[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 21 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1473-S1474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 383--CALLING ON THE PRESIDENT TO TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS 
   TO HELP IMPROVE THE SECURITY SITUATION IN DARFUR, SUDAN, WITH AN 
                    EMPHASIS ON CIVILIAN PROTECTION

  Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Obama, Mr. Lugar, Mr. 
Feingold, and Mr. Dodd) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relation:

                              S. Res. 383

       Whereas, the April 8, 2004, N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement, 
     calling for an end to hostilities in Darfur, Sudan, has been 
     flagrantly violated by all parties to the agreement;
       Whereas the Government of Sudan continues to commit crimes 
     against humanity and engage in genocidal acts in Darfur;
       Whereas the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
     between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's 
     Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM/
     SPLA) on January 9, 2005, has not resulted in an improvement 
     of the security situation in Darfur;
       Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has 
     indicated that, ``People in many parts of Darfur continue to 
     be killed, raped, and driven from their homes by the 
     thousands.'';
       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 may be as high as 400,000 people;
       Whereas nearly 2,000,000 people have been internally 
     displaced, 3,000,000 people are dependant on international 
     assistance to survive, and over 200,000 people are refugees 
     in neighboring Chad due to the conflict in Darfur;
       Whereas escalating tensions along the border between Chad 
     and Sudan have increased instability in Darfur;
       Whereas neither the mandate nor the troop strength of the 
     African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) is adequate to protect 
     civilians in Darfur;
       Whereas the United States has demonstrated leadership on 
     the Sudan issue by having United States Permanent 
     Representative to the United Nations John Bolton, in his 
     first action as President of the United Nations Security 
     Council, request in February 2006 that Secretary-General 
     Annan initiate contingency planning for a transition from 
     AMIS to a United Nations peacekeeping operation;
       Whereas, although the United Nations Security Council has 
     concurred with this recommendation and taken steps toward 
     establishing a United Nations peacekeeping mission for 
     Darfur, it could take up to a year for such a mission to 
     deploy fully;
       Whereas, as the deteriorating security situation in Darfur 
     indicates, the people of Darfur cannot wait that long for 
     security to be reestablished;
       Whereas the international community currently has no plan 
     to address the immediate security needs of the people of 
     Darfur; 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, That the Senate--
       (1) strongly condemns--
       (A) the continued attacks on civilians in Darfur by the 
     Government of Sudan and Government-sponsored militias; and
       (B) the continued violations of the N'Djamena Ceasefire 
     Agreement by the Government of Sudan and rebels in Darfur, 
     particularly the Sudan Liberation Army;
       (2) commends the Africa Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) for 
     its actions in monitoring the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement 
     in Darfur and its role in diminishing some acts of violence;
       (3) calls upon all parties to the N'Djamena Ceasefire 
     Agreement--
       (A) to abide by the terms of the N'Djamena Ceasefire 
     Agreement; and
       (B) to engage in good-faith negotiations to end the 
     conflict in Darfur;
       (4) calls upon the Government of Sudan immediately--
       (A) to withdraw all military aircraft from the region;
       (B) to cease all support for the Janjaweed militia and 
     rebels from Chad; and
       (C) to disarm the Janjaweed;
       (5) calls on the African Union to request assistance from 
     the United Nations and NATO to strengthen its capacity to 
     deter violence and instability until a United Nations 
     peacekeeping force is fully deployed in Darfur;
       (6) calls upon the United Nations Security Council to 
     approve as soon as possible, pursuant to Chapter VII of the 
     Charter of the United Nations, a peacekeeping force for 
     Darfur that is well trained and equipped and has an adequate 
     troop strength;
       (7) urges the President to take steps immediately to help 
     improve the security situation in Darfur, including by--
       (A) proposing that NATO--
       (i) consider how to implement and enforce a declared no-fly 
     zone in Darfur; and
       (ii) deploy troops to Darfur to support the African Union 
     Mission in Sudan (AMIS) until a United Nations peacekeeping 
     mission is fully deployed in the region; and
       (B) requesting supplemental funding to support a NATO 
     mission in Darfur and the African Union Mission in Sudan 
     (AMIS);
       (8) calls upon NATO allies, led by the United States, to 
     support such a mission; and
       (9) calls upon NATO headquarters staff to begin prudent 
     planning in advance of such a mission.

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today, with my friend from Kansas, Senator 
Brownback, I am submitting a resolution urging the President to help 
stop genocide in Sudan. The killing in Darfur has gone on way too long.

[[Page S1474]]

  In July of 2004, Congress declared the actions that were taking place 
in Darfur, Sudan genocide. Two months later, the administration issued 
a report which reached the same conclusion. In the 17 months since 
then, little has changed for the people of Darfur. Two million people 
have been chased from their homes, 3 million rely on international aid, 
and over 200,000 are refugees in Chad.
  The security situation in Darfur remains dire. The Secretary General 
and other United Nations officials have warned that the region is on 
the verge of chaos. In parts of Darfur, the U.N. and other aid agencies 
have had to pull back staff.
  The U.N., led by the United States, has taken the first step towards 
authorizing a peacekeeping force, but it could be a year from now--a 
year--before such a force completely deploys.
  What are the men, women and children of Darfur supposed to do in the 
meantime? Hope for the best? Keep their fingers crossed that they are 
not attacked by the janjaweed, or caught in the cross-fire between the 
government and rebel forces?
  Some believe that the crisis in Darfur is over. All the violence, 
these folks argue, is small scale, and residual in nature. They argue 
that the African Union successfully halted the killing of innocent 
civilians. Maybe that is why the administration has no concrete plan to 
improve the security situation in Darfur until the U.N. can get on the 
ground.
  What I would say to those who argue that the worst is over is this: 
over the course of the last 2 years, the government of Sudan and its 
surrogates killed as many as 400,000 people and drove one third of the 
population of Darfur off their land. Two million people remain in 
internally displaced or refugee camps. Attacks continue. It may be true 
that they are not as systematic as they were 6 months or a year ago, 
but I submit to you that it is not because the African Union stopped 
the attacks. It is because systematic attacks are no longer necessary 
for the government to continue to terrorize civilians. It is because as 
many as 400,000 people already are dead, and hundreds if not thousands 
of villages have already been destroyed. The attacks may be less 
systematic, but they are not over. And it does not make them less 
horrific.
  I traveled to the Chad-Sudan border in May of 2005. One of the sector 
commanders from the African Union force came across the border to meet 
with me. He told me point blank, that he had neither the manpower, the 
equipment nor the mandate to stop attacks on civilians. But we in the 
west have the manpower and the equipment--and, if the political will is 
there, we can secure the right mandate. And that is why we must help.
  This resolution calls for the President to provide such help through 
NATO. It calls on the President to propose that NATO get involved by 
sending troops to Darfur to support the African Union until the United 
Nations can get on the ground, and considering how NATO can enforce a 
no-fly zone in Darfur. The resolution calls on NATO to begin planning 
in anticipation of such a mission.
  Let me be clear about what I am not proposing in this resolution. I 
am not proposing a third peacekeeping mission be sent to Darfur. I am 
suggesting that NATO increase the support it is already lending to the 
African Union with a small number of fully equipped troops to help with 
command and control, communications, and dissemination of intelligence, 
on the ground. And I am proposing that these troops stay in Darfur only 
until the U.N. force has deployed all of its troops. My colleagues 
should also note that the resolution urges the Security Council to 
authorize a Chapter VII mission for Darfur--one with an adequate number 
of well-trained and equipped soldiers--as quickly as possible, so that 
NATO troops are not engaged in an open ended mission.
  The world watched nearly a million people get slaughtered in Rwanda 
12 years ago this April. We did nothing. But I'd like to think that we 
learned from that mistake. We did act in Bosnia, and then in Kosovo, to 
stop ethnic cleansing. Neither mission was popular. But President Bill 
Clinton took decisive action because the consequences of inaction were 
simply too high: We could not stand by and allow Yugoslav President 
Slobodan Milosevic and his thugs to fill up more mass graves. We cannot 
fail to take action in Darfur as well.

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