my friend from New Jersey witnessed--I don't think he 
witnessed the actual gunships in action, but he witnessed the results. 
Let's find out now so we cannot kid around with ourselves, so we do not 
do what we are doing today, what we were doing last week and last 
month. We think this is an awful occurrence; we condemn it; but it is 
beyond our capacity to effect an outcome.
  That is what they said to me in 1993 in Bosnia. That is what they 
said in 1997 in Kosovo. That is what we didn't do in Rwanda. This is 
time to act. It is within our capacity to do so. I believe it is 
totally consistent with the President's call for freedom, totally 
consistent with the President's Inaugural speech, which I applaud, 
totally consistent with what I believe and hope is in his heart, to be 
able to stop this kind of action.
  The question is, why propose sending the NATO mission to Darfur? A 
NATO mission will do three things. First, it will provide immediate 
security for the people of Darfur by preventing area bombardment on the 
ground by the government of Sudan. Second, it will bolster the ability 
of the African force on the ground by discouraging attacks in the AU 
personnel and helicopters. Finally, it will send an unequivocal message 
to the international community that we will no longer tolerate 
Khartoum's actions.
  Some may say, Why aren't you going to the U.N.? This is a point I 
want to make again and again, one I made back in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 
1998. When that body does not act responsibly and when there is a 
genocide underway, it is fully within our rights--and I will argue our 
obligation--to act, hopefully, with others, with the strongest alliance 
in the history of the modern world, NATO. But even if they don't, we 
have a right, for I would argue and I say that which I am not supposed 
to say: If you engage in genocide, the world should reach a conclusion 
that you forfeit your sovereignty. You forfeit your sovereignty if you 
engage in genocide. That should be a principle we should state loudly 
and clearly. That warrants, if the capacity exists, the use of whatever 
action is possible to stop the genocide.
  I realize we have 12 divisions, 10 of which are coming or going to 
Iraq. But we are not talking about a division here. We don't need a 
division here. We are going to look back and find a squadron of 
aircraft, possibly several thousand American forces. That is what I 
would do, by the way. I think we should put ground forces in as well, 
but I am not asking that. All I am asking is, quite frankly, prick 
NATO's conscience and have them give us an honest assessment of what 
would, in fact, be required to enforce a no-fly zone.
  I send a resolution to the desk. I apologize I have not circulated 
this, but I know my colleague from New Jersey, as I say, has been heard 
on this and wants to be added. I know Senator Durbin does.
  I ask unanimous consent it remain open for the remainder of the day 
for me to be able to add cosponsors on both sides.
  I thank the Chair and my colleagues for their indulgence.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. I ask unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.




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