[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 121 (Monday, September 25, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7309-H7313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CALLING ON THE PRESIDENT TO TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO HELP IMPROVE THE 
                  SECURITY SITUATION IN DARFUR, SUDAN

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution (H. Res. 723) calling on the President to take 
immediate steps to help improve the security situation in Darfur, 
Sudan, with a specific emphasis on civilian protection, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 723

       Whereas the United States Congress and the President are on 
     record as declaring that the atrocities being committed in 
     Darfur, Sudan are genocide;
       Whereas the United States has demonstrated leadership on 
     the Sudan issue for years, including by mediating Sudan's 
     North-South Peace Agreement, by declaring genocide in Darfur, 
     by providing nearly $1 billion in humanitarian assistance 
     over time, and 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 United Nations 
     Secretary-General Kofi Annan initiate contingency planning 
     for a transition from the African Union Mission in Sudan 
     (AMIS) to a United Nations peacekeeping force;
       Whereas the African Union deployed AMIS to Darfur to 
     monitor the violence and, in spite of attacks on AMIS 
     observers and the fact that the recently improved AMIS 
     mandate still does not provide sufficiently for proactive 
     protection of civilians, AMIS has been successful in creating 
     pockets of security for displaced persons simply through its 
     presence;
       Whereas the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement of April 8, 2004, 
     the Abuja Protocols of November 9, 2004, and the Darfur Peace 
     Agreement of May 5, 2006, have not resulted in a cessation of 
     hostilities in Darfur;
       Whereas the Government of Sudan and its armed militia 
     groups continue to commit crimes against humanity and engage 
     in genocidal acts in Darfur, in spite of the presence of AMIS 
     forces, and, in early September 2006, launched a major 
     offensive in Darfur, in direct violation of the Darfur Peace 
     Agreement;
       Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Annan has 
     indicated that, ``People in many parts of Darfur continue to 
     be killed, raped, and driven from their homes by the 
     thousands.'';
       Whereas it has been reported that an estimated 300,000 to 
     400,000 people have died in the conflict-affected area of 
     Darfur and eastern Chad, and due to the number of areas that 
     cannot be accounted for, the total number of deaths may be 
     higher;
       Whereas the ongoing assault against civilians by Sudanese 
     Government forces, Janjaweed militias, and rebels 
     necessitates the deployment of a larger, more capable 
     international peacekeeping force with a strong mandate to 
     protect civilians in Darfur;
       Whereas, although the United Nations Security Council 
     approved Security Council Resolution 1706 (August 31, 2006) 
     which provides for the deployment of a United Nations 
     peacekeeping mission in Darfur to include up to 22,500 
     personnel, the Government of Sudan has rejected the terms of 
     such Resolution and alternatively issued an ultimatum to AMIS 
     to extend its current mission beyond September 2006 without 
     transitioning to a United Nations peacekeeping force; and
       Whereas on the same day on which the Government of Sudan 
     issued its ultimatum, the African Union stated that it would 
     quit the war-ravaged Darfur region if the Government of Sudan 
     did not allow a United Nations peacekeeping force to take 
     over AMIS: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) commends the African 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;
       (2) strongly condemns the continued genocide and violence 
     directed against civilians in Darfur by the Government of 
     Sudan and government-sponsored militias, as well as attacks 
     perpetrated against civilians by rebels in Darfur;
       (3) calls upon all parties to the N'Djamena Ceasefire 
     Agreement--
       (A) to abide by the terms of the N'Djamena Ceasefire 
     Agreement and the Darfur Peace 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 comply with United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 1706 (August 31, 2006), support the transition of 
     AMIS to a United Nations peacekeeping mission, and facilitate 
     the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers throughout 
     Sudan toward that end;
       (B) to withdraw all offensive military aircraft and 
     personnel from the region;
       (C) to cease all support for Janjaweed militias and rebels 
     from Chad; and
       (D) to disarm all Janjaweed militias;
       (5) calls upon the international community to provide 
     sufficient funding to support the AMIS mission as it 
     transitions to a United Nations peacekeeping mission;
       (6) calls on the African Union to work closely with the 
     United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
     (NATO) to strengthen its capacity to deter violence and 
     instability until a United Nations peacekeeping force is 
     fully deployed in Darfur;
       (7) calls on NATO to extend its current mission of advisors 
     to the African Union, as requested by the leadership of the 
     African Union;
       (8) urges the President to take steps immediately to help 
     improve the security situation in Darfur, including by 
     proposing that NATO support an interim civilian protection 
     force with sufficient ground and air assets under centralized 
     planning, direction, and control, to protect civilians and 
     facilitate the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers in 
     Darfur;
       (9) calls upon NATO allies to support such a NATO mission;
       (10) calls upon NATO headquarters staff to begin prudent 
     planning in advance of such a NATO mission; and
       (11) urges the President to take immediate steps to work 
     through diplomatic channels to obtain the support of the 
     People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and 
     United States allies in the Arab League to secure the 
     compliance of the Government of Sudan with United Nations 
     Security Council Resolution 1706 and support full funding for 
     the United Nations peacekeeping force in Sudan.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, 14 months ago, Greg Simpkins on our International 
Relations staff and I visited Darfur and met some of the heroic 
survivors of genocide at two camps, Mukjar and Kalma. When the 
helicopter landed at the remote Mukjar camp, thousands of women and 
children danced, clapped and sang beautiful traditional African

[[Page H7310]]

songs. The people of Darfur have a remarkable generosity and spirit, 
and it was awe-inspiring.
  At first glance, most of the people had a superficial glow of 
physical wellness, thanks in large part to the brave NGO workers 
bearing food, clothing and medicine. However, now even those 
necessities are disappearing due to the insecurity in the camps, 
further exacerbating the genocide with even more starvation and more 
disease.
  In addition to the horrific loss of life in Darfur, estimated to be 
at upwards of 400,000 dead and 2 million displaced, I was struck by the 
appalling fear and trepidation that is ever present, just below the 
surface, just below the smiles that greet any visitor. Among the 
refugees and IDPs, emotional woundedness and brokenness is everywhere.
  Like you and me, Mr. Speaker, all that the wonderful people of Darfur 
want is to love God and their families and friends and earn a living 
and to live in peace. Yet they have had atrocities imposed upon them 
that no human being should ever have to bear. Just about everyone that 
we spoke with, especially the women, told us personal stories of rape, 
senseless beatings and massacres by the Janjaweed and by Sudanese 
militias.
  On that same trip, Mr. Speaker, I also met with Sudanese President 
Omar Hassan El-Bashir at his presidential suite in Khartoum. Perhaps 
like some others before me and after me, I pushed hard for the end of 
genocide. I argued, if peace and a fledgling reconciliation was 
achievable in southern Sudan, the other genocide that killed 2 million 
people and displaced 4 million, why not peace in Darfur?
  The exchange was not encouraging. All Bashir wanted was to talk about 
ending U.S. trade sanctions, not the horrific loss of life.
  Mr. Speaker, the very important resolution before us today, authored 
by my good friend and colleague, Mr. Lantos, H. Res. 723, reflects 
congressional concern about the recent escalation of violence in Darfur 
and the government of Sudan's continued refusal to create a permissive 
environment for the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers. It also 
speaks to the fear that a security vacuum could be left in Darfur if 
the African Mission in Sudan, AMIS, is not immediately reinforced and 
transitioned to a larger, more capable UN peacekeeping mission.
  On August 31, Mr. Speaker, the administration's skillful and resolute 
efforts to build international consensus on the need for action in 
Darfur resulted in the passage of Resolution 1706 by the United Nations 
Security Council. This urgently needed resolution approved a robust 
peacekeeping force for Darfur of up to 22,000 soldiers and police 
officers to relieve a severely undermanned and overfatigued African 
Union mission which has valiantly struggled against acute disadvantages 
to maintain some level of protection for innocent civilians.
  Still, every day it becomes clear that the government of Sudan is 
more interested in imposing its own solution in Darfur than in pursuing 
a swift and lasting resolution to the conflict. Even as the UN Security 
Council's Resolution 1706 was being debated, the Sudanese government 
was preparing a major military offensive in Darfur, in direct violation 
of a peace agreement that it signed on May 5. And despite the 
government's agreement to accept the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 
Darfur upon conclusion of the Darfur Peace Agreement, the government 
then turned around and categorically rejected the passage of Security 
Council Resolution 1706, renouncing the UN mission as a ``western 
invasion of Sudan'' and threatening attacks against peacekeepers.
  H. Res. 723, Mr. Speaker, calls upon the Sudanese government to 
comply immediately with UN Security Council Resolution 1706, to support 
the transition of AMIS to a U.S. peacekeeping mission and to facilitate 
the deployment of UN peacekeepers. It also demands that the Sudanese 
government immediately withdraw all offensive military aircraft and 
personnel from the region, cease all support for the Janjaweed militias 
and rebels from Chad and disarm the Janjaweed militias themselves.
  H. Res. 723 makes clear that the deployment of a capable UN force is 
our paramount objective, but also calls on the African Union to work 
closely with UN and NATO to strengthen its capacity to deter violence 
in the Darfur region during the interim. And while the resolution does 
not suggest the introduction of U.S. Armed Forces, it does call upon 
the President to continue urging NATO to extend and expand upon the 
support it currently is providing to AMIS.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bipartisan resolution, and I urge its 
passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield such time as he 
might consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the 
distinguished Democratic whip and a strong voice on all human rights 
issues.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank my friend Mr. Lantos, and I want to thank my 
friend Mr. Smith as well. Mr. Smith and I had the honor of co-chairing, 
he was in the minority at that point in time and I was chairing the 
Helsinki Commission, but there was no distinction in terms of party. 
Mr. Smith has been a strong and compelling voice on human rights.
  Mr. Lantos, my friend of over a quarter of a century, has been a 
giant on behalf of peace and security and human rights, and I am 
honored to support his resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the bill before us offered by my good 
friend, the ranking Democrat on the International Relations Committee. 
It calls on the President to take immediate steps to improve the 
security situation in Darfur, Sudan.
  Mr. Speaker, for 3 years the world has turned effectively a blind eye 
to the genocide in Darfur, the vast region in Western Sudan; a blind 
eye not because we did not hear and not because we did not see, but 
because we have not acted.
  Already more than 200,000 civilians have died and more than 2.5 
million have been driven from their homes as a result of violent 
warfare between the government-sanctioned Janjaweed and the disparate 
rebel groups. Frighteningly, Mr. Speaker, a report in the Washington 
Post just 2 weeks ago suggested these numbers could indeed be higher, 
maybe even double the figures I have just cited.
  Did we not learn anything from the lessons of Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda 
and other places in Africa? Did we not learn the consequences of our 
negligence in the 1930s? We watched in horror as troops in blue helmets 
in Bosnia stood by and witnessed the rape, murder and displacement of 
thousands.
  I don't know how many people, Mr. Speaker, saw Hotel Rwanda. Nick 
Nolte played the colonel. As Rwanda was imploding and thousands were 
being murdered, the manager of the Hotel appealed to Nick Nolte, the 
colonel, in charge of the UN troops, ``Do something.'' And his sad 
response was, ``My duty is to watch and report. I neither have the 
troops nor the power to intervene.''
  Clearly, Mr. Speaker, the situation in Darfur is the world's worst 
current human rights crisis. There are others, of course, of 
significant magnitude, but this clearly is currently the worst.
  We must do more to stem the violence. The measure offered by Mr. 
Lantos as well as those offered by Chairman Hyde and Congressman Wolf 
are a good start. Mr. Smith's leadership on these three bills is 
appreciated by all.
  Chairman Hyde's bill is the long-awaited Darfur Peace and 
Accountability Act, which already passed this Chamber once with my 
support; and I am pleased to support it again. The bill includes key 
sanctions, provisions and authorizes the support for an expanded 
African Union mission in Sudan.
  A year-and-a-half ago, maybe 2 years ago now, I had a discussion with 
Secretary Powell about supporting the contingent from the African 
Union. In fact, we have done that. Moneys have been made available, as 
has equipment.
  H.R. 723, introduced by Congressman Lantos, goes even further, 
insisting that the President do more to improve the security situation 
in Darfur by calling for an interim NATO civilian protection force. 
That was similar to what we did in Bosnia.
  Finally, we are considering here H. Res. 992, calling on the 
President to appoint a special envoy for Sudan. Recognizing that the 
President appointed former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios to the 
job last week, I nevertheless intend to support the resolution. By 
doing so, I believe we send a

[[Page H7311]]

strong message to the President that he should have long ago designated 
such an envoy, and I applaud him for doing so now. It is never too late 
to do the right thing.
  July, 2004, this Chamber voted unanimously to declare the crisis in 
Darfur a genocide. July, 2004. July, 2004. Twenty-seven months later, 
thousands of souls murdered, hundreds of thousands ripped from their 
home and their security.

                              {time}  1930

  And we continue to talk. For more than 2 years we have stood by as 
the situation deteriorated and ignored the mounting casualty and 
dislocation rates.
  Sadly, Mr. Speaker, the case of Darfur is yet another demonstration 
of the international community's collective lack of will to confront 
those who would commit such horrific acts of cowardice.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the world needs the United Nations. I 
believe that we need a collective organ for international security and 
stability. But if that organ cannot act either because the Security 
Council permanent members veto such action or because of the lack of 
will of that body, then others must act. If morality plays any part in 
the consideration of the policies of this country and the civilized 
countries of this world, there is no course but to act.
  I congratulate my friend and a great leader of this House, the 
gentleman from California, Mr. Lantos, for his leadership on this 
critically important issue.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution 
and yield myself such time as I might consume.
  First, I would like to thank my chief cosponsor, Congressman Joseph 
Pitts, and the other 116 cosponsors of this resolution who, along with 
me, continue to demand action to protect civilians and stop the 
genocide in Darfur.
  Mr. Speaker, as we meet here today, the Sudanese Government has 
launched a new brutal campaign against innocent civilians in Darfur. 
The only troops standing in their way are the understaffed and 
underfunded African Union Monitoring Force. But even the days of the 
African Union forces are numbered. Their mission is scheduled to end in 
3 short months, leaving the people of Darfur completely unprotected. I 
fear, Mr. Speaker, that a full-scale onslaught mass murder against the 
civilians is imminent.
  The signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement on May 5 of this year 
seemed to offer a ray of hope that the darkest days were behind the 
innocent men, women, and children of Darfur. But immediately after the 
negotiators left Abuja with the peace agreement signed and sealed, the 
security situation in Darfur began to deteriorate. In characteristic 
fashion, the Sudanese Government launched a massive and indiscriminate 
assault on civilians, humanitarian efforts, and the rebel forces.
  Nearly 1 month ago, the United Nations Security Council authorized 
the deployment of 22,500 military and police into the Darfur region. To 
no one's surprise, Khartoum rejected the proposed deployment, and 
instead launched into unspeakable vitriol against the world community, 
threatening a terrorist war against the peacekeepers and, in a 
sickening anti-Semitic rant, invoked a Jewish conspiracy behind the 
international humanitarian movement to save Darfur. To counter the 
deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, Khartoum said it would send 30,000 of 
its own troops to Darfur to protect civilians.
  Mr. Speaker, as a Holocaust survivor, I cannot think of more 
despicable cruelty than to have Khartoum send its armed forces who have 
raped, tortured, and slaughtered thousands and displaced 2 million to 
protect civilians in Darfur.
  In the past few weeks, the government has escalated its campaign of 
death in Darfur. Bombers, attack helicopters, and Arab militias have 
been deployed in a new campaign of terror.
  Just recently, the government unleashed its forces on Tawilla Town 
and seven nearby villages, forcing thousands of residents to flee. The 
barbed wire fence surrounding the nearby African Union peacekeeping 
base provided scant protection for terrified civilians fearing for 
their lives.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for the international community to put words 
into action whether or not Khartoum agrees to a U.N. peacekeeping 
force. The international community knows full well that Khartoum should 
not be given a choice whether to stop the genocide. If necessary, an 
enforced civilian protection regime must be put in place.
  I concluded 2 years ago when I first called for NATO's support to the 
African Union to protect civilians in Darfur that diplomacy does not 
move the leaders in Khartoum. The Sudanese Government must be made to 
understand that there will be severe consequences for further genocidal 
assaults on the people of Darfur.
  Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 723 calls on the world to put actions behind 
words and to undertake civilian protection once and for all by 
supporting the transition of the African Union mission to the United 
Nations and for NATO to broaden its support. The genocide in Darfur is 
not just an African crisis; it is a crisis of all humanity and 
obligates all of us to act with urgency.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/4\ minutes to our colleague 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), a bold fighter for human rights.
  Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for 
yielding time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of both H.R. 3127, the Darfur 
Peace Accountability Act of 2006, which was debated earlier, and of H. 
Res. 723, the bill presently before us. But even stronger steps must be 
taken if we hope to save the people of Darfur.
  Lack of decisive action and follow-through by the international 
community has made it possible for the genocide in Darfur to continue 
unabated. The government-backed Janjaweed militia continues to 
terrorize the Darfurees on the ground while the Sudanese Government 
itself wages an aerial assault on the region. Officials in Khartoum 
have been allowed to deflect the clear urgent need for U.N. 
peacekeepers in Darfur by raising sovereignty claims.
  We should commend the African Union for extending its mission in 
Darfur through the end of the year and for announcing plans to increase 
the number of troops in Darfur. However, without international support, 
the African Union will remain powerless to stop the slaughter.
  For months, the poorly trained and underequipped African Union force 
has operated without mandate or means to protect the civilians in 
Darfur from the ongoing slaughter. Because of its ineffectiveness up to 
now, the Sudanese Government clearly wants the African Union to remain 
in place, but, equally clearly, not if they have the mandate or the 
means to be effective.
  President Bush, working with our allies, must take the lead in 
holding the Sudanese accountable for their actions and send a clear 
message to the Sudanese Government that it will not be allowed to 
systematically and indiscriminately kill its own citizens using tactics 
of terror.
  If the Sudanese Government does not withdraw all military aircraft 
from the region, as this resolution requires, then NATO should 
immediately coordinate and enforce a no-fly zone over Darfur. 
Ultimately, the Sudanese Government must agree as U.N. peacekeepers as 
authorized by the Security Council, or have them imposed. Appeasing the 
officials has not worked and will not work. It is time for a stronger 
approach in Darfur, an approach with resolve and the means to finally 
stop the killing.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my friend 
from Texas, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, an eloquent voice for 
human rights.
  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Despite the hour, Mr. Speaker, I believe 
that these initiatives offered by Mr. Lantos, Mr. Payne, and others are 
probably the most important work that we will do this week. It is that 
way because we are talking about absolute slaughter. And I thank the 
gentleman for his leadership in recognizing the horror of the Khartoum 
government.

[[Page H7312]]

And let me just recite for my colleagues the sheer arrogance of the 
leadership in Khartoum that after the comprehensive peace agreement 
between the Government of Sudan and others, the Government of Sudan 
refused a proposal from the Sudanese Peoples Liberation movement to 
send joint troops to protect civilians and disarm the government-
supported militia.
  Now, who can understand that? You have a peace agreement, and you 
only ask the government to adhere to the peace agreement and they 
refuse to adhere to the peace agreement by providing protection to the 
civilians. And so this particular legislation is crucial because it 
provides for NATO support and it provides for the African Union troops 
to be able to provide security for the area.
  It is unbelievable that the President of Sudan would reject U.N. 
peacekeepers. U.N. peacekeepers come to keep the peace; they do not 
provoke the government.
  And I simply want to share with you the sheer crime of what is going 
on. Take, for example, the Hashaba camp near the small village of 
Mersheng in southern Darfur. Each shelter contains a family that has 
fled the home after terrifying attacks by militia groups. An estimated 
1.2 million people in Darfur have been forced from their homes by the 
fighting and attacks. They are urgently in need of outside help.
  Their housing is made of sticks and rags. These are shelters in name 
only. Against the rains that are beginning to sweep Darfur, they offer 
no protection. Until recently, no help was available in the camps. The 
conflict made the region too dangerous for aid agencies to access it. 
And we know that we have lost humanitarian aid workers in the last 
couple of weeks.
  This is what we are facing in Sudan. Now aid is obviously beginning 
to trickle in, but Mr. Lantos is right, until we secure the region, no 
amount of agreements and treaties are going to work. The slaughter will 
continue.
  And so I want to support H. Res. 723 that calls on the African Union 
to work closely with the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization to strengthen its capacity to deter violence and 
instability until the United Nations peacekeeping force is fully 
deployed in Darfur. Minimally, minimally the government of Khartoum has 
to have a sense of mercy for people who are living in the devastating 
conditions and violence that these refugees are now living in. I ask my 
colleagues to view this legislation as crucial not in passage but also 
in its implementation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 723, which 
calls on the President to take immediate steps to help improve the 
security situation in Darfur, Sudan, with a specific emphasis on 
civilian protection.
  The genocidal regime in Sudan has left 2.5 million people displaced 
and at least 400,000 people dead in Darfur. Due to increasing violence, 
15,000 innocent civilians continue to die each month. Genocide cannot 
continue on our watch; the United States must move towards effective 
action against this most terrible crime. The United Nations Secretary 
General has described the situation in Darfur as ``little short of hell 
on earth.'' Expert John Prendergast calls it ``Rwanda in slow motion.'' 
The United States Congress and Administration are on record as 
declaring that the atrocities being committed in Darfur, Sudan are 
genocide.
  Until the security situation vastly improves, the people of Sudan 
will experience increasingly long-term adversity. Civilians can't plan 
on stability in the future. They can't grow crops, or raise livestock, 
if there is a likelihood--not a chance, a likelihood--that roving 
government-sponsored militias will beat, rape, or kill them if they 
wander outside the protection of makeshift camps. And these government-
sponsored criminals burn fields the people have managed to grow, and 
steal or slaughter the livestock the people have managed to keep.
  Over 400,000 people have died in the Darfur conflict since 2003, with 
3.5 million people driven into hunger, and another 2.5 million 
displaced due to violence. Imagine if the entire city of Las Vegas had 
perished at the hands of government-sponsored bandits, the population 
of Los Angeles was starving, and both the cities of Houston and Atlanta 
had all relocated due to conflict. The upheaval of the South after 
Hurricane Katrina is our closest reference to understanding the 
devastation Sudan is experiencing, and yet the scale in Sudan is 
overwhelming. We should all be quaking with anger.
  Human rights are not for any government to give and take--they are 
inherent, self-evident, and vital, as our founding fathers understood 
so well. We should not be complacent when such rights are violated or 
refused--we must use what power we have to ensure that people are free 
to live and thrive safely.
  The United States has demonstrated leadership on the Sudan issue for 
years by: mediating Sudan's North-South Peace Agreement, declaring 
genocide in Darfur, providing nearly $1 billion in humanitarian 
assistance over time, and 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.
  Our role is clear, and we must do what we can to alleviate the 
desperation of the civilians caught in the mayhem in Sudan. I urge my 
colleagues to support this measure.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield the balance of my 
time to the ranking member of the African Subcommittee, my good friend 
from New Jersey, Congressman Payne.

                              {time}  1945

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, let me once again thank Mr. Lantos for House 
Resolution 723, calling on the President to take immediate steps to 
help improve the security situation in Darfur.
  Let me just say that things are getting worse. Increased rapes, 500 
rapes over the summer in one camp alone; renewed attacks; 12 
humanitarian workers killed, including two of the last 6 weeks; 26,000 
Sudan armed forces headed to the Darfur region for major offensive; 
renewed aerial bombings; the Darfur Peace Agreement not being held to 
by the government of Sudan; continued integration of the Janjaweed into 
the Sudan armed forces.
  United Nations Security Resolution 1706 says that 17,300 U.N. troops 
and 3,300 policemen should go into Darfur. I think we should urge the 
U.N. to fulfill this mandate.
  President Bush did not ask Aideed to go into Somalia. President 
Clinton did not ask Milosevic to go into Bosnia. We should not wait for 
a murderous leader like Bashir to invite us in.
  We should even create no-fly zones where we would do as we did in 
Iraq. A no-fly zone means you don't go in and you don't go out. We were 
able to protect the Kurds in southern Iraq through all those years of 
the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
  We can do the same kind of no-fly zone. You don't use one single 
human being in a no-fly zone when you use drones and other kinds of 
sophisticated weaponry. We have to take out some antonovs, destroy some 
helicopters, and let Bashir know we are not playing.
  I think if we sent that message there, you would see that this 
opposition to the United Nations would simply disappear. They are only 
bold when they are with unarmed civilians, weak women, small children, 
elderly men. That is when they show how strong and powerful they are. I 
think that we should go in.
  The United Nations already has U.N. troops in the Sudan. It is simply 
expanding the mandate that is already there. I commend the President 
for appointing Andrew Natsios as the Presidential Special Envoy, and I 
think that is even more significant than the special envoy in the past. 
I urge passage of this resolution.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank members of my staff who 
worked so hard on this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H. Res. 723, which urges 
the President to take steps to improve the security situation in 
Darfur, Sudan. This resolution urges the President to propose that NATO 
implement an interim civilian protection force in Darfur and request 
supplemental funding to support the African Union Mission in Sudan and 
a NATO mission in Darfur.
  Members of Congress already have done everything we can possibly do 
to stop the genocide in Darfur.
  Members of Congress have written numerous letters to the Bush 
Administration and the United Nations urging action to end this 
genocide.
  We have visited the United Nations and met with Secretary General 
Kofi Annan.
  I wrote to the President back in 2004 and implored that he take 
action.
  In July of 2004, I sent letters to the other members of the United 
Nations Security Council urging that the United Nations take action

[[Page H7313]]

to end the slaughter in Sudan; this letter was signed by 41 Members of 
Congress, including my good friend from across the aisle, Congressman 
Spencer Bachus.
  On April 28 and again on May 16, several of my colleagues where 
arrested in front of the Embassy of Sudan, protesting this genocide.
  Last April, Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice expressing our support for the appointment of a 
Special Envoy for Sudan. Last week, President Bush finally appointed a 
Special Envoy for Sudan. This is a good first step, and we appreciate 
it, but a single administrative appointment will not put an end to a 
genocide.
  Early this year, I traveled to Sudan as part of a bipartisan 
congressional delegation led by my good friend from California, 
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. We visited the refugee camps. As far as 
the eyes could see, there were crowds of displaced people who had been 
driven from their homes, living literally on the ground with little 
tarps just covering them. It is unconscionable that this should 
continue.
  Also last April, the House of Representatives passed HR 3127, the 
Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, by an overwhelming vote of 416 to 
3. This bill would impose sanctions on the government of Sudan and 
block the assets and restrict travel for individuals who are 
responsible for acts of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity 
in Darfur. Last Thursday, the Senate passed this bill, and the House is 
acting on the final version today. Hopefully, the President will sign 
it into law.
  More than 450,000 people have died since 2003 as a result of the 
genocide in Darfur. There are 2.5 million displaced people in camps in 
Darfur and another 350,000 in refugee camps in neighboring Chad. Almost 
7,000 people are dying every month in Darfur. There can be no doubt 
that what is taking place in Darfur is genocide and the Government of 
Sudan is responsible.
  The world stood by and watched the genocide that occurred in Rwanda. 
The world has noted over and over again the atrocities of the 
Holocaust. Yet we cannot seem to get the President and the 
international community to move fast enough to stop the genocide that 
is taking place in Darfur.
  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and I urge the Bush 
Administration and the United Nations to put an end to these crimes 
before millions more men, women and children are allowed to die.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 723, 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 question will 
be postponed.

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