Developing a Comprehensive Regional Strategy in Chad and Darfur

Floor Speech

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H. Res. 1011, which calls on the United States and the international community to develop, fund, and implement a regional strategy which addresses the security and humanitarian crisis in Chad, the Darfur region of the Sudan, and the northern region of the Central African Republic.

This timely and important legislation, of which I am proud to be a cosponsor, not only calls on the Governments of Chad and the Central African Republic to fulfill their obligations under international law to protect civilians, but also calls upon the President of the United States to continue humanitarian assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons in the region.

Chad has been plagued by intermittent conflict, both internally and with its neighbors, since it gained independence in 1960. The current President of Chad, Idriss Déby, took power after launching a coup across the border in neighboring Darfur, Sudan. He has since faced at least five coup attempts including one just this past February. Violence spurred by the Sudanese Government has also continued to destabilize Chad and the State Department's most recent Country Report on Human Rights Practices that, ``the [Chadian] government's poor human rights record deteriorated further'' this past year.

The refugee situation in Chad and the surrounding region continues to worsen. In the past three years, as fighting between the Government and rebels increased and 180,000 Chadians have been displaced, adding to the inflow of 290,000 refugees from the Central African Republic, CAR, and Sudan's Darfur region. The United Nations estimates that Chad is now home to 240,000 refugees from Darfur, 52,000 refugees from the Central African Republic, and more than 180,000 internally displaced people. In February 2008 alone over 12,000 new refugees from Darfur entered the country. We must develop a comprehensive plan to address the refugee crisis as well as the security problems that plague the region.

I visited Darfur and have seen the situation on the ground. Now high-tech GPS satellites and mass media allow everyone to bear witness to the tragedies in Chad, Sudan, and the surrounding areas: the burnt holes where villages used to be, the mass migrations of the internally displaced, starving children, and victims of rape.

With this knowledge comes a duty to act. As the wars in Chad, Sudan, and Central African Republic become increasingly intertwined, and as the massive displacements continue across the region, the United States and the international community must engage the crisis on a regional level.

This resolution recognizes that reality and calls for a comprehensive strategy to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian operations, contain and reduce violence, and contribute to conditions for sustainable peace and good governance throughout the region with all nations.

I thank the sponsor of this resolution, Mr. WOLF, for introducing this important resolution, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

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