[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2781 Referred in House (RFH)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2781
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 24, 2004
Referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To express the sense of Congress regarding the conflict in Darfur,
Sudan, to provide assistance for the crisis in Darfur and for
comprehensive peace in Sudan, and for other purposes.
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of
2004''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on
International Relations of the House of Representatives.
(2) JEM.--The term ``JEM'' means the Justice and Equality
Movement.
(3) SLA.--The term ``SLA'' means the Sudanese Liberation
Army.
(4) SPLM.--The term ``SPLM'' means the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) A comprehensive peace agreement for Sudan, as
envisioned in the Sudan Peace Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note), and in
the Machakos Protocol of 2002, is in jeopardy.
(2) Since 1989, the Government of Sudan has repeatedly
engaged in and sponsored orchestrated campaigns of attacking
and dislocating targeted civilian populations, disrupting their
ability to sustain themselves, and subsequently restricting
assistance to those displaced in a coordinated policy of ethnic
cleansing that is most recently evident in the Darfur region of
Sudan.
(3) In response to 2 decades of civil conflict in Sudan,
the United States has helped to establish an internationally
supported peace process to promote a negotiated settlement to
the war that has resulted in a framework peace agreement, the
Nairobi Declaration on the Final Phase of Peace in the Sudan
signed June 5, 2004.
(4) At the same time that the Government of Sudan was
negotiating for a final countrywide peace, enumerated in the
Nairobi Declaration on the Final Phase of Peace in the Sudan,
it refused to engage in any meaningful discussion with regard
to its ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing in the region of
Darfur.
(5) It was not until the international community expressed
its outrage, through high level visits by Secretary of State
Colin Powell and others, and through United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1556 of July 30, 2004, that the Government
of Sudan agreed to attend talks to bring peace to the Darfur
region.
(6) The Government of the United States, in both the
executive branch and Congress, have concluded that genocide has
been committed and may still be occurring in Darfur, and that
the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility
for the genocide.
(7) The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
has identified massive human rights violations in Darfur
perpetrated by the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed, which
the Commissioner stated may constitute war crimes or crimes
against humanity.
(8) Evidence collected by international observers in the
Darfur region between February 2003 and September 2004 indicate
a coordinated effort to target African Sudanese civilians in a
scorched earth policy, from both air and ground, that has
destroyed African Sudanese villages, killing and driving away
its people, while Arab Sudanese villages have been left
unscathed.
(9) As a result of this coordinated campaign, which
Congress and the executive branch have declared to be genocide,
reports indicate tens of thousands of African Sudanese
civilians killed, the systematic rape of thousands of women and
girls, the destruction of hundreds of Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa
villages and other ethnically African populations, including
the poisoning of their wells and the plunder of crops and
cattle upon which they sustain themselves.
(10) According to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees, 1,400,000 people have been displaced in the Darfur
region of Sudan, of whom over 200,000 have been forced to flee
to Chad as refugees.
(11) The Government of Sudan conducted aerial attack
missions and deadly raids across the international border
between Sudan and Chad in an illegal effort to pursue Sudanese
civilians seeking refuge in Chad.
(12) In addition to the thousands of violent deaths
directly caused by ongoing Sudanese military and government
sponsored Janjaweed attacks in the Darfur region, the
Government of Sudan has restricted humanitarian and human
rights workers' access to the Darfur area, primarily through
bureaucratic and administrative obstruction, in an attempt to
inflict the most devastating harm on those displaced from their
villages and homes without any means of sustenance or shelter.
(13) The Government of Sudan's continued support for the
Janjaweed and their obstruction of the delivery of food,
shelter, and medical care to the Darfur region is estimated by
the World Health Organization to be resulting in up to 10,000
deaths per month and, should current conditions persist, is
projected to escalate to thousands of deaths each day by
December 2004.
(14) The Government of Chad served an important role in
facilitating the Darfur humanitarian cease-fire (the N'Djamena
Agreement dated April 8, 2004) for the Darfur region between
the Government of Sudan and the 2 opposition rebel groups in
Darfur (the JEM and the SLA) although both sides have violated
it repeatedly.
(15) The people of Chad have responded courageously to the
plight of over 200,000 Darfur refugees by providing assistance
to them even though such assistance has adversely affected
their own means of livelihood.
(16) The cooperation and inclusion of all Sudanese is
essential to the establishment of peace and security throughout
all of Sudan.
(17) The African Union has demonstrated renewed vigor in
regional affairs through its willingness to respond to the
crisis in Darfur, by convening talks between the parties and
deploying several hundred monitors and security forces to the
region, as well as by recognizing the need for a far larger
force with a broader mandate.
(18) Despite the threat of international action expressed
through United Nations Security Council Resolution 1556 of July
30, 2004, the Government of Sudan continues to obstruct and
prevent efforts to reverse the catastrophic consequences that
loom over Darfur.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE CONFLICT IN DARFUR, SUDAN.
(a) Sudan Peace Act.--It is the sense of Congress that the Sudan
Peace Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note) remains relevant and should be extended
to include the Darfur region of Sudan.
(b) Actions To Address the Conflict.--It is the sense of Congress
that--
(1) a legitimate countrywide peace in Sudan will only be
possible if the Agreed Principles of Part A of the Machakos
Protocol of 2002, confirmed by the Nairobi Declaration on the
Final Phase of Peace in the Sudan signed June 5, 2004,
negotiated with the SPLM, apply to all of Sudan and to all of
the people of Sudan, including the Darfur region;
(2) the parties to the N'Djamena Agreement (the Government
of Sudan, the SLA, and the JEM) must meet their obligations
under that Agreement to allow safe and immediate access of all
humanitarian assistance throughout the Darfur region and must
expedite the conclusion of a political agreement to end the
genocide and conflict in Darfur;
(3) the United States should continue to provide
humanitarian assistance to the areas of Sudan to which the
United States has access and, at the same time, develop a plan
similar to that described in section 10 of the Sudan Peace Act
to provide assistance to the areas of Sudan to which United
States access has been obstructed or denied;
(4) the international community, including African, Arab,
and Muslim nations, should immediately provide resources
necessary to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of
individuals at risk as a result of the Darfur crisis;
(5) the United States Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes
should travel to Chad and the Darfur region immediately to
investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity to develop a
more accurate understanding of the situation on the ground and
to better inform the report required in section 11(b) of the
Sudan Peace Act;
(6) the United States and the international community
should--
(A) provide all necessary assistance to deploy and
sustain an African Union Force of at least 4,200
personnel to the Darfur region; and
(B) work to increase the authorized level and
expand the mandate of such forces commensurate with the
gravity and scope of the problem in a region the size
of France;
(7) the President, acting through the Secretary of State
and the Permanent Representative of the United States to the
United Nations, should ensure that Sudan fulfills its
obligations under United Nations Security Council Resolutions
1556 (July 30, 2004) and 1564 (September 18, 2004)
(8) sanctions should be imposed on the assets and
activities of those Sudanese Government officials and other
individuals that are involved in carrying out the atrocities in
the Darfur region;
(9) the Government of the United States should not
normalize relations with Sudan, including through the lifting
of any sanctions, until the Government of Sudan agrees to, and
takes demonstrable steps to implement, peace agreements for all
areas of Sudan, including Darfur; and
(10) Presidential Proclamation 6958 issued November 22,
1996, which suspends entry into the United States of members of
the Government of Sudan, officials of that Government, and
members of the Sudanese Armed Forces, should continue to remain
in effect and be strictly enforced.
SEC. 5. AMENDMENTS TO THE SUDAN PEACE ACT.
(a) Assistance for the Crisis in Darfur and for Comprehensive Peace
in Sudan.--
(1) In general.--The Sudan Peace Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note)
is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 12. ASSISTANCE FOR THE CRISIS IN DARFUR AND FOR COMPREHENSIVE
PEACE IN SUDAN.
``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) Humanitarian assistance.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the President for assistance to address the
humanitarian and human rights crisis in the Darfur region and
its impact on eastern Chad, pursuant to the authority in
section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2292), $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, in addition to any
other funds otherwise available for such purpose.
``(2) Additional assistance.--Subject to the requirements
of this section, there is authorized to be appropriated to the
President, for development and humanitarian assistance for
Sudan upon the conclusion of a permanent, just, and equitable
peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM,
$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, in addition to any other
funds otherwise available for such purpose.
``(3) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1) or (2) are
authorized to remain available until expended, notwithstanding
any other provision of law other than the provisions of this
section.
``(b) Requirement for Certification.--The assistance authorized
under subsection (a)(2) may be provided--
``(1) to the regions administered by the Government of
Sudan, in accordance with the peace agreement described in
subsection (a)(2), only if the President submits the
certification described in subsection (c); and
``(2) to the regions administered by the SPLM, in
accordance with the peace agreement described in subsection
(a)(2), only if the President submits the certification
described in subsection (d).
``(c) Certification with Regard to Actions of the Government of
Sudan.--The certification referred to in subsection (b)(1) is a
certification submitted by the President to the appropriate
congressional committees that--
``(1) the Government of Sudan is taking demonstrable steps
to--
``(A) ensure that the armed forces of Sudan and any
associated militias are not attacking civilians or
obstructing human rights monitors or the provision of
humanitarian assistance;
``(B) demobilize and disarm militias supported or
created by the Government of Sudan;
``(C) allow full and unfettered access for the
provision of humanitarian assistance to all regions of
Sudan, including Darfur; and
``(D) cooperate fully with the African Union, the
United Nations, and all other observer, monitoring, and
protection missions mandated to operate in Sudan; and
``(2) the Government of Sudan is complying with the
provisions of the peace agreement described in subsection
(a)(2).
``(d) Certification with regard to SPLM's Compliance with a Peace
Agreement.--The certification referred to in subsection (b)(2) is a
certification submitted by the President to the appropriate
congressional committees that the SPLM is complying with the provisions
of the peace agreement described in subsection (a)(2).
``(e) Suspension of Assistance.--If, on a date after the President
submits a certification described in subsection (c) or (d), the
President determines that either the Government of Sudan or the SPLM
has ceased taking the actions described in the applicable subsection,
the President shall immediately suspend the provision of any assistance
made available as a result of such certification until the date on
which the President certifies that such entity has resumed taking such
actions.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 3 of the Sudan Peace Act
(50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(4) SPLM.--The term `SPLM' means the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement.''.
(b) Reporting Requirement.--Section 8 of the Sudan Peace Act (50
U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended in the first sentence by striking
``Sudan.'' and inserting ``Sudan, including the conflict in the Darfur
region.''.
SEC. 6. OTHER RESTRICTIONS.
(a) Blocking of Assets.--On the date that is 120 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, if the President has not submitted the
certification described in subsection (c)(1) of section 12 of the Sudan
Peace Act, as added by section 5, the President shall, consistent with
the authorities granted in the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block the assets of appropriate senior
officials of the Government of Sudan.
(b) Continuation of Restrictions.--Restrictions against the
Government of Sudan that were imposed pursuant to title III and
sections 508, 512, and 527 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing,
and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2004 (Division D of Public Law
108-199; 118 Stat. 143) or any other similar provision of law may not
be lifted pursuant to such provisions of law unless the President also
makes the certification described in subsection (c) of section 12 of
the Sudan Peace Act, as added by section 5.
SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR REPORT.
(a) Requirement.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on the planned United States response
to a comprehensive peace agreement for Sudan.
(b) Content.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include--
(1) a description of the United States response to a
modified peace process between the Government of Sudan and the
SPLM that would account for the implementation of a peace in
all regions of Sudan, in particular Darfur; and
(2) a contingency plan for extraordinary humanitarian
assistance should the Government of Sudan continue to obstruct
or delay the international humanitarian response to the crisis
in Darfur.
(c) Form of Report.--The report required by subsection (a) may be
submitted in classified form.
SEC. 8. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
Section 12 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22
U.S.C. 288f-2) is amended by striking ``Organization of African Unity''
and inserting ``African Union''.
Passed the Senate September 23, 2004.
Attest:
EMILY J. REYNOLDS,
Secretary.