Expressing Support for the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)

EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE UNITED NATIONS AFRICAN UNION MISSION IN DARFUR (UNAMID) -- (House of Representatives - July 30, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to thank Mr. Chabot for authoring this very important and very timely resolution.

I rise in support of H. Res. 1351, which condemns the July 8, 2008, attack on UNAMID peacekeepers deployed in Darfur, Sudan, and expresses the support of Congress for this critical mission. According to the United Nations, seven peacekeepers were killed and an additional 22 were wounded when their patrol was ambushed by unidentified assailants utilizing 40 vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons.

This is the worst attack against the A.U. mission since it first deployed in July of 2004. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be the last.

Given continued deterioration of security in Darfur and the upsurge in deliberate attacks against humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, it is now more critical than ever to ensure that the U.N. peacekeeping mission is properly equipped.

I would note parenthetically, Mr. Speaker, that I've been to Darfur. I've met with the A.U., African Union, troops before it came under the blue helmet auspices, and I was shocked and dismayed during my visit there how underpaid, how they lacked needed materiel, the command-and-control equipment was lacking even then. And now, regrettably, to discover or to find out that there are huge gaps in their capabilities because that has not been provided by the international community is unconscionable. They lack critical air assets, armored personnel carriers, and even the pilots to fly the helicopters.

Anyone who has been in Darfur knows how hard it is to move across that terrain. There are huge gaping potholes. They are not even potholes--it looks like craters on the moon--moving from one place to the next. And if there's a torrential rain, bridges and roads are often completely washed out.

And obviously, it is very difficult to get the critical resources to the camps--and I've been to two of those camps, Mr. Speaker, Mukjar and the Kalma camp. And again, if it wasn't for the U.S., as Mr. Chabot pointed out, it is the U.S. and the generosity of the U.S. taxpayers that contribute most of the food and most of the medicine that is utilized by those beleaguered refugees.

I, again, want to thank him for his leadership in bringing this newest concern which needs to be reiterated over and over again. We have to make sure that those troops have the capability, have the wherewithal to carry on this battle with those who would subjugate and hurt and kill the Darfurians.

Responsible nations must come together and do everything we can to end the violence and restore peace to Darfur. You know, just because it's not on the front burner and it's not in the news media the way it was for a while doesn't mean that the issue has gone away. If anything, it has actually gotten worse in many aspects.

Finally, I'm one of those Members of Congress who actually met with General Bashir, the dictator to Sudan, in Khartoum. We had a very contentious meeting. He was denying that these kinds of atrocities are actually going on, and all he wanted to do was lift the embargo that the United States Government, through the work of Congress in a bipartisan way, had imposed upon Sudan. That's all he wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about the atrocities and the ending of those atrocities.

Well, now we know the chief prosecutor of the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague has asked for an indictment against Bashir. So he will join, in a very similar fashion, Joseph Coney and Charles Taylor, who is being held to account by the tribunal in Sierra Leon, for the crimes that he and like-minded individuals have committed.

We've got to send the message unmistakably by backing this U.N. force and by doing everything humanly possible to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice that ``never again'' will mean never again. We keep saying that, and genocide just keeps going from one part of the world to another. And certainly, the Darfurians are suffering genocide today.

In line with what we just discussed about the Olympics resolution, the Chinese Government, Mr. Speaker--and it's not necessarily in this resolution but it's germane to the issue--the Chinese Government has enabled the dictatorship in Sudan to carry on the atrocities in Darfur by providing the materiel so that the Government and the troops have the guns and the helicopters to strafe and kill and maim in Darfur.

Let's not forget, 2 million people died in southern Sudan with the full complicity of the Chinese dictatorship, and now upwards of 450,000--the high estimate, some put it at a lower number--have been killed and over 2 million made homeless in Darfur as a direct result of the Chinese enabling and facilitation of this terrible series of atrocities.

Again, at the minimum, the African Union troops that have put their lives on the line need to have the support, they need to have the guns, the ammunition and the air lift capabilities and all the other assets in order to carry on their mission.

Again, I thank Mr. Chabot.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source