Approving the Renewal of Import Restrictions Contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003

Floor Speech

APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF IMPORT RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN THE BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2003 -- (Senate - July 24, 2007)

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DARFUR

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I return to the floor to discuss the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Most of the discussion on the floor of the Senate and in Congress for the last several weeks has been about Iraq, and appropriately so, yet the time spent dealing with the failed policy in Iraq is a stark reminder of how it also distracts us from so many other critical issues around the world. One issue in particular is the 4-year humanitarian tragedy in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Sadly, in front of the global community's eyes, we have witnessed unspeakable horror--mass killings, rape, torture, the torching of homes and entire villages. The estimates of death are wide ranging, from 200,000 to 400,000. Some 2 1/2 million people have been displaced from their homes, and there is a mounting refugee crisis in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.

Despite a worldwide call for action, the tragedy continues. The genocide in Sudan is becoming increasingly complicated and tragic. The violence threatens to destabilize an entire region, and without change there is little end in sight. Today, we have an important opportunity to break the cycle of violence, an opportunity that we must seize.

After years of duplicity and stalling, Sudanese President Bashir agreed last month to a significantly expanded joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force. We have to seize that opportunity and seize it quickly. Unfortunately, there are already disturbing signs this window may be closing. Yesterday, the Washington Post covered a visit by President Bashir to the Darfur section of his country. President Bashir said that people there were ``living normal lives;'' that only 9,000 people had died and that ``most of Darfur is now secure and enjoying real peace.'' He rejected foreign intervention in the conflict.

This crisis has gone on long enough. Over 2 years ago, President Bush declared a genocide in Darfur. Secretary of State Colin Powell joined in that chorus. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also agreed. And the President said: Not on my watch--remembering the horror of Rwanda, where 800,000 people died in a genocide during the Clinton administration. President Clinton did not respond at that time, has regretted it ever since, and said so publicly. President Bush said the same thing would not happen in his administration. I have reminded the President now several times on the floor of the Senate and personally that his administration is coming to an end. If he is going to do anything about the crisis and genocide in Darfur, he needs to move and move quickly.

The need is simple: rapid deployment of a full peacekeeping force. We have seen this type of urgency with other peacekeeping forces, including last year in Lebanon, and we must act with similar speed for the people, the victims, suffering in Darfur.

Last week, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and I had a good conversation. He returned my call on the telephone and we spoke for a few minutes. We talked about the importance of rapidly deploying a new peacekeeping force and of working toward a long-term political settlement in this region. It is my hope that our United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, will work closely with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to make these steps a reality.

The U.N. Security Council will be meeting soon to authorize this force. The Security Council should be firm in its mandate and its timeline.

The needs are clear. The force must have sufficient resources and numbers. We can help. The United States has resources set aside for peacekeeping efforts in the world. I can't think of many more pressing than the genocide in Darfur. If we are not providing soldiers, we certainly need to be providing resources.

It must have a strong chapter VII mandate for protecting civilians, peacekeepers, and humanitarian workers. Some of these nongovernmental organizations, these humanitarian workers, have been the victims of the violence in Darfur. Men and women who are risking their lives to provide the basic necessities of life have been the targets themselves, for the jingaweit militia and all the violence taking place there. This U.N. force must have a clear command-and-control structure and firm timetable. It should be clear day-to-day operational instructions come from the United Nations. The U.N. mandate must set benchmarks and hold the Sudanese Government accountable for any failure to cooperate. In particular, there should be no room for further stalling or reinterpretation by the Sudanese Government. We have been blindsided too many times by President Bashir of Sudan, who has said so many times there is no problem in Darfur; you can bring in a force; no, I have changed my mind.

As this man has weaved back and forth, more and more innocent people have died and been displaced from their homes. We must match this peacekeeping force with a renewed diplomatic effort to bring about a long-term political settlement, including naming a Special Representative of the Secretary General to monitor implementation of a comprehensive peace agreement.

The force must be deployed immediately. The notion that we are going to do this months from now is unacceptable.

Finally, we need a long-term political settlement to match the peacekeeping effort. I call on the United States, the United Nations, and the African Union to continue intensive negotiations with all parties.

I also strongly urge all parties, including those representing nonsignatory Darfur rebel movements, to participate fully in the U.N.-African Union-led negotiations and to tirelessly cooperate in the effort to bring about a political solution that will return peace and stability to the people of Darfur.

Those who choose not to participate leave themselves open to further international isolation and sanction. Each day we delay on peacekeeping and political settlement efforts leads to more death, more rape, more human suffering, more people displaced from their homes, more desperate refugees. Each day we delay, the crisis becomes more complex, with increased violence and numbers of refugees spilling over into neighboring countries creating burdens and instabilities there. Each day we delay gives President Bashir another opportunity to stall and back away from his commitment. Each day we delay is a further indictment of the global community's failure to act decisively in the face of genocide.

We must not wait another day. Let us not forget the major export of Sudan is oil. The major company in Sudan that is drilling the oil and exporting it is PetroChina, a company controlled by the Chinese Government. The Chinese need to be involved in this as well, first at the United Nations and then beyond.

A few weeks ago, after an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal written by Mia Farrow, the actress, the Chinese finally responded and made some overtures toward the Bashir Government, saying they had to act. We have not heard anything since.

It is time for the Chinese to step up. If they want to be part of this global community, they should stand on the side of civilized conduct. They should condemn the genocide in Darfur and do more.

In closing, I thank President Bush, Secretary General Ban, and U.N. Ambassador Khalilzad. I want them to know there is strong support in the Congress for swift action to field this peacekeeping force. Many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have spoken out for years on the need to do more to halt the genocide in Darfur. We will and we must continue to focus this concern on doing everything we can to halt this genocide.

I hope we have an active voice and role in this debate in the Senate. Yes, we can do many things--our legislative business--but not ignoring the rest of the world. I hope, in the next 2 weeks, we can take action on the floor to adopt resolutions and to make it clear, on a bipartisan basis, we want the U.N. peacekeeping force to act and act quickly in response.

We should also be working with the Ambassadors from countries that are represented in the African Union, as well as those on the Security Council, to reassure them that the United States wants swift action. We need to make sure our appropriations bills reflect the need for resources to make this a success. As the President said more than 2 years ago, ``Not on my watch.'' We in the Congress, we in the Senate, should say the same, and we should follow that statement with action.

I yield the floor.

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