Durbin Sends Bipartisan Letter to President Bush Asking for UN Sanctions Against Sudanese Government

Letter

Letter to President George W. Bush

Text of the letter below:

March 22, 2007

The President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to you as Members of Congress who are deeply concerned about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and equally frustrated by the inability or unwillingness of the international community to put a halt to it. Last August, the United Nations Security Council passed UNSC Resolution 1706 which expanded the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan to include Darfur and stated that over 20,000 military and civilian police personnel were to be deployed as peacekeepers in the region. Over six months have passed and fewer than 200 UN personnel have been deployed because of the Sudanese government's refusal to comply with what the Security Council has authorized.

History demonstrates that Sudan's leadership does not respond to this type of request. We believe that it is time for the Security Council to enact a new resolution, imposing multilateral economic sanctions on the Sudanese government and targeted sanctions on individuals named by the UN Commission of inquiry as being responsible for crimes against humanity.

We recognize that previous U.S.-led efforts to move stronger resolutions at the Security Council have been deterred by the threat of a veto by one or more of the Permanent Members. We frankly urge you to introduce and push for a vote on a resolution imposing multilateral sanctions regardless. Let a country stand before the community of nations and announce that it is vetoing the best effort we can muster to build the leverage necessary to end ongoing mass murder.

There are political risks to advancing this strategy, but we urge you to weigh those risks against the verdict of history if we fail to try. If the Security Council does not act, the United States should engage with our allies to create a coalition that will impose economic penalties on the Sudanese government. The United States has already implemented a number of unilateral sanctions, and we understand that you are considering still more, a development that we would applaud. However, the real key to changing Khartoum's behavior most likely lies in multilateral sanctions, especially those aimed at the Sudanese oil industry.

We encourage you to put this matter before the United Nations Security Council as soon as possible. A threatened veto should not silence us.

We know that you share our commitment to this issue and we commend your courage in recognizing this genocide for what it is. We look forward to continuing our efforts until a timely solution to the crisis in Darfur is found.

Sincerely,
Dick Durbin

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