[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 165 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H12115-H12118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1515
CALLING ON THE PRESIDENT AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO TAKE IMMEDIATE 
STEPS TO RESPOND TO AND PREVENT RAPE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
 AND GIRLS IN DARFUR, SUDAN, EASTERN CHAD AND CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 726) calling on the President of the United States 
and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to 
and prevent acts of rape and sexual violence

[[Page H12116]]

against women and girls in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad and the Central 
African Republic, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 726

       Whereas, during war, rape and sexual violence are often 
     used systematically as a weapon of intimidation, humiliation, 
     terror and ethnic cleansing;
       Whereas it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 
     women and girls were raped during the genocide in Rwanda;
       Whereas, on September 2, 1998, the United National 
     International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Jean Paul 
     Akayesu guilty of rape and held that rape and sexual assault 
     constitute crimes against humanity;
       Whereas, on October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security 
     Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), 
     calling on all parties to an armed conflict to take, 
     ``special measures to protect women and girls from gender-
     based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual 
     abuse'';
       Whereas the Rome Statute of the International Criminal 
     Court, which entered into force on July 1, 2002, states that 
     rape and ``any other form of sexual violence of comparable 
     gravity'' may constitute both ``crimes against humanity'' and 
     ``war crimes'';
       Whereas since 2003, mass rape committed by members of the 
     Sudanese armed forces and affiliated militias with the 
     support of the Government of Sudan has been a central 
     component of the Government of Sudan's violence and ethnic 
     cleansing in Darfur;
       Whereas women and girls leaving Internally Displaced 
     Persons camps in Darfur and refugee camps in eastern Chad, to 
     seek firewood, water or outside sources of income are often 
     attacked and subjected to rape and sexual violence 
     perpetrated by members of the Sudanese armed forces and 
     associated Janjaweed militia and other armed combatants;
       Whereas, on July 19, 2004, Amnesty International reported 
     that it collected the names of 250 women who had been raped 
     in Darfur and information on 250 additional rapes;
       Whereas, on January 25, 2005, the International Commission 
     of Inquiry on Darfur, in a report to the United Nations 
     Secretary General, reported numerous cases of mass rape 
     throughout Darfur including an incident in which a large 
     number of Janjaweed attacked a boarding school, and raped as 
     many as 110 girls;
       Whereas, on October 14, 2005, the Secretary General of the 
     United Nations reported ``Many girls have given birth as a 
     result of rape. Although local communities are trying to 
     accept the offspring, the children face a great deal of 
     stigmatization.'';
       Whereas, on March 9, 2007, members of the United Nations 
     High-Level Mission on the situation of human rights in Darfur 
     reported that ``rape and sexual assualt have been widespread 
     and systematic, terrorizing women and breaking down families 
     and communities'' and that ``women are also attacked in and 
     around refugee camps in eastern Chad'';
       Whereas, on April 27, 2007, the International Criminal 
     Court, acting under the authority provided in Security 
     Council Resolution 1593 (2005), issued arrest warrants for 
     Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun 
     and Janjaweed Colonel Ali Muhammad Al Abd-Al-Raham seeking 
     their arrest for 51 counts including 6 counts involving rape;
       Whereas under Sudanese law victims of rape have virtually 
     no legal recourse and may in fact be charged with the crime 
     of zina, or sexual intercourse outside of marriage, 
     punishable by one hundred lashes if the victim is unmarried 
     and death by stoning if she is married;
       Whereas, on July 31, 2007, the United Nations Security 
     Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1769 authorizing 
     the deployment of a United Nations-African Union peacekeeping 
     force (UNAMID) to Darfur and expressing strong concern about 
     ``on-going attacks on the civilian population and 
     humanitarian workers and continued and widespread sexual 
     violence'' while ``emphasising the need to bring to justice 
     the perpetrators of such crimes''; and
       Whereas, on August 20, 2007, the United Nations High 
     Commissioner for Human Rights, reported on attacks, 
     abductions and systematic rapes of women in Darfur and the 
     resulting ``grave health risks from the consequent physical 
     injuries and psychological trauma'', and declared that these 
     acts may ``constitute war crimes'': Now, therefore be it:
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) calls upon the President of the United States to 
     develop within the United States Department of State and the 
     United States Agency for International Development a Women 
     and Girls of Darfur Initiative to improve assistance to 
     victims and potential victims of rape and sexual violence in 
     Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad and the Central African Republic 
     by--
       (A) offering specialized grants to non-governmental 
     organizations, operating within IDP and refugee camps in 
     Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic that can provide 
     all essential quality health care services and medical 
     supplies, psychological and social counseling, and legal 
     advice to Darfuri victims of rape and sexual violence;
       (B) providing treatment for the prevention of sexually 
     transmitted diseases, including antiretroviral drugs to 
     prevent HIV infections, and specialized care for rape victims 
     already infected with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted 
     diseases;
       (C) meeting the psychological, social and educational needs 
     of victimized women, girls, children born as a result of 
     rape, their family and the community in order to limit the 
     stigmatization associated with rape; and
       (D) providing financial, technical and other forms of 
     assistance to support women's peace initiatives;
       (2) calls upon the Secretary General of the United Nations, 
     the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, 
     the African Union, the European Union, the Arab League and 
     other nations to immediately take steps to--
       (A) ensure that a fully funded and fully equipped UNAMID is 
     deployed to Darfur, Sudan;
       (B) mandate that UNAMID employ all necessary measures to 
     protect women and girls from acts of rape and sexual violence 
     both outside and within Darfuri refugee and IDP camps;
       (C) provide sufficient resources and training to UNAMID 
     troops and police to ensure a capability to properly respond 
     to acts of rape and sexual violence;
       (D) provide for firewood patrols and other safeguarding 
     measures to protect women and girls leaving refugee and IDP 
     camps; and
       (E) include an adequate number of female troops and police 
     in UNAMID to properly manage incidents of rape and sexual 
     violence; and
       (3) calls on the United Nations Security Council to 
     immediately--
       (A) find the Government of Sudan in noncompliance with 
     Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000);
       (B) call on the Government of Sudan to provide full legal 
     protections to victims of rape and sexual violence and to 
     bring to justice individuals responsible for such crimes; and
       (C) adopt under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter a 
     Security Council Resolution calling on the Government of 
     Sudan to respect all related Security Council Resolutions, 
     including Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005), enforce 
     the arrest warrants for Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad 
     Al Abd-Al-Raham, and further recognize the systematic rape of 
     women and girls in Darfur as crimes against humanity and war 
     crimes.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
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 Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank Congresswoman DeLauro for this important resolution 
that focuses again on one of the most heinous crimes of war known to 
humans: the rape of women.
  In the process of the Darfur genocide, women and girls have been 
targeted specifically. And I will let her speak more about this, but 
when women living in refugee camps, for example, were asked why they 
went to fetch water and risk rape rather than the men, they answered, 
If we let the men go, they will be killed. It is better for us to be 
raped than for our husbands to be killed.
  It goes on and on, Mr. Speaker, but I will reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of the resolution by my good friend, Ms. DeLauro, 
H. Resolution 726, which calls on the international community to take 
immediate steps to respond to and to halt acts of rape and sexual 
violence, all of which are occurring in Darfur, eastern Chad, and the 
Central African Republic.
  I would like to thank the chairman of our committee, Mr. Lantos; and, 
of course, the lead sponsor, my friend Ms. DeLauro for their 
flexibility in accommodating concerns raised prior to the introduction 
and then during the committee consideration with regard to nonessential 
health issues and the International Criminal Court.
  With those issues addressed in the amendment before us, we now have a 
strong resolution that effectively focuses much-needed attention on the

[[Page H12117]]

horrific reality that has befallen women and young girls in Darfur 
without contradicting our U.S. policy.
  Since the beginning of this conflict, Mr. Speaker, Sudanese Armed 
Forces, janjaweed militias, and other rebel factions have used rape as 
a weapon of war. Despite the conclusions of the Darfur Peace Agreement 
and the deployment of peacekeepers, these attacks have continued 
unabated.
  The pattern of rape and sexual violence is widespread and systematic, 
and it seems that no one is spared. Elderly women, pregnant mothers, 
even girls as young as 10 years of age have fallen victim to the rapist 
thugs who attack with immunity. This is a horrific practice that must 
be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
  I fully support efforts to provide essential health and psychosocial 
services to these women and girls as well as efforts to hold those 
responsible for such attacks accountable for their actions. I strongly 
support this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as she may 
consume to the author of the resolution, the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee, and I 
rise in support of House Resolution 726, calling on the President of 
the United States and the international community to take immediate 
steps to respond to and to prevent acts of rape and sexual violence 
against women and girls in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad, and the Central 
African Republic.
  I was proud to introduce this resolution, and I have been proud to 
work with my colleague Chairman Lantos, whose attention to the crisis 
in Darfur has been unrelenting. His dedication made it possible to move 
this important legislation through the committee and onto the floor of 
the House so quickly.
  My friend Congressman Brad Miller also took a lead on this 
resolution, and following his trip to Darfur this summer, he has shared 
his unique insight about the region and our responsibility.
  And today it is also important to note that we have reached this 
point together with my colleagues from across the aisle. Congresswoman 
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen led our bipartisan collaboration, and we now have 
the support of more than 100 cosponsors from both parties. That broad 
support from Members at every point along the political spectrum makes 
sense because this is not a political issue; it is a moral issue. And 
it is urgent. We have an obligation to act and to act now.
  As Members of the United States Congress, we believe we must do 
everything in our power to protect the basic human rights of 
individuals around the world, and there may be no greater violation of 
a woman's or a girl's basic human rights than when she is a victim of 
rape or sexual violence.
  All too often during war, rape and sexual violence are used 
systematically as a weapon of intimidation, humiliation, terror, and 
ethnic cleansing. There is no other way to put it. These crimes are 
crimes against humanity and war crimes. And we cannot ignore them.
  The use of rape as a weapon of war is as prevalent today as ever. An 
average of 40 women are raped every day in the ongoing armed conflict 
in the Congo. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 women were 
raped during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s. And 
it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped 
during the genocide in Rwanda.
  Now, as these atrocities occur in the Darfur conflict region, we must 
ask ourselves, again, when will we learn from history? The answer, it 
seems, is not soon enough for the untold number of Darfuri women and 
girls beaten, kidnapped, and raped, often multiple times by multiple 
attackers, and held as sex slaves by the Sudanese armed forces, the 
janjaweed, and other armed combatants. Since the current conflict began 
over 4 years ago, instances of rape and sexual violence have all been 
documented by NGOs like Amnesty International and Doctors Without 
Borders. And the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has 
reported on widespread and systematic mass rape occurring in the region 
as well as grave health risks, psychological trauma, and resulting 
pregnancies.
  In July, the United Nations Security Council adopted its most recent 
Security Council resolution relating to Darfur in which it expressed 
strong concern about the ``continued and widespread sexual violence'' 
while ``emphasizing the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of 
such crimes.''
  But we cannot simply talk about the downward spiral in Darfur or the 
conditions that have only worsened since the so-called Darfur Peace 
Agreement was signed in May 2006. As we saw just this weekend, peace 
talks in Libya appear to be breaking down because key rebel groups 
refuse to participate, demonstrating that we are a long way from peace 
and security in Darfur.
  We cannot sit idly by as women and children are targeted. The 
resolution before us today calls for action. It calls on the President 
and it calls on the international community to do the following:
  One, develop within the State Department and USAID a Women and Girls 
of Darfur Initiative to, among other things, provide victims and 
potential victims of rape in Darfur, eastern Chad, and the Central 
African Republic with all essential and quality medical supplies and 
health care services, psychological counseling, and legal advice;
  Two, to ensure that a hybrid United Nations-African Union 
peacekeeping force is deployed that can properly protect women and 
girls from and respond to acts of rape and sexual violence;
  And, three, through the U.N. Security Council, find Sudan in 
noncompliance with its obligations to protect women and girls and call 
on Khartoum to bring perpetrators of rape and sexual violence to 
justice.
  Our State Department and USAID must make this a top priority. As the 
rape and murder in Darfur goes on, the perpetrators of these atrocities 
go unpunished. And while the rhetoric of the administration and the 
international community have hit the mark, their action has fallen far 
short. Too much is at stake to allow these atrocities to continue. We 
have the power, the will, and the moral obligation to stop sexual 
violence and rape in the Darfur conflict region. There is no reason 
that we stand by when we should be acting.
  I plead with my colleagues to understand what women and girls are 
undergoing in Darfur and to please pass this resolution. Let's act 
together in the best interests of women and girls around the world.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend Ms. DeLauro for 
introducing this resolution.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Res. 726, 
a bill responding to acts of rape and sexual violence in the Darfur 
conflict.
  Rape and sexual violence are often used as weapons of war. It is 
estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 women and girls were raped 
during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s; between 250,000 
and 500,000 were raped during the genocide in Rwanda; and today, there 
are reports of wide and systematic rape and sexual assault of women and 
girls in the Darfur region.
  The United States was the first government to refer to the killing in 
Darfur as genocide, but this has had little impact on ending the 
suffering. The suffering continues because the Sudanese government 
resists the efforts of the international community at every step and 
the Chinese government refuses to use its unique influence to force the 
Sudanese government to change its actions. In fact, China may even have 
prolonged the crisis by shielding Sudan against the collective efforts 
of the United Nations. The crisis is now in its 4th year with no end in 
sight and the suffering of men, women and children continues. That is 
why I am encouraging passage today of H. Res. 726.
  H. Res. 726 requires the U.S. State Department and USAID to develop a 
women and girls Darfur initiative for the purpose of providing victims 
and potential victims of rape in Darfur, eastern Chad and the Central 
African Republic with much needed comprehensive and quality medical 
supplies and health services.
  The bill also calls upon the Secretary General of the United Nations, 
the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the 
African Union, the European Union, the Arab League and other nations to 
immediately take steps to ensure that a hybrid UN-African Union 
peacekeeping force is deployed that can properly protect women and 
girls from and respond to acts of rape and sexual violence.

[[Page H12118]]

  We cannot stand still in the face of systematic and widespread rape 
in the Darfur region. The U.S. Congress has a moral obligation to reach 
out and do all it can to put an end to this tragedy. I strongly support 
this important piece of legislation and encourage my colleagues to do 
the same.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of this 
resolution, and I applaud the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. 
DeLauro) for her leadership on this important issue.
  Every day in Darfur men are tortured and massacred as women and 
little girls seeking solace and refuge are raped, abused, and murdered. 
This is a systematic effort to destroy an entire race of people.
  Where is the humanity, Mr. Speaker? Where are our souls? How can we 
stand by when hundreds and thousands are suffering every day at the 
hands of their own government?
  Today, on the front page of the Washington Post there is an article 
entitled ``U.S. Promises on Darfur Don't Match Actions''. It highlights 
our Government's inaction during one of the most horrific human rights 
disasters of our generation.
  Every single one of us has a duty to pressure our Government, the 
United Nations, the world--to act.
  Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan resolution is not about politics. It is 
not about pushing an agenda forward.
  We have a moral obligation to stand up for the women and children in 
Darfur against systematic and unchecked abuse.
  They have no voice, no government, nobody to stand with them, nobody 
to stand for them.
  Every day that we wait for a solution to magically appear, is another 
day that a woman, a child, is stripped of her home, her family, her 
dignity, her health, and her humanity.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 726.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 726, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________