Congressional Record Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold On the Crisis in Sudan September 11, 2006 Mr. FEINGOLD: Mr. President, we are at a crossroads in the 3-year-old conflict raging in Sudan's Darfur region. Last week's Security Council Resolution 1706, authorizing a United Nations peacekeeping force for Darfur, represents the culmination of persistent advocacy for a robust international intervention and offers the resources and mandate necessary to bring an end to violence which has already taken more than 200,000 lives and forced an estimated 2.5 million Darfurians from their homes. Unfortunately, the Government of Sudan has rejected the U.N.'s plan and is actively undermining peace efforts while exacerbating the humanitarian situation. The Sudanese Government's behavior increasingly violates both international law and the terms of the Peace Agreement it signed in May. If the Sudanese Government remains on its current trajectory, disaster--perhaps on the scale of the 1994 Rwandan genocide--is imminent. The current 7,000-member African Union Mission in Sudan, which has been struggling valiantly to protect innocent civilians for 2 years, is set to withdraw at the end of this month. If it is not replaced by a U.N. force at that time or given an extended and expanded mandate, a power vacuum will result that many agree would lead to a resurgence in violence from all sides. Already, the future of the peace process is at risk and increasing insecurity are leading humanitarian aid organizations to retreat from the areas where their services are needed most. More than a dozen aid workers have been murdered since the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed in May. It is time for the United States and the international community to use all means of influence at their disposal to ensure that U.N. Resolution 1706 is implemented. In contrast to the small African Union contingent, which is severely limited in both what it is able and allowed to do, the recently-authorized United Nations force would include up to 22,500 U.N. troops and police officers and an immediate injection of air, engineering, and communication support for the African Union force. The resolution, passed unanimously by the Security Council on August 31, also gives the U.N. peacekeepers power to take all necessary measures to protect humanitarian aid workers and civilian populations. In an affront to international law and the international community, Sudan's envoys refused to attend last week's United Nations meetings and the Government has rejected the introduction of a U.N. peacekeeping force, likening it to ``western colonization.'' Most recently, the Government has issued an ultimatum to the African Union, demanding that it refrain from incorporating U.N. reinforcements or withdraw its peacekeepers from the country. The Sudanese Government insists that it will defeat rebel groups in Darfur on its own and has announced intentions to move more than 10,000 troops to the region. In effect, this amounts to sending the same soldiers who displaced Darfur's refugees to protect them. Over the past week, there has been a military buildup in Darfur, with witnesses reporting an influx of Sudanese military equipment and troops, which is in direct violation of May's Darfur Peace Agreement. In fact, while the Security Council was debating how to end the violence in Darfur, the Sudanese military was indiscriminately bombing rebel-held villages. Firsthand sources report flight crews rolling bombs off plane ramps, a tactic often practiced by Government forces in their 21-year civil war to devastate whole areas of southern Sudan, with nightmarish consequences for civilians. Meanwhile, the situation on the ground is deteriorating rapidly. The more than 2 million refugees in Darfur and neighboring Chad--two thirds of them children--are particularly susceptible to malaria, diarrhea, and other health problems and live in fear of forced recruitment by rebel fighters or bomb attacks by the military. This current escalation in instability seriously impedes the mobility of humanitarian organizations, preventing them from reaching civilians in Sudan's most dangerous areas. The World Food Program reports that its existing food rations--upon which some 6 million Sudanese rely--will run out in January, adding another dimension of desperation. In unanimously passing Resolution 1706, the international community has delivered a clear message to the Government in Khartoum that it needs to abide by international law and its own commitments. Last-minute changes the recent resolution included a reaffirmation of the sovereignty and ``territorial integrity of Sudan'' and the first paragraph of the resolution invites the Sudanese Government to consent to the deployment of a U.N. force, but such consent is not required by international law or the text of the resolution. Additionally, the U.N. Resolution threatens sanctions for any individual or group that violates human rights or the Darfur Peace Agreement. At this critical juncture, the Government of Sudan must fulfill its obligation to relieve the suffering of its citizens by working with the United Nations to agree upon a robust, coordinated force to end the violence in Darfur. It is essential that the international community displays steadfast solidarity in insisting upon the implementation of United Nations Resolution 1706 and provides the troops and resources necessary to follow through on its commitment. The implications of allowing another genocide to take place in Africa could lead to a complete collapse in the U.N.'s authority and the deterioration of international law. In conclusion, I am deeply troubled by recent developments regarding Sudan. The international community has asserted its determination to bring an end to the violence in Darfur. Now we need to act upon these intentions and pressure the Government of Sudan to cooperate in efforts to improve prospects for peace throughout Sudan and the greater east Africa region.