[Pages H12115-H12118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

{time} 1515
CALLING ON THE PRESIDENT AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO TAKE IMMEDIATE
STEPS TO RESPOND TO AND PREVENT RAPE AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
AND GIRLS IN DARFUR, SUDAN, EASTERN CHAD AND CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 726) calling on the President of the United States
and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to
and prevent acts of rape and sexual violence

[[Page H12116]]

against women and girls in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad and the Central
African Republic, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:

H. Res. 726

Whereas, during war, rape and sexual violence are often
used systematically as a weapon of intimidation, humiliation,
terror and ethnic cleansing;
Whereas it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000
women and girls were raped during the genocide in Rwanda;
Whereas, on September 2, 1998, the United National
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Jean Paul
Akayesu guilty of rape and held that rape and sexual assault
constitute crimes against humanity;
Whereas, on October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security
Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000),
calling on all parties to an armed conflict to take,
``special measures to protect women and girls from gender-
based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual
abuse'';
Whereas the Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court, which entered into force on July 1, 2002, states that
rape and ``any other form of sexual violence of comparable
gravity'' may constitute both ``crimes against humanity'' and
``war crimes'';
Whereas since 2003, mass rape committed by members of the
Sudanese armed forces and affiliated militias with the
support of the Government of Sudan has been a central
component of the Government of Sudan's violence and ethnic
cleansing in Darfur;
Whereas women and girls leaving Internally Displaced
Persons camps in Darfur and refugee camps in eastern Chad, to
seek firewood, water or outside sources of income are often
attacked and subjected to rape and sexual violence
perpetrated by members of the Sudanese armed forces and
associated Janjaweed militia and other armed combatants;
Whereas, on July 19, 2004, Amnesty International reported
that it collected the names of 250 women who had been raped
in Darfur and information on 250 additional rapes;
Whereas, on January 25, 2005, the International Commission
of Inquiry on Darfur, in a report to the United Nations
Secretary General, reported numerous cases of mass rape
throughout Darfur including an incident in which a large
number of Janjaweed attacked a boarding school, and raped as
many as 110 girls;
Whereas, on October 14, 2005, the Secretary General of the
United Nations reported ``Many girls have given birth as a
result of rape. Although local communities are trying to
accept the offspring, the children face a great deal of
stigmatization.'';
Whereas, on March 9, 2007, members of the United Nations
High-Level Mission on the situation of human rights in Darfur
reported that ``rape and sexual assualt have been widespread
and systematic, terrorizing women and breaking down families
and communities'' and that ``women are also attacked in and
around refugee camps in eastern Chad'';
Whereas, on April 27, 2007, the International Criminal
Court, acting under the authority provided in Security
Council Resolution 1593 (2005), issued arrest warrants for
Sudan's Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun
and Janjaweed Colonel Ali Muhammad Al Abd-Al-Raham seeking
their arrest for 51 counts including 6 counts involving rape;
Whereas under Sudanese law victims of rape have virtually
no legal recourse and may in fact be charged with the crime
of zina, or sexual intercourse outside of marriage,
punishable by one hundred lashes if the victim is unmarried
and death by stoning if she is married;
Whereas, on July 31, 2007, the United Nations Security
Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1769 authorizing
the deployment of a United Nations-African Union peacekeeping
force (UNAMID) to Darfur and expressing strong concern about
``on-going attacks on the civilian population and
humanitarian workers and continued and widespread sexual
violence'' while ``emphasising the need to bring to justice
the perpetrators of such crimes''; and
Whereas, on August 20, 2007, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, reported on attacks,
abductions and systematic rapes of women in Darfur and the
resulting ``grave health risks from the consequent physical
injuries and psychological trauma'', and declared that these
acts may ``constitute war crimes'': Now, therefore be it:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls upon the President of the United States to
develop within the United States Department of State and the
United States Agency for International Development a Women
and Girls of Darfur Initiative to improve assistance to
victims and potential victims of rape and sexual violence in
Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad and the Central African Republic
by--
(A) offering specialized grants to non-governmental
organizations, operating within IDP and refugee camps in
Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic that can provide
all essential quality health care services and medical
supplies, psychological and social counseling, and legal
advice to Darfuri victims of rape and sexual violence;
(B) providing treatment for the prevention of sexually
transmitted diseases, including antiretroviral drugs to
prevent HIV infections, and specialized care for rape victims
already infected with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases;
(C) meeting the psychological, social and educational needs
of victimized women, girls, children born as a result of
rape, their family and the community in order to limit the
stigmatization associated with rape; and
(D) providing financial, technical and other forms of
assistance to support women's peace initiatives;
(2) calls upon the Secretary General of the United Nations,
the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council,
the African Union, the European Union, the Arab League and
other nations to immediately take steps to--
(A) ensure that a fully funded and fully equipped UNAMID is
deployed to Darfur, Sudan;
(B) mandate that UNAMID employ all necessary measures to
protect women and girls from acts of rape and sexual violence
both outside and within Darfuri refugee and IDP camps;
(C) provide sufficient resources and training to UNAMID
troops and police to ensure a capability to properly respond
to acts of rape and sexual violence;
(D) provide for firewood patrols and other safeguarding
measures to protect women and girls leaving refugee and IDP
camps; and
(E) include an adequate number of female troops and police
in UNAMID to properly manage incidents of rape and sexual
violence; and
(3) calls on the United Nations Security Council to
immediately--
(A) find the Government of Sudan in noncompliance with
Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000);
(B) call on the Government of Sudan to provide full legal
protections to victims of rape and sexual violence and to
bring to justice individuals responsible for such crimes; and
(C) adopt under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter a
Security Council Resolution calling on the Government of
Sudan to respect all related Security Council Resolutions,
including Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005), enforce
the arrest warrants for Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad
Al Abd-Al-Raham, and further recognize the systematic rape of
women and girls in Darfur as crimes against humanity and war
crimes.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.

General Leave

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to thank Congresswoman DeLauro for this important resolution
that focuses again on one of the most heinous crimes of war known to
humans: the rape of women.
In the process of the Darfur genocide, women and girls have been
targeted specifically. And I will let her speak more about this, but
when women living in refugee camps, for example, were asked why they
went to fetch water and risk rape rather than the men, they answered,
If we let the men go, they will be killed. It is better for us to be
raped than for our husbands to be killed.
It goes on and on, Mr. Speaker, but I will reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of the resolution by my good friend, Ms. DeLauro,
H. Resolution 726, which calls on the international community to take
immediate steps to respond to and to halt acts of rape and sexual
violence, all of which are occurring in Darfur, eastern Chad, and the
Central African Republic.
I would like to thank the chairman of our committee, Mr. Lantos; and,
of course, the lead sponsor, my friend Ms. DeLauro for their
flexibility in accommodating concerns raised prior to the introduction
and then during the committee consideration with regard to nonessential
health issues and the International Criminal Court.
With those issues addressed in the amendment before us, we now have a
strong resolution that effectively focuses much-needed attention on the

[[Page H12117]]

horrific reality that has befallen women and young girls in Darfur
without contradicting our U.S. policy.
Since the beginning of this conflict, Mr. Speaker, Sudanese Armed
Forces, janjaweed militias, and other rebel factions have used rape as
a weapon of war. Despite the conclusions of the Darfur Peace Agreement
and the deployment of peacekeepers, these attacks have continued
unabated.
The pattern of rape and sexual violence is widespread and systematic,
and it seems that no one is spared. Elderly women, pregnant mothers,
even girls as young as 10 years of age have fallen victim to the rapist
thugs who attack with immunity. This is a horrific practice that must
be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
I fully support efforts to provide essential health and psychosocial
services to these women and girls as well as efforts to hold those
responsible for such attacks accountable for their actions. I strongly
support this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as she may
consume to the author of the resolution, the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro).
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee, and I
rise in support of House Resolution 726, calling on the President of
the United States and the international community to take immediate
steps to respond to and to prevent acts of rape and sexual violence
against women and girls in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad, and the Central
African Republic.
I was proud to introduce this resolution, and I have been proud to
work with my colleague Chairman Lantos, whose attention to the crisis
in Darfur has been unrelenting. His dedication made it possible to move
this important legislation through the committee and onto the floor of
the House so quickly.
My friend Congressman Brad Miller also took a lead on this
resolution, and following his trip to Darfur this summer, he has shared
his unique insight about the region and our responsibility.
And today it is also important to note that we have reached this
point together with my colleagues from across the aisle. Congresswoman
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen led our bipartisan collaboration, and we now have
the support of more than 100 cosponsors from both parties. That broad
support from Members at every point along the political spectrum makes
sense because this is not a political issue; it is a moral issue. And
it is urgent. We have an obligation to act and to act now.
As Members of the United States Congress, we believe we must do
everything in our power to protect the basic human rights of
individuals around the world, and there may be no greater violation of
a woman's or a girl's basic human rights than when she is a victim of
rape or sexual violence.
All too often during war, rape and sexual violence are used
systematically as a weapon of intimidation, humiliation, terror, and
ethnic cleansing. There is no other way to put it. These crimes are
crimes against humanity and war crimes. And we cannot ignore them.
The use of rape as a weapon of war is as prevalent today as ever. An
average of 40 women are raped every day in the ongoing armed conflict
in the Congo. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 women were
raped during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s. And
it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 women were raped
during the genocide in Rwanda.
Now, as these atrocities occur in the Darfur conflict region, we must
ask ourselves, again, when will we learn from history? The answer, it
seems, is not soon enough for the untold number of Darfuri women and
girls beaten, kidnapped, and raped, often multiple times by multiple
attackers, and held as sex slaves by the Sudanese armed forces, the
janjaweed, and other armed combatants. Since the current conflict began
over 4 years ago, instances of rape and sexual violence have all been
documented by NGOs like Amnesty International and Doctors Without
Borders. And the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has
reported on widespread and systematic mass rape occurring in the region
as well as grave health risks, psychological trauma, and resulting
pregnancies.
In July, the United Nations Security Council adopted its most recent
Security Council resolution relating to Darfur in which it expressed
strong concern about the ``continued and widespread sexual violence''
while ``emphasizing the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of
such crimes.''
But we cannot simply talk about the downward spiral in Darfur or the
conditions that have only worsened since the so-called Darfur Peace
Agreement was signed in May 2006. As we saw just this weekend, peace
talks in Libya appear to be breaking down because key rebel groups
refuse to participate, demonstrating that we are a long way from peace
and security in Darfur.
We cannot sit idly by as women and children are targeted. The
resolution before us today calls for action. It calls on the President
and it calls on the international community to do the following:
One, develop within the State Department and USAID a Women and Girls
of Darfur Initiative to, among other things, provide victims and
potential victims of rape in Darfur, eastern Chad, and the Central
African Republic with all essential and quality medical supplies and
health care services, psychological counseling, and legal advice;
Two, to ensure that a hybrid United Nations-African Union
peacekeeping force is deployed that can properly protect women and
girls from and respond to acts of rape and sexual violence;
And, three, through the U.N. Security Council, find Sudan in
noncompliance with its obligations to protect women and girls and call
on Khartoum to bring perpetrators of rape and sexual violence to
justice.
Our State Department and USAID must make this a top priority. As the
rape and murder in Darfur goes on, the perpetrators of these atrocities
go unpunished. And while the rhetoric of the administration and the
international community have hit the mark, their action has fallen far
short. Too much is at stake to allow these atrocities to continue. We
have the power, the will, and the moral obligation to stop sexual
violence and rape in the Darfur conflict region. There is no reason
that we stand by when we should be acting.
I plead with my colleagues to understand what women and girls are
undergoing in Darfur and to please pass this resolution. Let's act
together in the best interests of women and girls around the world.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend Ms. DeLauro for
introducing this resolution.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Res. 726,
a bill responding to acts of rape and sexual violence in the Darfur
conflict.
Rape and sexual violence are often used as weapons of war. It is
estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 women and girls were raped
during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s; between 250,000
and 500,000 were raped during the genocide in Rwanda; and today, there
are reports of wide and systematic rape and sexual assault of women and
girls in the Darfur region.
The United States was the first government to refer to the killing in
Darfur as genocide, but this has had little impact on ending the
suffering. The suffering continues because the Sudanese government
resists the efforts of the international community at every step and
the Chinese government refuses to use its unique influence to force the
Sudanese government to change its actions. In fact, China may even have
prolonged the crisis by shielding Sudan against the collective efforts
of the United Nations. The crisis is now in its 4th year with no end in
sight and the suffering of men, women and children continues. That is
why I am encouraging passage today of H. Res. 726.
H. Res. 726 requires the U.S. State Department and USAID to develop a
women and girls Darfur initiative for the purpose of providing victims
and potential victims of rape in Darfur, eastern Chad and the Central
African Republic with much needed comprehensive and quality medical
supplies and health services.
The bill also calls upon the Secretary General of the United Nations,
the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the
African Union, the European Union, the Arab League and other nations to
immediately take steps to ensure that a hybrid UN-African Union
peacekeeping force is deployed that can properly protect women and
girls from and respond to acts of rape and sexual violence.

[[Page H12118]]

We cannot stand still in the face of systematic and widespread rape
in the Darfur region. The U.S. Congress has a moral obligation to reach
out and do all it can to put an end to this tragedy. I strongly support
this important piece of legislation and encourage my colleagues to do
the same.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of this
resolution, and I applaud the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms.
DeLauro) for her leadership on this important issue.
Every day in Darfur men are tortured and massacred as women and
little girls seeking solace and refuge are raped, abused, and murdered.
This is a systematic effort to destroy an entire race of people.
Where is the humanity, Mr. Speaker? Where are our souls? How can we
stand by when hundreds and thousands are suffering every day at the
hands of their own government?
Today, on the front page of the Washington Post there is an article
entitled ``U.S. Promises on Darfur Don't Match Actions''. It highlights
our Government's inaction during one of the most horrific human rights
disasters of our generation.
Every single one of us has a duty to pressure our Government, the
United Nations, the world--to act.
Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan resolution is not about politics. It is
not about pushing an agenda forward.
We have a moral obligation to stand up for the women and children in
Darfur against systematic and unchecked abuse.
They have no voice, no government, nobody to stand with them, nobody
to stand for them.
Every day that we wait for a solution to magically appear, is another
day that a woman, a child, is stripped of her home, her family, her
dignity, her health, and her humanity.
I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 726.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 726, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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