SPEAKERS       CONTENTS       INSERTS    

 Page 1       TOP OF DOC
26–439PDF
2006
THE DARFUR PEACE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON
H.R. 3127

MARCH 8, 2006

Serial No. 109–160

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

 Page 2       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC
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
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey,
  Vice Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana
ELTON GALLEGLY, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
DANA ROHRABACHER, California
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
PETER T. KING, New York
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio
THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado
RON PAUL, Texas
DARRELL ISSA, California
JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia
MARK GREEN, Wisconsin
JERRY WELLER, Illinois
MIKE PENCE, Indiana
THADDEUS G. McCOTTER, Michigan
 Page 3       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC
KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida
JOE WILSON, South Carolina
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
CONNIE MACK, Florida
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
MICHAEL McCAUL, Texas
TED POE, Texas

TOM LANTOS, California
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa
DONALD M. PAYNE, 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
BARBARA LEE, California
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California
 Page 4       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC
ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM SMITH, Washington
BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California
RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel
ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director
DANIEL FREEMAN, Counsel/Parliamentarian
JEAN CARROLL, Full Committee Hearing Coordinator

C O N T E N T S

MARKUP OF

    H.R. 3127, To impose sanctions against individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, to support measures for the protection of civilians and humanitarian operations, and to support peace efforts in the Darfur region of Sudan, and for other purposes
Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 3127 offered by the Honorable Henry J. Hyde, a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois, and Chairman, Committee on International Relations

 Page 5       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

    The Honorable Henry J. Hyde, a Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois, and Chairman, Committee on International Relations: Prepared statement

    The Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey and Vice Chairman, Committee on International Relations: Prepared statement

APPENDIX
    The Honorable Gregory W. Meeks, a Representative in Congress from the State of New York: Prepared statement

THE DARFUR PEACE AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2006

House of Representatives,
Committee on International Relations,
Washington, DC.

    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:13 a.m. in room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Henry J. Hyde (Chairman of the Committee) presiding.

    Chairman HYDE. The Committee will come to order. Pursuant to notice, I call up the bill, H.R. 3127, The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, for purposes of markup and move its favorable recommendation to the House. Without objection, the bill will be considered as read, and the amendment in the nature of a substitute, which all of the Members have before them, will be considered as read and adopted.
 Page 6       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    [The information referred to follows:]

[Note: Image(s) not available in this format. See PDF version of this file.]

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hyde follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE HENRY J. HYDE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, AND CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

    Ladies and gentleman, despite eight rounds of peace talks, the deployment more than to 6,000 African Union troops and monitors, the passage of six United Nations Security Council Resolutions, and declarations of genocide by the United States Congress and the Administration of President Bush, the crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan continues.

    No one knows precisely how many Darfurians have perished as a result of the genocide, but estimates range from 180,000 to 400,000, and as many as 10,000 people continue to die each month. Over two million Dafurians have been forced from their homes, entire villages have been looted and destroyed, and countless men, women and children have been victims of abduction, torture, and rape.

    It is against this backdrop that the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, H.R. 3127, was introduced last June. As introduced, the ''DPAA'' attempts to expand upon the existing Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 (the CPSA), by authorizing specific measures to promote peace and accountability in Darfur.
 Page 7       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    First, H.R. 3127 confers upon the President, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority to provide assistance to reinforce the deployment and operations of an expanded African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), with the mandate, size, strength and capacity to protect civilians and humanitarian operations and stabilize Darfur. Further, the bill calls on the international community, including the UN, the European Union (EU), and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to immediately mobilize political, military and financial resources to support the expansion of the African Mission in Sudan, and directs the U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO to advocate for NATO reinforcement of such an expanded African Union mission in keeping with current Administration policy.

    Next, the bill amends the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act to impose targeted sanctions against individual perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity in Darfur, rather than sanctioning the new Government of National Unity in general.

    H.R. 3127 also prohibits the provision of non-humanitarian U.S. assistance to nations violating the military and arms embargo imposed pursuant to UN Security Council resolutions 1556 and 1591, calls for the suspension of Sudan's membership in the United Nations, and encourages President Bush to deny entry at U.S. ports to certain Sudanese cargo ships or oil tankers if the Government of Sudan fails to take specified measures in Darfur.

    Though the core principles of the bill, as introduced, remain unchanged, the substitute amendment before you reflects the outcome of intense bipartisan, bicameral negotiations over the past eight months. The substitute amendment includes the following notable changes:
 Page 8       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

 It adds a new Section 5(c) to encourage the imposition of targeted sanctions against Janjaweed commanders and coordinators;

 It modifies Section 6(c) with regard to the denial of entry at U.S. ports to Sudanese cargo ships and oil tankers to create an exception for vessels involved in an internationally-recognized demobilization program or the shipment of non-lethal assistance necessary for implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement;

 It adds a new Section 7(4) to call for the extension of the military embargo established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolutions 1556 (July 30, 2004) and 1591 (March 29, 2005) to include the Government of Sudan;

 It adds a new Section 8, regarding the Continuation of Restrictions, such that restrictions imposed against Sudan pursuant to Executive Order 13067 and/or the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Act of 2006, shall remain in effect and shall not be lifted until the President certifies to Congress that the Government of Sudan is acting in good faith to: (1) peacefully resolve the crisis in Darfur; (2) disarm, demobilize and demilitarize the Janjaweed; (3) adhere to UN Security Council Resolutions; (4) negotiate a peaceful resolution to the crisis in eastern Sudan; (5) cooperate with efforts to disarm and deny safe haven to the Lord's Resistance Army; and (6) fully implement the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement;

 It adds a new Section 9, to amend the International Malaria Control Act (50 USC 170 note), thereby clarifying the definition of ''areas outside the control of the Government of Sudan'' and specifying notification requirements for assistance provided by the United States Government to Sudan pursuant to that Act ; and
 Page 9       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

 Adds a new Section 11, regarding the preemption of State laws that prohibit investment of State pension funds in Sudan.

    Again, this substitute amendment is the result of eight months of negotiation and represents a truly bipartisan compromise. I strongly encourage your support of this amendment and the underlying bill so that we can, at long last, get this important piece of legislation to the House Floor and resolve any remaining differences with the Senate.

    Chairman HYDE. The Chair will recognize Mr. Payne to strike the last words.

    Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and let me express my appreciation for your allowing a markup of H.R. 3127, The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. I want to thank you for this very important markup.

    We had hoped to get this to this point many months ago, as the situation in Darfur continues to worsen, and the process has been long and hard, but I am glad that we are finally seeing the bill before this Committee today because genocide, which is orchestrated by the Government of Sudan and its leadership and its proxies, continues unabated in Darfur. The international community has failed to act decisively. Collectively, the UN, NATO, EU have not really been able to stem this brutal tide that has been going on for several years.

    If we had prevented genocide in Armenia in 1915 or had condemned it, we probably would not have had the Holocaust in Nazi Germany in the thirties, nor the Cambodian situation or the Rwanda genocide. So we have to act, and I am pleased that for the first time the genocide was going on, this U.S. Congress declared genocide in July 2004. However, more must happen.
 Page 10       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    The substitute which we will vote on this morning is the result of months of negotiations and compromise. I am pleased to say that several Democratic revisions, we appreciate, were added to the bill with the cooperation of Chairman Hyde and his staff, particularly clearly defining the Government of Sudan and providing benchmarks for the lifting of sanctions, which include ending the genocide in Darfur, disarming the Janjaweed, disarming and ceasing to give safe haven to the northern Ugandan terrorist group, The Lord's Resistance Army, which is being protected by the Government of Sudan, and fully implementing the comprehensive peace agreement between the North and the South, the war that has gone on for 20 years, which has displaced 4 million people in the South, and 2 million have died as a result of that conflict.

    I want to thank my colleagues on the Subcommittee, particularly Ms. Lee and Ms. McCollum, for their contributions to the bill. These include language protecting the states from lawsuits for divesting state pension funds from Sudan, which New Jersey, Illinois, and California is considering, but those two states have passed it already, and also the Congress language designating the Janjaweed as a foreign terrorist organization.

    I would also like to thank Representatives Watson, Meeks, and Mr. Tancredo for their close involvement during the negotiations. I would also like to indicate, although not on this Committee, Mr. Wolf has been a true warrior in the problems of Sudan for decades, and I would certainly like to express my appreciation to him.

    I have some lingering questions on certain provisions. The main question was whether the exemption we provided to sanctions in our Executive Order 13067 for the South and the marginalized areas applies to both exports and imports, the way it is written. We received assurances from Chairman Hyde's office that this was the case, and we take assurances at face value that, indeed, it is both imports and exports, which is a very important technicality.
 Page 11       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    Again, this day was a long time coming, but I am glad that we are finally marking up this bill. We must hold accountable those persons who are responsible for genocide at all levels, especially at the highest level, in the National Congress Party, to ensure that they are not free to commit these atrocities again. We think this is a first step in the right direction.

    High school students, college students, religious groups, state governments, people are expressing their indignation that we cannot allow genocide to continue, and so we hope that this will move the Government of Sudan to act responsibly, but if it does not, I think we need to look at additional legislation with no-fly zones, with perhaps combat planes to ensure that the Government of Sudan does not continue to use its gun ships and planes to kill and maim people and that we would also hope to see an increase in a more robust UN-NATO organization under the leadership of the African Union, and we have to bring the perpetrators of the injustice to justice. That is something that must be done.

    Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this bill.

    Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Mr. Payne. The Chair will recognize two more Members for short remarks, and then we move to the hearing on Iran. Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey.

    Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you, Chairman Hyde, and Ranking Member Payne for their efforts in helping to draft H.R. 3127, as well as my staff, Greg Simpkins, who did yeoman's work on ensuring that the language really fit the compelling needs of people who are facing genocide in Darfur.
 Page 12       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    There was some real flexibility on the part of several Members of our Subcommittee and the Full Committee on making changes in the bill. As you know, Mr. Chairman, we marked this bill up last July, and there have been many changes on the ground in Darfur, and we have tried to accommodate those, and one of those is calling on the President to immediately consider imposing sanctions against the Janjaweed commanders and their coordinators who are identified by the former Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes for their terrible misdeeds that they have committed. And, of course, this legislation, at the core of it is the amending of the Comprehensive Peace Act with Sudan of 2004 to block the assets and to restrict the travel of any individual whom the President has determined is responsible, whether by commission or omission, for acts of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.

    I would just point out to my colleagues that Greg Simpkins and I did visit Darfur last August. We went to Komo camp. We went to the other camp called Mukjar, and it was so clear to us that people were within a kilometer of being apprehended, in the case of the women, raped or murdered, as well as the men. That is how clear and present the danger was and continues to be for the people of Darfur.

    I would point out to my colleagues that we plan on a trip, beginning on April 17, and I would invite any Member of the Subcommittee or Full Committee to join us, to Darfur, to Juba, and to Khartoum, and we hope to meet with President Bashir. I met with him last August, again, and had a very, very contentious meeting. This is a man who, regrettably and sadly, has turned a blind eye to the international community as we have raised issues, first in the south of Sudan, where some 2 million people have been killed, and now in Darfur, where something on the order of 400,000 people have been killed.
 Page 13       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    I would ask unanimous consent that a full statement that I have prepared, Mr. Chairman, be made a part of the record. It is a very good bill. It does not do everything, but it is a very, very good step in the right direction. Thank you for your authorship.

    Chairman HYDE. Without objection, so ordered.

    [The prepared statement of Mr. Smith follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY AND VICE CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

    I'd like to thank Chairman Hyde for his leadership in drafting and offering this legislation, for his graciousness and flexibility in negotiations with fellow legislators on alterations to this bill, and in his willingness to find creative ways to get HR 3127 passed and enacted into law.

    This House has devoted a great deal of time to addressing the needs of suffering people in Sudan over the years. We've held hearings on the civil war, slavery, and genocide in Darfur. We've visited Sudan to speak with the government, met with various groups fighting the government, and supported humanitarian organizations trying desperately to meet the critical and growing needs of the Sudanese people. Most recently, we've focused on supporting the African Union force that has tried heroically to address the rampant violence in Darfur.

    Sudan presents policymakers with a complex set of priorities. Both the Administration and the Congress concentrated a great deal of its attention on ending the North-South civil war, and our efforts were successful in not only concluding the fighting, but also in facilitating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that includes a revenue provision for sharing the profits from resources with the Southern Sudanese.
 Page 14       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    That issue of resource allocation was part of the trigger for the fighting in Darfur, but was only one of the causes of the conflict. The Darfur conflict also has its roots in religious, ethnic and economic differences between the people of Darfur and the government in Khartoum. The conflict is based on recent political developments in other parts of Sudan, but it also is based on historic conflicts between nomads and farmers. The two rebel movements, both of which are splintering, are terrorizing the population just as much as the Janjaweed. Add to their ranks rebels from Chad, and tribesmen engaged in localized conflicts and bandits. There are members of the National Congress Party in the Sudanese government who are guilty of complicity in genocide, but that government also includes members of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement, who joined the government as part of the peace agreement last year.

    In addressing this complex situation, our Committee members have had to adapt to the changing circumstances in updating H.R. 3127. However, we must keep in mind that this bill was not designed to meet all possible circumstances. The main intent of this legislation is to punish those Sudanese government officials who were involved in the genocide in Darfur as part of an overall effort to bring peace to that region. It was written before the Government of National Unity was inaugurated. It was written before it became clear that the African Union forces needed additional assistance to protect the people of Darfur and those who would help them.

    Consequently, I would strongly urge my colleagues to pass this legislation without further changes and support its passage on the floor of this House. We will have to reconcile this legislation with the bill passed late last year by the Senate, and it is in that conference forum that we can make necessary adjustments. If we continue to tinker with this bill, it may never be passed because there are so many Members in the House who have a strong interest in meeting the needs of Sudan generally and Darfur in particular.
 Page 15       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    After all this time we've spent on HR 3127, it is now time to move it forward, making our priorities known to the Administration, to the Government of Sudan and its opponents, and to the international community on how we believe the Darfur crisis should be handled.

    Chairman HYDE. The Chair recognizes Mr. Lantos.

    Mr. LANTOS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I would just like to commend you for your extraordinary work on this legislation. I want to associate myself with the comments of both of my friends, Mr. Payne and Mr. Smith, and I would like to add a personal note.

    It seems ages ago, although it was only many months ago, that I had the privilege on the Democratic side of managing the debate on our legislation designating what is unfolding in Darfur a genocide. I have some personal experience with genocides, and I am pleased that, at long last, we are moving with this singularly important bill.

    It is unconscionable that the civilized world would stand aside as vast numbers of utterly innocent men, women, and children are slaughtered by the Arab militias with the connivance and support of the government. I trust that our legislation will finally move the process forward and will bring to justice the perpetrators of this nightmare. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

    Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Mr. Lantos.
 Page 16       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC

    The Chair notes the presence of a reporting quorum, and the question occurs on the motion to report the bill, H.R. 3127, favorably, as amended. All of those in favor will say aye.

    [A chorus of ayes.]

    Chairman HYDE. Opposed, nay. The ayes have it. The motion is agreed to without objection. The staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes.

    [Whereupon, at 10:23 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

A P P E N D I X

Material Submitted for the Hearing Record

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE GREGORY W. MEEKS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK

    I would like to join my colleagues in thanking the Chairman and Ranking Member for the tireless efforts they have put into this bill and for holding this markup. After July 22, 2004, when the House and Senate declared that the atrocities taking place in Darfur are in fact genocide, I had hoped that this body would have aggressively worked in a timely fashion to force the government in Khartoum to stop the killing.

 Page 17       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC
    But, that is behind us now, hundreds more people have been displaced, killed, raped—the attacks have continued and now, the Janjaweed and rebels forces in Chad are attacking children who have sought refuge in that neighboring country—but, I am glad that we are marking up this bill because it sends a strong message that we will not allow genocide to continue.

    We should not feel bad because the entire international community has failed Darfur, the entire international community has failed to act to STOP the genocide. We have monitored the genocide, watched it happen but we don't have the humanity to STOP it.

    I am thankful that after months of negotiations and compromise, I am pleased to see that the bill clearly defines benchmarks for the lifting of sanctions which include ending the genocide in Darfur, disarming the Janjaweed, disarming and ceasing to give safe haven to the Northern Uganda terrorist group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and fully implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the North and South.

    I hope this sends a clear message to the world that the United States of America is serious about stopping genocide and we will not be meeting with or partnering with terrorist states.

    We must send a clear message that our CIA or other branch of our intelligence agencies will not fly Sudan's intelligence chief to Washington or any government official accused of orchestrating genocide for secret meetings unless it is a means to arrest him or her.

 Page 18       PREV PAGE       TOP OF DOC
    We must not allow the children or any family members of genocide accusers to come to this country to benefit from our freedom here while they restrict freedom for their citizens at home. Those responsible should pay for the innocent lives they have taken and Mr. Chairman, I hope this bill will be brought to the House floor for a vote as expeditiously as humanly possible.