[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5211-S5213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DARFUR PEACE AGREEMENT AND SUDAN

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, for nearly 3 years, the Government of 
Sudan has conducted genocide in Darfur. The United Nations, the African 
Union, the U.S. State Department, and many other organizations possess 
detailed descriptions of these crimes against humanity. This enormous 
body of evidence demonstrates unequivocally that the Government of 
Sudan and its jingaweit proxies have attacked, uprooted, raped, 
starved, enslaved, and killed millions of civilians.
  In Congress, we have written letters, introduced and adopted 
legislation, and spoken out strongly. We have supported the African 
Union peacekeepers, the international relief workers, and the people of 
Darfur. In March, I sent a letter to President Bush detailing 13 steps 
that should be taken to address the crises in Sudan. I reiterate the 
steps that are suggested. These include appointment of a Presidential 
Envoy to Sudan; rapid preparation and deployment of additional, well-
equipped, robustly-mandated international peacekeepers to Darfur; 
urgent assistance to the African Union, including by NATO; and 
multilateral enforcement of existing U.N. resolutions that establish a 
no-fly zone over Darfur and hold accountable those who have committed 
crimes.
  Thousands of Americans, including many New Yorkers, have taken a 
strong and personal interest in the crisis in Darfur. I have heard 
their voices and frustration. The situation on the ground is still 
dire. As we lament this crisis today, four million people in Darfur and 
eastern Chad now depend on relief organizations for survival--one 
million more than a year ago.
  The alarm issued on May 19 by the United Nations Under Secretary 
General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, is therefore especially 
distressing. Despite the hopeful signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement 
on May 5 by the Government of Sudan and one of the main Darfur rebel 
groups, the work of aid workers remains sharply constrained by 
violence, funding shortfalls, and restrictions being imposed by the 
Government of Sudan. Civilians continue to be attacked and sexually-
brutalized by Sudanese armed forces, the jingaweit, and rebel groups. 
On May 19, Mr. Egeland warned, ``We can turn the corner towards 
reconciliation and reconstruction, or see an even worse collapse of our 
efforts to provide protection and relief to millions of people.'' In 
eastern Chad, Mr. Egeland said, ``we are confronted with a very 
dangerous vacuum that is being filled by rebels, militia and others, 
leaving civilians, internally displaced persons, refugee camps and 
relief workers utterly exposed.''
  In the context of Sudan's history, this post-peace agreement reality 
is not unique. Nor is it surprising. The genocide in Darfur, in the 
west, began just as the Government of Sudan concluded a horrific, 20-
year campaign of violence in the south--a campaign that laid waste to 
the institutions and infrastructure of southern Sudan. That conflict 
was brought to an end more than 1 year ago through the Comprehensive 
Peace Agreement (CPA)--but conditions in southern Sudan remain grim. 
Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said recently that the 
challenge in southern Sudan is not one of re-construction, but rather 
of basic construction; years of conflict have destroyed nearly 
everything.
  Even so, the National Congress Party in Khartoum--the signatory to 
the CPA with the means and the mandate

[[Page S5212]]

to implement many of its provisions--has moved ahead very slowly and 
selectively. Khartoum is failing to deliver on some of the most 
important provisions of the CPA, including those related to the 
resolution of disputed boundaries, the sharing of oil wealth, and the 
timely withdrawal of armed forces. Displaced and enslaved southerners 
are not being returned as promised to their homes. Incursions by the 
Lord's Resistance Army and other armed groups continue, often with 
impunity. Amidst these circumstances, the Government of Southern Sudan 
faces great challenges in providing basic goods to the people--basic 
goods such as roads, electricity, schools, hospitals, food, and clean 
water. By dragging its feet and turning a blind eye, Khartoum is 
abdicating its commitments under the CPA, and perpetuating the 
suffering of the southern Sudanese.
  If things do not change quickly in southern Sudan, today's fragility 
may tomorrow become chaos, with grave and deadly consequences for 
millions of civilians. The United States can, and must, do more. We 
should support the continued development of the Government of Southern 
Sudan, and urgently assist its provision of food, health care, shelter, 
and security to the southern peoples. In addition, we should expedite 
the safe, voluntary return of displaced southerners to their homes and 
families.
  More broadly, we should closely monitor security conditions, 
humanitarian access, and implementation of the peace agreements in both 
southern Sudan and Darfur. We must hold the signatories to their word 
and bring other groups on board. The Government of Sudan must fulfill 
its pledges to desist from military offensives; accept international 
peacekeepers; disarm the jingaweit by mid-October, 2006; and take clear 
steps to share power and wealth with the south and west. Members and 
sponsors of the jingaweit should be held accountable for their gruesome 
crimes, and not simply integrated into the national army. Relief 
workers and supplies must immediately be provided free and safe access 
to the peoples of Sudan--by the rebels, the jingaweit, and the 
Government of Sudan. If the National Congress Party in Khartoum fails 
to uphold its commitments or its broader obligations under 
international law, it must face consequences--especially if its failure 
erodes the security of civilians or aid workers. The possible sanctions 
and no-fly zone that have been authorized by the U.N. Security Council 
can compel compliance. In the meantime, to transform the Darfur Peace 
Agreement into peace, we need to immediately strengthen the African 
Union's ability to protect civilians and aid workers.
  Even with the commendable field work of the African Union, the United 
Nations, and many relief organizations, we must not lose focus on the 
current problems in Sudan. We must urgently support the work of these 
partners and together ensure that peace and justice prevail for the 
peoples of Sudan.
  I ask unanimous consent that the letter to which I referred be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                   March 15, 2006.
     Hon. George W. Bush,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I write with great concern about the 
     crisis in Sudan. Despite the work of the African Union, 
     violence against civilians and aid workers in Darfur is 
     increasing and spilling across the border into Chad. Between 
     200,000 and 400,000 people have been killed, and United 
     Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other credible 
     experts continue to warn that three million civilians are 
     displaced and at risk in Darfur and in eastern Chad. The 
     situation in eastern Sudan is also of concern.
       The United States and United Nations (U.N.) now possess 
     extensive, official accounts of the violence and, through a 
     U.N. Panel of Experts and other sources, we also know who may 
     be responsible. The Government of Sudan--reported by the U.S. 
     State Department on March 8, 2006 to be responsible for the 
     genocide in Darfur--continues to deny the existence of a 
     crisis. It continues to threaten retaliation against an 
     international intervention, and, according to a U.N. report 
     dated January 30, 2006, it continues to introduce additional 
     military aircraft into Darfur. The United States can and must 
     do more. Below are 13 ways in which you can take action.
       Convene a meeting of world leaders to address the crisis in 
     Darfur. For 100 weeks, the international community has 
     watched, with little meaningful response, as the first 
     genocide of this millennium has been carried out by the 
     Government of Sudan against the people of Darfur. I urge you 
     to convene, without delay, a meeting between leaders of the 
     United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
     and the African Union, and other interested world leaders, to 
     map out an action-plan for Darfur. The millions of displaced 
     victims in Darfur deserve at least this much.
       Appoint a Presidential Envoy to Sudan. To promote lasting 
     peace in both Darfur and eastern Sudan, and to demonstrate 
     U.S. commitment to peace negotiations and agreements, I urge 
     you to consider the appointment of a Presidential Envoy to 
     Sudan. Like Senator Danforth, your previous Envoy to Sudan, a 
     new Envoy should participate personally in peace talks, 
     oversee and coordinate U.S. engagement in Sudan, and report 
     directly to you on these efforts.
       Lead the U.N. Security Council in authorizing a 
     peacekeeping mission in Darfur. To protect civilians from 
     continued violence--much of which is documented explicitly in 
     a 42-page U.N. report published on January 27 and the U.N. 
     Secretary-General's monthly reports to the Security Council--
     I urge you to push the U.N. Security Council to authorize, 
     under Chapter VII, a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur.
       On January 12 and March 10, 2006, the African Union 
     endorsed this mission in principle. U.N. Secretary-General 
     Kofi Annan has begun planning this mission, in accordance 
     with the U.N. Security Council's Presidential Statement of 
     February 3, 2006.
       Efforts to broker a peace agreement for Darfur must not 
     forestall efforts to protect civilians. Our continued 
     inaction will enable the killings to continue. This fact 
     cannot be ignored.
       A U.N. mission in Darfur must now be authorized with a 
     clear and robust mandate to protect civilians; and be 
     supplied with the troops, air- and ground-mobility, and 
     communications network required to fully implement that 
     mandate.
       The Government of Sudan must either cooperate with this 
     mission or face sanctions, in accordance with the existing 
     U.N. Security Council Resolutions that are described below.
       Support the African Union. According to U.N. officials, 
     deployment of U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur may take six to 
     nine months. To protect civilians in the interim, I urge you 
     to support the African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur 
     in two ways. First, I urge you to support the funding needs 
     of the African Union mission for the next nine months. As you 
     know, the United States' share of these costs is estimated at 
     $10 million per month.
       Second, in accordance with United States Senate Resolution 
     383, which I co-sponsored, I urge you to lead NATO in 
     providing assistance to the A.U. peacekeepers in Darfur, 
     particularly in the areas of command and control, logistics, 
     intelligence, and airlift. I called for NATO assistance in 
     Darfur more than 12 months ago, at the Munich Conference on 
     Security. Since then, NATO has been helpful, particularly 
     with airlift, but it can and should do more.
       Third, to improve the ability of the existing African Union 
     peacekeepers to deter violence, I urge you to explore 
     mechanisms that would provide African Union commanders in 
     Darfur with specific, timely, standardized information about 
     imminent attacks against civilians in Darfur.
       Enforce the no-fly zone that has been established by the 
     U.N. Security Council and endorsed by the U.S. Congress. 
     Despite the enactment of a no-fly zone by the U.N. Security 
     Council in March 2005--nearly one year ago--the Government of 
     Sudan continues its aerial assaults against civilians in 
     Darfur. This is unacceptable, and I urge you to work with 
     members of NATO, the U.N. Security Council, and the African 
     Union to immediately enforce the ban on offensive overhead 
     flights in Darfur that was established by Security Council 
     Resolution 1591.
       On March 2, 2006, the U.S. Senate adopted Resolution 383 
     calling on you to take steps to enforce the no-fly zone in 
     Darfur. Senator Biden and others have suggested that 
     enforcement of the flight ban would require no more than 12 
     to 18 fighter planes and a handful of AWACs. I urge you to 
     work with other countries to mobilize these resources, and to 
     ensure that the Government of Sudan ceases its overhead 
     assaults. Our continued failure on this issue is 
     unacceptable.
       Similarly, I urge you to raise with Khartoum the findings 
     of a U.N. report dated January 30, 2006, which suggest that 
     the Government of Sudan continues to introduce additional 
     offensive military aircraft into Darfur.
       Lead the U.N. Security Council in enforcing Resolution 
     1591, to freeze the assets and travel of certain dangerous 
     individuals. I urge you to work with other members of the 
     U.N. Security Council to fully implement Resolution 1591, 
     which authorized the Security Council to impose travel bans 
     and asset freezes on any individuals believed by a Panel of 
     Experts to constitute a threat to stability, to violate 
     international human rights law, to impede the peace process, 
     or to conduct offensive overhead military flights.
       The Panel of Experts has identified several individuals who 
     have perpetrated such violations of international law, and 
     these individuals must be prevented from organizing or 
     perpetrating additional violence, and be sanctioned in full 
     accordance with Resolution 1591. At the very least, the 
     Security

[[Page S5213]]

     Council should call the named individuals to the United 
     Nations for dialogue and questioning.
       Lead the U.N. Security Council in enforcing Resolution 
     1564, to hold accountable the Government of Sudan for its 
     documented failure to meet its international obligations to 
     end violence and protect civilians in Darfur. I urge you to 
     work with the U.N. Security Council to fully implement 
     Resolution 1564, which calls on the Security Council to 
     consider ``additional measures as contemplated in Article 41 
     of the Charter of the United Nations, such as actions to 
     affect Sudan's petroleum sector and the Government of Sudan 
     or individual members of the Government of Sudan,'' if the 
     Government of Sudan fails its previous obligations under 
     international law, including U.N. Security Council Resolution 
     1556 and the Joint Communique dated July 3, 2004.
       Several official reports, including a U.N. report published 
     on January 27, 2006, demonstrate unequivocally that the 
     Government of Sudan has failed its obligations. It has failed 
     to protect civilians in Darfur, and it has failed to punish 
     members of the military and the Janjaweed for violations of 
     international human rights law. These realities and 
     Resolution 1564 should now compel the Security Council to 
     consider Article 41 measures against the Government of Sudan.
       Ensure that the U.N. Security Council listens to the 
     experts. I urge you to convene a briefing for members of the 
     Security Council by experts who can describe the situation in 
     Darfur, eastern Chad, and eastern Sudan. The Security Council 
     should hear testimony from Juan Mendez, Special Advisor to 
     the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide. As you 
     know, the Security Council did not allow Mr. Mendez to 
     present his observations in October 2005.
       Stop the violence from spreading into Chad. I urge you to 
     monitor tensions along the Chad-Sudan border and to focus the 
     U.N. Security Council on this important issue. The U.N. 
     Secretary-General noted in his January 30 report to the 
     Security Council that ``there has been a worrying build-up of 
     armed forces of the two States and local militias on both 
     sides of the border,'' and that ``it is vitally important 
     that the situation in the border areas of Chad and the 
     conflicts in the Sudan do not combine to propel the two 
     countries and the whole region towards confrontation and 
     conflict.''
       More specifically, I urge you to work with the Security 
     Council and the African Union to monitor implementation of 
     the February 8, 2006 accord between the Presidents of Chad 
     and Sudan, and to deter all parties from escalating the 
     conflict. The safety of at least three million civilians 
     along the Chad-Sudan border depends on your attention to this 
     issue.
       Call publicly for better behavior from Khartoum. Using 
     Resolutions 1591 and 1564 and other points of leverage, I 
     urge you to call on the Government of Sudan--particularly the 
     National Congress Party in Khartoum--to immediately desist 
     from violence against civilians; protect safe passage for aid 
     workers; cooperate fully with international peacekeepers; 
     engage constructively in the peace talks in Abuja; diffuse 
     tensions along the Chad-Sudan border; and disarm and punish 
     the Janjaweed and other groups responsible for genocidal 
     violence in Darfur.
       I urge you to call similarly on the Government of Sudan to 
     implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement without delay and 
     in full consultation with the Government of Southern Sudan, 
     and to protect civilians and peacefully address the situation 
     in eastern Sudan.
       Work with the U.N. Security Council to address attacks by 
     rebel groups in Darfur. I urge you to work with the Security 
     Council to make it clear to all rebels and perpetrators of 
     violence in Sudan and Chad that attacks against civilians and 
     aid workers are violations of international law; and that 
     continued international consideration of their grievances 
     depends directly upon their immediate cessation of violence 
     against civilians.
       Plan for reconstruction in Darfur. Through a new 
     Presidential Envoy or other U.S. officials, I urge you to 
     begin working with the World Bank and other stakeholders on a 
     Joint Assessment Mission to plan for reconstruction in 
     Darfur. This may help to accelerate the peace process by 
     demonstrating to the Darfur rebels and the Government of 
     Sudan that peace can bring financial dividends, and, once 
     peace has been established, it will help to speed 
     reconstruction and promote stability.
       Support reconstruction in southern Sudan. I urge you to 
     provide strong, material support to the Government of 
     Southern Sudan as it builds a stable state, economy, and 
     society in the wake of decades of conflict. Similarly, I urge 
     you to encourage the Government of Southern Sudan to engage 
     constructively in the Darfur peace negotiations.
       During the last century, in Nazi Europe, Cambodia, and 
     elsewhere, the international community failed to protect 
     millions of innocent people from genocide and horrific 
     crimes. We look back and wonder how the world allowed those 
     killings to continue. We must find a way to protect civilians 
     in Darfur, without further delay.
       As you know, I and other members of the U.S. Congress 
     recognized the genocide in Darfur in July 2004. In September 
     2004, then Secretary of State Colin Powell did the same. A 
     few months later, in January 2005, a U.N. International 
     Commission of Inquiry established by U.N. Security Council 
     Resolution 1564 also found strong evidence of genocide in 
     Darfur. In February 2006, Secretary of State Rice said that 
     ``genocide was committed and in fact continues in Darfur.'' 
     Even so, international agreement on the existence of genocide 
     has little connection to the need or basis for action.
       Hundreds of acts of violence in Darfur, many constituting 
     crimes against humanity and war crimes--along with specific 
     descriptions of the perpetrators--have been recorded in 
     detail by the U.S. State Department, the United Nations, the 
     African Union, the NGO community, and other organizations. I 
     urge you to read these gruesome accounts, and to also review 
     the list of individuals who have been identified by the U.N.
       Panel of Experts established by U.N. Security Council 
     Resolution 1591. In the case of Darfur, we are now obligated 
     by the U.N. Charter, the Responsibility to Protect, several 
     statutes of international human rights law, and existing U.N. 
     Security Council resolutions to transform our awareness into 
     action.
       Therefore, I urge you, as President of the United States, 
     to remind the international community of its commitments and 
     to work urgently with the United Nations, the African Union, 
     and NATO to protect civilians and address the growing crises 
     in Darfur, eastern Chad, and eastern Sudan. Thank you for 
     your attention to these urgent matters.
           Sincerely,
     Hillary Rodham Clinton.

                          ____________________