[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 19, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8499-S8500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
URGING THE GOVERNMENT OF SUDAN AND THE SUDAN PEOPLE'S LIBERATION
MOVEMENT/ARMY TO FULLY IMPLEMENT THE COMPREHENSIVE PEACE AGREEMENT OF
JANUARY 9, 2005
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 202, which was submitted
earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 202) urging the Government of Sudan
and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army to fully
implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of January 9,
2005.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. FRIST. Mr President, I have submitted this resolution with regard
to Sudan, a country in Africa I have personally spent a lot of time in
and participated with, both in the south and the north, in promoting
peace there.
There have been 2 million people who have died in the Sudan as a
product of a civil war that is now about 24 years old, and about 5 to 6
million people have been displaced.
The Sudan Peace Act looked predominantly at the north versus the
south, although it is much more complicated than that oversimplified
comment. It is a separate issue than the Darfur crisis in western
Sudan, which this body has also paid a lot of attention to.
Real progress is being made in that part of the world, but continued
focus will be required to bring peace to that part of Africa.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed
to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid
upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 202) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 202
Whereas the people of Sudan have been devastated by war for
all but 10 years since Sudan gained its independence in 1956;
Whereas the second civil war in Sudan between the
Government of Sudan in the north and the Sudan People's
Liberation Army in the south began in 1983 and lasted for
more than 20 years;
Whereas more than 2,000,000 people died and more than
4,000,000 people were internationally displaced or became
refugees as a direct or indirect result of the civil war in
Sudan;
Whereas the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement/Army failed on numerous occasions to
bring a peaceful and just end to the civil war in Sudan
throughout the 1990s;
Whereas in September 2001, President George W. Bush
appointed former Senator John Danforth as Special Envoy for
Peace in Sudan to explore the potential of the United States
to become involved in searching for a just resolution to the
civil war in Sudan, and appointed Andrew Natsios, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development, as the Special Humanitarian Coordinator for
Sudan to enhance the delivery of assistance that could help
reduce the suffering of the people of Sudan;
Whereas in July 2002, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army reached the historic
Machakos Protocol, an agreement on the role of religion in
Sudan and the right to self-determination for the people of
southern Sudan;
Whereas in October 2002, the Government of Sudan and the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army signed a memorandum
of understanding that called for a cessation of hostilities
and unimpeded humanitarian access to all areas of Sudan;
Whereas peace talks continued throughout 2003, with
discussions focusing on wealth sharing and the control of 3
contested areas of Sudan;
Whereas on November 19, 2004, the Government of Sudan and
the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army signed a
declaration committing themselves to reach a final
comprehensive peace agreement by December 31, 2004, in the
context of a special session of the United Nations Security
Council;
Whereas on November 19, 2004, the United Nations Security
Council unanimously adopted Security Council Resolution 1574,
which welcomed the commitment of the Government of Sudan and
the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army to reach an
agreement by the end of 2004, and highlighted the intention
of the international community to assist the people of Sudan
and support the implementation of a comprehensive peace
agreement;
Whereas the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement/Army initialed the final elements of a
comprehensive peace agreement on December 31, 2004;
Whereas on January 9, 2005, the Government of Sudan and the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army formally signed the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement;
Whereas the Comprehensive Peace Agreement provides for a
new constitution, new arrangements for power sharing and
wealth sharing, and a 6-year interim period to be followed by
a referendum in southern Sudan so that the people of southern
Sudan can decide their political future;
Whereas the Comprehensive Peace Agreement provides for new
institutions to be created and a new Government of National
[[Page S8500]]
Unity to be installed in Sudan once the constitution is
ratified;
Whereas despite progress on reaching a peace agreement on
the North-South conflict there has been little progress to
end the ongoing conflict in the region of Darfur;
Whereas after tens of thousands of civilians died due to a
targeted campaign of violence by the government of Khartoum,
Congress declared on July 22, 2004, that the atrocities in
Darfur were genocide, committed primarily by the Government
of Sudan and its allied Janjaweed militias;
Whereas on September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin
Powell testified that ``genocide has been committed in
Darfur'';
Whereas on June 30, 2005, President Bush confirmed that
``the violence in Darfur region is clearly genocide [and] the
human cost is beyond calculation'';
Whereas the Comprehensive Peace Agreement provides a model
for the resolution of all conflicts in Sudan, including
Darfur, eastern Sudan, and elsewhere;
Whereas on July 9, 2005, the 6-year interim period under
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement began with the formation of
a new transitional government and the signing of an interim
constitution, and Dr. John Garang, the Chairman of the Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army, was sworn in by President
Omar Hassan al Bashir as First Vice President of Sudan;
Whereas millions of the people across Sudan continue to
suffer from the effects of war, including displacement and
war-related disease, hunger, and malnutrition;
Whereas the people of southern Sudan are in desperate need
of reconstruction assistance to build and improve vital
infrastructure components that are nearly nonexistent in
southern Sudan;
Whereas despite the historic signing of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement in January 2005, the key to success will now
be the full and timely implementation of the agreement by all
sides, wholly consistent with the letter, spirit, and intent
of the agreement; and
Whereas the impact and efficacy of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement will also be measured by the political resolution
of ongoing conflict in other parts of Sudan, including Darfur
and the east of Sudan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) commends the people of Sudan on the signing of the
historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement on January 9, 2005;
(2) urges the new Government of National Unity of Sudan,
consisting of elements of the National Congress Party and the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, to fully implement
the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in a timely manner
consistent with the letter, spirit, and intent of the
agreement;
(3) requests that the United States Government--
(A) commit to high-level, sustained engagement to closely
monitor the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement and events on the ground in Sudan, including in
Darfur and elsewhere; and
(B) sustain pressure as appropriate to ensure the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement is implemented in a full,
timely, and thorough manner;
(4) urges the United States Government--
(A) to maintain sanctions on the Government of Sudan as
appropriate until the Comprehensive Peace Agreement has been
fully honored and implemented; and
(B) to renew efforts to implement additional sanctions
through the United Nations Security Council until peace in
Darfur is achieved and those responsible for genocide, war
crimes, crimes against humanity, and criminal acts are
brought to justice;
(5) strongly urges the Government of National Unity of
Sudan to use the Comprehensive Peace Agreement as the basis
for negotiation of a peaceful resolution of the conflicts in
Darfur and other areas of Sudan;
(6) strongly supports the expansion of the size and role of
the mission of the African Union in Darfur to protect
civilians in Darfur and encourages continued support for this
mission from the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, and other countries and international
organizations;
(7) strongly supports the United Nations Mission in the
Sudan and the expansion of this mission to protect civilians
and aid workers throughout Sudan;
(8) supports the continued provision of humanitarian and
reconstruction assistance from the United States to the
people of southern Sudan, in addition to the assistance
allocated for the people of Darfur, so that the people of
Sudan may experience and appreciate the benefits of peace;
(9) supports international efforts to facilitate the safe
and voluntary return of refugees and internationally
displaced persons to their homes in Sudan; and
(10) calls upon the governments of all countries in the
Sudan region and around the world to actively support and
monitor the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement to help ensure that the people of Sudan pursue the
path to peace, prosperity, and security.
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