[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 23962-23963]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             BIPARTISANSHIP

  Mr. CORZINE. Madam President, first, let me say that it is this 
Senator's personal desire, following the comments the Senator from 
Kentucky has so ably given, that we came here to try to make things 
better for the world in the years beyond and for our children. So much 
of what he talked about--whether it is Social Security or the Tax Code 
or our needs and in foreign policy--does require that we work together.
  I commend the Senator for his comments. We do have to work together 
as we go forward.
  In fact, one of the things I want to talk about, and why I came to 
the Senate, one of the areas is where bipartisanship and joint effort 
has been fundamental to raising an issue, framing it, and getting it in 
front of the American people. I come to the Senate today to talk about 
the genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and what we, the United States of 
America, are going to be doing about it.
  Today, the U.N. Security Council is meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, to 
discuss Sudan and to seek the end of the civil war between the north 
and the south. This is a good thing and I congratulate Ambassador 
Danforth, in particular, for his personal efforts in making this 
possibility real and tangible.
  Multilateral diplomacy is critical. Peace between north and south is 
an important component of an overall political solution for the Sudan. 
At the end of the day, if we do not stop the killing in Darfur--which 
is independent in many ways from the north-south issue--if we do not 
stop the genocide, then we fail.
  Members will hear me say repeatedly words are important; deeds are a 
reality. Lives are at stake. What greater moral imperative can we have 
than to stop genocide? What greater moral failure can there be than 
allowing genocide to occur? The death toll is mounting in Darfur with 
all kinds of estimates--70,000, over 100,000, 125,000.
  The issue is stark: life or death. Deeds, not words, are what 
matters. History will judge us based on whether we actually stop this 
genocide--not whether we gave great speeches or passed great 
resolutions or made statements, but what have we done to stop it.
  The words have all been said. In July, this body unanimously passed a 
bipartisan resolution introduced by Senator Brownback and myself, 
declaring that the atrocities in Darfur were genocide. On the same day, 
the House passed a similar resolution. In September, Secretary Powell 
made the same declaration for the administration. We all welcomed the 
announcement.
  Since then, the situation has only deteriorated. The death toll may 
have already gone over, as I suggested, 100,000 human beings. Armed 
militias continue to rape women and girls with impunity. Civilians are 
being driven from their homes by the hundreds of thousands. Now the 
refugees are being driven from one camp to another camp, or even out of 
the camps altogether. The displaced population in Darfur is over 1.5 
million. That is what is confirmed.
  In the last few weeks, Janjaweeds have attacked these IDP camps, the 
refugee camps, destroying shelters, beating civilians, and forcibly 
moving people from one location to another.
  The escalating violence preventing humanitarian organizations from 
reaching needy people is also occurring. Already, nearly one-quarter of 
the children under the age of five in Darfur are certifiably 
malnourished and close to half of the families do not have enough food.
  Recently, food convoys have been attacked and large areas of Darfur 
are now effectively closed to the humanitarian organizations that are 
distributing food, medicine, and other elements. Hundreds of thousands 
of needy refugees cannot be reached.
  Before this wave of violence--even before it--World Food Program 
reported that it served 175,000 fewer people in October than September. 
Get that: Statistics for our program serving the needy are going down, 
175,000 fewer people in October than in September.
  When I visited Darfur in August, the conditions were grim. The one 
ray of hope was the pressure from the international community, 
including a threat of sanctions that forced the Government in Khartoum 
to allow access by humanitarian organizations. Humanitarian workers 
were overwhelmed by the number of refugees, but they were working hard 
and saving lives. As a result, estimates of the death toll, which could 
have gone as high as a million, were scaled back after that. With the 
violence intensifying and humanitarian organizations again restricted 
in their movements, we sadly revisit our gravest fears.
  The other recent development is the disintegration of order in the 
region. Anger and resentment are on the rise among the displaced, and 
civil war between Khartoum and the rebels is escalating. All the 
conditions are in place for a complete collapse, for long-term 
instability and an indefinite humanitarian crisis.
  As Jan Pronk, the U.N. Special Representative for Sudan, warned on 
November 4:

       Darfur may easily enter a state of anarchy; a total 
     collapse of law and order.

  Permitting such a thing to happen is not only immoral, it is 
antithetical to our national security interests. Remember, Sudan is the 
country that once harbored Osama bin Laden. The prospects of becoming a 
terrorist breeding ground are real. This is something that needs to be 
addressed now.
  This has not happened since the administration declared genocide was 
taking place. Whatever the message that declaration sent, it was 
clearly not enough and may even have sent the wrong message that the 
United States may declare that genocide is existing and then not act to 
stop it.
  Words without deeds violates the moral and legal obligation we have 
under the genocide convention but, more importantly, violates our sense 
of right and wrong and the standards we have as human beings about 
looking to care for one another. Words without

[[Page 23963]]

deeds is an affront to the principle that guides our Nation and makes a 
mockery of the values we as public servants claim to love. The American 
people know this, which is why people of faith, of all religions and 
denominations and civic groups throughout the country, call for 
concerted, resolute, effective action.
  Details matter. What will it actually take to stop this genocide? In 
September, this body passed by voice vote an amendment offered by 
myself and Senator DeWine to provide $75 million for an expanded 
African Union force in Darfur. The funding is now being negotiated with 
the House of Representatives in the so-called Omnibus bill but has had 
little if any support from the administration and some in the Senate.
  Senator DeWine and myself offered the amendment after the U.N. 
Security Council passed a resolution calling for assistance to the AU 
and after Secretary Powell testified the current United States 
contribution of $20 million would not be enough. Get that, $20 
million--not billions, trillions, which we normally are talking about.
  An expanded African Union force of 3,000 will cost roughly $220 
million. The European Union recently pledged half that amount would be 
forthcoming. We can afford to pay for the rest. We cannot afford to 
walk away from our moral obligation. Madam President, $75 million is 
less than half of what the administration sought for waste disposal in 
Iraq. It is insignificant compared to the costs of the wars that are 
waging around the globe. What we cannot afford is to provide anything 
less. Shortchanging AU troops or delivering only incremental assistance 
may be worse than doing nothing. They do need helicopters, vehicles, 
communication equipment, and housing to patrol Darfur. We are moving 
forces into Darfur, but we do not give them the tools they need to be 
able to do what they are there for and we are setting them up for 
failure. We risk undermining the very credibility of a burgeoning 
ability to deal with some of these crises that happen all across 
Africa, and not just in Darfur. It is precisely now when we need to 
give them the resources to be able to succeed.
  We should not kid ourselves about the effectiveness of the AU force. 
They are responsible for monitoring the April cease-fire. There was an 
agreement reached November 9 that includes a no-fly zone that the AU 
force must enforce. To quote the current AU chair, Nigerian President 
Obsanjo, these agreements ``won't be worth the paper they're written on 
if they are not scrupulously implemented on the ground.'' His words are 
right. Words without deeds, without resources, is meaningless.
  The potential for the situation to overwhelm the AU force is real. 
The region is enormous and every day as the violence gets worse, the 
challenge grows. The answer is not to dismiss the AU force but to do 
whatever it takes to make it effective. If 3,000 troops is not enough, 
we should consider others and more. If $220 million is not enough, we 
should, along with our allies, push to have additional resources. 
Hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake. If the AU cannot set up 
command-and-control communications or intelligence right away, we 
should help them do it.
  In the end, the only test is whether we stop the killing. The same 
test applies to sanctions. This week's efforts to reach a north-south 
agreement are important, but we must not weaken in any way the pressure 
on Khartoum with regard to Darfur. Only consistent, strong, credible 
international pressure has ever changed Khartoum's behavior. I heard 
one senior administration official say that when their lips are moving, 
they are lying. This means we need to apply pressure. This means an 
embargo, seizing assets, restricting travel of government officials 
and, yes, going after Sudanese oil and gas companies that deal in the 
finances that allow this tragedy to continue to unfold. We should be 
working with our allies to put in place effective sanctions. If members 
of the U.N. Security Council are not amenable, we should work with the 
EU. We also have leverage through our own capital markets. The test is 
whether we are prepared to stop genocide, something we have all 
declared exists, something the administration has declared.
  How can we be discussing these options? We should be acting. There is 
no more critical moment than now. The pieces are in place.
  Today, the U.N. Security Council is meeting in Nairobi preparing to 
issue another resolution on Sudan, although I hear the discussion is 
very limited with regard to actions they will take with regard to 
Khartoum. The United States has rightfully called this genocide. The 
U.N. Security Council has agreed on paper that sanctions should be 
imposed if Sudan does not stop the violence. That violence has not 
stopped.
  The Security Council has called on member states to support an 
expanded AU force, and the African Union, 2 years old, has stepped up. 
Its leadership is committed to preventing another genocide if we will 
help. We are the world's only superpower. Genocide is happening and we 
must act. President Bush campaigned on a platform of acting wherever 
necessary to protect our interests overseas regardless of world 
opinion.
  With all that has happened in the last few years, how can we claim to 
be constrained in this situation with this action taking place against 
the human race? We are the world's superpower. If we do everything that 
we should do, history will judge that we acted. But they will judge us 
harshly if we do not step up to save these lives that will be lost in 
the years and the months and the days ahead. If we hesitate now, if we 
make excuses, most of us think we will have a hard time forgiving 
ourselves for what we did not do. Rwanda is burned in our memory. We 
should not allow hundreds of thousands of people to die. We will have 
doomed the AU to ineffectual operations on the ground, and we will have 
damaged its credibility and its underlying ability to respond to crises 
in the future.
  I hope we will act. I hope we will not turn the pages of this omnibus 
financing without giving the resources to act. Words are not good 
enough; deeds are required. I hope we will not have failed our people 
and our values we hold dear.
  I thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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