Durbin Introduces New Resolution to End the Genocide in Darfur

Press Release

Durbin Introduces New Resolution to End the Genocide in Darfur

United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced a bipartisan resolution today calling on the government of Sudan to immediately end the genocide in Darfur by halting all violence, allowing for the rapid deployment of UN peacekeepers, and urging the warring parties to engage in a new round of peace talks.

"Despite overwhelming calls for action, the Sudanese government continues to brutalize its own people and thumb its nose at the international community. Congress needs to do all that it can to put a stop the violence and work to create a long-term peace. Millions of people have waited far too long for action." Durbin said.

Joining Durbin as sponsors of the resolution were Senators Brownback (R-KS), Biden (D-DE), Coleman (R-MN), Feingold (D-WI) and Voinovich (R-OH).

Also today, Durbin met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to discuss the situation in Darfur and the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force. The meeting was a continuation of Durbin's efforts to lobby members of the UN Security Council and African Union for greater involvement in ending the Sudanese genocide. Durbin and the Secretary General also discussed the situations in Burma and Iran.

Durbin is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, the first ever congressional committee focused solely on the issue of human rights. As a leader in the Senate to bring an end to genocide in Sudan, Durbin has given 18 speeches on the Senate floor in the past year to raise the profile of the situation in Darfur. Last month, the President signed the Sudan Divestment and Accountability Act. That bill, drafted in part by Senator Durbin, gives federal support to state and local governments, seeking to divest from Sudan.

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