[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 21 (Friday, February 8, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S820]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[[Page S820]]
URGING THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE THE UNITED NATIONS-
AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN SUDAN WITH ESSENTIAL TACTICAL AND UTILITY
HELICOPTERS
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee
on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration and the
Senate now proceed to S. Res. 432.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 432) urging the international
community to provide the United Nations-African Union Mission
in Sudan with essential tactical and utility helicopters.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, today, the Senate considers S. Res. 432,
a bipartisan resolution on Darfur cosponsored by myself, Senator Lugar,
and a number of other colleagues. This resolution urges the members of
the international community, including the United States, to step up to
fill a critical need in equipping the joint United Nations-African
Union peacekeeping force, namely, 24 tactical and utility helicopters.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has termed these aerial vehicles
indispensable to allow the peacekeepers to carry out their mission to
protect civilians. I am pleased to see that several countries may now
be volunteering to begin to fill this gap. According to press reports,
the governments of Ethiopia and Bangladesh are discussing the matter
with the United Nations, and I hope that their contributions can be
used to help meet this urgent need.
While I want to acknowledge these potential contributions, I would
also emphasize that other countries must do the same: the peacekeepers
in Darfur need the full complement of 24 helicopters. Darfur is the
size of Texas. These aerial assets are critical. Our resolution urges
President Bush to personally contact other heads of state on this
matter. I have been told that senior officials at the White House and
State Department are continuing to engage in high-level outreach on
this issue. I respectfully suggest that this outreach should be
elevated to conversations among chiefs of state. The United States has
led the world in efforts to provide assistance to the people of Darfur.
Personally, I believe that we should also lead the world now in
providing the equipment or personnel that are needed to ensure the
success of the peacekeeping mission. Certainly, collectively, members
of the United Nations should do so.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to
reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate,
and that any statements relating to this matter be printed in the
Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 432) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 432
Whereas, on August 30, 2006, the United Nations Security
Council approved United Nations Security Council Resolution
1706, providing that the existing United Nations Mission in
Sudan (UNMIS) ``shall take over from [the African Mission in
Sudan (AMIS)] responsibility for supporting the
implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement upon the
expiration of AMIS' mandate but in any event no later than 31
December 2006'';
Whereas, on July 31, 2007, the United Nations Security
Council approved United Nations Security Council Resolution
1769 reaffirming Resolution 1706 and stating that the
Security Council ``[d]ecides . . . to authorise and mandate
the establishment . . . of an AU/UN Hybrid operation in
Darfur (UNAMID) . . . [and] [d]ecides that UNAMID, which
shall incorporate AMIS personnel and the UN Heavy and Light
Support Packages to AMIS, shall consist of up to 19,555
military personnel, including 360 military observers and
liaison officers, and an appropriate civilian component
including up to 3,772 police personnel and 19 formed police
units comprising up to 140 personnel each'';
Whereas, on December 31, 2007, the United Nations-African
Union hybrid mission formally assumed control of peacekeeping
operations in Darfur, but did so with only approximately
9,000 troops and police on the ground, far short of both the
authorized and necessary levels;
Whereas the Government of Sudan continues to obstruct
implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1706 and 1769
in several respects, including by refusing to conclude a
Status of Forces Agreement or to cooperate on issues such as
the force composition, the authorization of night flights,
customs clearance, land access, and visas for staff;
Whereas, on January 7, 2008, uniformed elements of the army
of Sudan attacked a clearly marked UNAMID supply convoy,
severely wounding a Sudanese civilian driver;
Whereas rebels, militias, government forces, bandits, and
others continue to prey upon the people of Darfur and upon
humanitarian workers, increasing the urgency of both
deploying the full complement of peacekeepers and police and
of reaching a lasting political settlement;
Whereas the preliminary results of a United Nations
assessment entitled the ``Food Security and Nutrition
Assessment of the Conflict-Affected Population of Darfur
(August/September 2007)'' reveal that global acute
malnutrition in Darfur increased in 2007, exceeding emergency
levels in some regions;
Whereas the United Nations-African Union Mission in Sudan
has been hampered not only by obstruction by the Government
of Sudan and other obstacles to peace in the region, but by
the failure of the international community to commit the
resources, equipment, and personnel needed to carry out the
peacekeeping mission, most notably the failure to provide
critically needed aviation and transportation assets;
Whereas the United Nations-African Union Mission in Sudan
needs, among other critical mobility capabilities that have
not been met, 18 utility helicopters and 6 tactical
helicopters and crews;
Whereas, in a report to the Security Council dated December
24, 2007, the Secretary-General termed these helicopters
indispensable and stated that ``UNAMID must be capable of
rapid mobility over large distances, especially over terrain
where roads are the exception. Without the missing
helicopters, this mobility--a fundamental requirement for the
implementation of the UNAMID mandate--will not be
possible.'';
Whereas a large number of countries possess the military
assets that could help to fulfill this requirement;
Whereas the United States continues to lead the world in
its contributions to efforts to end the genocide in Darfur,
including by providing more than $4,500,000,000 since 2004 in
response to the Darfur crisis;
Whereas continued failure on the part of the international
community to take all steps necessary to generate, deploy,
and maintain an effective United Nations-African Union hybrid
peacekeeping force will result in the continued loss of life
and further degradation of humanitarian infrastructure in
Darfur; and
Whereas it would be inexcusable for the international
community to allow an authorized peacekeeping mission
intended to help bring an end to genocide and its effects to
founder or be compromised because of a failure to commit
critical elements, such as the 24 helicopters needed to meet
the critical mobility capabilities of the United Nations-
African Union Mission in Sudan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) urges the members of the international community,
including the United States, that possess the capability to
provide the tactical and utility helicopters needed for the
United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur
to do so as soon as possible; and
(2) urges the President to intervene personally by
contacting other heads of state and asking them to contribute
the aircraft and crews for the Darfur mission.
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