Barbara Lee Bill Calls on Arab States to Help End the Genocide in Darfur
(Washington, DC) – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) gave the following statement on the House floor during debate on H.Con.Res. 7, the Darfur Partners for Peace Act, her resolution calling on the member nations of the League of Arab States to take more aggressive action to end the genocide in Darfur (text as prepared for delivery):
“Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking Chairman Lantos, Chairman Payne, and the Majority Leader for their leadership on the issue of Darfur and for working with me to bring this bipartisan resolution with over 115 co-sponsors to the floor today.
“Thirteen years ago the world stood by as nearly one million people were slaughtered in the genocide in Rwanda. The best our country could do then was apologize for our failure to act.
“Many of us swore that another Rwanda would never again take place on our watch. But today Mr. Speaker it is happening again.
“Nearly three years ago, on July 22, 2004 Congress formally declared that genocide was taking place in Darfur.
“Estimates indicate that nearly 450,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million innocent civilians have been displaced to date.
“I witnessed this ongoing tragedy in January 2005 when I visited the refugee camps in Chad and Darfur with two great humanitarian leaders, Don Cheadle and Paul Rusesabagina.
“In February 2006, under the leadership of our Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, I visited the refugee camps again in another region of Darfur.
“And just two weeks ago I returned from my third trip to the region, as part of a Co-del organized by our Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
“From what we saw, the situation in Darfur is continuing to deteriorate. More and more people are dying, and even humanitarian aid workers are at risk. The day before our delegation arrived, five African Union soldiers were killed in Darfur.
“Unfortunately for many Darfurians, the situation remains grim.
“As part of our trip, we also went to Egypt and met directly with President Mubarak.
“He indicated that Egypt had deployed 900 troops to help implement the comprehensive peace agreement in Southern Sudan. Additionally Egypt had sent about 150 military observers and police to Darfur and was supporting a field hospital there that was serving 200,000 people.
“While these efforts were appreciated, we urged him to do more and use his influence with the Sudanese government to help stop the atrocities.
“News reports last week indicate that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the League of Arab States and the UN, were all instrumental in pressuring Bashir to accept the second phase of the three part agreement to implement an AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force.
“If true, this agreement to deploy the so called ‘heavy support package’ would provide an additional 3,000 peacekeepers, helicopters, and significant logistical and military support for the hybrid force.
“However, past experience has taught us that we can never take Bashir at his word. News reports the very next day detailed a UN investigation that caught Khartoum disguising military supply planes in UN colors in order to supply weapons to their Janjaweed allies.
“The international community and our partners in the League of Arab States cannot allow this sort of double-dealing to take place. We’ve all got to keep the pressure on Khartoum, and that’s why we’ve got to pass this bipartisan resolution today.
“The thrust of my resolution is very simple. It calls on the League of Arab States and each Member State to be our partners for peace by stepping up their efforts to end the genocide in Darfur.
“For too long they have been silent partners in this struggle. I remember in my trips to Algeria and Egypt several years ago that government officials were reluctant to call the ongoing atrocities in Darfur genocide - and some even denied genocide was taking place.
“Even just last week Egypt expressed its opposition to further UN sanctions against Sudan urging that we give Bashir more time.
“While it appears today that in some cases those outlooks are changing, there is much more that they and we can do.
“We must demand that Bashir follow through on the full deployment of the AU-UN hybrid force.
“We must urge all parties, the rebels and the government, to end the violence and come to the table to negotiate a political solution – but we cannot and should not hold a ceasefire declaration hostage to a peace agreement or vice versa.
“And we must insist that Darfurians can return home to their villages and reclaim their lives.
“Our own efforts to stop this genocide must also intensify.
“We’ve got to pursue divestment to remove all U.S. funding from any business that is supporting the Sudanese government and the ongoing genocide.
“We’ve got to explore further sanctions and legislation that I know my colleague Donald Payne is working on.
“Lastly, we must engage with the Chinese to leverage their influence on the Sudanese government and to help put a stop to the violence. As the principal buyer of oil from Sudan, the Chinese have the ability to exert political and financial pressure on Bashir that other governments cannot. We need their help to end the genocide, and we should not allow them to duck this responsibility.
“Everyday we wait to act, the killing continues, the rapes continue, the starvation, the dislocation, they all continue.
“Mr. Speaker, genocide is happening again on our watch. But this time, with the help of our allies in the international community and the bipartisan will and determination of this Congress and the administration, we can stop it.”
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