On May 6, the House International Relations Committee held a hearing to discuss the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
In his opening remarks, Chair Henry Hyde (R-IL) stated, “Anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000 Sudanese have been killed most of whom were innocent civilians and over one million others have been forcibly displaced. Backed by air and land strikes by government forces, government-supported militias collectively known as the Janjaweed have murdered, raped, and pillaged with impunity. Entire villages have been razed, crops have been burned, and vital wells and irrigation systems have been destroyed.”
Bob Laprade of Save the Children explained that of the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Chad and other areas of Sudan, between 80 and 90 percent of those in the camps are women and children because “men have fled to escape murder and forced recruitment into fighting forces.” He said that nongovernmental organizations in Sudan “have witnessed that boys, in the age group 14 years and above, are very few in numbers within the internally displaced population the fear being that they may have joined the rebel forces or that they have been targeted by the Janjaweed. There have been many reports of rape of young girls and women. For example, in just one camp in which we work the rate of reported rape is an alarming 15 cases per week and we suspect a great many of cases go unreported. There were also numerous reports of children being attacked and looted while they are herding or gathering water.” Mr. Laprade urged the committee to ensure sufficient and timely resources are made available to meet the humanitarian needs of all war-affected populations in Sudan, particularly women and children; encourage the government of Sudan to respond to humanitarian needs; highlight civilian protection, specifically women and children, as the main priority in Darfur; and partner with the United Nations (UN) in calling for the immediate establishment of an “impartial civilian protection mechanism” to facilitate independent monitoring, evaluating, and reporting attacks against civilians.
Calling the human rights violations in Darfur “unprecedented,” Omar Ismail of Darfur Peace and Development stated, “The marauding Junjaweed militia, aided by the army, has gone on a rampage of killings, pillaging livestock, burning villages, and gang-raping women. Many hundreds of villages have been destroyed and their inhabitants displaced. Women were branded on the forehead or hands after they were raped, to live with the shame and become stigmatized for life.” Mr. Ismail explained that some of the displaced Darfuri were forced to live in camps controlled by the government troops and the Janjaweed. “Some survivors told of horror stories in these camps,” he stated, adding, “They reported that every night the soldiers raid the camps and take women at gun-point to keep as sex slaves for several days before returning them to take others. If the relatives of these women try to stop them, they are shot dead for all to see, to intimidate the others.” Mr. Ismail offered a number of suggestions for the United States, including passing a UN Security Council resolution rebuking the government of Sudan, and sending a congressional delegation to Khartoum to urge the government to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Darfur.
Immediately following the hearing, the committee approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Con. Res. 403) condemning the government of Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in Darfur.
Sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:
Prior to final approval, the committee approved, by voice vote, a substitute amendment offered by Rep. Hyde that would call on the Sudanese government to grant full, unconditional and immediate access to humanitarian aid organizations and an international monitoring team. The substitute also would call for a UN-sponsored investigation into crimes against humanity in Darfur.
