[Pages S1473-S1474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

SENATE RESOLUTION 383--CALLING ON THE PRESIDENT TO TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS
TO HELP IMPROVE THE SECURITY SITUATION IN DARFUR, SUDAN, WITH AN
EMPHASIS ON CIVILIAN PROTECTION

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mr. Obama, Mr. Lugar, Mr.
Feingold, and Mr. Dodd) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relation:

S. Res. 383

Whereas, the April 8, 2004, N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement,
calling for an end to hostilities in Darfur, Sudan, has been
flagrantly violated by all parties to the agreement;
Whereas the Government of Sudan continues to commit crimes
against humanity and engage in genocidal acts in Darfur;
Whereas the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement/Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM/
SPLA) on January 9, 2005, has not resulted in an improvement
of the security situation in Darfur;
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
indicated that, ``People in many parts of Darfur continue to
be killed, raped, and driven from their homes by the
thousands.'';
Whereas United Nations officials have stated that at least
70,000 people have died due to violence and insecurity in
Darfur, but that the total may be as high as 400,000 people;
Whereas nearly 2,000,000 people have been internally
displaced, 3,000,000 people are dependant on international
assistance to survive, and over 200,000 people are refugees
in neighboring Chad due to the conflict in Darfur;
Whereas escalating tensions along the border between Chad
and Sudan have increased instability in Darfur;
Whereas neither the mandate nor the troop strength of the
African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) is adequate to protect
civilians in Darfur;
Whereas the United States has demonstrated leadership on
the Sudan issue by having United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations John Bolton, in his
first action as President of the United Nations Security
Council, request in February 2006 that Secretary-General
Annan initiate contingency planning for a transition from
AMIS to a United Nations peacekeeping operation;
Whereas, although the United Nations Security Council has
concurred with this recommendation and taken steps toward
establishing a United Nations peacekeeping mission for
Darfur, it could take up to a year for such a mission to
deploy fully;
Whereas, as the deteriorating security situation in Darfur
indicates, the people of Darfur cannot wait that long for
security to be reestablished;
Whereas the international community currently has no plan
to address the immediate security needs of the people of
Darfur; and
Whereas all members of the international community must
participate in efforts to stop genocide, war crimes, and
crimes against humanity in Darfur:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) strongly condemns--
(A) the continued attacks on civilians in Darfur by the
Government of Sudan and Government-sponsored militias; and
(B) the continued violations of the N'Djamena Ceasefire
Agreement by the Government of Sudan and rebels in Darfur,
particularly the Sudan Liberation Army;
(2) commends the Africa Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) for
its actions in monitoring the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement
in Darfur and its role in diminishing some acts of violence;
(3) calls upon all parties to the N'Djamena Ceasefire
Agreement--
(A) to abide by the terms of the N'Djamena Ceasefire
Agreement; and
(B) to engage in good-faith negotiations to end the
conflict in Darfur;
(4) calls upon the Government of Sudan immediately--
(A) to withdraw all military aircraft from the region;
(B) to cease all support for the Janjaweed militia and
rebels from Chad; and
(C) to disarm the Janjaweed;
(5) calls on the African Union to request assistance from
the United Nations and NATO to strengthen its capacity to
deter violence and instability until a United Nations
peacekeeping force is fully deployed in Darfur;
(6) calls upon the United Nations Security Council to
approve as soon as possible, pursuant to Chapter VII of the
Charter of the United Nations, a peacekeeping force for
Darfur that is well trained and equipped and has an adequate
troop strength;
(7) urges the President to take steps immediately to help
improve the security situation in Darfur, including by--
(A) proposing that NATO--
(i) consider how to implement and enforce a declared no-fly
zone in Darfur; and
(ii) deploy troops to Darfur to support the African Union
Mission in Sudan (AMIS) until a United Nations peacekeeping
mission is fully deployed in the region; and
(B) requesting supplemental funding to support a NATO
mission in Darfur and the African Union Mission in Sudan
(AMIS);
(8) calls upon NATO allies, led by the United States, to
support such a mission; and
(9) calls upon NATO headquarters staff to begin prudent
planning in advance of such a mission.

Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today, with my friend from Kansas, Senator
Brownback, I am submitting a resolution urging the President to help
stop genocide in Sudan. The killing in Darfur has gone on way too long.

[[Page S1474]]

In July of 2004, Congress declared the actions that were taking place
in Darfur, Sudan genocide. Two months later, the administration issued
a report which reached the same conclusion. In the 17 months since
then, little has changed for the people of Darfur. Two million people
have been chased from their homes, 3 million rely on international aid,
and over 200,000 are refugees in Chad.
The security situation in Darfur remains dire. The Secretary General
and other United Nations officials have warned that the region is on
the verge of chaos. In parts of Darfur, the U.N. and other aid agencies
have had to pull back staff.
The U.N., led by the United States, has taken the first step towards
authorizing a peacekeeping force, but it could be a year from now--a
year--before such a force completely deploys.
What are the men, women and children of Darfur supposed to do in the
meantime? Hope for the best? Keep their fingers crossed that they are
not attacked by the janjaweed, or caught in the cross-fire between the
government and rebel forces?
Some believe that the crisis in Darfur is over. All the violence,
these folks argue, is small scale, and residual in nature. They argue
that the African Union successfully halted the killing of innocent
civilians. Maybe that is why the administration has no concrete plan to
improve the security situation in Darfur until the U.N. can get on the
ground.
What I would say to those who argue that the worst is over is this:
over the course of the last 2 years, the government of Sudan and its
surrogates killed as many as 400,000 people and drove one third of the
population of Darfur off their land. Two million people remain in
internally displaced or refugee camps. Attacks continue. It may be true
that they are not as systematic as they were 6 months or a year ago,
but I submit to you that it is not because the African Union stopped
the attacks. It is because systematic attacks are no longer necessary
for the government to continue to terrorize civilians. It is because as
many as 400,000 people already are dead, and hundreds if not thousands
of villages have already been destroyed. The attacks may be less
systematic, but they are not over. And it does not make them less
horrific.
I traveled to the Chad-Sudan border in May of 2005. One of the sector
commanders from the African Union force came across the border to meet
with me. He told me point blank, that he had neither the manpower, the
equipment nor the mandate to stop attacks on civilians. But we in the
west have the manpower and the equipment--and, if the political will is
there, we can secure the right mandate. And that is why we must help.
This resolution calls for the President to provide such help through
NATO. It calls on the President to propose that NATO get involved by
sending troops to Darfur to support the African Union until the United
Nations can get on the ground, and considering how NATO can enforce a
no-fly zone in Darfur. The resolution calls on NATO to begin planning
in anticipation of such a mission.
Let me be clear about what I am not proposing in this resolution. I
am not proposing a third peacekeeping mission be sent to Darfur. I am
suggesting that NATO increase the support it is already lending to the
African Union with a small number of fully equipped troops to help with
command and control, communications, and dissemination of intelligence,
on the ground. And I am proposing that these troops stay in Darfur only
until the U.N. force has deployed all of its troops. My colleagues
should also note that the resolution urges the Security Council to
authorize a Chapter VII mission for Darfur--one with an adequate number
of well-trained and equipped soldiers--as quickly as possible, so that
NATO troops are not engaged in an open ended mission.
The world watched nearly a million people get slaughtered in Rwanda
12 years ago this April. We did nothing. But I'd like to think that we
learned from that mistake. We did act in Bosnia, and then in Kosovo, to
stop ethnic cleansing. Neither mission was popular. But President Bill
Clinton took decisive action because the consequences of inaction were
simply too high: We could not stand by and allow Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic and his thugs to fill up more mass graves. We cannot
fail to take action in Darfur as well.

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