[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15316]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        AFFIRMING THE IMPORTANCE OF A NATIONAL WEEKEND OF PRAYER

  The resolution (S. Res. 186) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 186

       Affirming the importance of a national weekend of prayer 
     for the victims of genocide and crimes against humanity in 
     Darfur, Sudan, and expressing the sense of the Senate that 
     July 15 through 17, 2005, should be designated as a national 
     weekend of prayer and reflection for the people of Darfur.
       Whereas, on July 22, 2004, Congress declared that genocide 
     was taking place in Darfur, Sudan;
       Whereas, on September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin L. 
     Powell testified to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 
     that `genocide has been committed in Darfur';
       Whereas, on September 21, 2004, President George W. Bush 
     stated to the United Nations General Assembly that `the world 
     is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the 
     Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has concluded 
     are genocide';
       Whereas Article 1 of the Convention on the Prevention and 
     Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, done at Paris December 
     9, 1948, and entered into force January 12, 1951, states that 
     `[t]he Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether 
     committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime 
     under international law which they undertake to prevent and 
     to punish';
       Whereas fundamental human rights, including the right to 
     freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, are protected 
     in numerous international agreements and declarations;
       Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in Security 
     Council Resolution 1591, condemned the `continued violations 
     of the N'djamena Ceasefire Agreement of 8 April 2004 and the 
     Abuja Protocols of 9 November 2004 by all sides in Darfur and 
     the deterioration of the security situation and negative 
     impact this has had on humanitarian assistance efforts';
       Whereas President Bush declared on June 30, 2005, ``Yet the 
     violence in Darfur region is clearly genocide. The human cost 
     is beyond calculation.''
       Whereas it is estimated that more than 2,000,000 people 
     have been displaced from their homes and remain in camps in 
     Darfur, Chad, and elsewhere;
       Whereas while United States government assistance and 
     African Union monitoring has mitigated violence in some 
     regions of Darfur, religious leaders, genocide survivors, and 
     world leaders have expressed grave concern, over the 
     atrocities still occurring there and for the thousands that 
     may still be dying; and
       Whereas it is appropriate that the people of the United 
     States, leaders and citizens alike, unite in prayer for the 
     people of Darfur and reflect upon the situation in Darfur: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate--
       (1) that the weekend of July 15 through 17, 2005, should be 
     designated as a National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection for 
     the people of Darfur, Sudan;
       (2) to encourage the people of the United States to observe 
     that weekend by praying for an end to the genocide and crimes 
     against humanity and for lasting peace in Darfur, Sudan; and
       (3) to urge all churches, synagogues, mosques, and 
     religious institutions in the United States to consider the 
     people of Darfur in their activities and to observe the 
     National Weekend of Prayer and Reflection with appropriate 
     activities and services.

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