May 2, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 72 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S2622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 188--ENCOURAGING A SWIFT TRANSFER OF POWER BY THE 
 MILITARY TO A CIVILIAN-LED POLITICAL AUTHORITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE 
                     SUDAN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Risch, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
Cramer, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Boozman, Ms. 
Harris, Mr. Young, Mr. Coons, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Hawley, Ms. 
Klobuchar, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Graham, Mr. Peters, and Ms. Smith) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 188

       Whereas the nation of Sudan has endured corrupt and brutal 
     dictatorships for most of its post-independence period since 
     1956;
       Whereas President Omar al-Bashir came to power through a 
     military coup in 1989, and for the next three decades his 
     government was responsible for horrendous crimes in Sudan, 
     especially Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and in what is 
     now the Republic of South Sudan;
       Whereas the United States Government designated Sudan a 
     State Sponsor of Terrorism on August 12, 1993, for its 
     support to international terrorist organizations and 
     extremists, including elements of what would later be known 
     as al Qaeda;
       Whereas more than two decades of civil war between 
     President al-Bashir's government and insurgents in southern 
     Sudan resulted in more than 2,000,000 deaths and led to the 
     eventual independence of South Sudan in 2011;
       Whereas in 2003, President al-Bashir's government launched 
     a ruthless crackdown against insurgents and civilians in 
     Darfur that killed at least 300,000 Sudanese and displaced 
     2,500,000 more, resulting in Congress and the Administration 
     of President George W. Bush in 2004 describing as genocide 
     the Government of Sudan's actions in Darfur;
       Whereas in 2011, when conflict resumed in South Kordofan 
     and Blue Nile states, President al-Bashir's government 
     conducted indiscriminate bombings and raided villages, raping 
     and killing civilians, and waged a campaign of forced 
     starvation in the Nuba Mountains region of South Kordofan 
     that displaced as many as 2,000,000 people;
       Whereas, while the fighting between government forces and 
     insurgents in Darfur has subsided since 2016, when the 
     government waged a large-scale offensive before declaring a 
     ceasefire, violent attacks against civilians continue and 
     humanitarian access remains restricted in some opposition 
     stronghold areas of Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile;
       Whereas President al-Bashir remains the subject of two 
     outstanding arrest warrants from the International Criminal 
     Court based on charges including five counts of crimes 
     against humanity, two counts of war crimes, and three counts 
     of genocide;
       Whereas Sudan's economic crisis risks bringing the national 
     economy to total collapse, further raising the possibility of 
     state failure and broader regional destabilization that could 
     threaten a wide array of United States interests in East and 
     North Africa and the Red Sea regions;
       Whereas the people of Sudan have engaged since December 
     2018 in a wave of peaceful protests throughout the country 
     demanding an end to the hegemony of President al-Bashir's 
     brutal regime;
       Whereas President al-Bashir's government unlawfully 
     detained and tortured hundreds of Sudanese during the 
     protests, including political leaders, journalists, doctors, 
     unionists, and youth and women leaders, in violation of the 
     country's constitutional provisions guaranteeing free speech, 
     association, and assembly;
       Whereas on February 22, 2019, President al-Bashir declared 
     a year-long nationwide state of emergency and curfew, 
     dissolving his government and replacing state governors with 
     senior security officers and expanding the powers of Sudan's 
     security forces;
       Whereas when protesters in early April challenged President 
     al-Bashir's decrees and gathered in the tens of thousands in 
     front of Sudan's military headquarters in Khartoum to call 
     for an end to the regime, some elements of the security 
     forces tried to disperse the crowds with violence, leading to 
     clashes between internal security forces and the military as 
     some soldiers sought to protect the protesters;
       Whereas on April 11, 2019, after five days of mass protests 
     in front of their headquarters, Sudan's military removed 
     President al-Bashir from office and the country's First Vice 
     President and Minister of Defense, Lt. General Awad Ibn Auf, 
     announced he would lead a Transitional Military Committee 
     (``TMC'') that would rule the country for a two-year 
     transition period, in addition to the suspension of the 
     Constitution, dissolution of the National Assembly, and the 
     imposition of a three-month State of Emergency and nightly 
     curfew;
       Whereas Lt. General Abdel-Fattah Burnhan, former general 
     inspector of the Sudanese Armed Forces, who replaced Ibn Auf 
     on April 12, 2019, as the Chairman of the Transitional 
     Military Council, said on April 21, 2019, that the council 
     was ``ready to hand over power tomorrow to a civilian 
     government agreed by political forces''; and
       Whereas, the African Union Peace and Security Council 
     convened on April 30, 2019, and reiterated its conviction 
     that ``a military-led transition in Sudan will be totally 
     unacceptable and contrary to the will and legitimate 
     aspirations'' of the Sudanese people, expressed ``deep 
     regret'' that the military had not stepped aside, and, noting 
     negotiations were underway, demanded that the military hand 
     over power to a civilian-led transitional authority within 60 
     days: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) encourages a swift transfer of power by the military to 
     a civilian-led political authority in Sudan that--
       (A) respects and reflects the legitimate democratic 
     aspirations of the people of Sudan; and
       (B) engages in a credible process of democratization, 
     governance, and security sector reforms, and is transparent 
     in how it measures such progress;
       (2) calls on the ruling authorities in Sudan to take 
     measurable steps to--
       (A) respect the right to freedom of association and 
     expression;
       (B) protect the rights of opposition political parties, 
     journalists, human rights defenders, religious minorities, 
     and nongovernmental organizations to operate without 
     interference;
       (C) lift the bureaucratic restrictions on and facilitate 
     access for humanitarian relief operations;
       (D) introduce strong measures to create transparency and 
     address the structural corruption and kleptocracy of the 
     state; and
       (E) pursue accountability for serious crimes and human 
     rights abuses;
       (3) expresses solidarity with the people of Sudan, and 
     urges the United States Government to provide diplomatic, 
     technical, and targeted financial assistance for efforts to 
     advance a peaceful transfer of power and a civilian-led 
     transition period that allows for the peaceful resolution of 
     Sudan's conflicts and creates the conditions under which 
     timely democratic elections can be held that will meet 
     international standards and be overseen by credible domestic 
     and international electoral observers;
       (4) encourages the African Union to continue supporting the 
     Sudanese people's aspirations for democracy, justice, and 
     peace; and
       (5) emphasizes that until a transition to a credible 
     civilian-led government that reflects the aspirations of the 
     Sudanese people is established, the process to consider 
     removing Sudan from the State Sponsor of Terrorism List, 
     lifting any other remaining sanctions on Sudan, or 
     normalizing relations with the Government of Sudan will 
     continue to be suspended.

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