Declaring Genocide in Darfur, Sudan

DECLARING GENOCIDE IN DARFUR, SUDAN -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 22, 2004)

Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, DONALD PAYNE, and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus for their leadership in bringing H. Con. Res. 467 to the floor so quickly. The resolution, which I am proud to co-sponsor, accurately labels the situation in the Darfur region of the Sudan as genocide, and calls upon the United Nations to take action to prevent it.

Mr. Speaker, millions of people in Darfur face a life-threatening crisis. Through actions of militias supported by the Sudanese government, villages have been burned, crops destroyed, and people uprooted.

Tens of thousands of people have already died. Without prompt and effective international action, the death toll will soon go much higher.

The Bush Administration has appropriately increased public awareness, in the United States and throughout the world, about what is at stake in Darfur, and this resolution acknowledges that.

But it calls upon the Administration to do more. A decade ago, the international community did not act quickly enough to prevent the horror of Rwanda. We must not see a repeat of that tragedy in Darfur.

Sustained and effective leadership by the United States will be necessary to achieve that goal.

The rainy season has arrived in Darfur, and the level of misery is increasing. The Sudanese are not acting quickly enough to implement promises they made to control the militias and facilitate the delivery of relief supplies.

Passage of this resolution should heighten the sense of urgency and sharpen the understanding of the Sudanese government of the resolve of the United States on this urgent and critical matter.

I urge the adoption of the resolution.