WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator George V. Voinovich (R-OH), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, today signed on as an original co-sponsor of a Senate Resolution urging President Bush and the international community to take immediate steps to help improve the deteriorating security situation in Darfur, Sudan. The government of Sudan continues to ignore the peace agreement it signed with rebels on May 5, 2006 and has rejected the deployment of United Nations (U.N.) peacekeepers since the passage of Security Council Resolution 1706 authorizing a U.N. peacekeeping force.

“The shocking atrocities taking place in Darfur cannot be ignored,” Sen. Voinovich said. “Although the 7,000 peacekeepers from the African Union have been valiantly working to maintain a ceasefire, it is now clear that a more experienced, better-equipped, better-funded force with a stronger mandate is needed to stop the violence. The U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution authorizing a peacekeeping force, yet the government in Khartoum continues to reject the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers. Today we call on the president and the international community to further advocate for these ends. We must win the war against hate and never again turn a blind eye to genocide.”

Many of Darfur's six million inhabitants have been raped and killed by militias armed by their own government. Some estimate that as many as 400,000 people have died in the conflict, over two million have been displaced and three million are dependent on assistance to survive. The U.S. government described the situation as genocide over a year ago, yet the violence continues unabated.  

The resolution introduced last night condemns the continued violence in the region and the consistent disregard of the Darfur Peace Agreement and the N'Djamena Ceasefire Agreement. It also condemns the government of Sudan for its rejection of a U.N. peacekeeping force. It calls upon the government of Sudan to immediately cease its military offensive in Darfur and comply with the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur as called for by Security Council Resolution 1706.

It also calls on President Bush to take urgent steps to help improve the security situation by pursuing the imposition of a “no-fly zone” in Darfur; garnering support for NATO assistance with the handover of peacekeeping to the U.N.; working through diplomatic channels to obtain the support of China, Russia and United States allies in the Arab League in securing the compliance of the government of Sudan with the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers; supporting full funding for the U.N. Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan; securing the necessary support from U.N. member states to schedule a special session on Sudan in the U.N. Human Rights Council; and appointing a special envoy to Sudan to head the Office of the Presidential Special Envoy established in the 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act.

This is the second Senate Resolution urging action in Darfur that Sen. Voinovich has co-sponsored this year. The first, Sen. Res. 383, was introduced in March and called for President Bush and the U.N. to take immediate steps to help improve the security situation with an emphasis on civilian protection. It resulted in the successful passage of Security Council Resolution 1706 authorizing a U.N. peacekeeping force, which has been rejected by the government of Sudan.

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