On September 9, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard testimony from Secretary of State Colin Powell on the current crisis in Darfur, Sudan. The hearing coincided with the release of a State Department report on Darfur, and the submission, on September 8, of a U.S. draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council recommending further UN actions.
Chair Richard Lugar (R-IN) described the extent of the disaster: “Today, 1.4 million Darfurians on the run or huddling in barren camps are vulnerable to murder, rape, starvation, and disease. This is the result of a calculated strategy by the Government in Khartoum and their Jinjaweed proxies to decimate the civilian supporters of their political opponents.” Sen. Lugar said that the threat of sanctions mentioned in Security Council Resolution 1556 “must now be followed by the act of sanctioning the Sudanese government, perhaps by restricting the flow of oil that fuels that government with an estimated annual income of $2 billion.” He also suggested that the number of African Union monitors in Darfur should be increased. Sen. Lugar announced new legislation, the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 (S. 2781), which he and Ranking Member Joseph Biden (D-DE) have introduced.
Echoing Sen. Lugar’s concerns, Sen. Biden stated, “If we fail to act when evidence of Sudan’s crimes are clear for the world to see, and when we have the means to stop them we renege on the promise of ‘never again’ made after World War II, a promise repeated after the genocide in Rwanda.” Sen. Biden called for “strong measures, both domestically and internationally,” and asked for Senate support for the new bipartisan legislation.
“The government in Khartoum should end the attacks and ensure its people all of its people are secure,” Secretary Powell testified. “They should hold to account those who are responsible for past atrocities, and ensure that current negotiations taking place in Abuja, and also the Naivasha accords, are successfully concluded. That is the only way to peace and prosperity for this war-ravaged land,” he added. Secretary Powell explained that the new U.S. draft resolution calls for an expanded African Union (AU) force and a review of Khartoum’s compliance to see if sanctions, including sanctions on the Sudan petroleum sector, should be imposed.
Turning to the question of genocide, Secretary Powell said that evidence gathered by the State Department indicates “a consistent and widespread pattern of atrocities: killings, rapes, burning of villages committed by Jinjaweed militia and government forces against non-Arab villagers…This was a coordinated effort, not just random violence.” His conclusion, and the conclusion of the U.S., he said, is that “genocide has occurred and may still be occurring in Darfur.” Secretary Powell stated that the U.S. will propose a UN investigation “into all violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law that have occurred in Darfur, with a view to ensuring accountability.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) characterized the violence in Darfur as “savagery” and “slaughter.” He spoke of refugees who “watched as their wives were raped,” children who were separated from their families, and entire villages that were destroyed. “We need to be much more aggressive,” Sen. Frist stated. “The AU can play a major role.”
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said she appreciated the fact that the State Department report on Darfur identified rape as a weapon of war. Citing an Amnesty International report, Sen. Boxer recounted the story of a pregnant woman who was abducted along with eight-year-old girls. The woman said that five or six men would rape them for hours every night. “My husband couldn’t forgive me,” the women stated, “so he deserted me.” In another instance, the Jinjaweed militia raped women and some fifteen-year-old girls, then broke their limbs to prevent their escape. “This is beyond our ability to imagine,” Sen. Boxer said. “We all agree the world cannot stand by.”
Sen. Boxer asked Secretary Powell what the incentive was for the Sudanese government to comply with new UN demands. She read portions of an editorial from The Washington Post, which described the draft U.S. resolution as “milquetoast” and called for a tougher stance. Secretary Powell said that he felt the resolution was strong and pointed to the “direct threat” of sanctions on Sudan’s petroleum sector.
