[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3534-S3535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 SUDAN

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, there are many important issues that 
demand Congress's attention, but one that we cannot afford to neglect 
the situation is Sudan. We are in the midst of a decisive period that 
will determine the future of that country and shape the conflicts that 
have long besieged its people.
  In less than 9 months, the people of South Sudan will hold their 
referendum on self-determination, with the option to forge an 
independent state. There are serious challenges involved with the 
holding of that referendum and any subsequent transition to 
independence. The potential for instability is high.
  Meanwhile, the conflict in Darfur remains unresolved and is likely to 
get worse. Over 2 million displaced people are still living in camps, 
and earlier this week, one of the largest rebel groups in Darfur 
suspended their involvement in peace talks after alleging that the 
Sudanese Government has launched fresh attacks.
  Finally, the peace in eastern Sudan, one of the country's most 
impoverished regions, continues to be fragile. The dynamics in each of 
Sudan's regions and the future of the country in general will have 
profound implications for neighboring countries, as well as the wider 
region.
  Last month, the people of Sudan held their first multiparty elections 
in 24 years. I join the White House in commending the Sudanese people 
for their efforts to make these elections peaceful and meaningful, and 
I am pleased that the voting witnessed no major armed violence. 
However, I was disappointed by statements of the U.S. Special Envoy in 
the runup to the election suggesting that the elections would be ``as 
free and as fair as possible.'' This was clearly not the case.
  For months beforehand, many of us had expressed concern about the 
political, security, and logistical challenges to credible elections. 
The environment was clearly not conducive for opposition parties to 
freely operate and campaign, nor was it conducive for all voters to 
safely and confidently go to the polls. The inability of the government 
both in the north and in the south--to adequately address the 
significant infrastructure and logistical challenges resulted in 
decreased voter access.
  There is good reason for the international community to question the 
extent to which the results reflect the will of the Sudanese people. 
Furthermore, the fact that the winner of the Presidential election has 
been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes is 
problematic. In no way should the international community allow this 
outcome to take away from the serious charges President Bashir faces.
  The White House statement after the Sudanese election was thoughtful 
and balanced. It acknowledged the significant problems with the process 
but also distinguished between the credibility of elections and the 
potential still for democratic progress. These elections were seriously 
flawed, but indeed there was evidence of the beginnings of citizen 
engagement at the local levels that did not exist before. It will be 
important to build on that momentum going forward.
  The White House statement rightly pointed out that continued pressure 
will be critical to make progress for the civil and political rights of 
all Sudanese people. That pressure must come first and foremost from 
within the country, but there remains an important role for the United 
States and other members of the international community.
  Over the last year, I have been concerned at times that the Obama 
administration has not exerted the requisite pressure to hold Khartoum 
accountable for a failure to live up to its commitments. There are too 
many promises, commitments, and agreements broken without consequence. 
Theoretically, I am not opposed to engaging the Government of Sudan, 
but I share Nicholas Kristof's concern that our engagement ``ends up as 
a policy to go soft on [Bashir] and to reduce pressure on Khartoum to 
honor the referendum in the south.''
  With the election now concluded, the international community must 
redouble its efforts to prepare for South Sudan's referendum and its 
outcome, whatever that may be. It is critical that this referendum be 
held on time and that it be held as fairly and peacefully as possible.
  In order for this to happen, there is much work to be done both 
logistically and politically including efforts to resolve the 
outstanding issues the CPA, as well as ambiguous postreferenda matters, 
such as resource allocation and citizenship rights. In the case of 
separation, these two issues are likely to be the most inflammatory and 
difficult to address. The international community, as well as countries 
in the region, has an active role to play in advancing related 
negotiations and preparations for the referendum. Sudan's neighboring 
states especially have interests at stake that could be directly 
affected by either a peaceful separation or a return to conflict.
  We must see serious and detailed contingency planning for all 
possible scenarios, both pre- and post-referendum and they must get 
underway now. While the most obvious tripwire for a return to war would 
be a delay of the referendum, planning must also include clear guidance 
on how to deal with the possibility that the different actors could 
seek to manipulate, or disrupt, the results of that referendum.
  I continue to be concerned that the NCP could foment insecurity in 
the south as it has done in the past, but I am particularly concerned 
by the internal security challenges within South Sudan. They are 
considerable and will not be easily resolved. Humanitarian 
organizations reported that over 2,500 people were killed and an 
additional 350,000 were displaced by interethnic and communal violence 
within southern Sudan throughout 2009. The Lord's Resistance Army 
continues to wreak havoc on communities in the southwestern corner of 
the country. In his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 
February, the Director of National Intelligence identified South Sudan 
as the area in which ``a new mass killing or genocide is most likely to 
occur.''
  The task of transforming the army and police into modern security 
organs that protect civilians and respect human rights is daunting but 
vital. We need to roll up our sleeves and get to work on helping the 
South Sudanese to accomplish this task, while empowering UNMIS in the 
meantime to better protect civilians and monitor flashpoints.
  Of course security sector reform cannot be separated from the other 
governance and economic challenges facing the region. Most South 
Sudanese have not seen much progress in the 5 years since the signing 
of the CPA. Communities continue to lack access to basic services 
including water, health, and infrastructure. It is no secret that the 
Government of South Sudan still has limited capacity, and in some cases 
limited will, to provide this assistance or manage its own revenues. 
This lack of will and capacity concerns me particularly because it is 
closely linked with the growing problem of corruption within the 
government. A lack of transparency plagues this young government by 
complicating and undermining efforts to distribute services and reform 
the security services.
  This is not cause for delaying the referendum, as to do so would be a 
retreat from our commitment as guarantors of the CPA and could be seen 
as a reason to abrogate the agreement by either party. Instead, it is 
cause for increasing our efforts in South Sudan and helping the region 
to reach a basic level of political and economic stability.
  I am pleased that the Obama administration is in the process of 
scaling up our diplomatic and development personnel and activities in 
South Sudan to prepare for the referendum and its aftermath. I urge 
other governments to do the same, if they are not already. The regional 
states and international community all have a stake in facilitating an 
orderly process and preventing an outbreak of violence. It is

[[Page S3535]]

in our interest to work together and coordinate our efforts to help the 
South Sudanese meet the many challenges in front of them.
  Finally, as we do this, we should not turn our backs on the other 
conflicts within Sudan, particularly the situation in Darfur. We have 
seen in the past how the National Congress Party can effectively 
manipulate the international community's narrow focus on one region or 
conflict at the expense of another. Despite some small successes, the 
situation in Darfur is unresolved and the events of recent weeks have 
shown that a peace deal remains elusive. The situation could become 
more difficult and complex to resolve over time, especially if the CPA 
collapses and the north-south war is reignited.
  The Obama administration must maintain its focus on building a 
credible peace process for Darfur at the same time that it seeks to 
shore up the CPA. We need to keep the pressure on to ensure there is a 
cessation of attacks and to begin seriously addressing the legitimate 
grievances of Darfurians.
  Mr. President, in the critical months ahead, we need to have a bold, 
comprehensive approach toward all of Sudan that brings resources to 
bear and ensures consistent, high-level engagement from the White House 
as well as here in Congress. To that end, I will continue to do my 
part, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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