[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
[May 29, 2007]
[Pages 630-631]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on the Situation in Darfur, Sudan
May 29, 2007

    Good morning. For too long, the people of Darfur have suffered at 
the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder, and 
rape of innocent civilians. My administration has called these actions 
by their rightful name: genocide. The world has a responsibility to help 
put an end to it.
    Last month, I announced that the United States was prepared to take 
new steps if the Government of Sudan did not allow the full deployment 
of a U.N. peacekeeping force; if the Government did not begin living up 
to its many commitments, that the United States would act. I made clear 
that the time for promises was over, and that President Bashir had to do something to end the 
suffering.
    I held off implementing these steps because the United Nations 
believed that President Bashir 
could meet his obligations to stop the killing and would meet his 
obligations to stop the killing. Unfortunately, he hasn't met those 
obligations. President Bashir's actions over the past few weeks follow a 
long pattern of promising cooperation while finding new methods for 
obstruction.
    One day after I spoke, the military bombed a meeting of rebel 
commanders designed to discuss a possible peace deal with the 
Government. In the following weeks, he used his army and Government-sponsored militias to attack 
rebels and civilians in south Darfur. He's taken no steps to disarm 
these militias in the year since the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed. 
Senior officials continue to oppose the deployment of the U.N. 
peacekeeping force.
    The result is that the dire security situation on the ground in 
Darfur has not changed. And so today, at my instruction, the United 
States has taken the steps I announced in April.
    First, the Department of Treasury is tightening U.S. economic 
sanctions on Sudan. With this new effort, the United States will more 
aggressively enforce existing sanctions against Sudan's Government.
    As part of this effort, the Treasury Department will add 30 
companies owned or controlled by the Government of Sudan to its list of 
Specially Designated Nationals. We're also adding an additional company 
to the list, a company that has been transporting weapons to the 
Sudanese Government and militia forces in Darfur. All these companies 
are now barred from the U.S. financial system. It is a crime for 
American companies and individuals to knowingly do business with them.
    Second, we're targeting sanctions against individuals responsible 
for violence. These sanctions will isolate these persons by cutting them 
off from the U.S. financial system, barring them from doing business 
with any American citizen or company, and calling the world's attention 
to their crimes.
    Third, I'm directing the Secretary of State to consult with the United Kingdom and other 
allies on a new United Nations Security Council resolution. This 
resolution will apply new sanctions against the Government of Sudan, 
against individuals found to be violating human rights or obstructing

[[Page 631]]

the peace process. It will impose an expanded embargo on arms sales to 
the Government of Sudan. It will prohibit the Sudanese Government from 
conducting any offensive military flights over Darfur. It will 
strengthen our ability to monitor and report any violations.
    At the same time, we will continue to push for U.N. support, 
including funding for the African Union peacekeepers, who remain the 
only force in Darfur that is protecting the people. We will continue to 
work for the deployment of a larger, hybrid force of AU and U.N. 
peacekeeping troops. We will continue to support the diplomacy of U.N. 
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We will continue 
to insist on the full implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement. We 
will continue to promote a broadly supported and inclusive political 
settlement that is the only long-term solution to the crisis in Darfur.
    America's commitment is clear. Since this conflict began, we have 
provided more than $1.7 billion in humanitarian and peacekeeping 
assistance for Darfur. We are the world's largest single donor to the 
people of Darfur. We're working for the day when the families of this 
troubled region are allowed to return safely to their homes and rebuild 
their lives in peace.
    The people of Darfur are crying out for help, and they deserve it. I 
urge the United Nations Security Council, the African Union, and all 
members of the international community to reject any efforts to obstruct 
implementation of the agreements that would bring peace to Darfur and 
Sudan.
    I call on President Bashir 
to stop his obstruction and to allow the peacekeepers in and to end the 
campaign of violence that continues to target innocent men, women, and 
children. And I promise this to the people of Darfur: The United States 
will not avert our eyes from a crisis that challenges the conscience of 
the world.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 8:01 a.m. in the Diplomatic Reception Room 
at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to President Umar Hassan 
Ahmad al-Bashir of Sudan.