SPEAKERS CONTENTS INSERTS
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93–388PDF
2004
CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN FOR ITS ATTACKS AGAINST INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN THE IMPOVERISHED DARFUR REGION OF WESTERN SUDAN
MARKUP
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H. Con. Res. 403
APRIL 22, 2004
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Serial No. 108–87
Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations
COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman
JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
AMO HOUGHTON, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York
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ROY BLUNT, Missouri
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
NICK SMITH, Michigan
JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
BRAD SHERMAN, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
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BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM SMITH, Washington
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
Subcommittee on Africa
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
AMO HOUGHTON, New York
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
BARBARA LEE, California
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BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
THOMAS P. SHEEHY, Subcommittee Staff Director
NOELLE LUSANE, Democratic Professional Staff Member
MALIK M. CHAKA, Professional Staff Member
GREG GALVIN, Staff Associate
C O N T E N T S
MARKUP OF:
H. Con. Res. 403, Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute offered by the Honorable Edward R. Royce, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Africa
CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN FOR ITS ATTACKS AGAINST INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN THE IMPOVERISHED DARFUR REGION OF WESTERN SUDAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2004
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Africa,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.
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The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 4:40 p.m. in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce (Chairman of the Committee) presiding.
Mr. ROYCE. Pursuant to notice, I call up the resolution H.Con.Res. 403, Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan, for purposes of markup.
[H. Con. Res. 403 follows:]
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Mr. ROYCE. Without objection, the resolution will be considered as read and open for amendment at any point.
If I could just make an opening statement here, I think it is most appropriate that we are marking this up now based upon what we have just heard about the inattention to killing and the parallels between Rwanda 10 years ago and Sudan today.
This resolution condemns the Government of Sudan for its attacks against the innocent civilians of the Darfur region of western Sudan. The resolution states that the Sudanese Government is using rape as a weapon of war, destroying food and water sources and systematically manipulating and denying humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur. More than one million Sudanese have been displaced. The Sudanese Government has once again used allied militia to carry out a scorched earth policy as it did in southern Sudan previously.
We are now stalled in peace negotiations between the Government of Sudan and the SPLM, negotiations that have been underway for more than a year. As I said in my opening statement to this hearing, peace negotiations cannot lead us to discount the atrocities being committed in Darfur. The Sudanese Government must cease its attacks against civilians and allow the unfettered delivery of humanitarian aid.
This resolution urges the President to direct the United States representative to the U.N. to seek an investigation to determine if the Sudanese Government is committing crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Lastly, I would like to note that tomorrow, on the final day of the sixtieth session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, the United States delegation will sponsor an Item 9 resolution on the situation of human rights in Sudan. This was referenced earlier by our Ranking Member, Mr. Payne. This is going to have particular emphasis on the atrocities in Darfur.
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I would like to commend the Administration for doing this and urge all 53 member countries at the Commission to support this resolution condemning the atrocities taking place in Sudan.
Mr. Payne, would you like to make an opening statement at this time?
Mr. PAYNE. Let me just commend you for this resolution. I support it. I have been in touch with Secretary Craner, the Assistant Secretary for Human Rights, and we talked about the resolution. We are hoping that some of the countries that are reluctant to support this position will support a resolution which will have some meaning to it.
Currently we are disturbed at the human rights debate that is going on, and so I hope that this resolution will be heard and will have an impact on the outcome.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. ROYCE. Thank you.
We will go to Mr. Tancredo.
Mr. TANCREDO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would just say that although I have only been in this Congress for a relatively short time, 5 years now, I believe that this is an unprecedented step we are taking here to actually adopt a resolution of this nature at a time in which there could have been and I am sure in the past we have heard the excuse that we should not do something like this because of an ongoing peace process.
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So I just want to commend you, Mr. Chairman, for having the courage to advance this resolution and to show the world, as a matter of fact, that the Congress of the United States, anyway, will not ignore what is happening in Darfur in the hope that we will get some sort of elusive peace process in the future.
As was stated so eloquently, I think, by one of the witnesses, we will not have peace in Sudan regardless of what papers are signed if we do not settle this issue with Darfur.
Mr. ROYCE. Right. I concur, and I want you to know and Mr. Payne to know that I did call the acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Charlie Snyder, as he was getting on a plane to go to Khartoum to tell him to threaten the Sudanese Government to pull off the government supported militia groups, to pull them off of the people of Darfur and issue the order for them to cease and desist because it is clear that there had been government support for that activity.
We are now at the point where we are going to have to mark up a resolution and move forward with what pressure we can bring to bear, especially before the vote tomorrow.
I have an amendment in the nature of a substitute at the desk, which without objection will be considered as read.
[The amendment of Mr. Royce follows:]
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Mr. ROYCE. This amendment attaches the term ''government supported militia groups'' to the Government of Sudan as a target of the resolution's condemnation of attacks against innocent civilians and the U.N. investigation of crimes against humanity that it urges.
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In Rwanda, and in many other countries, governments use militias in an attempt to dodge responsibility. This amendment makes it clear that the militias that are doing so much damage in Darfur are government supported. It notes that the attacks against civilians in Darfur are violations of the Geneva Convention. It urges all parties to honor the April 8 cease fire, and it urges the Government of Sudan to disband these militia groups.
Mr. Wolf, the resolution sponsor, supports this amendment. What is underlined on the copy passed out is what is added to the original text.
I will ask at this point. Are there any other amendments to the bill?
[No response.]
Mr. ROYCE. The question occurs on the amendment. All in favor say aye.
[Chorus of ayes.]
Mr. ROYCE. All opposed, nay?
[No response.]
Mr. ROYCE. The ayes have it.
The question occurs on the amendment in the nature of a substitute. All in favor say aye?
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[Chorus of ayes.]
Mr. ROYCE. The Chair will now entertain a motion that the resolution be reported favorably to the Full Committee as amended by the amendment in the nature of a substitute, so the question occurs on the motion to report the resolution favorably as amended.
All in favor say aye.
[Chorus of ayes.]
Mr. ROYCE. All opposed, no.
[No response.]
Mr. ROYCE. The motion is approved, and the bill is reported favorably.
I thank my colleagues, and I again thank the witnesses who appeared here today and thank all of you who participated in this hearing and markup.
We stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:48 p.m. the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
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