[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 108 (Tuesday, July 19, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4669-S4670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 SUDAN

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, last night the Senate adopted S. Con. Res. 
25, a concurrent resolution welcoming the independence of the Republic 
of South Sudan, congratulating the people of South Sudan for freely and 
peacefully expressing their will through an internationally accepted 
referendum, and calling on the governments and people of Sudan and 
South Sudan to peacefully resolve outstanding issues including the 
final status of Abyei. I was happy to see us recognize this important 
development.

[[Page S4670]]

  Years ago when violence was raging in Darfur I regularly came to the 
floor to try to keep the world's attention on the calamities happening 
in that far corner of the world.
  Fortunately, after a number of years and constant international 
pressure, a sizeable international peacekeeping force was deployed in 
Darfur, and over time the worst of the violence largely subsided.
  Meanwhile a fragile peace treaty--the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
or CPA--also started to bring an end to a devastating civil war between 
North and South Sudan that killed and displaced millions. I give 
President George W. Bush credit for seeing that important agreement to 
fruition.
  A key CPA provision called for an independence referendum for the 
southern half of Sudan. This referendum occurred in January and was 
largely peaceful and without incident.
  The South voted overwhelmingly for independence, which the North 
agreed to respect. And on Saturday, amid widespread celebration and a 
host of visiting international dignitaries, South Sudan became the 
world's newest country.
  Last year Senator Sherrod Brown and I visited Sudan. I wanted to see 
the country--and the new one about to emerge--with my own eyes.
  The South faces a daunting task--building a nation that can be 
responsive to the needs of its 8 million residents, writing a 
constitution, and creating a functional government.
  The people of South Sudan, who have seen so much suffering after 
years of civil war, deserve this chance at a peaceful and democratic 
nation--and the international community should help it get started and 
remain viable and stable.
  The people of the North face challenges too, including a fragile 
economy and a dwindling of the Nile River due to climate change.
  And despite the peaceful independence process for the South, many 
complicated issues related to borders, oil revenues, and immigration 
still remain to be worked out between both sides.
  The Obama administration, including its special envoy Ambassador 
Princeton Lyman, has been working diligently to help resolve these very 
thorny issues.
  Unfortunately, we have seen a rash of new violence in a number of 
border areas between North and South Sudan.
  With much of the world's attention turned elsewhere, we must not let 
new violence undermine the hard fought gains that have been achieved in 
Sudan.
  First, in May the Sudanese armed forces invaded the disputed oil-rich 
Abyei region, displacing as many as 100,000.
  Fortunately, both sides met recently in Ethiopia and agreed to 
withdraw their forces from the region. The U.N. Security Council also 
voted to send a 4,200-person Ethiopian peacekeeping force there for 6 
months to protect civilians and humanitarian workers.
  These are steps in the right direction, and I urge both sides to 
respect the agreement and work to negotiate a long-term solution to 
Abyei that will allow its people to live in peace.
  More recently there has been a new outbreak of violence--one with 
disturbing similarities to the violence in Darfur--in an area called 
Southern Kordofan.
  Most people have probably never heard of Southern Kordofan--an area 
that borders South Sudan and is one of the few major oil-producing 
regions in the north.
  During the North-South civil war, segments of the population 
supported the south and tensions remain today as a result. Southern 
Kordofan has a certain degree of autonomy and recently held separate 
state elections, yet there were allegations of election rigging in 
favor of North Sudan.
  In early June, the North Sudanese government sent troops into the 
Nuba region in Southern Kordofan to disarm individuals sympathetic to 
the South--resulting in the displacement of more than 70,000. 
Humanitarian aid was blocked and U.N. staff harassed and detained.
  And there have been allegations of targeted aerial bombing and house 
to house violence on the Nuba mountain people that are of grave 
concern.
  North Sudan stands to lose sizable revenue from Southern independence 
and Southern Kordofan is one of the North's major sources of oil 
revenue. Many have speculated about the timing of the attacks--so close 
to Southern independence--but I am not going to dwell on motives 
because what matters most is that the aggression stops.
  Two weeks ago both sides signed an African Union-mediated agreement 
to find a ``peaceful resolution of their differences . . . cease 
hostilities, permit humanitarian access, and allow the return of 
displaced persons to their homes.''
  I hope this agreement is respected. The last thing the people of 
North or South Sudan need is more human suffering and displacement.
  There must be an immediate cessation of hostilities and end to 
harassment of U.N. staff in Southern Kordofan.
  Both sides must follow through with commitments to demilitarize 
Abyei.
  Humanitarian agencies must have safe an unrestricted access to the 
areas.
  And it is long overdue that the various parties in the Darfur 
conflict reach a long-term political settlement that will allow people 
to be safe and to return to their homes.
  Continued progress on all these fronts is also the best path forward 
for improving Sudan's relations with the United States and the rest of 
the global community.
  President Obama has called on Sudanese leaders to choose peace, and I 
strongly echo his sentiments.

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