Durbin Statement on Passage of UN Resolution Regarding Peacekeepers to Darfur

Press Release

United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement today on the passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution providing for the introduction of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force to augment an African Union force in Darfur, Sudan.

"After WWII when the death camps in Europe were shut down, we vowed ‘never again,' and yet we saw the murder of 2 million in Cambodia in the 1970's, and nearly 1 million in Rwanda in the early 1990's. The U.S. has acknowledged that Darfur is the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today. Our rhetoric has been powerful. Our actions have not."

"Today the UN Security Council unanimously voted to authorize a significant peacekeeping force. Unfortunately, the resolution does not allow new sanctions to be imposed and prohibits the confiscation of weapons. What will be important now will be rapid deployment of these forces and multilateral efforts to hold Sudan accountable. We must also work to engage the various factions in Sudan in a political settlement that will bring long term stability to region."

"I'll continue to publicly call on the world community to meet our responsibility to put an end to this genocide. And I will continue to urge my Senate colleagues, the Congress and the President to take this crisis seriously, and work diligently for a solution."

"Today's action by the UN is a start, but it is only a start. There is more to be done and it needs to be done now."

Durbin, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, is a leader in the Senate in trying to bring an end to genocide in Sudan. He has given 16 speeches on the Senate floor this year in an effort to raise the profile of the situation in Darfur. Durbin has introduced three pieces of legislation aimed at discouraging support of the Sudanese regime and prosecuting those responsible for committing genocide. Durbin is the only Member of Congress to personally lobby all of the African members of the Security Council to pass today's resolution. Last week, Durbin spoke with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon about the situation in Darfur where he pledged Senate support and urged swift action by the UN. He had similar conversations with the ambassadors from China, Ghana, The Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Russia, all current or permanent members of the UN Security Council.

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