BILL REQ. #:  S-1703.1 

Read first time 02/16/2007.   Referred to Committee on Government Operations & Elections.

     TO THE HONORABLE GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, Since early 2003, a conflict between forces of the Government of the Republic of Sudan and rebel forces in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan has resulted in attacks by government allied militia and ground and air forces of the Government of Sudan against civilians and undefended villages in the region; and
     WHEREAS, The militia forces backed by the Government of Sudan have also engaged in the use of rape as a weapon of war, the abduction of children, the destruction of food and water sources, and the deliberate and systematic manipulation and denial of humanitarian assistance for the people of the Darfur region; and
     WHEREAS, To date, over 400,000 Darfuri civilians have died and more than 2.5 million have been displaced, forced to live in refugee and displaced persons camps; and
     WHEREAS, On December 18, 2003, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, declared that the Darfur region was probably "the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe," and in April 2004 reported to the United Nations Security Council that in Darfur, "a sequence of deliberate actions has been observed that seem aimed at achieving a specific objective: The forcible and long-term displacement of the targeted communities which may also be termed 'ethnic cleansing'"; and
     WHEREAS, Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning medical humanitarian relief organization and one of the few aid groups on the ground in the Darfur region, reported that the region is the scene of "catastrophic mortality rates"; and
     WHEREAS, On June 24, 2004, the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum declared a "genocide emergency" in the Darfur Region of Sudan; and
     WHEREAS, On July 22, 2004, the United States Congress passed resolutions declaring genocide in Darfur, Sudan; and
     WHEREAS, On January 25, 2005, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry declared that, "government forces and militias conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging, and forced displacement throughout Darfur. These acts were conducted on a widespread and systematic basis. The vast majority of the victims of all of these violations have been from the Fur, Zaghawa, Massalit, Jebel, Aranga, and other so-called 'African' tribes"; and
     WHEREAS, Since May 5, 2006, when the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed by the government of Sudan, there has been no cessation of the aforementioned violence against the civilians of Darfur; and
     WHEREAS, On August 31, 2006, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1706 to expand the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) to deploy through the United Nations more peacekeepers as well as to enhance their mandate to permit protection of civilians; and
     WHEREAS, The Government of Sudan has consistently continued to refuse to permit deployment of peacekeepers in Darfur, to ensure access to humanitarian aid, to ensure safety for aid workers in Darfur, and to ensure cessation of violence in the Darfur Region and has even expanded attacks into neighboring countries of Chad and The Central African Republic;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President of the United States use all political and economic means necessary to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis and stop the deaths of thousands of innocent people every day, including:
     (1) Calling on the Government of Sudan to grant permission for deployment of peacekeepers in fulfillment of United Nations Resolution 1706;
     (2) Calling on the Government of Sudan to grant unconditional and immediate access to Darfur to humanitarian aid organizations and the human rights investigation and humanitarian teams of the United Nations;
     (3) Encouraging the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to work with donors to develop a plan to preposition and deliver humanitarian assistance to Darfur, including a plan for delivery of food by air if necessary;
     (4) Directing the Secretary of State to develop a plan for further bilateral and multilateral action in the event the Government of Sudan fails to immediately undertake the actions called for in this Memorial, including consideration of implementing a "no-fly" zone to protect civilians and aid workers; and
     (5) Directing the United States Representative to the United Nations to:
     (a) Seek an official investigation by the United Nations to determine if crimes against humanity have been committed by the Government of Sudan in the Darfur region;
     (b) Work with the international community to ensure that the individuals responsible for crimes against humanity in Darfur are accountable for their actions; and
     (c) Provide an effective system to ensure that witnesses and victims are protected during the process of fact-finding and evidence-gathering in the investigation of human rights abuses.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable George W. Bush, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.