[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10393-10394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2200
          THE SITUATION IN SUDAN, IN SUPPORT OF H. CON. RES. 7

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Wynn) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the growing crisis in 
the Sudan. Today, earlier today, the House passed House Concurrent 
Resolution 7, an important piece of legislation that calls on the 
League of Arab States to acknowledge the genocide in Darfur, to support 
the U.N. peacekeepers and to work with the U.N. and the African Union 
to bring peace to the region. I am proud to have been a cosponsor of 
this important legislation, and I thank the House leadership for its 
attention to this crisis.
  An estimated 200,000 noncombatant civilians, including women and 
children, have been murdered by the janjaweed militia fighters 
supported by the Sudanese government; 450,000 people have been killed 
in the conflict. To date, 2.5 million villagers in the Darfur region 
have been displaced from their homes. Most Darfurians live in camps 
today.
  There is no question that the acts of the janjaweed militia and, by 
extension, the government of Sudan constitute a level of violence that 
can only be described as genocide. But now that violence has spread. 
With the splintering of rebel groups into as many as 12 factions, there 
is increasing rebel-on-rebel violence with the possibility of return to 
all-out war.
  The African U.N. has deployed nearly 7,000 troops to the region. Last 
year the United Nations Security Council authorized a peacekeeping 
force of 22,000 U.N. troops for Darfur. Those peacekeepers, 
unfortunately, are still not in place due to the resistance of the 
government of Sudan.
  Today, U.N. negotiations with Sudan continue in an attempt to add at 
least 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers to the existing 7,000 African U.N. 
peacekeepers, and to allow the U.N. to use helicopters to

[[Page 10394]]

safeguard peacekeepers and the refugees they protect. The Bush 
administration has suspended its pending sanctions against Sudan at the 
request of the U.N. to give these negotiations time to work.
  I hope that these negotiations will be successful, and that the 
peacekeepers can be effective in ensuring that there is no further loss 
of life and that international aid can get to those who most 
desperately need it. Humanitarian access to refugees is decreasing, due 
to the administrative foot dragging by the Sudanese government. 
Humanitarian groups are under increasing pressure due to restrictions 
placed on them by the Sudanese government, as well as the deteriorating 
security situation.
  We must ensure access for humanitarian workers and continue provide 
to funding and support that they need to perform their lifesaving 
mission. The conference version of the appropriation bill approved by 
the House just a few minutes ago included over $360 million in 
peacekeeping and disaster assistance for the victims of this crisis. 
That includes $44 million in international disaster and famine 
assistance funding for immediate lifesaving needs of victims of the 
Darfur crisis, including health care, access to water, sanitation and 
shelter, $150 million for additional food assistance in Sudan and 
eastern Chad.
  Most of the humanitarian groups now operating in Sudan are doing so 
supported by the U.S. Government, with money provided by U.S. 
taxpayers. We must work in cooperation with the United Nations and with 
our friends and allies around the world to stop these horrific crimes 
and to provide a essential aid to the victims of this conflict and to 
bring peace to the region.
  We must be prepared to keep the pressure on. The emergency 
supplemental that we just passed calls on the Secretary of the Treasury 
to prepare a report on companies that do business in Sudan and 
determine whether the U.S. Government is currently doing business with 
them. The point is, that if the time comes for sanctions, Congress will 
be ready. Congress is also calling on Sudan's neighbors to acknowledge 
the genocide in Darfur and to take steps to stop it.
  The bill we passed today calls on the Arab League to declare the 
systemic torture, rape and displacement of innocent civilians in Darfur 
as genocide. The Arab League must support and accept U.N. peacekeepers 
to ensure an end to hostilities and the safe passage of humanitarian 
aid. The Arab League needs to engage the U.S., African Union and 
Sudanese government to bring lasting peace and stability to Darfur.
  I am very proud to have supported this legislation, as well as the 
conference report, and look forward to working with my colleagues to 
help bring a peaceful future to Sudan and peace to the lives of the 
Darfurian refugees.

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