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Leading Human Rights Advocates in Congress Call for Special Envoy for |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of the departure of the administration’s point man on Sudan, two leading human rights advocates in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), today called for President George W. Bush to appoint a special envoy to Sudan so the U.S. can help push the peace process forward in Darfur and bring lasting peace and stability to Sudan. “There is the sense of the tyranny of the urgent, where we look around, whether it be the problems in the Middle East or the problems with North Korea, there's always something clamoring for attention -- but in Darfur, every day, men and women and children die a needless death because of that inattention. So it's time to step up to the plate and name a special envoy,” said Smith. Smith, Chairman of the House International Relations Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee made his remarks at this morning’s press conference on Capitol Hill calling for a special envoy to “We must also remember that genocide is still taking place in Darfur in With the resignation of Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, there is no longer a high-raking State Department official dedicated to working on the complex issues involved in “Money has already been appropriated for this official position. Today actually culminates what’s been a months-long drive in urging the administration to appoint a special envoy. Congress needs to push the administration until that becomes a reality,’” Smith said. Smith and Wolf were joined in their appeal to the administration by Dave Rubenstein, Coalitions Coordinator for the Save Darfur Coalition, a grassroots organization that has been actively calling for the special envoy vacancy to be filled. “Just last week, we had a call-in day where Americans from all over the country called the White House to demand that the president appoint a special envoy for The genocide in In May, the Government of Sudan and the strongest faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, one of the “There are good people within the State Department working this issue daily, but they don't have the cache, frankly, to signal to the world that is a priority in the
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For Immediate Release: August 1, 2006 Contact: Patrick Creamer (202) 225-3765 |
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