[Pages H3044-H3049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

CONDEMNING GOVERNMENT OF REPUBLIC OF SUDAN FOR ATTACKS AGAINST INNOCENT
CIVILIANS IN IMPOVERISHED DARFUR REGION

Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 403) condemning the
Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks against
innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan,
as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:

H. Con. Res. 403

Whereas, since early 2003, a conflict between forces of the
Government of the Republic of the Sudan, including militia
forces backed by the Government, and rebel forces in the
impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan has resulted in
attacks by ground and air forces of the Government of Sudan
against innocent civilians and undefended villages in the
region;
Whereas Sudanese Government forces and government supported
militia forces have also engaged in the use of rape as a
weapon of war, the abduction of children, the destruction of
food and water sources, and the deliberate and systematic
manipulation and denial of humanitarian assistance for the
people of the Darfur region;
Whereas, on December 18, 2003, United Nations
Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland
declared that the Darfur region was probably ``the world's
worst humanitarian catastrophe'', and in April 2004 reported
to the United Nations Security Council that in Darfur, ``a
sequence of deliberate actions has been observed that seem
aimed at achieving a specific objective: the forcible and
long-term displacement of the targeted communities which may
also be termed `ethnic cleansing' '';
Whereas, on February 17, 2004, Amnesty International
reported that it ``continues to receive details of horrifying
attacks against civilians in villages by government
warplanes, soldiers, and pro-government militia'';
Whereas, on February 18, 2004, United Nations Special Envoy
for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan Tom Eric Vraalsen declared,
following a trip to the Darfur region, that ``aid workers are
unable to reach the vast majority [of the displaced]'';
Whereas Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-
winning medical humanitarian relief organization and one of
the few aid groups on the ground in the Darfur region,
reported that the region is the scene of ``catastrophic
mortality rates'';
Whereas, on April 20, the United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights delayed the release of a report
citing gross human rights abuses, crimes against humanity,
and war crimes committed in Darfur in a bid to gain access to
Sudan for investigators;
Whereas the Government of Sudan continues to deny
humanitarian assistance for the people of the Darfur region
by denying them unrestricted access to humanitarian aid
organizations;
Whereas attacks on civilians in Darfur continue despite an
April 8, 2004, temporary cease-fire agreement;
Whereas nearly 3,000,000 people affected by the conflict in
the Darfur region have remained beyond the reach of aid
agencies trying to provide essential humanitarian assistance,
and United Nations aid agencies estimate that they have been
able to reach only 15 percent of people in need and that more
than 700,000 people have been displaced within Sudan in the
past year; and
Whereas the United States delegation to the 60th Session of
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights sponsored a
resolution condemning the Government of Sudan for grave
violations of human rights and humanitarian law occurring in
the Darfur region: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) strongly condemns the Government of the Republic of the
Sudan and militia groups supported by the Government of Sudan
for attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished
Darfur region of western Sudan, in violation of Article 3 of
the Geneva Conventions, done at Geneva August 12, 1949, and
entered into force October 21, 1950, which specifically
prohibit attacks on civilians, and demands that the
Government of Sudan immediately take actions to cease these
attacks;
(2) urges the Government of Sudan to immediately disarm and
disband government supported militia groups;
(3) urges the Government of Sudan and all parties to honor
commitments made in the cease-fire agreement of April 8,
2004;
(4) calls on the Government of Sudan to grant full,
unconditional, and immediate access to Darfur to humanitarian
aid organizations, the human rights investigation and
humanitarian teams of the United Nations, including
protection officers, and an international monitoring team in
compliance with the temporary cease-fire agreement that is
based in Darfur and has the support of the United States and
the European Union;
(5) encourages the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development to work with donors to
immediately deliver humanitarian assistance to Darfur,
including the delivery of food by air if necessary;
(6) calls on the Secretary of State to develop a plan for
further bilateral and multilateral action in the event the
Government of Sudan fails to immediately undertake the
actions called for in paragraph (3), including a plan to seek
a Security Council resolution addressing the Darfur
situation;
(7) deplores the inaction of some member states of the
United Nations and the failure of the United Nations Human
Rights Commission to take strong action with respect to the
crisis in Darfur;
(8) urges the President to direct the United States
Representative to the United Nations to--
(A) seek an official investigation by the United Nations to
determine if crimes against humanity have been committed by
the Government of Sudan and government-supported militia
groups in the Darfur region; and
(B) work with the international community to ensure that
the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity in
Darfur are held accountable for their actions; and
(9) strongly urges the President to impose targeted
sanctions, including a ban on travel to the United States and
freezing of personal assets, against officials and other
individuals of the Government of Sudan, as well as Janjaweed
militia commanders, who are responsible for war crimes and
crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Green) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green).

General Leave

Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 403, as
amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Wolf) for bringing House Concurrent Resolution 403, condemning the
Government of Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the
impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan, before us today.
The crisis in Darfur has been described as one of the worst
humanitarian catastrophes on the planet. Nearly 1 million people have
been displaced, and anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000 people have been
killed. The United States Agency for International Development
estimates that another 350,000 civilians could die in the next 9 months
as a result of the unfolding humanitarian crisis.
Backed by the Sudanese Government, Arabic-speaking militias,
collectively known as the Janjaweed, have murdered, raped and pillaged
with impunity. Hundreds of villages have been burned to the ground,
crops have been razed and vital irrigation systems have been destroyed.
It is feared that the situation will only get worse. The rainy season
has now arrived, making transport of food aid more difficult and more
costly. If the refugees cannot return to their homes to plant crops
soon, they will be completely dependent on food aid for the next 18
months. Outrageously, the Sudanese Government continues to frustrate
efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to the region.
Following a Security Council briefing earlier this month, the acting
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights summarized the situation in
Darfur by stating: ``One, there is a reign of terror in this area. Two,
there is a scorched earth policy. Three, there are repeated

[[Page H3045]]

war crimes and crimes against humanity. And four, this is taking place
before our very eyes.''
Despite these facts and despite the best efforts by the
administration, Sudan was given nothing more than a half-hearted slap
on the wrist during the recently concluded 60th session of the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights.
Adding insult to injury, Sudan was then reelected to serve on the
Commission for another 2 years. The irony of the election of Sudan, one
of the worst violators of human rights on the planet, to serve on the
U.N. Commission for Human Rights, that irony should not be lost on
anyone.
House Concurrent Resolution 403 strongly condemns the attack against
innocent civilians by the Government of Sudan and government-supported
militia groups. The resolution calls on the Government of Sudan to
grant full and unconditional humanitarian access to the region and
urges the government to disarm and disband the Janjaweed forces.
H. Con. Res. 403 recognizes the efforts of the United States
delegation to the 60th session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission to
address the crisis in Darfur, and deplores the inaction of other
members.
The resolution also urges the United States Government to take
specific steps to aid the refugees and to hold accountable those in the
Government of Sudan who are responsible for these atrocities. Included
among those recommended measures are an asset freeze and a travel ban
for those who are responsible for what the administration and the U.N.
have described as ``ethnic cleansing.''
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Conscience of the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum has issued a ``Genocide Alert'' for Darfur. This crisis
is the direct result of actions taken by the Government of Sudan. It is
incumbent upon the Congress to condemn these actions and to urge the
administration to take steps to aid the victims and punish those
responsible for the atrocities.
Mr. Speaker, this is a bipartisan resolution which has been given
full consideration during a hearing and markup by the Committee on
International Relations on May 6 of this year, and I urge Members'
support.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I first would like to commend my good friend and
cochairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Wolf), for introducing this critically important
legislation. We are all deeply indebted to the gentleman from Virginia
(Mr. Wolf) for speaking out for human rights in Sudan and, in fact, for
human rights around the globe.
Mr. Speaker, just 2 weeks ago, we solemnly remembered the 10th
anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, where the world stood by and
allowed the slaughter of 1 million innocent people in 100 days. In the
aftermath of that horror, the international community again pledged
never again to stand by and allow an atrocity to emerge without taking
preventive action.
Yet, as we speak, the Sudanese Government has mobilized its military
forces and Arab militias, called the Janjaweed, to carry out a scorched
earth policy of indiscriminate killing and the removal of non-Arab
African civilians from their homes in Darfur in western Sudan. Both
USAID and the United Nations have described these atrocities as ethnic
cleansing, and the Committee on Conscience of our own Holocaust
Memorial Museum has issued a genocide warning for Darfur.
Mr. Speaker, Khartoum and its brutal militias are systematically
torturing, raping and killing thousands of innocent civilians, based
solely on their identity. The Janjaweed, the Arab terrorists, have
looted and burned villages and depopulated entire areas with impunity,
in direct violation of international law.
We estimate that as many as 30,000 civilians may have been
slaughtered and over 1 million driven off their land into unprotected
camps for the internally displaced and refugee camps across the border
in Chad. If we allow Khartoum to continue this mayhem, probably over
100,000 will die by the end of the year.
We cannot allow this to happen. Khartoum must be stopped. I am
convinced, Mr. Speaker, that the only thing Bashir and his cronies
understand and respond to is strength and the resolve of the
international community, led by our own government.
Bashir and those responsible in his government, including his vice
president, Ali Taha, are masters at manipulating the international
community by holding hostage the prospects of humanitarian access in
Darfur and the peace process in Kenya, while conducting a vicious
campaign of terror against innocent civilians.
Khartoum has even treated with contempt our own government's efforts
to bring humanitarian relief to the suffering people in Darfur by
delaying visas to American disaster workers. Cynically and arrogantly,
Khartoum stalls while innocent men, women and children suffer.
Mr. Speaker, in response to widespread global criticism, Bashir now
has issued a presidential decree appointing a committee to investigate
the egregious human rights violations carried out in Darfur by his own
government and their Arab allies.
First, Khartoum deliberately designed a strategy to drive thousands
of black Africans from their homes. In the process, Arab militias were
directed to commit unspeakably horrible acts. Then, when the
international community expresses outrage, the government that
committed the crimes appoints a committee to investigate itself.
I find it ludicrous and absurd for us to continue to play along with
Khartoum's game and to accept this blatant attempt to disavow knowledge
of well-documented atrocities that Bashir and his people directed their
armed forces and the Arab militias to commit.
Mr. Speaker, as we debate this resolution, Arab terrorists of the
Janjaweed are killing men, kidnapping children, raping women and
burning villages.

{time} 1600

There must be an urgency about our work in addressing this crisis;
and Darfur, therefore, must assume the highest priority.
I challenge President Bush's Secretary of State Colin Powell and Kofi
Anan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, to exercise their
leadership and to stop this nightmare from continuing. I also challenge
the European Union and the African Union. Appallingly, African nations
recently ensured Sudan a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission in
spite of its attack on the people of Darfur, motivated exclusively by
sickening racism.
Mr. Speaker, I call upon President Bush to withhold any normalization
of relations with the Sudan. We must demand of Khartoum an immediate
cessation of violence in Darfur and the disarming of Arab terrorists
according to the cease fire agreement they signed. Khartoum must allow
protective units and humanitarian agencies full and immediate access to
Darfur.
Khartoum also must address the legitimate grievances of those living
under the tyranny of this regime. The United Nations Human Rights
Commission must convene immediately on this crisis to shed light on the
atrocities and to galvanize international support for the victims of
Darfur.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, we must do what is necessary to end this
conflict in Sudan and to bring security to the long suffering people of
Darfur. If Khartoum continues its intransigence, the President should
consider target sanctions against those responsible for these
atrocities and undertake extraordinary measures to get food, medicine,
clothing, and shelter to those in desperate need. Our credibility and
our reputation as a humane Nation depend on this. We do not have the
luxury of failure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the distinguished
chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, who is a strong voice on this
subject.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
I would like to begin by seconding the remarks by the ranking member
of

[[Page H3046]]

the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from California
(Mr. Lantos). I believe, as he does, that the killing in western Sudan
demands the world's attention. This resolution of which we are co-
sponsors condemns Sudan's government for attacks against civilians in
the Darfur region. As explained, the numbers here are very grim.
Because the government's Scorched Earth policies have killed tens of
thousands of people, have displaced as of today over one million human
beings, many of them forced into neighboring Chad, hundreds of villages
have been burned to the ground, those irrigation systems have been
destroyed, and government-backed militias have committed widespread
rapes; but beyond that, beyond that the victims of these rapes are
often branded on the forehead, which is a rather unique proof of the
intent of ethnic cleansing that is going on in these communities.
Denied access to this region by the government, I think we can only
imagine the full extent of this relentless campaign which has the look
of genocide against the people of Darfur. I believe the administration
deserves credit for its sustained commitment to bringing peace to
Sudan. Congress has backed its effort, including the Sudan Peace Act.
The Subcommittee on Africa, which I chair, has closely followed
negotiations between Khartoum and the SPLM.
But after several years, it is less and less likely that those
negotiations will succeed. The administration's Sudan Peace Act, the
report on that peace act of last month noted that, the bottom line,
these talks had become stagnant. We need to keep in mind too that any
agreement reached would face major challenges being implemented. Africa
has seen many failed peace agreements. So Khartoum's true colors, I am
afraid, are being shown in Darfur. At this point, for my part I would
have little faith in any peace agreements it signs.
If we remain engaged in this peace process, though, Darfur must not
be discounted. Darfur must be addressed. Last month, the Subcommittee
on Africa held a hearing looking back on the Rwandan genocide. During
the run-up to the killing of a million people, the United States and
others were dulled to its warning signs because of the commitment to a
doomed peace process. And I am afraid that that may be part of what we
are witnessing here.
In Rwanda, like in Sudan today, the government denied its support for
militias carrying out ethnic cleansing. It was very familiar to these,
very close akin to this same circumstance we face here. Khartoum should
know that peace agreement or not, there will be no normal relations
with the United States as long as it is committing atrocities in
Darfur. The administration brought Darfur to the world's attention at
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights' annual session in
Geneva. That its proposal to censure the Sudanese Government was widely
rejected is yet more evidence that the commission is a very troubled
institution. It also makes it harder to believe that other countries
have much of a commitment to peace in Sudan.
Moving ahead, our assumption on Sudan that the international
community will provide material support and be an honest broker if a
peace agreement is signed should be rethought. I support this
resolution; I urge its passage. And I would also like to commend the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for his dedication to this issue.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Davis), my good friend and our distinguished colleague.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking
member of the Committee on International Relations for yielding me time
and also for his strong and eloquent statement in support of this
resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 403. This bill
sounds the alarm once again on genocide in Sudan. Since 1983, more than
2 million black civilians died during the civil war in the south of
Sudan. That struggle was especially brutal for the civilian population:
slave raids resulting in the enslavement of women and children, gang
rape, ethnic cleansing, and the imposition of famine conditions for
hundreds of thousands.
The people of Sudan are facing the same catastrophic situation once
again. Since early 2003, conflict between the forces of the government
of the Republic of Sudan and rebel forces in the impoverished Darfur
region of western Sudan has resulted in attacks by Sudanese Government
ground and air forces against innocent civilians and undefended
villages in the region. This has led to the Sudanese Government forces
engaging in the use of rape as a weapon of war, the abduction of
children, the destruction of food and water sources, and the deliberate
and systematic manipulation and denial of humanitarian assistance for
the people of the Darfur region.
The United Nations and other aid agencies trying to provide essential
humanitarian assistance have been able to reach only 15 percent of the
people in need, denying nearly 3 million people in need. More than
100,000 Sudanese have fled the region and are now refugees in
neighboring Chad.
These acts are clear violations of the Genocide Convention and are
grave crimes against humanity. We cannot sit back and do nothing. We
must speak out and act against these actions. We cannot afford to
repeat the mistakes of the genocide in Rwanda where more than 800,000
Rwandans died while we along with the world watched and did little or
nothing.
Mr. Speaker, we need to act now. The more time wasted by doing
nothing, the more Sudanese people in the Darfur region will suffer,
die, and be displaced from their homes.
I commend the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for introducing this
resolution. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as others have noted, we recently marked the anniversary
of a terrible chapter in world history, the Rwandan genocide. The fact
that we are here today speaking on Sudan really calls into question
whether or not we have learned anything at all, whether the world has
learned anything at all. These atrocities of which we speak are
occurring now, before our eyes. There is no question; there is no
doubt. We are all on notice. It was terrible enough that we did little
then through the days of the Rwandan genocide. It will be all the worse
if the world fails to act now.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
the resolution that is before us today on the suspension calendar
concerning the current crisis in Sudan, South Africa. Our colleagues,
Mr. Wolf and Mr. Payne, are to be commended for their leadership and
efforts in drafting H. Con. Res. 403 and for their advocacy on the
issues. Just as we have recently seen in Liberia and Haiti, we see in
the Darfur region of Sudan--humanitarian priorities are being
subordinated to political agendas.
What is most saddening and what inspires the most fear is the fact
that this region is inflicting vulnerability upon itself in the wake of
international terrorism. But then again, who needs a terrorist attack
when your government is forcibly displacing and starving millions of
its own civilians in the course of making political statements?
This situation has been described as ``the worst humanitarian crisis
in the world today'' given the over one million people displaced since
the fighting intensified in early 2003. I will cite the insightful
words of my colleague from New Jersey, Mr. Payne when he addressed the
House last Thursday on this issue:

Mr. Speaker, it is important for us to remember that in
1994 the international community watched with utter
indifference when 1 million Rwandanese were hacked to death
in 100 days. The genocide in Darfur occurred while the
international community was commemorating the 10th
anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. We failed to learn from
Rwanda, and we are likely to learn from Darfur. The
similarities between the Rwandan genocide and Darfur are
stunning. In Rwanda the former government of Rwanda and the
Rwandan Patriotic Front rebels were negotiating while plans
for genocide were underway.

The important thing to recognize in the words of this gentleman are
that the ``international community watched with utter indifference.''
H. Con. Res. 403 is but a beginning and a first step to the extent to
which this nation and the nations of the international community must
intervene in order to end the death, displacement, rape, and suffering.
Reuters, in an article dated April 19, 2004 noted that
``international engagement with the

[[Page H3047]]

crisis has been slow and ineffective'' and that ``Western governments
have appeared reluctant to press the Sudanese government to fulfill its
obligations'' to international law, the principle of democracy, and to
its own people.
Over 700,000 people have had to flee to urban centers in Darfur and
there has been further displacement to various parts of Sudan,
including Khartoum. Moreover, an additional 135,000 refugees have moved
to Chad. Thousands of innocent civilians have died due to the violence,
and many more are dying and will die due to conflict-related diseases.
This situation is exacerbated when the government openly restricts
relief efforts and when it allows supplies to be looted after
distribution.
With respect to international law, the parties to this internal armed
conflict have violated Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Convention
which prohibits attacks on civilians. The government of Sudan is bound
by its own laws and international law to prosecute any party to the
conflict guilty of committing abuses. Moreover, the government is
responsible for proxy forces under its control.
The United States and members of the international community must
intervene and at the very least, inflict pressure upon the Sudanese
government to mitigate the violations of law. Allegations have been
described as: ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
In the case of armed conflict relative to international law, Sudan has
failed in the following areas:
Distinction--the duty to distinguish between military and civilian
targets;
Precaution--the duty to minimize incidental injury to civilians and
damage to civilian property; and
Proportionality--any injury or damage must be proportionate to the
concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
Furthermore, Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Convention squarely
apply to this situation. Under the provisions of Article 3, basic
civilian safeguards in civil conflicts must be provided.
Non-derogable provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights of 1966 apply, i.e., the right to life.
Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 403 articulates the fact that we recognize
the wrongdoings that have been perpetrated by the Sudanese government.
Our next step must be to commit to acting to and garnering support to
applying pressure on the parties in the conflict to respect
humanitarian and human rights law. They must be compelled, under rule
of law, to protect civilians and to allow humanitarian aid to flow to
those who are in dire need. This chaotic situation and lawlessness must
end at once. I support this legislation, urge my colleagues to join me
in so supporting, and move this Administration to take the next step in
working to stop the violence and installing peace and the rule of law.
Mr. BACHUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 403. As
one of the architects of the Sudan Peace Act signed by President Bush
in October 2002, I am completely dismayed at the continuation and the
possible repeat of another civil war in Sudan. Previously, countless
Christians have been killed or starved to death simply because of their
ethnicity and religious beliefs. Now in Dafur in the West, an area
roughly the size of France, unlike the situation in the South, this is
not Christian versus Muslims. It is genocide of black Africans by the
Arabic government and Jangaweed (nomadic Arab tribesmen).
Today, the current humanitarian crisis in Sudan is considered one of
the worst in decades. According to the World Food Program (WFP), the
Sudanese, ``are facing serious food and water shortages due to the
combined disruptions of civil war and drought.'' In the West, hundreds
of thousands of malnourished villagers, having been burned out of their
homes in a systematic campaign of terror, are starving to death.
Foreign correspondents from major newspapers have reported at least
700,000 Dafur residents are living in camps or have fled to villages to
stay with families or friends. Women, girls, students, and teachers are
systematically beaten and gang-raped. One villager, as quoted this week
in a London newspaper, gave this simple explanation, ``We got harassed
on a daily basis by people in uniform.'' Furthermore he said, ``they
(Jangaweed) used to be herders, we know who they are, but the
government had guns and uniforms and told them to hurt the blacks.''
Despite millions of dollars of humanitarian aid from the United States,
the Sudanese, particularly the black Africans in Dafur, continue to
suffer.
The conflict between the government of Khartoum/Jangaweed and the
black Africans in Dafur must be stopped. While I am pleased with the
announcement that the State Department will be sending American aid
experts to inspect the humanitarian needs, what we really need to be
done is for the Administration to stop this genocide and begin
negotiations as soon as possible to end this long-standing humanitarian
crisis.
Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I commend the House, Chairman Hyde and
International Relations Committee for bringing H. Con. Res. 403 to the
floor quickly and I urge a unanimous vote for this important
resolution.
The conflict in Sudan began early last year when the Government of
Sudan began arming the Janjaweed militia to suppress local rebel
groups. The Janjaweed, with the support of government troops began
their reign of terror on the people of Darfur.
The result--ethnic cleansing and the death of thousands of innocent
civilians. One million people are now displaced. Village after village
attacked, looted and burned. The survivors bear scars of mutilation and
rape. Schools filled with students have been attacked and the girls
raped.
Thousands of survivors walk days, weeks and sometimes months in the
unrelenting sun to seek safety in Chad. They are pursued by Janjaweed
and often bombed as they languish on the border.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped in camps inside
Darfur. Surrounded by militia and unable to leave to seek water or
firewood. Families are forced to make life or death decisions on which
family member will go to gather food and risk certain death.
People are living on top of each other in crowed camps. Disease and
malnutrition are rampant. USAID now estimates that by fall the world
will see catastrophic mortality rates from disease and starvation.
The world has finally found its voice as reports are trickling out
describing the reality of Darfur. The headlines in major U.S.
newspapers have read like a horror film:
``Sudan militiamen on horses uproot a million'';
``Sudan's hellish humanitarian crisis'';
``Sudan's Darfur is calm because there are no more villages to
burn''.
``Sudan starving Darfur refuges''
I would like to read an excerpt from the May 15 Economist:

Her story is typical. . . . An air raid caught her
unawares: as bombs fell, she ran around in confusion. When
the bombers had completed their return pass, the horizon
filled with dust, the ground shuddered, and a host of mounted
militiamen charged through the village, killing all the young
men they could find . . . her 18-month baby . . . killed by
shrapnel.
Two weeks later her oldest son, 15, was made to kneel in
line with other young men before being shot in the back of
the head. Her husband disappeared the same day.

But words are not enough. The international community has been
reluctant to act.
Secretary General Kofi Annan should go to Darfur and stand with the
persecuted.
I introduced this resolution so Members of Congress would have the
opportunity to voice their support for the innocent people in Darfur.
This resolution strongly condemns the Government of Sudan and
government-supported militia groups for attacks against innocent
civilians, in violation of the Geneva Convention.
The Government of Sudan should immediately disarm the militia, and
allow full unconditional humanitarian access to Darfur. The civilians
who are languishing in camps should be provided immediate protection.
Why is the world slow to respond when atrocities are taking place
before our eyes?
The world has said never again over and over again, yet when it is
put to the test and charged with protecting humanity it continues to
fail.
Why has the international community become content with the slaughter
of innocent human beings?
When will the death of innocent human beings be too much for the
world to bear?
We need to be bold and willing to condemn and shame countries that
commit atrocities against their own citizens.
It is our moral responsibility to protect humanity and not sit idly
by in the face of horror. Those of us in public office have the unique
responsibility and the power of our voices to confront evil.
The world is a safer place when the world sides with the opposed.
Today, let our voices be raised for the innocent people of Darfur.
Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record the full Economist story. I urge
every Member to read the graphic detail of Khartoums destruction of
innocent lives.

[From the Economist, May 15, 2004]

Fleeing the Horsemen Who Kill for Khartoum

Her children's bodies were rotting in the village wells,
where Arab militiamen had thrown them to poison the water
supply. But Kaltuma Hasala Adan did not flee her home.
Leaving her crops and livestock would condemn the rest of the
family to death, she reasoned. So she stayed put for four
months, despite her government's strenuous efforts to
terrorize her into flight.
Her story is typical of western Sudan's black Africans. Her
village was first attacked in January. An air raid caught her
unawares: as the bombs fell, she ran around

[[Page H3048]]

in confusion. When the bombers had completed their return
pass, the horizon filled with dust, the ground shuddered, and
a host of mounted militiamen charged through the village,
killing all the young men they could find. During that first
attack, Kaltuma's 18-month baby, Ali, was killed by shrapnel.
Two weeks later, her oldest son, Issa, 15, was made to kneel
in line with other young men before being shot in the back of
the head. Her husband disappeared the same day.
For four wretched months, Kaltuma lived with both ears
strained for the faint drone of bombers, poised to dash with
her three surviving children to a hiding place in a dry river
bed. Then the janjaweed--an Arab militia that kills for the
Sudanese government--rode up to finish the job. They razed
her village entirely. She fled from the embers of her hut and
trekked for four days through the desert. Across the border
in Chad, she found sanctuary in the town of Tine. Thousands
of her neighbours were already there when she arrived.
The UN's humanitarian co-ordinator for Sudan, Mukesh
Kapila, described what is going on in Darfur, an arid region
of western Sudan, as ``the worst humanitarian crisis in the
world''. Human Rights Watch, a lobby group, has accused
Sudan's Arab-dominated government of crimes against humanity.
The government is seeking to purge Darfur of black Africans,
using methods as cruel as they are effective. Perhaps a
million people have fled their homes. Officials deny ethnic
cleansing, of course, but the refugees say they lie.
As Kaltuma tells her story, a crowd gathers to corroborate
it. Osman Nurrudin Sadr says his whole family was killed.
Khadija Yacob Abdallah, a pretty 17-year-old, watched her
parents die and was then gang-raped. All the refugees offer
the same explanation. ``They want to kill us because we are
black,'' says one.
It is a little more complicated than that. Sudan, Africa's
largest country, is the scene of two separate but related
civil wars. One, between the north and south, pits the Arab,
Islamist government against rebels who are mostly black
African and non-Muslim. This war has been raging
intermittently for half a century, but has come tantalizingly
close to resolution in the past year: partly because of
foreign pressure, especially from America, and partly because
both sides, exhausted, wish to stop fighting and share
Sudan's new-found oil wealth.
The other war, between the government and two rebel groups
in Darfur, pits Muslim against Muslim. The divide in Darfur
is ethnic, between Arabs and black Africans. This war flared
up only last year. It was seen at first as a mere sideshow,
but is now too vast and vile to be ignored.

centuries of suffering

The south has been marginalized for centuries. Arab slavers
used it as a hunting-ground for human booty, despite Anglo-
Egyptian attempts to crush the trade in the 19th century.
When independence came in 1956, southerners demanded
autonomy. They were ignored, so they rebelled.
The war paused between 1972 and 1983, but then resumed. The
government used scorched-earth tactics against the main rebel
group, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), bombing
villages suspected of rebel sympathies, and arming and
encouraging militias to kill and pillage in rebel-held areas.
Slave raids continued, checked only by the absence of tarmac
roads in the south.
Largely because it involved Muslims enslaving Christians,
the war gripped the imagination of America's influential
Christian lobby. In fact, only a minority of southern
Sudanese are Christians; the rest are cheerfully polytheistic
or animist. Nonetheless, America took an interest, which
increased when the radical Islamist regime in Khartoum hosted
Osama bin Laden in the early 1900s. In retaliation for al-
Qaeda'a attacks on American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
in 1998, President Bill Clinton bombed a Sudanese factory he
said was producing nerve gas, but which may have been making
aspirin. The regime was already distancing itself from its
international terrorist associates, a process swiftly
accelerated by the American invasions of Afghanistan and
Iraq.
Sudan's rulers rounded up terrorist suspects, shared
intelligence and froze Mr. bin Laden's assets in Sudan,
including a cannabis farm worked by child slaves who had
apparently been brought from a Ugandan rebel group for one
Kalashnikov each.
At the same time, the Sudanese government started to yield
to American pressure to seek peace with the south.
Negotiations have been tortuous, but Vice-President Ali Osman
Taha keeps talking to John Garang, the SPLA leader. If the
government shows bad faith, America threatens to choke it
with sanctions and to bankroll the SPLA.
Since 2001 the two sides have hammered out a series of
agreements that are supposed to culminate in a comprehensive
peace. Last September they signed a security accord, mapping
out how Khartoum will withdraw most of its troops from the
south. This year has seen a written agreement on how to split
the revenues from the oil that lies under Sudanese sand, and
verbal agreements on power-sharing and the future of three
contested areas. Some of these are on the northern side of
the line (see map), but their inhabitants consider themselves
southern.
For an interim period of six years, Sudan is to remain one
country, with Omar al-Bashir, the current president,
remaining in office, and with Mr. Garang, the rebel leader,
as his deputy. Then there is to be a referendum in which
southerners will be offered the choice of staying or
seceding.

the west burns

The trouble with this plan for a new Sudan is that it
involves only the two main belligerents. Peaceful opposition
groups have been left out. Since neither the government nor
the SPLA is remotely democratic, many Sudanese seethe at the
prospect of them divvying up the petrodollars. In Darfur,
that rage has sparked mayhem.
Darfur has seen sporadic fighting for generations. As the
desert has expanded, camel- and cattle-herding Arab nomads
have bickered with black African farmers over dwindling
supplies of water and pasture. Darfur's black tribes complain
that, since the 1980s, they have been pushed out of
government jobs in favor of Arabs. And the region has been
flooded with weapons. Khartoum first armed the janjaweed so
they could ride south and pillage SPLA territory. Arms from a
long-running conflict between Chad and Libya seeped across
the border into Darfur.
Last year, a new rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army
(SLA) appeared in Darfur and won a string of victories. Soon
after, a second group sprang up, the Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM). The government in Kartoum felt vulnerable. It
was terrified that rebel successes in Darfur might inspire
other marginalised groups in the north and east, especially
since the SLA has links with a rebel group in the east.
The government struck back, not only against the rebels,
but also against their ethnic kin. It unleashed the
janjaweed. To swell the militia's ranks, Arab criminals were
released from jail and given horses, $100 each and carte
blanche to loot. (These ex-prisoners are labeled ta'ibeen,
``those who have repented''.)
The janjaweed have clattered into village after African
village, torching the straw roofs of conical huts, killing
young men who might join the rebels, raping women who might
feed them, and stealing everything they can carry off.
Sometimes they brand the hands of the women they rape, to
make the stigma permanent. They have also torched dozens of
mosques and torn up and defecated on copies of the Koran.
Whatever inspires them, it is not Islam.
Their victims have no doubt that the janjaweed enjoy the
state's blessing. When asked what gives them the right to
stop blacks at road blocks, the militiamen reply: ``We are
the government.'' When pillaging, they are often supported
by the air force and by the regular army. ``First the
planes come, then the janjaweed and finally government
soldiers,'' says a refugee. ``They are brothers united on
a mission to kill.''
It was a long time before the outside world took notice. At
first, both America and the UN hesitated to make a fuss about
Darfur for fear of derailing the north-south peace process.
But in March, the UN's man on the spot started making
comparisons with the Rwandan genocide of 1994. That was an
exaggeration, but it prompted Washington to lean on Khartoum
to end the ethnic cleansing. A ceasefire followed on April
8th, supposedly to help aid workers do their job, but was
quickly broken.
Fighting and pillage continue, making it hard to feed the
displaced. The UN does not want to get too close to the
border--the janjaweed do not respect international
boundaries--so it has moved 35,000 refugees deep into Chad.
Tens of thousands remain stranded near the border. Those
unfortunate enough to wind up in camps in Darfur have been
deliberately starved by the janjaweed, according to the UN.
Brave charities such as Medecins Sans Frontieres have
ignored the occasional air raid to dole out medical supplies,
feed the hungriest and vaccinate against a meningitis
outbreak. Most refugees in Chad have depended on food and
water from the locals who, though poor, are startlingly
generous. Supplies are running out, however, and the UN
mission is short of cash.
The rainy season is almost here, when the valleys will fill
with water and it will be impossible to get the refugees into
the half-empty camps that await them. UN lorries lie stranded
because there is no money for fuel and the drivers, unpaid
for six weeks, have gone on strike.
Over 10,000 newly arrived refugees around Bahai, north of
Tine, have been dismissed as ``combatants''--though most are
women, children or old men. For the UN, admitting that they
are refugees would mean being obligated to look after them.
``I'm trying to think of something the UN has done right
here, but I'm struggling,'' says one aid worker with a sigh.

spears and ploughshares

There is more to cheer about in southern Sudan. After years
of enduring the same abuses now being lavished on Darfur, the
south is relatively calm. In Rumbek, the largest town under
SPLA control, where abandoned armoured cars rust outside
buildings gutted by shelling, hardly any shrapnel has flown
for two years.
Half-forgotten tribal traditions are being rediscovered. On
a dusty football pitch known as Freedom Square, thousands of
young Dinka men, coated with ash and clad in glamorous
calfskin skirts, gather to elect a sub-chief. Not long ago
such affairs were subdued, forced indoors by the fear of
aerial bombardment. Now they are gleefully raucous.

[[Page H3049]]

War has left the south shattered. Most of the young
warriors queuing behind their chosen candidates have known
nothing else. There is no electricity or running water in the
south, an area the size of France and Germany combined, and
precious few schools, either. Southern children used to join
either the rebels or government-backed militias. They grew up
knowing how to march long distances on empty stomachs, but
not how to read.
Peace, if it lasts, will offer southerners a chance to grow
less poor. In one village, your correspondent saw a group of
SPLA soldiers melting bullets to fashion spearheads for
hunting gazelles. The same men were baffled, however, by a
consignment of ploughshares, kindly donated by a western aid
agency. Unsure what these strange objects were for, they beat
them down to make stools.
Elsewhere, workers can be seen hacking through thorny
scrub. They are clearing a path for a road, heading for a
large rock in the wilderness known as Ramciel, or ``the place
where the rhinos meet''. More accurately, it should be
``where rhinos used to meet'', as they were poached out of
existence some time ago. It is here that the SPLA is thinking
of building the south's principal city. Charles Deng, the
assistant foreman, has big dreams for the place. ``First we
will finish the road,'' he says. ``Then we will build
skyscrapers and ponds, better than London or maybe even as
good as Nairobi.''
Not everyone welcomes progress. An SPLA commander in nearby
Yirol murmured into his beer that he hoped the capital would
be built elsewhere. ``If they build it here then they will
also build schools and our girls will be sent to those
schools,'' he said. ``You know what the means? Their bride
price will fall. My daughters will be worthless to me.''

The end of the war, or of Sudan?

A formal deal ending the war is expected in the next few
weeks, possibly sooner. Since President George Bush is widely
seen as the architect of peace, he is perhaps more popular in
southern Sudan than anywhere else on earth. At the Rumbek
sub-chief's election one young warrior called Thuapon leaps
frenetically in the air, proudly waving a white Barbie-doll
in a pink dress. ``This is a new wife for President Bush. May
God grant him many fertile women with firm bodies and an
election victory without problems in Florida.''
The main outstanding issue concerns the religious status of
Khartoum. The government wants it to remain under sharia
(Islamic law); the SPLA does not. Some fudge is surely
possible. Observers are confident that a deal will be signed.
``If Khartoum were to renege at this point, it would signal
that this whole process was a charade from the beginning,''
says John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group, a
campaigning think-tank.
The difficulty will lie in how the deal is implemented.
Unsurprisingly, southerners do not trust the government.
``They just want time to re-arm,'' says James Thucdong, an
aspiring teacher in Rumbek. ``We know this is just a peace of
one or two years. They will never let us become
independent.'' Mr. Thucdong could well be right. There is no
provision yet for what will happen to revenues from Sudan's
oilfields, which lie mostly in the south, should voters
choose secession.
The two sides are unwilling to discuss this issue, but
Khartoum would presumably never let the south go if that
meant losing the petrodollars, too. ``When preparations begin
for the independence referendum, we are going to see major
meddling by elements in Khartoum, aimed at creating chaos in
the south and delaying [the] plebiscite,'' predicts Mr.
Prendergast.
Another worry is that southerners are squabblesome. During
the war, they spent as much time fighting each other as the
government. Mr. Garang may still be the south's key leader,
but his support for a united Sudan will irk secessionists,
who are probably a majority in the south. Other ethnic groups
resent the politically dominant Dinka people, and even the
Dinka are divided.
Once a peace deal is signed, many of the 4m southerners
living in squatter camps around the main cities of the north
will probably decide to pick their way through minefields and
make the long journey home. Tension over scarce natural
resources seems likely. As if to confound the optimists,
there has been a serious outbreak of fighting in the
ancient Shilluk kingdom since March. At least 70,000
people have been driven from their homes after battles
between militias loyal to Khartoum and the SPLA. As usual
in Sudan, most of the casualties were civilians.

many voices, many fears

In Khartoum, the mood is apprehensive. The political elite
is genuinely alarmed at what capitulation to southern demands
might encourage. Says Ghazi Attabani, a former presidential
adviser: ``If the south were to secede, it would be
catastrophic both for Sudan and for Africa. Secession would
not be peaceful. Internal differences in the south would
cause rifts which would make Rwanda seem like a picnic.''
Because of stringent censorship and the physical difficulty
of visiting Sudan's more troubled areas, ordinary northerners
have only a rough idea of what is going on in their own
country. Some are optimistic. ``Of course the people can live
together,'' says Ahmed Omar Othman, a shopkeeper. ``Just look
around Khartoum, we do already. Here, you will find a church
next to a mosque--surely that [proves it]? The real problem
is whether the politicians can work together.''
The record of Sudanese politicians in this are is not good.
Their preferred technique for holding this huge and
multifarious country together--barbaric force--has been shown
not to work. In Darfur, as Mr. Attabani admits, ``There is no
military solution.'' Arming gangsters such as the Janjaweek
is easy; reining them in again may prove much harder. Says
Sharif Harir, chief negotiator for the SLA rebels: ``Even if
Khartoum had the will to stop them, it probably doesnt' have
the power.''
Mr. OLVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 403.
Sudan, geographically the largest country in Africa, has been ravaged
by civil war for four decades. An estimated two million people have
died over the past two decades due to war-related causes and famine,
and millions have been displaced from their homes. According to the
United Nations, an estimated three million people are in need of
emergency food aid. Recently, violence has escalated in the Darfur
region of the Western Sudan, where government-sponsored militias have
been ruthlessly targeting various ethnic groups. Approximately one
million civilians have been forced to flee their homes and are now
either internally displaced or seeking refuge in neighboring Chad.
Sudanese government forces have overseen and directly participated in
massacres, summary executions of civilians, burning of towns and
villages, and the forcible depopulation of wide swathes of land long
inhabited by the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.
For months, the Sudanese government has restricted international
media access to Darfur and has limited reporting about the conflict in
the national press. Recently, the government has allowed minimal access
to the region for international humanitarian agencies but has still
failed to provide the necessary protection and assistance to prevent a
full-blown humanitarian crisis.
There can be no doubt about the Sudanese government's culpability in
crimes against humanity in Darfur. With this resolution, Congress
demands that the Sudanese government take immediate steps to reverse
ethnic cleansing in Darfur before the situation there worsens and
engulfs the entire region in conflict.
The gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Wolf, should be commended for
keeping the events in Sudan on Congress' agenda and I urge Members to
support his resolution.
Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Boozman). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res.
403, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.

____________________