[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 17, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H1898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TROUBLE BETWEEN SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN

  (Ms. LEE of California asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, the situation 
went from bad to worse in Sudan, with military clashes erupting into a 
full-blown crisis along the troubled border region between Sudan and 
South Sudan. President al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal 
Court for crimes against humanity, is directing this new round of 
bombings that threaten a fragile peace.
  It was less than a year ago that the world's youngest nation was born 
in South Sudan, and already we are witnessing the disturbing return to 
violence and inhumanity.
  Last month, I was joined by 67 Members of my House colleagues on a 
letter to President Obama expressing our serious concern for the 
ongoing human calamity in Sudan.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, let me just say half a million lives hang in 
the balance as the Sudanese Government attacks rebels and civilians 
alike with a methodical strategy to stop cultivation and block 
humanitarian aid. We must not idly stand by. So I call on my colleagues 
to sponsor legislation by our colleagues--Representatives Capuano, 
McGovern, Wolf--and myself who have recently introduced H.R. 4169, the 
Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act, to update the diplomatic 
tools in Sudan to reflect the current dangers on the ground.

                                 Congress of the United States

                                   Washington, DC, March 30, 2012.
     Hon. Barack Obama,
     President of the United States, The White House, Washington, 
         DC.

     CC:
     Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
     Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice

       Dear President Obama: We write to express our serious 
     concern for the ongoing human calamity in the Sudanese border 
     areas of South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Abyei, and Darfur, and in 
     Yida and other refugee camps in South Sudan. The Sudanese 
     government continues to target civilian populations through 
     the use of indiscriminate bombing and the denial of 
     humanitarian aid. These actions have left nearly half a 
     million people at risk of starvation in the coming weeks and 
     months. Sudan's impending rainy season, and resulting poor 
     road conditions, will soon make the delivery of any aid 
     extremely difficult, if not impossible.
       We applaud your recent actions demonstrating your firm 
     commitment to ending the humanitarian crisis in South 
     Korfodan and the border areas. There are two upcoming 
     opportunities for the United States to further support a 
     humanitarian agenda emphasizing aid delivery and access to 
     these border areas. First, the United States will assume the 
     rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council in 
     April and secondly, the United States will host the G8 summit 
     at Camp David in May.
       We hope that the United States will take advantage of both 
     platforms by demanding full and unimpeded access for 
     international humanitarian organizations to the border 
     regions, while calling on Khartoum to agree to a concrete 
     timeline to implement the United Nations-African Union-League 
     of Arab States Tripartite Proposal. Specifically, we request 
     that the United States ensure that Sudan and South Sudan are 
     placed as a priority on the U.N. Security Council agenda 
     during the U.S. presidency. These efforts will complement and 
     further advance the message on Sudan you delivered this week 
     to Chinese President Hu Jintao during your bilateral meeting 
     in Seoul.
       Khartoum's notorious ability to delay and its failure to 
     honor agreements suggest that a more robust, consistent and 
     coordinated approach is needed to protect the lives of 
     vulnerable populations. We have seen such sustained 
     international coordination led by the United States in both 
     negotiating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005, 
     and in helping to implement the successful South Sudan 
     referendum in 2011.
       Now is the time to act. Affected areas of South Kordofan 
     and Blue Nile reached emergency levels of food insecurity in 
     March, and the situation has continued to deteriorate. This 
     is one level short of famine. The remaining areas within 
     South Kordofan, as well as much of Blue Nile state, are 
     facing crisis levels of food insecurity.
       Recognizing the concrete steps your Administration has 
     taken to spare the lives of vulnerable populations and 
     prevent further conflict, we ask that you use the upcoming 
     opportunities at the United Nations Security Council and the 
     G8 summit in May to leverage multilateral pressure on the 
     Government of Sudan and its supporters. We appreciate your 
     ongoing commitment to that goal.
           Respectfully Yours,
         Barbara Lee, Michael E. Capuano, James P. McGovern, Al 
           Green, Karen Bass, G.K. Butterfield, Judy Chu, Wm. Lacy 
           Clay, James E. Clyburn, Keith Ellison, Bob Filner, and 
           Howard L. Berman.
         Andre Carson, Yvette D. Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, Elijah 
           E. Cummings, Chaka Fattah, Marcia L. Fudge, Raul M. 
           Grijalva, Sheila Jackson Lee, Rick Larsen, John W. 
           Olver, Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Robert C. Scott.
         Terri A. Sewell, Michael M. Honda, Hank Johnson, John 
           Lewis, Cedric L. Richmond, Gregorio Sablan, David 
           Scott, Bennie G. Thompson, Edolphus Towns, Frederica S. 
           Wilson, John Conyers Jr., and Laura Richardson.
         Corrine Brown, Jackie Speier, Peter A. Defazio, Melvin L. 
           Watt, Lynn C. Woolsey, Donna M. Christensen, Alcee L. 
           Hastings, Maxine Waters, Pete Stark, Carolyn B. 
           Maloney, Aaron Schock, and Donna F. Edwards.
         Maurice D. Hinchey, Russ Carnahan, Zoe Lofgren, Lois 
           Capps, Michael H. Michaud, Madeleine Z. Bordallo, 
           Stephen F. Lynch, Sanford D. Bishop Jr., Brad Sherman, 
           Sam Farr, Jesse L. Jackson Jr., and Danny K. Davis.
         Steve Cohen, Jan Schakowsky, Chris Van Hollen, Jerrold 
           Nadler, Charles Rangel, Marcy Kaptur, James P. Moran, 
           and Steve Israel.

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