[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 165 (Monday, October 29, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H12137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 DARFUR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CUMMINGS. Madam Speaker, tonight this House passed House 
Resolutions 740, 573 and 726 with regard to Darfur and Sudan.
  Madam Speaker, decades from now our children's children will look 
back on these times as an ugly blemish on human history. They will 
remember a time when innocent people were senselessly slaughtered in 
the Darfur region of Sudan. The question is whether they will look back 
and see that this Nation and this Congress stood up for what is right 
and just, or did we sit idly by and watch from the sidelines.
  Madam Speaker, we must be on the right side of this issue. That's why 
I'm so glad that we have passed these resolutions today. Although much 
work remains to be done, they represent a step in the right direction.
  The passage of these bills rightfully pressures the Sudanese 
Government to end civil strife and ongoing human rights violations in 
Darfur, which threatens stability in the region and the very fabric of 
Sudanese life.
  As you know, Madam Speaker, Darfur remains in great peril. Hundreds 
of thousands of Sudanese have lost their lives since the conflicts 
spiraled out of control in February of 2003. Over 2 million civilians 
have been internally displaced, and an estimated 215,000 more persons 
have been externally displaced in such neighboring states as Chad. Even 
for those who are internally displaced persons, they have experienced 
anything but a safe haven outside of Darfur while ongoing killing, 
torture, rape, looting and the unlawful destruction of their property 
by all parties continues, mainly by the janjaweed, associated militia 
groups, and the institution that should be protecting them, the 
Sudanese Government.
  Indeed, as House Resolution 726 points out, it has become treacherous 
for women or young ladies in Darfur or eastern Chad to leave their 
villages to collect firewood or food from the market. They are at risk 
of being raped and assaulted, which, unfortunately, to date is exactly 
what has occurred to thousands.
  Although some strides have been made in reducing the government's 
participation in continued human rights abuses in Darfur, militia 
groups remain a very real and present threat for the civilians in 
Darfur and eastern Chad, despite peace negotiations.
  Particularly, as reported by the United Nations, these systematic 
human rights violations have been and continue to be committed with 
total impunity throughout Sudan, especially in Darfur. It is clear that 
the Government of Sudan has taken to turning a blind eye to such 
atrocities, choosing instead to provide strikingly few prosecutions, 
sentencing or even adequate examinations of war crimes or crimes 
against humanity, whether by criminal courts or those courts 
established to investigate the violations.
  These failures by the Sudanese Government to respect and abide by 
customary international norms, international humanitarian and human 
rights laws embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Geneva 
Conventions and the Convention on the Rights of a Child that it is a 
party to demonstrates a lack of respect for international law and 
responsibility that it has to protect its citizenry from unacceptable 
levels of abuse.
  Meanwhile, this Bush administration has held tightly to a hands-off 
approach by failing to send any troops to Sudan, despite there clearly 
being a lack of an adequate and capable number of African Union troops, 
amounting to a mere 7,000.
  The President promised to not allow another Rwanda-style atrocity to 
occur; however, it appears to be happening once again, with little 
being done about it. Even the peace negotiations that recently occurred 
in Libya appear to be faltering, with two key militia groups failing to 
show up for the meeting.
  As such, I congratulate my colleagues in passing these three vital 
resolutions this evening. And I thank the Congress, which has chosen to 
answer the pleas for help by the people of Darfur while the 
administration has failed to adequately respond.
  We must act with a great sense of urgency. History will judge whether 
we have synchronized our conduct with our conscience.

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