[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 35 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2472-S2474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DARFUR
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I come again to the floor this evening to
speak about Darfur in Sudan. Most Americans are now familiar with what
is going on in this remote part of our world.
Hundreds of thousands of people have died. Two million have been
forced to flee their homes and still cannot return. Humanitarian
workers have been raped, beaten, arrested, and killed.
This is genocide. That is a word we should use with the utmost
caution. If we misuse the term, we diminish it; we dilute its power.
But if we fail to use the word or if we use it and fail to act, then
that is even worse.
The entire world has allowed Darfur to happen. Now it is up to every
one of us to stop it. Those of us who have the privilege of being
elected to office have a higher responsibility than most. We sought out
these positions, and we must assume the duties that come with them.
There are few duties more fundamental than the obligation to save
innocent men, women, and children from slaughter.
This week, Luis Moren-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court's
prosecutor, presented evidence on the mass murder in Darfur to the
judges of the International Criminal Court. This evidence focuses on
two individuals as helping to lead and coordinate this campaign of
violence.
The first individual named by Mr. Ocampo is Ahmad Muhammad Harun,
former state minister of the interior, and now a state minister for
humanitarian affairs for the Government of Sudan. State minister for
humanitarian affairs--it is hard to even speak those words.
From 2003 to 2005, Harun was responsible for the ``Darfur security
desk'' in the Sudanese Government. His most important task was the
recruitment of janjaweed militias. He recruited them, as Prosecutor
Ocampo points out, with the full knowledge that the janjaweed militia
members he was recruiting ``would commit crimes against humanity and
war crimes against the civilian population of Darfur.''
That was, in fact, the point of his recruitment effort.
The second individual named in the prosecutor's presentation of
evidence to the court is Ali Abd-al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb.
Ali Kushayb is a janjaweed commander who personally led attacks on
villagers, just as the Sudanese Government intended.
This was part of a coordinated strategy of the Sudanese Government to
achieve victory over rebels not by confronting the rebels but by
attacking
[[Page S2473]]
the civilian populations around them, by destroying entire villages and
driving out or killing every inhabitant.
Let me read a short section of Mr. Ocampo's document to illustrate
the crimes these two men helped coordinate and lead. It is graphic and
horrifying. This is what they wrote:
During the attack on [the village of] Bindisi on or about
15 August 2003, Ali Kushayb was present wearing military
uniform and he was issuing orders to the Militia/Janjaweed.
Ground forces were shooting at civilians and burning huts.
The attacking forces pillaged and burned dwellings,
properties and shops. The attack on Bindisi lasted for
approximately five days and resulted in the destruction of
most of the town and the death of more than 100 civilians,
including 30 children.
In Arawala, in December 2003, Ali Kushayb personally
inspected a group of naked women before they were raped by
men under his command. A witness said she and the other women
were tied to trees with their legs apart and continually
raped.
In or around March 2004, Ali Kushayb personally
participated in the execution of at least 32 men from Mukjar.
The evidence shows Ali Kushayb standing near the entrance of
the prison and hitting these men as they filed past and into
Land Cruisers. The vehicles left with Ali Kushayb in one of
them. About fifteen minutes later, gunshots were heard and
the next day 32 dead bodies were found in the bushes.
The Application [which is the term for Ocampo's
presentation of evidence] alleges that Ahmad Harun and Ali
Kushayb bear criminal responsibility in relation to 51 counts
of war crimes and crimes against humanity including: rape;
murder; persecution; torture; forcible transfer; destruction
of property; pillaging; inhumane acts; outrage upon personal
dignity; attacks against the civilian population; and
unlawful imprisonment or severe deprivation of liberty.
Many can ask, why, when hundreds of thousands of people have died and
millions have suffered, why just single out these two men? What does
this presentation of evidence to a court sitting in the Hague in Europe
accomplish? Why single them out? Because that is where you start and
because this submission by the prosecutor illustrates a direct chain of
command from the janjaweed, who rode into the villages on horseback to
rape, murder, and plunder, to the official government in Khartoum that
orchestrated these atrocities.
It is an act of accountability, when up to now there has been none.
But it is not enough.
The International Criminal Court has issued summonses for the two men
named by Mr. Ocampo. If they do not appear, it must issue arrest
warrants. If the Sudanese Government does not turn them over, then the
United Nations Security Council must act.
But this is about far more than two individuals. It is time for the
United States of America to lead. Here in Congress, we have been told
that progress is being made. I do not see it at all. We have been told
that we cannot push harder at the United Nations because the Chinese
may veto any resolution we put forward.
I have a simple proposition. Let's put this matter before the U.N.
Security Council. Let's let the American representative--our
Ambassador--to the United Nations vote in accordance with our finding
that a genocide is taking place. Let's let every civilized nation in
the world know where we stand. And let's ask them on the record where
they stand.
If any country--China or any other--wants to step up and say we
should take no action to stop this genocide, so be it. Let the record
of history show where they stand as this genocide unfolds.
Congress has passed many bills giving the administration additional
sanctions they can presently use as tools by the United States to stop
this genocide.
On two different occasions, I have spoken directly and personally
with the President about Darfur. I feel very intensely about it. I have
said on the floor before--and I think it bears repeating--as a student
in this city at Georgetown University, I had a famous professor named
Jan Karski. He was in the Polish Underground during World War II and
came to the United States to try to alert them to the evidence that he
had accumulated about the Holocaust that was taking place. He was a man
who spoke broken English, but he was on a mission, looking for anyone
who would listen to him, praying that the United States, that he heard
so much about, would step forward and do something to stop this
Holocaust. He met with a few individuals. He did not get to the highest
levels of our Government and left in frustration, having accomplished
very little.
Some 25 or 30 years later, Dr. Karski was a professor at my
university. I remember when he told that story, I thought to myself:
How could this happen? How could 6 million people die and no one do
anything about it? He tried. At least he tried. But what about everyone
else? I did not understand it. But now I do. I do because I have
watched what has happened in Darfur since the genocide was declared.
The honest answer is: Almost nothing. And the honest answer is: The
United States of America has done almost nothing.
I have asked the President directly, I have spoken to Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, and I have spoken to all who will listen,
begging them to do something, something to respond to this declared
genocide.
Special Envoy Andrew Natsios said that come January 1, the United
States would exercise sanctions if Sudan did not agree to a joint
African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission.
Well, January 1 came and went and no mission was allowed. There is no
joint peacekeeping mission in the Sudan today, and it is March 1.
I believe we should use every economic and diplomatic tool at our
disposal. We should implement additional sanctions immediately. But,
more importantly, we must convince other countries and the United
Nations to do the same. And it starts with us personally, divesting
ourselves of those businesses that are doing business in Sudan.
I made this speech and put out a press release a month or two ago,
and some enterprising reporter went through the 5 or 10 mutual funds my
wife and I owned and spotted one that had an investment in PetroChina.
PetroChina is the Chinese oil company in the Sudan. He identified that
mutual fund, and I sold it immediately. I was not embarrassed because
you cannot really keep up with a mutual fund and everything they own.
But I knew I had an obligation to do something once I was advised. It
wasn't that difficult for my family. Certainly it didn't damage my
portfolio, as modest as it may be. But I ask everyone, if you seriously
believe that the genocide in Darfur must end, start by seeing what you
can do personally. Every American should ask if their investments are
going to support the Government of Sudan. Every mutual fund director
should ask the same thing. I have written to every college and
university in my State asking them to divest of investments in Sudan
until the genocide in Darfur ends. Unilateral sanctions by the United
States are important, but multilateral sanctions imposed by the United
Nations can make a difference. Genocide occurs because the world allows
it to occur. It is time to prove that the 21st century will be
different.
Mr. President, just a few days ago--in fact, just yesterday--in the
Washington Post, a woman who is well known to many, Angelina Jolie,
published an article about the situation in Darfur. It is entitled
``Justice for Darfur.'' Ms. Jolie, who is well known to all of us, is a
comely actress whom I had a chance to meet a year or two ago when she
came to town in her capacity as goodwill ambassador for the United
Nations High Commission for Refugees. She has certainly proven her
skill as an actor, and I think she has demonstrated that her caring for
people around the world is genuine. The article she wrote in the
Washington Post is one that, at the end of my statement, I will ask to
have printed in the Record so that it is an official part of our Senate
proceedings. She is in Bahai, Chad. She says in this article ``Justice
for Darfur'' the following:
Sticking to this side of the Sudanese border is supposed to
keep me safe.
Ms. Jolie writes:
By every measure--killings, rapes, the burning and looting
of villages--the violence in Darfur has increased since my
last visit in 2004. The death toll has passed 200,000; in 4
years of fighting, Janjaweed militia members have driven 2.5
million people from their homes, including the 26,000
refugees crowded into Oure Cassoni.
She talks about accountability. In this article, she says:
Accountability is a powerful force. It has the potential to
change behavior--to check aggression by those who are used to
acting
[[Page S2474]]
with impunity. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court, has said that genocide is not a
crime of passion, it is a calculated offense. He's right.
When crimes against humanity are punished consistently and
severely, the killers' calculus will change.
Mr. President, she concludes by saying:
In my 5 years with the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees, I have visited more than 20 refugee camps in Sierra
Leone, Congo, Kosovo and elsewhere. I have met families
uprooted by conflict and lobbied governments to help them.
Years later, I have found myself at the same camps, hearing
the same stories and seeing the same lack of clean water,
medicine, security and hope.
It has become clear to me that there will be no enduring
peace without justice. History shows that there will be
another Darfur, another exodus, in a vicious cycle of
bloodshed and retribution. But an international court finally
exists. It will be as strong as the support we give it. This
might be the moment we stop the cycle of violence and end our
tolerance for crimes against humanity.
What the worst people in the world fear most is justice.
That's what we should deliver.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the article from the
Washington Post be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From Washingtonpost.com, Feb. 28, 2007]
Justice for Darfur
(By Angelina Jolie)
Bahai, Chad.--Here, at this refugee camp on the border of
Sudan, nothing separates us from Darfur but a small stretch
of desert and a line on a map. All the same, it's a line I
can't cross. As a representative of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, I have traveled into Darfur
before, and I had hoped to return. But the UNHCR has told me
that this camp, Oure Cassoni, is as close as I can get.
Sticking to this side of the Sudanese border is supposed to
keep me safe. By every measure--killings, rapes, the burning
and looting of villages--the violence in Darfur has increased
since my last visit, in 2004. The death toll has passed
200,000; in four years of fighting, Janjaweed militia members
have driven 2.5 million people from their homes, including
the 26,000 refugees crowded into Oure Cassoni.
Attacks on aid workers are rising, another reason I was
told to stay out of Darfur. By drawing attention to their
heroic work--their efforts to keep refugees alive, to keep
camps like this one from being consumed by chaos and fear--I
would put them at greater risk.
I've seen how aid workers and nongovernmental organizations
make a difference to people struggling for survival. I can
see on workers' faces the toll their efforts have taken.
Sitting among them, I'm amazed by their bravery and
resilience. But humanitarian relief alone will never be
enough.
Until the killers and their sponsors are prosecuted and
punished, violence will continue on a massive scale. Ending
it may well require military action. But accountability can
also come from international tribunals, measuring the
perpetrators against international standards of justice.
Accountability is a powerful force. It has the potential to
change behavior--to check aggression by those who are used to
acting with impunity. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of
the International Criminal Court (ICC), has said that
genocide is not a crime of passion; it is a calculated
offense. He's right. When crimes against humanity are
punished consistently and severely, the killers' calculus
will change.
On Monday I asked a group of refugees about their needs.
Better tents, said one; better access to medical facilities,
said another. Then a teenage boy raised his hand and said,
with powerful simplicity, ``Nous voulons une epreuve.'' We
want a trial. He is why I am encouraged by the ICC's
announcement yesterday that it will prosecute a former
Sudanese minister of state and a Janjaweed leader on charges
of crimes against humanity.
Some critics of the ICC have said indictments could make
the situation worse. The threat of prosecution gives the
accused a reason to keep fighting, they argue. Sudanese
officials have echoed this argument, saying that the ICC's
involvement, and the implication of their own eventual
prosecution, is why they have refused to allow U.N.
peacekeepers into Darfur.
It is not clear, though, why we should take Khartoum at its
word. And the notion that the threat of ICC indictments has
somehow exacerbated the problem doesn't make sense, given the
history of the conflict. Khartoum's claims aside, would we in
America ever accept the logic that we shouldn't prosecute
murderers because the threat of prosecution might provoke
them to continue killing?
When I was in Chad in June 2004, refugees told me about
systematic attacks on their villages. It was estimated then
that more than 1,000 people were dying each week.
In October 2004 I visited West Darfur, where I heard
horrific stories, including accounts of gang-rapes of mothers
and their children. By that time, the UNHCR estimated, 1.6
million people had been displaced in the three provinces of
Darfur and 200,000 others had fled to Chad.
It wasn't until June 2005 that the ICC began to
investigate. By then the campaign of violence was well
underway.
As the prosecutions unfold, I hope the international
community will intervene, right away, to protect the people
of Darfur and prevent further violence. The refugees don't
need more resolutions or statements of concern. They need
follow-through on past promises of action.
There has been a groundswell of public support for action.
People may disagree on how to intervene--airstrikes, sending
troops, sanctions, divestment--but we all should agree that
the slaughter must be stopped and the perpetrators brought to
justice.
In my five years with UNHCR, I have visited more than 20
refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Congo, Kosovo and elsewhere. I
have met families uprooted by conflict and lobbied
governments to help them. Years later, I have found myself at
the same camps, hearing the same stories and seeing the same
lack of clean water, medicine, security and hope.
It has become clear to me that there will be no enduring
peace without justice. History shows that there will be
another Darfur, another exodus, in a vicious cycle of
bloodshed and retribution. But an international court finally
exists. It will be as strong as the support we give it. This
might be the moment we stop the cycle of violence and end our
tolerance for crimes against humanity.
What the worst people in the world fear most is justice.
That's what we should deliver.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I conclude by saying that the subcommittee
which I chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Human Rights
Subcommittee, had a hearing several weeks ago on genocide in Darfur. We
are preparing legislation as a result of that hearing to authorize
State and local governments and others to divest of investments in
Sudan and businesses that are doing business in Sudan and furthermore
to extend the authority of the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute
those whom we find guilty of genocide in foreign lands. That authority
currently exists for those whom we accuse and wish to prosecute for
torture; the same thing should apply to crimes of genocide.
Those two legislative changes may help, but in the meantime it is
time for our Government to help. I commended the Bush administration 4
years ago when they finally used the word ``genocide'' as it related to
Darfur. I thanked then-Secretary of State Colin Powell for his courage
in using that word. I said the same to Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice. But, having said that, we must understand that if we use the word
and fail to act, what does it say of us? If we acknowledge that a
genocide is taking place and do nothing, what does it say of America?
We have the power to do things, to change this. It will take
political courage, not only in the White House but here in Congress.
History will write in years to come whether we acted or not, as it is
written about the lack of response to the Holocaust. I sincerely hope
history will judge us late to the cause but rising with a sense of
justice that is necessary to end this terrible killing.
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