WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations praised HR 3127, The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006, sponsored by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee.  Smith, who controlled floor debate on the bill, is an original co-sponsor and helped shepherd the bill through the International Relations Committee, noted that the resolution represented a “bipartisan compromise to address the genocide in Darfur while supporting the consolidation of peace in southern Sudan.”  The bill is expected to be passed by the House of Representatives later this evening.

The genocide in Darfur that began in 2003 has resulted in the deaths of as many as 400,000 people and the displacement of more than two million from their home.  Entire villages have been looted and destroyed, and countless men, women, and children have been murdered, abducted, abused, or raped.        Despite a UN arms embargo, weapons continue to flow into the region unabated and attacks against civilians, humanitarian convoys, and African Union peacekeepers continue to increase.  The United States has provided more than $617 million in assistance to help ease the suffering of those most affected by the conflict, and more than $150 million to support the African Union mission in Darfur. 

“While it is clear that action is needed, it is also clear that neither legislation nor military forces (African Union, NATO, UN, or even American) can impose a permanent peace without the commitment of the Sudanese to lay down their arms,” said Smith who has been working on solutions for the genocide, human trafficking and other human rights abuses in the East African country for the last decade.  “As humanitarians, we cannot remain on the sidelines as government officials jockey for power with rebel commanders while tragedy continues to unfold in Darfur and threatens to return to the rest of Sudan.”

Despite 14,000 aid workers in 82 NGOs, 13 UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, a lack of security and reliable transportation means that food aid and other humanitarian assistance is more difficult to deliver. 

“The crisis in Darfur continues with catastrophic consequences,” said Smith, who traveled to Sudanese Refugee camps in August.  “This conflict is very real, it is ongoing, and it demands our resolute attention.  The people of Darfur cannot afford to wait while we debate on how best to confront Khartoum.  They need our help now.”

While it does not provide an authorization for use of United States forces in Darfur, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act – the result of eight months of bipartisan collaboration – contains the following measures:

• It confers upon the President the authority to provide assistance to reinforce the deployment and operations of an expanded African Union mission with the mandate, size, strength and capacity to protect civilians and humanitarian operations; 
  
• It encourages the imposition of targeted sanctions against Janjaweed commanders and coordinators;
  
• It calls for the extension of the military embargo established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolutions 1556 and 1591 to include the Government of Sudan;
  
• It amends the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 to impose an asset freeze and travel ban against individual perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity in Darfur;
  
• It asserts that existing restrictions imposed against Sudan 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 amends the International Malaria Control Act to enable the United States Government to continue providing assistance to southern Sudan and other marginalized areas, and lifts restrictions on imports and exports for those same areas; and
  
• It adds a section regarding the preemption of State laws that prohibit investment of State pension funds in Sudan.