Congresswoman Barbara Lee Marks Ten Years Since Beginning of Genocide in Darfur
For Immediate Release: April 16, 2013
Contact: Katherine Jolly (510) 763-0370
Today, Congresswoman Barbra Lee (D-CA) issued the following statement on the House floor marking ten years since the beginning of genocide in Darfur:
“Ten years ago this month, the international community joined together to bring the world’s attention to brutal attacks by the Government of Sudan against the people of Darfur.
“In 2004, Donald Payne and the Congressional Black Caucus, Leader Pelosi and others stood united and introduced H CON RES 467, declaring that genocide was occurring in Darfur.
“Many of us also travelled to the region and later passed the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.
“Yet, even after then Secretary of State Powell finally declared genocide, the international community failed to act decisively to stop it.
“If we had acted then, we could have saved many innocent lives. If we do the right thing now, we can end the suffering, violence and insecurity that tragically continue to plague the region to this day.
“Now is the time for the United States to provide high-level leadership and press for full humanitarian access. Let us do the right thing so the next time we say “not on our watch” we mean it.”
View a video of the statement here.
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, as well as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus(CPC), where she serves as the Co-Chair of the CPC Peace and Security Task Force. She also serves as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Sudan & South Sudan.