[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S851-S852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 DARFUR

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today to express my concern about 
increasing insecurity in the Darfur region of Sudan and to call for 
immediate action to prevent further violence and protect civilians.
  As many of my colleagues will recall, in 2003 the regime of toppled 
Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir began a vicious and deadly campaign 
against his own citizens in the Darfur region. Millions were driven 
from their homes, and hundreds of thousands killed and sometimes raped 
by militia armed and supported by the government. In 2004 Congress and 
the State Department stood united in determining that what was taking 
place in Darfur was, in fact, genocide. Three years after that 
determination, the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in 
Darfur, UNAMID, was established.
  UNAMID has not been perfect. However, despite numerous obstacles the 
Government of Sudan put in place under al-Bashir to obstruct the 
mission's ability to carry out its mandate to protect civilians, UNAMID 
has provided critical support for the people of Darfur. UNAMID 
policewomen have served as trusted confidants for Darfuri women to 
report sexual and domestic violence, and UNAMID soldiers have provided 
a protective presence, deterring violence against civilians in areas 
where they have been deployed. Overall, the presence of international 
forces has reinforced some sense of security and stability for the 
hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur who remain displaced, so that 
that they can continue to live full and dignified lives. These efforts 
have come at significant cost both in blood and treasure: 64 UNAMID 
peacekeepers have been killed, and billions of dollars spent, in 
support of the mission.
  With the fall of Bashir, many had hoped that the situation in Darfur 
would improve. However, those hopes have yet to be fully realized. 
Violence in West Darfur in late December of 2019 killed dozens and 
displaced an estimated 40,000 people. In January 2020, two separate 
violent incidents in North Darfur were additional indicators that all 
was not well in the region, as were deadly attacks on internally 
displaced camps in July. In January of this year, communal clashes in 
West and South Darfur resulted in the death of over 250 people and the 
displacement of over 100,000. These episodes raise the specter of a 
return to the catastrophic and genocidal violence that engulfed the 
region in 2003. But instead of redoubling its commitment to Darfur's 
long-suffering people at this critical time, the international 
community risks abandoning them.
  This past December, the United Nations Security Council made the 
decision to dissolve UNAMID. Although it will retain a presence in the 
region until it completes its full drawdown at the end of June 2021, 
UNAMID's core civilian protection functions have now ceased. UNAMID is 
to be replaced by the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance 
Mission in Sudan, or UNITAMS. UNITAMS is a Sudan-wide political mission 
that is aimed at assisting with the transition. I agree that such a 
mission is needed to ensure that Sudan's transition to democracy is 
successful. However, supporting the transition and protecting 
vulnerable civilians are not mutually exclusive, and the mandate for 
UNITAMS could have included both. Unfortunately, Sudan's transitional 
government refused to accept this course of action, and

[[Page S852]]

UNITAMS therefore lacks UNAMID's Chapter VII authorities to deploy 
military tools in service of civilian protection and the advancement of 
peace in Darfur. Officials in the transitional government at the 
highest levels have argued that a Chapter VII mission is not necessary 
because the security situation in Darfur has improved; that many of the 
warring parties in Darfur have made peace with the Government of Sudan 
through the Juba Peace Agreement; that Bashir's genocidal regime, which 
bore primary responsibility for the crisis in the region, is no longer 
in power; and that the transitional government is implementing a 
security plan for Darfur that will adequately protect civilians.
  I do not share this assessment of the situation in Darfur, and recent 
clashes, as well earlier rounds of violence that have plagued Darfur 
since Sudan's transition began in 2019, demonstrate that the region 
remains fragile. Communal tensions over land, water, and political 
power persist, and Darfur is awash in weapons. The government's program 
to provide security to the region, including through its National Plan 
for Civilian Protection, has yet to be adequately fleshed out let alone 
implemented. Just last week, the UNAMID team site at Saraf Umrah that 
was transferred to the Sudanese Government on January 21 was looted by 
unnamed assailants, and all of the buildings on the site were 
reportedly destroyed despite the government's prior commitment to 
secure it. The Juba Peace Agreement, while promising, has not been 
endorsed by all of Darfur's warring parties. And most worryingly, those 
likely to be charged with protecting civilians in Darfur, including 
components of the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, 
of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, are the same actors that for years worked to 
implement Bashir's campaign of terror and genocide in the region.
  In this context, the United Nations Security Council's ill-timed and 
poorly-conceived decision to end UNAMID's mandate--facilitated by the 
Trump administration's lack of a well-thought-out diplomatic strategy 
and approach--and to rapidly draw down the mission exposes the Darfuri 
people to significant harm. It could derail Sudan's civilian-led 
transition to democracy, resulting in another round of instability that 
Sudan and the broader region can ill afford. That is why in February 
2020 I led a group of Senators in writing to the Trump administration, 
urging it to ensure that the U.N. maintain a mission in Darfur with an 
adequate number of peacekeeping troops operating under a robust Chapter 
VII mandate to protect civilians from violence; and that is why I am 
raising the alarm again here today. The United States, along with its 
international partners, must work rapidly to put in place mechanisms 
that can protect Darfur's civilians until such a time that Sudan's 
transitional government is capable of providing security to the region.
  Fortunately, the plight of Darfur has long attracted the bipartisan 
support of Congress and multiple administrations. At this critical 
time, it is vital that our commitment remain steadfast. I hope to work 
with the Biden administration to urgently address the security vacuum 
created by UNAMID's drawdown and call upon Secretary of State Blinken 
and United Nations Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield to take urgent steps.
  First, we must use our voice and vote at the UNSC to encourage a 
temporary reauthorization of UNAMID so that it can carry out critical 
protection of civilian functions, at the very least until it fully 
draws down in June 2021. Second, we must work actively at the UNSC to 
strengthen the mandate of the UNITAMS so that it includes robust 
civilian protection mechanisms. Third, we should press Sudan's 
civilian-led transitional government to develop a credible civilian 
protection plan in Darfur that does not--I repeat, does not--involve 
the RSF or any other forces implicated in violence in Darfur. Fourth, 
the administration should carefully monitor progress on civilian 
protection in Darfur and provide support where necessary, including by 
considering how much of the recently appropriated $700 million for 
Sudan needs to be set aside to support civilian security in Darfur. 
Fifth, we must make clear to all that sustainable peace in Darfur 
requires justice and accountability for past atrocities, no matter how 
powerful the people implicated.
  Mr. President, I strongly support a closer bilateral relationship 
with Sudan and will continue, as I have for the past 2 years, to do 
what I can to ensure the United States does its part to see to it that 
Sudan's civilian-led transition to democracy is successful. We have 
what may be a once in a generation opportunity. A healthy political 
transition at the national level will only aid the cause of peace in 
Darfur, and vice versa.
  Mr. President, the situation in Darfur requires our urgent and 
considered attention. Let us continue our strong tradition of 
bipartisan support for the long-suffering people of Sudan at this 
critical time.

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