[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 16] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 21715-21716] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]THE DETERIORATING PEACE IN SUDAN ______ HON. GREGORY W. MEEKS of new york in the house of representatives Thursday, September 28, 2006 Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Speaker, people are being massacred in Darfur, Sudan by the Sudanese Government's proxy militia called the Janjaweed. The Janjaweed have been unleashed to carry out a scorched earth campaign against innocent civilians from three African communities in Darfur causing death, destruction, and displacement. After the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews of Europe were murdered as a result of Adolf Hitler's plan called the ``Final Solution'', Germany's deliberate and systematic attempt to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Europe, the world said ``Never Again.'' In 1994, from April to June, 800,000 Rwandans were brutally slaughtered in one of the worst cases of human suffering of the 21st century. The U.S. and the international community failed to mount an intervention to stop the genocide, instead, we stood by watched and did nothing. The United Nations had a front row seat to these atrocities for they were on the frontlines but did not have the mandate to stop the slaughter. After the Rwandan genocide, we looked back and said, ``Not on my watch.'' From August 1998 to April 2004, 3.8 million people or 38,000 people per month have died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC. Today, the people of the DRC are still suffering the affects of a lack of a serious commitment to end the lawlessness in their country. Mr. Speaker, it is our watch and genocide continues to happen in Darfur, Sudan. What will be our excuse for not acting this time? We have witness testimonies from survivors of the genocide and other documentary evidence that the Sudanese government is acting with intent to destroy groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity. The United Nations estimates the number of people affected by the conflict at almost 4 million and according to the World Food Program, nearly 3 million people are reliant on humanitarian aid for food, shelter and health care. The Sudanese government and regional insecurity continues to obstruct aid workers from reaching displaced villagers. This phenomenon coupled with a lack of adequate funding will cause the number of people dying each month to increase significantly. The Khartoum government has demonstrated that it cannot be relied upon to address the humanitarian crisis. The government's use of import restrictions and routine [[Page 21716]] harassment of aid workers and obstruction to food aid deliveries is according to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, ``a violation of international humanitarian law.'' Also, The United Nations' International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur report found that the Sudanese government has committed major crimes under international law, including a pattern of mass killings, rape, pillage and forced displacement that constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity. The U.N. must act now to protect civilians. History will remember that we waited for the approval of a genocidal regime before going in to protect innocent Darfurians. We must act now. The world will remember that this Republican Congress, Republican Senate and Republican White House did not do all it could to stop the deaths, destruction and displacement that is occurring in Darfur. It has been 2 years since then-Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that, ``genocide has been committed in Darfur, and the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility.'' I have supported and continue to support the 7,000 member African Union Mission in Sudan, AMIS. As it stands, AMIS has no mandate to protect civilians, lacks the troop strength, financial, and logistical support necessary to stop the ongoing genocide. However, given these insurmountable odds, the A.U. force has performed admirably. AMIS' mandate was set to expire on September 30, 2006, and the A.U. has consistently called for transition of AMIS to the U.N. force. Khartoum vehemently opposes this request and consequently opposes U.N. Security Resolution 1706 but with much reluctance, Khartoum has agreed to extend AMIS' mandate until the end of the year. The United States continues to call on the Sudanese Government to recognize the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and immediately agree to a transition of AMIS to the U.N. President Bush has failed to leverage the diplomatic might of the presidency to overcome the objections of the Sudanese Government to a U.N. force entering Darfur. Instead, we have accepted the stalling tactics of the Sudanese administration: Only a massive U.N. force can legitimately and credibly protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access and fully carry out the extensive monitoring and implementation duties spelled out in the Darfur Peace Agreement. The Darfur Peace Agreement, DPA, establishes critical security, wealth-sharing and power sharing arrangements that address the long- standing economic and political marginalization of Darfur. To date, the criteria's of the DPA have yet to be implemented thus creating a sense of uncertainty for Darfur. We must leverage our compounded international diplomatic efforts to work with members of the Security Council such as China and Russia to overcome Sudanese President al-Bashir's objections to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1706 and allow the 20,000 U.N. forces to enter Darfur and begin to provide immediate security to Darfurians. The international community should not take a backseat to Khartoum's objections nor should the deployment of the troops be contingent upon Khartoum's consent. The situation on the ground continues to spiral out of control. Violence is causing surges in malnutrition and starvation rates. Humanitarian aid organizations have been cut off from helping those in need. Twelve humanitarian aid workers have been killed in the last 2 months. Twenty-five humanitarian aid vehicles have been hijacked causing humanitarian aid organizations to pull out of northern Darfur leaving major populations vulnerable. Under pressure from the Congress, the President recently appointed a Special Envoy for Darfur, Andrew Natsios. Securing civilians should be Mr. Natsios' primary responsibility. Further, he should have a strong mandate and staff to ensure he is successful in achieving this mandate. The Government of Sudan is deploying 26,000 Sudanese troops to Darfur in preparation for a major offensive. At the same time, the Sudanese Government is opposed to U.N. forces entering Darfur and continues to object to the African Union troops remaining in Darfur if they transition into a U.N. force. The actions by the Government of Sudan should raise concern for the safety of the people of Darfur. Sudanese armed forces--Janjaweed militia--are still using vehicles that they've painted white to look like African Union troops and they continue to steal gasoline from the A.U. It is despicable to know that the Sudanese Government in Khartoum continues to use helicopter gunships and Soviet-era Antonov planes to bomb villages and drive innocent unarmed civilians from their mud-and-thatch hut homes. An international force is needed immediately to stop the killings, rapes, and pillaging in Darfur; provide security to facilitate humanitarian assistance programs for internally displaced people; enforce the cease-fire between the government in Khartoum and the rebel groups in Darfur to allow for political negotiations; and, facilitate the return of civilians to their land, reconstruction of homes, and provide a secure environment. Mr. Speaker, we should be immediately deploying a U.N. peacekeeping force in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1706 and immediately implement all previously passed U.N. Security Council resolutions. The people of Darfur should not have to wait. We must act not before it is too late, we must act now before there is no one left to protect. ____________________