[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 43 (Monday, October 28, 2002)]
[Page 1820]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Sudan Peace Act

October 21, 2002

    I commend the Congress for passing the Sudan Peace Act. This Act, 
passed with bipartisan support, demonstrates that the Congress shares my 
commitment to help end suffering and promote a just peace in Sudan. For 
too long, the people of Sudan have endured slavery, violence, disease, 
and forced starvation. Last year, I appointed former Senator John 
Danforth as my envoy to help bring peace and stability to Sudan. Senator 
Danforth and others, working with regional governments, especially the 
Government of Kenya, have established an unprecedented opportunity to 
end the war in Sudan and to lay the foundations for a just and lasting 
peace.
    The Sudan Peace Act presses the parties in Sudan to seize this 
historic opportunity and to end the war and suffering. The Government of 
Sudan must choose between the path to peace and the path to continued 
war and destruction. If it makes the right choice, that course will mean 
improvement in the lives of all Sudanese, better bilateral relations 
with the United States, and the beginning of its reacceptance into the 
community of peace-loving nations.