[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5104-5107]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        A FAILED POLICY ON SUDAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 11, 2013

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, as of Friday, March 15, the position of Sudan 
special envoy at the State Department has been vacant.
  This vacancy is symptomatic of a president that has all but forsaken 
the people of Sudan.
  Last December a group of prominent Sudan activists and advocates 
wrote a letter to the administration, which I submit for the Record, 
expressing their ``grave concerns that the current U.S. policy is 
ineffective at stopping mass atrocities in Sudan.'' They urged 
President Obama, in his second term, to embrace ``an urgent shift in 
the U.S. policy to finally end the humanitarian crises and bring about 
a just and lasting peace in Sudan.''
  The letter cited the president's own words from 2007 when he rightly 
called the genocide in Darfur a ``stain on our souls'' and said that 
``as a president of the United States I don't intend to abandon people 
or turn a blind eye to slaughter.''
  And yet, I can't help but wonder if the people of Darfur, who have 
been displaced from their homes and brutalized by violence for ten 
years now, do in fact feel abandoned by this president and this 
administration.
  On March 7, CNN featured a piece by the chairman of the Darfur Union 
in the United Kingdom, himself a Darfuri. Tellingly, he wrote, ``. . . 
Khartoum's attempt to establish a racially pure Islamic state involves 
waging war against its own unarmed civilians, systematically and with 
impunity. In Darfur this has lasted a decade. The U.N. estimates that 
300,000 Darfuris have died since 2003, but it hasn't bothered to 
estimate casualty numbers since 2008. With fighting continuing to this 
day, the number is likely to be far higher. The world assumes `Darfur 
is over.' It isn't.''
  Not only is Darfur's nightmare ongoing, but Khartoum's brutality has 
only spread, consistent with its decades' long effort to systematically 
and ruthlessly consolidate power resulting in the death and 
displacement of untold thousands. More recently the Nuban people have 
been driven from their homes, targeted for killing and terrorized 
because of the color of their skin. Khartoum has indiscriminately 
bombed civilian populations--disrupting an entire way of life for this 
largely farming population. Starvation, death and despair have 
followed. I have visited the refugee camps and talked with the people 
personally. I have heard their pleas for help and I have conveyed their 
message to this administration--a message which fell on largely deaf 
ears.
  On March 19, USA Today featured a joint op-ed by actor and co-founder 
of the anti-

[[Page 5105]]

genocide organization Not On Our Watch, Don Cheadle, and John 
Prendergast the co-founder of the Enough Project, in the op-ed wrote, 
``By excluding all but a narrow clique of Sudanese from access to the 
power and wealth of the country, marginalized groups from the west 
(Darfur), south (Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains) and east have all 
taken up arms against that regime. . . . Any peace effort should deal 
comprehensively with all the rebel movements, the unarmed opposition, 
and civil society, in search of a solution for the whole of Sudan. 
Until the abusive governing system in Sudan is radically reformed, 
there will be blood.''
  Indeed, much blood has been shed, and yet inexplicably this 
administration has embraced a policy of engagement marked by 
conciliatory outreach to Khartoum, including the prospect of debt 
relief for a genocidal government, and a perverse sense of moral 
equivalence in dealing with South Sudan and Sudan.
  While there has been criticism of two successive special envoys, 
ultimately they were merely the implementers of a policy that is 
inherently flawed and ultimately ineffective. In fact, I am grateful 
for the dedication and efforts of both Ambassadors Scott Gration and 
Princeton Lyman both of whom have poured much time and energy into a 
daunting task. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
  In a February 12 letter to Secretary of State Kerry I wrote, ``Our 
approach to Sudan and South Sudan needs reinvigorating. It demands a 
renewed sense of moral clarity about who we are dealing with in 
Khartoum--namely genocidaires. It necessitates someone who can speak 
candidly with our friends in South Sudan about their own internal 
challenges, including corruption, and shortcomings as a new nation. 
While an envoy alone does not a policy make, a high-profile special 
envoy, from outside the department, with the knowledge and mandate to 
aggressively pursue peace, security and justice for the people of Sudan 
and South Sudan, is an important step in the right direction.''
  Specifically, I recommended someone like former Senator Russ 
Feingold.
  Now there are whispers that the administration is considering former 
U.S. ambassador to Sudan, Tim Carney. Many in the Sudan advocacy 
community are deeply dismayed at this prospect and took the unusual 
step of asking Secretary Kerry not to move forward with this 
nomination.
  In a March 19 letter, Act for Sudan wrote, ``It has come to our 
attention that former U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, Timothy Carney, is 
being considered for the position of Special Envoy. . . . While 
Ambassador Carney has experience in Sudan, we are concerned that his 
publicly stated advice and guidance with regard to U.S. policy on Sudan 
will prolong the suffering of the Sudanese people and will undermine 
U.S. objectives to support a just peace and stable democracies in Sudan 
and South Sudan, which ultimately are in the best interest of the U.S. 
and the international community.''
  The letter references a February 2009 Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee hearing that Kerry chaired where Carney proposed offering a 
series of carrots to Khartoum, including deferring the International 
Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir, 
sending an ambassador to Khartoum and removing Sudan from the State 
Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism.
  If the past is any indication, this would be precisely the wrong 
direction for U.S. policy. Khartoum has met this administration's 
overtures with continued atrocities and intransigence. Khartoum has 
rightly concluded that they incur no more blame than the leadership in 
Juba for what has occurred since the independence vote of January 2011.
  Meanwhile, this administration sought to block efforts in Congress, 
which I initiated, to isolate Bashir. Last year I offered an amendment 
to the State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill which would 
have cut non-humanitarian foreign assistance to any nation that allowed 
him into their country without arresting him. The amendment was adopted 
with bipartisan support by voice vote despite the department's 
opposition.
  This approach of using our increasingly scarce aid dollars to 
effectuate change and further our foreign policy objectives is a tried 
and true method. When Malawi allowed Bashir to enter the country to 
attend a regional trade summit I pressed the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation (MCC) to end Malawi's compact. The MCC was initially 
opposed to this course of action but ultimately, in the face of a 
deteriorating human rights situation internally, reversed course and 
suspended Malawi's compact, citing Bashir's visit as one of the 
reasons.
  Fortunately Malawi's new president, Joyce Banda, hoping to 
reinvigorate her country's relationship with donor countries, last year 
took a firm stand in refusing to allow Bashir to visit her country for 
the African Union (AU) summit. President Banda went so far as to 
decline to host the summit lest her country and her government be 
placed in the position of being forced to host a war criminal. Given 
her principled stand I made clear to the MCC Board that I supported 
Malawi's compact being reinstated which it ultimately was.
  However, other countries, including large recipients of U.S. foreign 
assistance, have not followed suit and the administration has failed to 
embrace this approach to spur such action.
  The amendment I proposed would isolate Bashir and make him an 
international pariah as is befitting a man with blood on his hands. It 
is noteworthy that the amendment garnered the support of 70 prominent 
Holocaust and genocide scholars. Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of the 
Wyman Institute, which initiated a letter of support to the 
administration from these scholars, said: ``Halting aid to those who 
host Bashir would be the first concrete step the U.S. has taken to 
isolate the Butcher of Darfur and pave the way for his arrest. If the 
Obama administration is serious about punishing perpetrators of 
genocide, it should support the Wolf Amendment.''
  Sadly that support never materialized.
  Candidate Obama purported to be deeply concerned by the crisis in 
Sudan and committed to bold actions.
  Have we seen a fraction of that concern or anything close to bold 
action since he became president?
  Candidate Obama was sharp in his criticism of President Bush's 
handling of Sudan.
  Have we seen President Obama take even fleeting interest, beyond the 
occasional talking point, in the deteriorating situation in Sudan 
marked in part by a growing humanitarian crisis in the Nuba Mountains?
  In a piece in the August 4, 2011 Christian Science Monitor, noted 
Sudan researcher and activist Eric Reeves, wrote, ``If the world 
refuses to see what is occurring in South Kordofan, and refuses to 
respond to evidence that the destruction of the Nuba people, as such, 
is a primary goal of present military and security actions by Sudan, 
then this moment will represent definitive failure of the 
`responsibility to protect.'''
  Meanwhile in an April 23, 2012 speech at the U.S. Holocaust Museum 
President Obama lauded his commitment in the realm of genocide and 
mass-atrocities prevention, saying, without a hint of irony, ``We're 
making sure that the United States government has the structures, the 
mechanisms to better prevent and respond to mass atrocities. So I 
created the first-ever White House position dedicated to this task. 
It's why I created a new Atrocities Prevention Board, to bring together 
senior officials from across our government to focus on this critical 
mission. This is not an afterthought.''
  He continued, ``. . . we need to be doing everything we can to 
prevent and respond to these kinds of atrocities--because national 
sovereignty is never a license to slaughter your people.''
  I couldn't agree more. And yet, I think most in the Sudan watchers 
would hardly be able to claim that this administration has done 
everything it can to prevent and respond to Khartoum's assault on its 
own people.
  With tensions between Sudan and South Sudan on the rise and nearing a 
tipping point, thousands starving in the Nuba Mountains, refugees 
fleeing aerial bombardment and pouring over the border into South 
Sudan, violence persisting in Darfur and an internationally indicted 
war criminal at the helm in Khartoum who travels the globe with virtual 
impunity, it is time for a fresh policy and a renewed commitment to 
peace and justice in Sudan.
  To date, this president has offered nothing more than an abdication 
of leadership and a failure of vision, which has culminated in human 
suffering and misery.

                                                December 11, 2012.
     Hon. Barack Obama,
     President of the United States,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President, We, the undersigned human rights 
     organizations, have grave concerns that the current U.S. 
     policy is ineffective at stopping mass atrocities in Sudan. 
     We write in the hope that the transition to your second term 
     in office will bring an urgent shift in the U.S. policy to 
     finally end the humanitarian crises and bring about a just 
     and lasting peace in Sudan.
       As you know, genocide continues in Sudan. The National 
     Congress Party (NCP) regime in Sudan, led by a president 
     indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide, 
     crimes against humanity and war crimes, is causing the death, 
     starvation, displacement, and destruction of livelihood of 
     Sudanese civilians in Darfur, Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan 
     and the Blue Nile state.
       When speaking about Sudan in 2007 you called the genocide 
     in Darfur a ``stain on our souls'' and said that ``as a 
     president of the

[[Page 5106]]

     United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a 
     blind eye to slaughter.'' Vice President Biden, the same 
     year, called for military force in Darfur. Yet five years 
     later, the same genocidal regime, whose grave human rights 
     abuses have been left unchecked by the international 
     community, is emboldened to continue to perpetrate 
     atrocities, not only in Darfur but now in Sudan's border 
     regions.
       In your first term, your administration pursued a policy of 
     engagement, marked by conciliatory diplomacy. Under the 
     oversight of two Special Envoys, this policy has failed to 
     stop the government of Sudan from committing ongoing mass 
     atrocities.
       We now ask that you revamp your Sudan policy to address the 
     root cause of Sudan's multiple conflicts, the repressive and 
     genocidal Sudan regime.
       Specifically, we ask that your administration:
       (1) Deliver humanitarian aid to the starving Sudanese 
     civilians in the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile 
     State, with or without agreement from the government of Sudan 
     or the U.N. Security Council, with multilateral partners or 
     unilaterally, and with the urgency required to save starving 
     people.
       (2) Instruct the National Security Council to accelerate 
     decisions and related actions regarding protection of Nuba, 
     Blue Nile, and Darfuri populations from air attacks and to 
     seriously consider the destruction of Sudan's offensive 
     aerial assets and/or the imposition of a no-fly zone pursuant 
     to the responsibility to protect doctrine.
       (3) Support an end to the NCP regime's control of the 
     government of Sudan and support the movement within Sudan for 
     democratic transformation.
       (4) Oppose debt relief and cash transfers to the government 
     of Sudan, thereby increasing pressure on that government and 
     strengthening the effects of U.S. sanctions.
       (5) Demonstrate strong leadership to end the government-
     sponsored violence in Sudan, protect civilians in Sudan and 
     South Sudan, ensure unhindered humanitarian access for those 
     in need, and bring the perpetrators of genocide and mass 
     atrocities to justice at the International Criminal Court.
       The government of Sudan's blatant and longstanding abuse of 
     its citizens and disregard for the international community 
     clearly defines the nature of that government. Sudan's 
     repeated failure to abide by the outcome of negotiations is a 
     well-established pattern. After 23 years of mass atrocities 
     committed by President Bashir and his government, it is long 
     past time for the United States and the international 
     community to confront Bashir and the NCP and bring an end to 
     their mass atrocities.
           Sincerely,
         Act for Sudan, Martina Knee, Co-Founder USA; African 
           Soul, American Heart, Debra Dawson, President, Fargo, 
           ND, USA; Americans Against the Darfur Genocide, Nikki 
           Serapio, Director, Washington, DC, USA; Amnesty Group 
           133, Robert Saulnier, Somerville, MA, USA; Dr. Kjell 
           Anderson, Senior Researcher/Project Leader, The Hague 
           Institute for Global Justice, Member, Advisory Board 
           International Association of Genocide Scholars, The 
           Hague, The Netherlands; Armenian Assembly of America, 
           Bryan Ardouny, Executive Director, Washington, DC, USA; 
           Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development, 
           Ibrahim T. Ahmed, Co-founder and Executive Director, 
           Fairfax, VA, USA; Blue Nile Association of North 
           America, Abdalla Babikir, Washington, DC, USA; Brooklyn 
           Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura 
           Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn, NY, USA; ``Change the 
           world. It just takes cents'' TM, Sara Caine Kornfeld, 
           Founder/Educator, Denver, CO, USA; Christian Solidarity 
           International--USA, Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of 
           Outreach, Denver, CO, USA.
         Church Alliance for a New Sudan, The Institute on 
           Religion and Democracy, Faith J. H. McDonnell, 
           Director, Washington, DC, USA; Colorado Coalition for 
           Genocide Awareness and Action, Roz Duman, Founder/
           Director Denver, CO, USA; Connecticut Coalition to Save 
           Darfur, Timothy Oslovich, Chairperson, Vernon, CT, USA; 
           Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Mohamed 
           Yahya, Executive Director, Falls Church, VA, USA; 
           Darfur Action Group of SC, Richard Sribnick, Chairman, 
           Columbia, SC, USA; Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams, 
           Co-Founder, Phoenix, AZ, USA; Darfur Association, Adam 
           Omer, President, Lincoln, NE, USA; Darfur Association 
           of the USA, Dr. Mahmoud Braima, President, Baton Rouge, 
           LA, USA; Darfur Association, Ahmed Adam Ali, Denver, 
           CO, USA; Darfur Community Organization, Bakheit A. 
           Shata, Founder/Executive Director, Omaha, NE, USA; 
           Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA, Abdelgabar 
           Adam, Founder and President, Philadelphia, PA, USA; 
           Darfur Interfaith Network, Richard Young, Co-Chair, 
           Washington, DC, USA.
         Darfur Leaders Network (DLN), Motasim Adam, Director, 
           Washington, DC, USA; Darfur People's Association of New 
           York, Ahmat Nour, President, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Darfur 
           Solidarity USA, Mohammed Ahmed Eisa, Executive 
           Director, Cambridge, MA, USA; Darfur Women Action 
           Group, Niemat Ahmadi, President, Washington, DC, USA; 
           Darfurian Association of Greater Houston, Sallah Yahya, 
           Executive Director, Houston, TX, USA; Dear Sudan, Love 
           Marin, Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator, Tiburon, 
           CA, USA; Tanya L. Domi, Adjunct Professor of 
           International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, 
           New York, NY, USA; Dr. Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe, Independent 
           Scholar, Author of Biafra Revisited (Dakar and Reading: 
           African Renaissance, 2006) and Readings from Reading: 
           Essays on African Politics, Genocide, Literature (Dakar 
           and Reading: African Renaissance, 2011), London, 
           England; Essex County Coalition for Darfur, Gloria 
           Crist, Co-Founder, Montclair, NJ, USA; Mia Farrow, 
           Actor, CT, USA; Fur Cultural Revival, El-Fadel Arbab, 
           Executive Director and Lecturer, Portland, ME, USA; 
           Genocide No More, Mary Steinberg, Coordinator, Redding, 
           CA, USA.
         Genocide Watch, George Mason University, Dr. Gregory 
           Stanton, President, Arlington, VA, USA; GeNoticed, 
           Elizabeth Blackney, Co-Founder, Author and Anti-
           genocide advocate, Virginia Beach, VA, USA; Georgia 
           Coalition to Prevent Genocide, Melanie Nelkin, Chair, 
           Atlanta, GA, USA; Harry Potter Alliance, Andrew Slack, 
           Executive Director, Somerville, MA, USA; Help Nuba, 
           Rabbi David Kaufman, Founder, Des Moines, IA, USA; Dr. 
           Rick Halperin, Director, Embrey Human Rights Program, 
           Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA; Herbert 
           Hirsch, Professor of Political Science and Co-Editor, 
           Genocide Studies and Prevention, Virginia Commonwealth 
           University, Richmond, VA, USA; Human Rights & Advocacy 
           Network for Democracy (HAND), Abdalmageed Haroun, 
           Chairperson, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Humanity is Us, 
           Kimberly Hollingsworth, Founder, New York, NY, USA; 
           Idaho Darfur Coalition, A. J. Fay, Co-Founder, Boise, 
           ID, USA; International Justice Project, Raymond Brown, 
           President, Newark, NJ, USA; Investors Against Genocide, 
           Eric Cohen, Chairperson, Boston, MA, USA.
         Iowa Center for Genocide Prevention, Kristen Anderson, 
           Founder & 2011 Carl Wilkens Fellow, Des Moines, IA, 
           USA; Jewish World Watch, Vaughan Meyer, Advocacy 
           Committee Chair, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Jews Against 
           Genocide, Eileen Weiss, Co-founder, New York, NY, USA; 
           Joining Our Voices, Jack Slater Armstrong, Founder/
           Director, Baton Rouge, LA, USA; George Kent, Professor 
           of Political Science, Emeritus, University of Hawaii, 
           Honolulu, HI, USA; Keokuk for Global Awareness and Aid, 
           Blake McGhghy, Co-Founder, Keokuk, IA, USA; Mr. David 
           Kilgour, J.D., Former Canadian Secretary of State for 
           Africa, Ottawa, Canada; Massachusetts Coalition to Save 
           Darfur, William Rosenfeld, Director, Boston, MA, USA; 
           Winter Miller, Writer, Greenfield, MA, USA; Paul 
           Mojzes, Ph.D., D.D, Professor of Religious Studies and 
           Genocide, Scholar, Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA, USA; 
           Never Again Coalition, Diane Koosed, Co-Chair, 
           Portland, OR, USA; New York Coalition for Darfur and 
           All Sudan, Neiki Ullah, Communications Director, New 
           York, NY, USA; New York Darfur Vigil Group, Helga Moor, 
           Coordinator, New York, NY, USA.
         Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition, Tito Elgassai, Founder, 
           Dallas, TX, USA; Nuba Mountains Advocacy Group, USA, 
           Abdelgadir Kurba, Secretary General, New York, NY, USA; 
           Nuba Mountains International Association USA, Magid 
           Kabashi, Secretary for Information, Ashburn, VA, USA; 
           Nuba Vision Coalition, Inc, Yassir A. Kori, Founder & 
           Executive Director, Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Nubia 
           Project, Nuraddin Abdelmannan, President, Silver 
           Spring, MD, USA; NYC Genocide Prevention Coalition, 
           Staci M. Alziebler-Perkins, Convener, NY, NY, USA; 
           Operation Broken Silence, Mark C. Hackett, CEO, 
           Executive Director, Memphis, TN, USA; Eric Reeves, 
           Sudan Researcher, Northampton, MA, USA; Hawa Abdallah 
           Mohammed Salih, U.S. Department of State 2012 
           International Women of Courage Award Winner, 
           Flemington, NJ, USA; San Francisco Bay Area Darfur 
           Coalition, Mohamed Suleiman, President, San Francisco, 
           CA, USA; Save Darfur Washington State, Ned Laskowski, 
           President, Seattle, WA, USA; Shine a Ray of Hope, 
           Carmen Paolercio, Coordinator, New Rochelle, NY, USA; 
           Robert Skloot, Professor Emeritus, University of 
           Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
         Society for Threatened People, Sharon Silber, US 
           Representative, New York,

[[Page 5107]]

           NY, USA; Stop Genocide Now, Gabriel Stauring, Director 
           and Founder, Redondo Beach, CA, USA; Sudan Advocacy 
           Action Forum, Dr. Eleanor Wright, Moderator, 
           Birmingham, AL, USA; Sudan Human Rights Network, Ismail 
           Kardoly, Vice President, Washington, DC, USA; Sudan 
           Liberation Movement, Shafi Aldin Mosa, Office 
           Coordinator, Atlanta, GA, USA; Sudan Rowan Inc., Ngor 
           Kur Mayol, Founder, Atlanta, GA, USA; Sudan Unlimited, 
           Esther Sprague, Director, San Francisco, CA, USA; 
           Sudanese Marginalized Forum-USA, Gogadi Amoga, Chair, 
           Batavia, OH, USA; The Advocates for Human Rights, Robin 
           Phillips, Executive Director, Minneapolis, MN, USA; The 
           Institute on Religion and Democracy, Mark Tooley, 
           President, Washington, DC, USA.
         Dr. Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of 
           Arkansas, Fayetteville, Author of Genocide by 
           Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan (Transaction, 2012), 
           Fayetteville, AR, USA; Triangles of Truth, Simon 
           Goldberg, Executive Director, Boca Raton, FL, USA; 
           Unite For Darfur, Bahar Arabie, CEO, Author of Darfur, 
           Road to Genocide, Rockville, MD, USA; United Sudanese 
           and South Sudanese Community Association (USASSCA), 
           Henry Lejukole, Chairman, Des Moines, IA, USA; Use Your 
           Voice to Stop Genocide RI, Sandra Hammel, Director, 
           Portsmouth, RI, USA; Village Help for South Sudan, 
           Franco Majok, Executive Director, Lynn, MA, USA; Voices 
           for Sudan, Jimmy Mulla, Founder and President, 
           Washington, DC, USA; Roger P. Winter, Former U.S. 
           Special Representative on Sudan, Woodbine, MD, USA.

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