Calling on the League of Arab States to Acknowledge the Genocide in Darfur

Floor Speech

CALLING ON THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR -- (House of Representatives - April 25, 2007)

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Mr. MORAN of Kansas. I appreciate the gentleman from New Jersey yielding time. He has been a leader on this and other issues for so long, and I am honored to be here with him here today.

Madam Speaker, often on this floor, way too often from my perspective, we see a divisive, partisan discussion and debate. But, Madam Speaker, today we speak about an issue in which there is no partisanship and there is no political divide, and that, Madam Speaker, is what is transpiring and has transpired over the last several years in Darfur.

We know that there have been 2 million citizens of Sudan who no longer live in their homes or villages. We know that there has been 450,000 people killed in Sudan. It is something that demands our attention. It is something that we as Congress, we as a country, we as a world, must come together to bring the death and destruction, the inhumanity and the hunger and violence to an end.

Madam Speaker, I had the opportunity several weeks ago to join the honorable majority leader (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader of this House, along with the ranking Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, to visit Darfur. And there, of course, we had the opportunity to visit with government officials, as we in Congress often do. But we also had the opportunity to see for ourselves the conditions that human beings are living in today. And while I hope our meetings with government officials were useful, I know the view I saw, the scenes that were brought to my attention, the people of Darfur I met transcend any meeting I could have had with a government official to discuss what is going on. But it was an opportunity for me to see my life change as a human being, and to see that we all have a cause to see that life prevails and justice endures.

Upon my return, Madam Speaker, last Tuesday I took the opportunity to visit the Holocaust Museum. That week was the Week of Remembrance of the Holocaust. And while there, I saw the quote from Isaiah, Isaiah 43:10, ``You are my witness.'' Madam Speaker, that speaks to me and should speak to all of us. We are the witnesses of a holocaust today.

Many Members of Congress, much more so than me and for much longer periods of time, have paid attention to this issue and have been trying to rise to the occasion and bring awareness to the world, and I commend those colleagues who have been outspoken on this issue for a long, long time, and today I join them.

Recently, I returned back to the Holocaust Museum where President Bush spoke. He spoke certainly about the remembrance of the death and destruction of the Jewish community, the people of Jewish faith who have suffered, but he also brought home the importance of addressing genocide and death today.

I commend the President for his demands that the Sudanese Government allow the African Union and the United Nations peacekeeping force, that they be allowed to reach out and be increased in their force, that they reach out to rebel leaders, that the Sudanese Government end its support for violent janjaweed militia and they permit humanitarian aid workers to do their work. President Bush outlined some steps that we as a country are willing to take and requests that we will make to the United Nations.

Congress designated last week as The Days of Remembrance in order to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust. While at the Holocaust Museum, I learned much about the reach of the Holocaust and saw the images of death and dehumanization.

As I reflected upon the Jews' past and considered the future of African tribes in Darfur, I have a question to ask: Are we going to wait until the proportions of death are similar to the Holocaust before we take action?

The part of the exhibit that moved me the most, Madam Speaker, was the list of 10,000 individuals who took action during the Holocaust. They have been identified by the Israelis as ``the Righteous Among the Nations,'' those who risked their lives to save innocent Jews during Nazi rule.

When the conflict in Darfur has ended, everyone will feel sorrow for the unnecessary loss of life. But will our Nation be among those, will we, as individuals, be among those who feel shame for inaction, or will we have the opportunity to have pride for standing up for justice in Darfur?

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