Darfur

DARFUR

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the amendment offered by the Senator from New Jersey, Senator Menendez. Senator Menendez is carrying on a great tradition. His predecessor, Senator Jon Corzine, now Governor of New Jersey, showed a special interest in the genocide which is occurring in Darfur in Africa. I cannot say how many times Senator Corzine came to the Senate to raise this issue. I am glad Senator Menendez has the same intensity and the same commitment Governor Corzine showed in the Senate. He has evidenced it by this amendment which adds an additional $60 million for peacekeeping forces.

I have spoken in the Senate many times about the Darfur crisis. I say that with some embarrassment. It is unfortunate that I still have to return to the Senate time after time, month after month, year after year. While we debate, people die. What is happening in Darfur is a shameful situation for any country in the world, shameful for those who live in peace and in powerful countries for not doing more.

First, let me salute this administration. Though I disagree with the Bush administration on so many things, I have been respectful of the fact from the beginning, under Secretary of State Colin Powell and now Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they have not pulled any punches. They have said from the outset what is occurring in Darfur is nothing short of genocide. That is a stark departure from what occurred under the Clinton administration, an administration which I admired and worked with, but during the Rwanda genocide they were reluctant to use the word. So many times our Secretary of State and others within the administration were pinned down: Was Rwanda a genocide? And even while people were losing their lives in that African nation, they refused to use the word.

The reason is because it carries with it so much moral import, so much responsibility. Once deciding a genocide is occurring in some part of the world, what, then, must we do? Under the Genocide Convention, we are to step forward. The civilized family of nations is to step forward to stop the genocide in place and to protect the innocent people.

For several years, though we have declared it genocide, we have not done nearly as much as we should. We have relied on a small and somewhat impotent group of African Union soldiers who may be trying to do their best but who are completely outmanned by the jingaweit and other violent actors in that nation who take advantage every day of the poor people of Darfur.

Last week, I went back to my alma mater, Georgetown University, here in Washington, DC, and I spoke to a group of students. It was a great night. I have not been back at campus in that capacity. It was great to speak to them. As the students came up to ask questions, a group of students came forward and said, We are a student group on this campus genuinely interested in the genocide in Darfur. We are planning a rally in Washington--this last Sunday--and we want to know what you are going to do about it, Senator.

It was a legitimate question, one which I answered by saying I had done some things, but I need to do more. I offered an amendment to the bill now pending to add $50 million to help move in a U.N. peacekeeping force that will augment the African Union force and give some power to this effort to protect these poor innocent people.

This weekend, on the National Mall in Washington, at the Federal Plaza in Chicago, and in 16 other cities across our country, tens of thousands of people gathered to protest the ongoing genocide in Darfur. As the Washington Post noted, the gathering of people on The Mall was one of the most diverse in history. The crowd was composed of people from all walks of life: Jews, Christians, Muslims, liberal, conservatives, teenagers, and members of the ``greatest generation.'' They gathered under many different signs but many contained the same message: Save Darfur. That is simple. That is powerful. That is our moral responsibility, to save Darfur.

Once again, we have fallen short. We promised that once we declared genocide, we would act. We said after the genocides of recent memory, it would never again happen in our time. Sadly, it has. And things are getting worse instead of better. Violence is continuing. The Sudanese Government is blocking the preparations for the U.N. mission and peace talks have stalled.

Last week, there was an announcement in the paper which troubled me. The World Food Program, one of the most important programs in the world to feed needy people, announced it was forced to cut food rations in Darfur in half. More than 6 million people across Sudan require food aid, more than any other country on Earth. The World Food Program estimates it needs approximately $750 million to feed them and it does not have the money. The United States has provided $188 million; the European Union, almost nothing. Libya is the only member of the Arab league to step up.

This has to change. We can and should do more and so should the rest of the world. It is bad enough to stand by without taking appropriate action to stop the violence of genocide. But how can we have on our conscience that these poor people, these children, these families, dispossessed and living in fear, will now slowly starve to death on our watch?

Several amendments have been filed to this emergency supplemental bill that addressed Darfur. I am proud to cosponsor them. On this amendment by Senator Menendez of New Jersey, I ask unanimous consent to join as a cosponsor.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DURBIN. His amendment increases funding for international peacekeeping efforts by $60 million.

Another amendment that has been filed authorizes the Department of Defense to assist NATO in peacekeeping efforts in Darfur. The third sets aside funds for a special envoy to be named to play the role that former Senator John Danforth of Missouri played so effectively. Let me say parenthetically, he is a great man. I am honored to call him a friend. He accepted this assignment when he could have returned to the peace and solitude of his retired life in St. Louis, but leaving the United Nations he went on to Darfur. That speaks volumes about this man's commitment to the suffering of the world that he did it.

Now we have an amendment before the Senate asking that another envoy be sent by the United States, a person of the caliber of John Danforth, who can do his best to try to bring some peace to that region.

The situation in Darfur represents a massive humanitarian catastrophe, one that is ongoing, one that is happening on our watch. As we stand to make these speeches in the comfort and security of the Senate, people are literally dying, being raped, and starving to death in Darfur.

Over the past 3 months alone, resurging violence in Darfur has forced 200,000 people from their homes. One-third of them are cut off from any humanitarian aid. In addition, Human Rights Watch has reported the Sudanese Government launched a new offensive in southern Darfur last week. The government troops reportedly used helicopter gun ships against a defenseless village in south Darfur where thousands of displaced Darfurians sought refuge. Can you imagine the horror of that scene as helicopter gun ships sprayed these poor helpless people?

The African Union mission in Darfur has 7,000 peacekeepers; 7,000 men in uniform to guard an area the size of Texas. But a Texas without roads, a Texas without bridges, a Texas without communication. They cannot end this genocide by themselves.

Unfortunately, while violence in Darfur escalates, the news on the prospects of peace, talks between the Government of Sudan and the rebel groups, is very discouraging. The talks have dragged on for 2 bloody years. They were set to conclude on Sunday, but in the absence of an agreement, they have been extended another 48 hours. The prospects for an accord seem dim. Khartoum so far has also refused to allow a U.N. assessment team into Darfur to prepare for a mission there.

The Sudanese Government launched a war on its own people for 3 straight years. They cannot be allowed to dictate terms to the United Nations. Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance in Darfur. We should appoint that special envoy, someone of the stature, the dedication, and wisdom of John Danforth, to try to advance the peace process.

The United States must engage the other members of the United Nations Security Council to put real pressure on the Government of Sudan.

One of the troubling aspects is that many believe that the major countries of the world are pulling their punches and not holding Sudan accountable because Sudan has oil deposits. Once again, our foreign policy is being affected, if not dictated, by energy reserves in Africa, as it is in so many other parts of the world.

What a grim reminder of how important it is for the United States to move to energy independence so we can stand up for the values we need without sacrificing all-important energy for our own economy and that other countries can step forward and make the right decision in terms of the morality and values of the world rather than gauging the impact it will have on their oil imports.

We have to work with our European allies to persuade China and Russia to set aside their objections to U.N. action.

We should pass the amendments before us this week on the supplemental appropriations bill, and the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act should be signed into law. We should continue to support the African Union mission in Darfur, while leading efforts to ensure that NATO and the United Nations take up the peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Three years of genocide--3 years after our declaration that a genocide was occurring right here on our watch--3 years is too long.

I echo the thousands of people who gathered across America on Sunday--the students from Georgetown University, the students from other universities across this country, and many other caring people who came forward. I urge the Senate to join them to save Darfur.

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