[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 21303-21305]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            STOPPING GENOCIDE AND VIOLENCE IN DARFUR, SUDAN

  Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 242, S. Res. 
203.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 203) calling on the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China to use its unique influence and 
     economic leverage to stop genocide and violence in Darfur, 
     Sudan.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign 
Relations with an amendment to strike out all after the resolving 
clause, an amendment to strike the preamble, and insert in lieu thereof 
the following:

                              S. Res. 203

       Whereas since the conflict in Darfur, Sudan began in 2003, 
     hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more 
     than 2,500,000 displaced as a result of the ongoing and 
     escalating violence;
       Whereas on July 23, 2004, Congress declared, ``the 
     atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide'' and on 
     September 23, 2004, then Secretary of State Colin Powell 
     stated before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate that, ``genocide has occurred and may still be 
     occurring in Darfur,'' and ``the Government of Sudan and the 
     Janjaweed bear responsibility'';
       Whereas on October 13, 2006, the President signed the 
     Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (Public Law 109-344), 
     which identifies the Government of Sudan as complicit with 
     the forces committing genocide in the Darfur region and urges 
     the President to, ``take all necessary and appropriate steps 
     to deny the Government of Sudan access to oil revenues'';
       Whereas President George W. Bush declared in a speech 
     delivered on April 18, 2007, at the United States Holocaust 
     Memorial Museum that no one ``can doubt that genocide is the 
     only word for what is happening in Darfur--and that we have a 
     moral obligation to stop it'';
       Whereas the presence of approximately 7,000 African Union 
     peacekeepers has not deterred the violence and the increasing 
     attacks by the Government-sponsored Janjaweed militia and 
     rebel groups;
       Whereas the Government of Sudan has previously refused to 
     allow implementation of the full-scale peacekeeping mission 
     authorized under United Nations Security Council Resolution 
     1706;
       Whereas former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan 
     subsequently negotiated a compromise agreement with the 
     Government of Sudan for a hybrid United Nations-African Union 
     peacekeeping mission to be implemented in 3 phases;
       Whereas the African Union and the United Nations have both 
     affirmed that the Government of Sudan has now stated that it 
     will accept implementation of a hybrid United Nations-African 
     Union peacekeeping mission;
       Whereas the Sudanese government has reneged on and 
     obstructed earlier agreements;
       Whereas it is critical that the nations of the world, and 
     particularly the members of the United Nations Security 
     Council, take steps to implement the full deployment of this 
     hybrid peacekeeping mission as soon as possible;
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has long-standing economic and military ties with Sudan and 
     continues to strengthen these ties in spite of the on-going 
     genocide in Darfur, as evidenced by the following actions:
       (1) China reportedly purchases as much as 70 percent of 
     Sudan's oil;
       (2) China currently has at least $3,000,000,000 invested in 
     the Sudanese energy sector, for a total of $10,000,000,000 
     since the 1990s;
       (3) Sudan's Joint Chief of Staff, Haj Ahmed El Gaili, 
     recently visited Beijing for discussions with Chinese Defense 
     Minister Cao Gang Chuan and other military officials as part 
     of an eight-day tour of China; Cao pledged closer military 
     relations with Sudan, saying that China was ``willing to 
     further develop cooperation between the two militaries in 
     every sphere'';
       (4) China has reportedly cancelled approximately 
     $100,000,000 in debt owed by the Sudanese Government; and
       (5) China is building infrastructure in Sudan and provided 
     funds for a presidential palace in Sudan at a reported cost 
     of approximately $20,000,000;
       Whereas given its economic interests throughout the region, 
     China has a unique ability to positively influence the 
     Government of Sudan to abandon its genocidal policies and to 
     accept United Nations peacekeepers to join a hybrid United 
     Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission;
       Whereas the President's Special Envoy to Sudan, Andrew S. 
     Natsios, further said in testimony on April 11, 2007, that 
     ``China's substantial economic investment in Sudan gives it 
     considerable potential leverage, and we have made clear to 
     Beijing that the international community will expect China to 
     be part of the solution'';
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has previously influenced the Government of Sudan to take 
     steps toward reducing violence and conflict by--
       (1) abstaining from, and choosing not to obstruct, several 
     important votes in the United Nations Security Council on 
     resolutions related to

[[Page 21304]]

     Sudan, including Resolution 1556, which demanded Sudan disarm 
     militias in Darfur, and Resolution 1706, which called for the 
     deployment of additional United Nations peacekeepers, 
     including up to 17,300 military personnel and up to 3,300 
     civilian police;
       (2) helping to facilitate the Addis Ababa framework reached 
     on November 16, 2006, which provides for a joint United 
     Nations-African Union peacekeeping force;
       (3) sending high-level delegations, including Chinese 
     President Hu Jintao, to Sudan, and encouraging President 
     Bashir to show flexibility and allow the joint United 
     Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to be deployed;
       (4) making frequent public statements that the Government 
     of Sudan must carry out agreements made within the Addis 
     Ababa framework of November 2006 to admit United Nations 
     peacekeepers to join the United Nations-African Union 
     peacekeeping force in Darfur;
       (5) pledging to provide military engineers to support 
     African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur;
       (6) announcing on May 10, 2007, the appointment of a senior 
     diplomat as China's special representative on African affairs 
     who is to focus specific attention on the Darfur issue; and
       (7) reportedly exercising its influence to help convince 
     the Khartoum government to accept the hybrid peacekeeping 
     mission;
       Whereas due to its vast population, its rapidly growing 
     global economy, its large research and development 
     investments and military spending, its seat as a permanent 
     member of the United Nations Security Council and on the 
     Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, China is an emerging power 
     that is increasingly perceived as a leader with significant 
     international reach and responsibility;
       Whereas in November 2006, China hosted its third Forum on 
     China-Africa Cooperation with more than 40 heads of state in 
     attendance and which focused heavily on trade relations and 
     investment on the African continent as it is expected to 
     double by 2010;
       Whereas China is preparing to host the Olympic Summer Games 
     of 2008, the most honorable, venerated, and prestigious 
     international sporting event;
       Whereas China should be held accountable to act 
     consistently with the Olympic standard of preserving human 
     dignity in Darfur, Sudan and around the world; and
       Whereas China has previously been reluctant to use its full 
     influence to improve the human rights situation in Darfur, 
     but recent events have demonstrated the impact that China can 
     have as a positive influence on this situation: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the close relationship between China and 
     Sudan and strongly urges the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China to use its full influence to--
       (A) urge the President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, to abide 
     by his agreement to allow a robust peacekeeping force under 
     United Nations command and control as described in United 
     Nations Security Council Resolution 1706;
       (B) call for Sudanese compliance with United Nations 
     Security Council Resolutions 1556 and 1564, and the Darfur 
     Peace Agreement, all of which demand that the Government of 
     Sudan disarm militias operating in Darfur;
       (C) call on all parties to the conflict to adhere to the 
     2004 N'Djamena ceasefire agreement and the recently-agreed 
     United Nations communique which commits the Sudanese 
     government to improve conditions for humanitarian 
     organizations and ensure they have unfettered access to the 
     populations they serve;
       (D) emphasize that there can be no military solution to the 
     conflict in Darfur and that the formation and implementation 
     of a legitimate peace agreement between all parties will 
     contribute toward the welfare and stability of the entire 
     nation and broader region;
       (E) urge all rebel groups to unify and assist all parties 
     to come to the negotiating table in good faith;
       (F) urge the Government of southern Sudan to play a more 
     active role in pressing for legitimate peace talks and take 
     immediate steps to support and assist in the revitalization 
     of such talks along 1 single coordinated track;
       (G) continue to engage collaboratively in high-level 
     diplomacy and multilateral efforts toward a renewed peace 
     process; and
       (H) join the international community in imposing economic 
     and other consequences on the Government of Sudan if that 
     government continues to carry out or support attacks on 
     innocent civilians and frustrate diplomatic efforts; and
       (2) recognizes that the spirit of the Olympics, which is to 
     bring together nations and people from all over the world in 
     peace, is incompatible with any actions, directly or 
     indirectly, supporting acts of genocide.

  Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee-reported substitute be agreed to, the resolution, as amended, 
be agreed to, that the amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the 
preamble, as amended, be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table en bloc, that any statements relating thereto be 
printed in the Record, without further intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee-reported substitute was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 203), as amended, was agreed to.
  The amendment to the preamble was agreed to.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 203

       Whereas since the conflict in Darfur, Sudan began in 2003, 
     hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more 
     than 2,500,000 displaced as a result of the ongoing and 
     escalating violence;
       Whereas on July 23, 2004, Congress declared, ``the 
     atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide'' and on 
     September 23, 2004, then Secretary of State Colin Powell 
     stated before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate that, ``genocide has occurred and may still be 
     occurring in Darfur,'' and ``the Government of Sudan and the 
     Janjaweed bear responsibility'';
       Whereas on October 13, 2006, the President signed the 
     Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (Public Law 109-344), 
     which identifies the Government of Sudan as complicit with 
     the forces committing genocide in the Darfur region and urges 
     the President to, ``take all necessary and appropriate steps 
     to deny the Government of Sudan access to oil revenues'';
       Whereas President George W. Bush declared in a speech 
     delivered on April 18, 2007, at the United States Holocaust 
     Memorial Museum that no one ``can doubt that genocide is the 
     only word for what is happening in Darfur--and that we have a 
     moral obligation to stop it'';
       Whereas the presence of approximately 7,000 African Union 
     peacekeepers has not deterred the violence and the increasing 
     attacks by the Government-sponsored Janjaweed militia and 
     rebel groups;
       Whereas the Government of Sudan has previously refused to 
     allow implementation of the full-scale peacekeeping mission 
     authorized under United Nations Security Council Resolution 
     1706;
       Whereas former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan 
     subsequently negotiated a compromise agreement with the 
     Government of Sudan for a hybrid United Nations-African Union 
     peacekeeping mission to be implemented in 3 phases;
       Whereas the African Union and the United Nations have both 
     affirmed that the Government of Sudan has now stated that it 
     will accept implementation of a hybrid United Nations-African 
     Union peacekeeping mission;
       Whereas the Sudanese government has reneged on and 
     obstructed earlier agreements;
       Whereas it is critical that the nations of the world, and 
     particularly the members of the United Nations Security 
     Council, take steps to implement the full deployment of this 
     hybrid peacekeeping mission as soon as possible;
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has long-standing economic and military ties with Sudan and 
     continues to strengthen these ties in spite of the on-going 
     genocide in Darfur, as evidenced by the following actions:
       (1) China reportedly purchases as much as 70 percent of 
     Sudan's oil;
       (2) China currently has at least $3,000,000,000 invested in 
     the Sudanese energy sector, for a total of $10,000,000,000 
     since the 1990s;
       (3) Sudan's Joint Chief of Staff, Haj Ahmed El Gaili, 
     recently visited Beijing for discussions with Chinese Defense 
     Minister Cao Gang Chuan and other military officials as part 
     of an eight-day tour of China; Cao pledged closer military 
     relations with Sudan, saying that China was ``willing to 
     further develop cooperation between the two militaries in 
     every sphere'';
       (4) China has reportedly cancelled approximately 
     $100,000,000 in debt owed by the Sudanese Government; and
       (5) China is building infrastructure in Sudan and provided 
     funds for a presidential palace in Sudan at a reported cost 
     of approximately $20,000,000;
       Whereas given its economic interests throughout the region, 
     China has a unique ability to positively influence the 
     Government of Sudan to abandon its genocidal policies and to 
     accept United Nations peacekeepers to join a hybrid United 
     Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission;
       Whereas the President's Special Envoy to Sudan, Andrew S. 
     Natsios, further said in testimony on April 11, 2007, that 
     ``China's substantial economic investment in Sudan gives it 
     considerable potential leverage, and we have made clear to 
     Beijing that the international community will expect China to 
     be part of the solution'';
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has previously influenced the Government of Sudan to take 
     steps toward reducing violence and conflict by--
       (1) abstaining from, and choosing not to obstruct, several 
     important votes in the United Nations Security Council on 
     resolutions related to Sudan, including Resolution 1556, 
     which demanded Sudan disarm militias in Darfur, and 
     Resolution 1706, which called for the deployment of 
     additional United Nations peacekeepers, including up to 
     17,300

[[Page 21305]]

     military personnel and up to 3,300 civilian police;
       (2) helping to facilitate the Addis Ababa framework reached 
     on November 16, 2006, which provides for a joint United 
     Nations-African Union peacekeeping force;
       (3) sending high-level delegations, including Chinese 
     President Hu Jintao, to Sudan, and encouraging President 
     Bashir to show flexibility and allow the joint United 
     Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to be deployed;
       (4) making frequent public statements that the Government 
     of Sudan must carry out agreements made within the Addis 
     Ababa framework of November 2006 to admit United Nations 
     peacekeepers to join the United Nations-African Union 
     peacekeeping force in Darfur;
       (5) pledging to provide military engineers to support 
     African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur;
       (6) announcing on May 10, 2007, the appointment of a senior 
     diplomat as China's special representative on African affairs 
     who is to focus specific attention on the Darfur issue; and
       (7) reportedly exercising its influence to help convince 
     the Khartoum government to accept the hybrid peacekeeping 
     mission;
       Whereas due to its vast population, its rapidly growing 
     global economy, its large research and development 
     investments and military spending, its seat as a permanent 
     member of the United Nations Security Council and on the 
     Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, China is an emerging power 
     that is increasingly perceived as a leader with significant 
     international reach and responsibility;
       Whereas in November 2006, China hosted its third Forum on 
     China-Africa Cooperation with more than 40 heads of state in 
     attendance and which focused heavily on trade relations and 
     investment on the African continent as it is expected to 
     double by 2010;
       Whereas China is preparing to host the Olympic Summer Games 
     of 2008, the most honorable, venerated, and prestigious 
     international sporting event;
       Whereas China should be held accountable to act 
     consistently with the Olympic standard of preserving human 
     dignity in Darfur, Sudan and around the world; and
       Whereas China has previously been reluctant to use its full 
     influence to improve the human rights situation in Darfur, 
     but recent events have demonstrated the impact that China can 
     have as a positive influence on this situation: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resloved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the close relationship between China and 
     Sudan and strongly urges the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China to use its full influence to--
       (A) urge the President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, to abide 
     by his agreement to allow a robust peacekeeping force under 
     United Nations command and control as described in United 
     Nations Security Council Resolution 1706;
       (B) call for Sudanese compliance with United Nations 
     Security Council Resolutions 1556 and 1564, and the Darfur 
     Peace Agreement, all of which demand that the Government of 
     Sudan disarm militias operating in Darfur;
       (C) call on all parties to the conflict to adhere to the 
     2004 N'Djamena ceasefire agreement and the recently-agreed 
     United Nations communique which commits the Sudanese 
     government to improve conditions for humanitarian 
     organizations and ensure they have unfettered access to the 
     populations they serve;
       (D) emphasize that there can be no military solution to the 
     conflict in Darfur and that the formation and implementation 
     of a legitimate peace agreement between all parties will 
     contribute toward the welfare and stability of the entire 
     nation and broader region;
       (E) urge all rebel groups to unify and assist all parties 
     to come to the negotiating table in good faith;
       (F) urge the Government of southern Sudan to play a more 
     active role in pressing for legitimate peace talks and take 
     immediate steps to support and assist in the revitalization 
     of such talks along 1 single coordinated track;
       (G) continue to engage collaboratively in high-level 
     diplomacy and multilateral efforts toward a renewed peace 
     process; and
       (H) join the international community in imposing economic 
     and other consequences on the Government of Sudan if that 
     government continues to carry out or support attacks on 
     innocent civilians and frustrate diplomatic efforts; and
       (2) recognizes that the spirit of the Olympics, which is to 
     bring together nations and people from all over the world in 
     peace, is incompatible with any actions, directly or 
     indirectly, supporting acts of genocide.

                          ____________________