On the Crisis Situation in Darfur
ON THE CRISIS SITUATION IN DARFUR -- (House of Representatives - September 20, 2006)
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of Mr. DeFazio.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from Illinois is recognized for 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to commend Mr. Payne of New Jersey and all of those who have demonstrated tremendous leadership on this issue.
I have been told time and time again that the only way that evil can triumph is when good people do nothing, and I believe it was Dante who suggested that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who declare neutrality and do nothing in times of great crisis.
We have all heard of the atrocities that are continuously being heaped upon the people in the Sudan. It is now time for us to act, and to act convincingly. We have to ask ourselves the question, if not us, then who? If not now, then when?
I am here tonight to help sound the alarm once again on genocide in the Sudan. There is no room for neutrality in the face of the crimes being committed there each day. Amnesty International has renewed its charge that the international community is not doing enough to protect women in the Darfur region and the refugee camps in Chad where mass rape is being used as a weapon.
Since 1983, more than 2 million black civilians have died during the civil war in the south Sudan. That struggle was especially brutal for the civilian population. Slave raids resulted in the enslavement of women and children, gang rape, ethnic cleansing and the imposition of famine conditions for hundreds of thousands of people.
On October 21, 2002, the President signed the Sudan Peace Act, which stated in part that the acts of the Government of Sudan constitute genocide as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. That bill requires President Bush to certify every 6 months that the government in Khartoum is negotiating in good faith for an end to the civil war. According to some sources, we may be close to a framework for peace in that region.
Mr. Speaker, only a short time ago we paused here to mark the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, where more than 800,000 people died while the world watched and did nothing. Once again, genocide has unfolded before us, and those who have taken note have expressed their horror at what we have seen. But where is the public outcry? Where are the front page pictures? Where is the response of our government on behalf of the American people? I can tell you there has been some, but there has not been nearly enough.
So I join with my colleagues here this evening to call for the unequivocal, absolute declaration that genocide in the Sudan must end, and that it must end now. Not next year, not next month, but tonight.
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