[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 137 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.Con.Res.137
Agreed to September 22, 2004
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twentieth day of January, two thousand and four
Concurrent Resolution
Whereas in Darfur, Sudan, more than 30,000 innocent civilians have been
murdered, more than 400 villages have been destroyed, more than
130,000 men, women, and children have been forced from their villages
into neighboring countries, and more than 1,000,000 people have been
internally displaced;
Whereas the United States Government has been, and remains as of
September 2004, the largest contributor of assistance to the people
of Darfur, having provided over $200,000,000 in assistance, which
constitutes more than 70 percent of the total assistance provided to
that region;
Whereas the United States has pledged $299,000,000 in humanitarian aid
to Darfur through fiscal year 2005, as well as $11,800,000 in support
of the African Union mission in that region, and is likely to provide
support in excess of those pledges;
Whereas United States citizens and private organizations, as well as
the United States Government, have admirably worked, at great risk
and through great effort, to ease suffering in Darfur, Sudan, and in
eastern Chad;
Whereas based on credible reports, Congress determined in late July
2004 that acts of genocide were occurring in Darfur, Sudan, and that
the Government of Sudan bears direct responsibility for many of those
acts of genocide;
Whereas expressing its grave concern at the ongoing humanitarian crisis
and widespread human rights violations in Darfur, including continued
attacks on civilians that place thousands of lives at risk, the
United Nations Security Council on July 30, 2004, unanimously adopted
Security Council Resolution 1556, which called upon the Government of
Sudan to fulfill immediately its obligations to facilitate
humanitarian relief efforts, to take steps to disarm immediately the
Janjaweed militias responsible for attacks on civilians and bring the
perpetrators of such attacks to justice, and to cooperate with
independent United Nations-sponsored investigations of human rights
violations;
Whereas the Government of Sudan has failed to take credible steps to
comply with the demands of the international community as expressed
through the United Nations Security Council;
Whereas according to press reports, reports from nongovernmental
organizations, first-hand accounts from refugees, and other sources,
the Janjaweed attacks on the civilians of Darfur continue unabated as
of September 2004;
Whereas there are credible reports from some of these same sources that
the Government of Sudan is providing assistance to the Janjaweed
militias and, in some cases, that Government of Sudan forces have
participated directly in attacks on civilians;
Whereas the United States Government, after conducting more than 1,000
interviews with survivors and refugees, has determined that genocide
has occurred in Darfur, that it may still be occurring, and that both
the Janjaweed and the Government of Sudan bear responsibility for
these acts;
Whereas the Secretary of State has determined that the attacks by the
Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed on the non-Arab people of
Darfur and their villages are based on race, not religion;
Whereas the United States has recently introduced a new resolution in
the United Nations Security Council that calls for the Government of
Sudan to cooperate fully with an expanded African Union force and for
a cessation of Sudanese military flights over Darfur;
Whereas the introduced resolution also provides for international
overflights of the Darfur region to monitor the situation on the
ground and requires the United Nations Security Council to review the
record of compliance of the Government of Sudan to determine whether
the United Nations should impose sanctions on Sudan, including
sanctions affecting the petroleum sector in that country;
Whereas the resolution also urges the Government of Sudan and the
Sudanese People's Liberation Movement to conclude negotiations on a
comprehensive peace accord and, most important, calls for a United
Nations investigation into all violations of international
humanitarian law and human rights law that have occurred in Darfur in
order to ensure accountability;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1556, emphasized that the Government of Sudan
bears primary responsibility for respecting human rights and
protecting the people of Sudan;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1556 calls upon the
Government of Sudan to cooperate with the United Nations;
Whereas the United Nations Human Rights Commission, established in 1946
and given the responsibility of drafting the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, is responsible for promoting respect for and observance
of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all;
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that all
human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the
Declaration regardless of race, color, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, or national or social origin, property,
birth, or other status, that everyone has the right to life, liberty
and security of person, that no one shall be held in slavery or
servitude, and that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment;
Whereas the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide,
done at Paris on December 9, 1948 (hereafter in this resolution
referred to as the ``Genocide Convention''), delineates the criteria
that constitute genocide and requires parties to prevent and punish
genocide;
Whereas Sudan is a state party to the Genocide Convention and remains a
member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights;
Whereas the Secretary of State determined that, according to United
States law, the Government of Sudan is a state sponsor of terrorism
and has been since 1993 and therefore remains ineligible for United
States foreign assistance;
Whereas due to the human rights situation in Darfur, it would be
consistent with United States obligations under the Genocide
Convention for the Secretary of State and the United States Permanent
Representative to the United Nations to seek the immediate suspension
of Sudan from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and, in
the event a formal investigation results in a determination by the
United Nations that genocide has occurred in Darfur, the ultimate
removal of Sudan from such Commission; and
Whereas it is a mockery of human rights as a universal principle, a
challenge to the United Nations as an institution, and an affront to
all responsible countries that embrace and promote human rights that
a government under investigation by the United Nations for committing
genocide against, and violating the human rights of, its own citizens
sits in judgment of others as a member in good standing of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes and approves of the findings of the Secretary of
State that genocide has occurred and may still be occurring in
Darfur, Sudan, and that the Government of Sudan bears
responsibility for such acts;
(2) supports the Secretary of State's call for a full and
unfettered investigation by the United Nations into all violations
of international humanitarian law and human rights law that have
occurred in Darfur, with a view to ensuring accountability;
(3) supports the resolution introduced by the United States
Government in the United Nations Security Council on September 9,
2004, with regard to the situation in Darfur;
(4) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States
Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take immediate
steps to pursue the establishment of a formal United Nations
investigation, under Article VIII of the Genocide Convention, to
determine whether the actions of the Government of Sudan in Darfur
constitute acts of genocide;
(5) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States
Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take immediate
steps to pursue the immediate suspension of Sudan from the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights;
(6) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States
Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take further
steps to ensure that the suspension of Sudan from the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights remains in effect unless and
until the Government of Sudan meets all of its obligations, as
determined by the United Nations Security Council, under United
Nations Security Council Resolution 1556 of July 30, 2004, and any
subsequent United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding
this matter;
(7) calls upon the Secretary of State and the United States
Permanent Representative to the United Nations to take steps to
ensure that, in the event that the formal investigation of acts of
genocide in Sudan results in a determination by the United Nations
that genocide has occurred or is occurring in Darfur, the United
States Government takes appropriate actions to ensure that Sudan is
removed from the United Nations Human Rights Commission;
(8) calls upon the member states of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights to convene an immediate special session
to consider the urgent and acute human rights situation in Sudan
for the purpose of considering whether Sudan should be suspended
from membership in such Commission; and
(9) expects the Secretary of State to report to Congress on
progress made toward taking the actions and accomplishing the
objectives outlined in this resolution not later than 60 days after
the date on which Congress agrees to the resolution.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate.
Attest:
Clerk of the House of Representatives.