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Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006

Date: April 5, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Foreign Affairs


DARFUR PEACE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2006 -- (House of Representatives - April 05, 2006)

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my strong support for the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act and urge my colleagues to vote for it. This important bill takes critical steps towards ending the genocide in Darfur by authorizing the President to provide assistance to expand the African Union Mission in Sudan while also strengthening sanctions on countries that provide military assistance to Sudan.

The crisis in Darfur, Sudan began in February 2003 when two rebel groups emerged to challenge the National Islamic Front government in Darfur. Since then, over 300,000 people have died and nearly 2 million have been displaced from their homes. It is unfortunate that it took the United States until July of 2004 to recognize that these events in Darfur constituted genocide and it has taken until April of 2006 for the House of Representatives to consider this bill. We have seen far too many times the consequences of ignoring genocide or failing to get involved quickly.

The fact is that while we take a crucial step today, more remains to be accomplished to ensure a lasting peace in the Darfur region of Sudan. Yesterday, in the New York Times, Jan Egeland, the U.N. under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, stated, ``Many believe the problems are over in Darfur. They are getting worse.'' The United States government must continue to work in conjunction with the United Nations and other allies to put pressure on the Sudanese government to allow U.N. peacekeeping forces into the country.

I have introduced legislation expressing disapproval of the Arab League's decision to hold its 2006 summit in Khartoum, Sudan. The world community needs to join us as one in condemning the tragedy in Darfur and pressing the Sudanese government to end it.

Mr. Speaker, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act is a crucial step towards ending the violence. We need to remember, however, that we have more to do to end this humanitarian crisis. With nearly two million people displaced from their homes and hundreds of thousands dead, resolving this conflict should be a priority for Congress and the Administration. We cannot allow a tragedy of this magnitude to occur in today's world.

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