Colin L. Powell - The Crisis In Darfur
Secretary Colin L. Powell
Testimony Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
(Scroll down for prepared written testimony)
Washington, DC
September 9, 2004
(9:35 a.m. EDT)
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's a pleasure to be back before the committee as you conduct
these deliberations on one of the most difficult situations the international community is facing, and that's the
tragedy in Darfur where, as you noted, so many hundreds of thousands of people are at risk, so many hundreds of
thousands of people have been forced from their homes, from their villages to camps, and where there is an absolute need
for the international community to come together and speak with one voice as to how we deal with this situation.
Mr. Chairman, I do have a prepared statement that I would like to offer for the record and then I will draw from that
in my opening remarks.
CHAIRMAN LUGAR: It will be published in full and please proceed as you wish.
SECRETARY POWELL: Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, let me thank you for this opportunity to testify on the
situation on Darfur, and let me begin by reviewing a little history. The violence in Darfur has complex roots in
traditional conflicts between Arab nomadic herders and African farmers. The violence intensified during 2003 when two
groups -- the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement -- declared open rebellion against the
Government of Sudan because they feared being on the outside of the power and wealth-sharing agreements that were being
arranged in the north-south negotiations, the "Naivasha discussions," as we call them. Khartoum reacted aggressively,
intensifying support for Arab militias to take on these rebels and support for what are known as the Jingaweit. The
Government of Sudan supported the Jingaweit, directly and indirectly, as they carried out a scorched-earth policy toward
the rebels and the African civilian population in Darfur.
Mr. Chairman, the United States exerted strong leadership to focus international attention on this unfolding tragedy.
We first took the issue of Sudan to the United Nations Security Council last fall. President Bush was the first head of
state to condemn publicly the Government of Sudan and to urge the international community to intensify efforts to end
the violence. In April of this year, the United States brokered a ceasefire between the Government of Sudan and the
rebels, and then took the lead to get the African Union to monitor that ceasefire.
As some of you are aware, I traveled to the Sudan in midsummer and made a point of visiting Darfur. It was about the
same time that Congressman Wolf and Senator Brownback were there, as well as Secretary General Kofi Annan. In fact, the
Secretary General and I were able to meet in Khartoum to exchange our notes and to make sure that we gave a consistent
message to the Sudanese Government of what was expected of them.
Senator Brownback can back me up when I say that all of us saw the suffering that the people of Darfur are having to
endure. And Senator Corzine was just in Darfur recently. He can vouch for the fact that atrocities are still occurring.
All of us met with people who had been driven from their homes by the terrible violence that is occurring in Darfur;
indeed, many of them having seen their homes and all their worldly possessions destroyed or confiscated before their
eyes.
During my visit, humanitarian workers from my own Agency -- USAID -- and from other nongovernmental organizations told
me how they are struggling to bring food, shelter, and medicines to those so desperately in need -- a population, as you
noted, Mr. Chairman, of well over a million.
In my midsummer meetings with officials of the Government of Sudan, we presented them with the stark facts of what we
knew about what is happening in Darfur from the destruction of villages, to the raping and the killing, to the obstacles
that impeded relief efforts. Secretary General Annan and I obtained from the Government of Sudan what they said would be
firm commitments to take steps, and to take steps immediately, that would remove these obstacles, help bring the
violence to an end, and do it in a way that we could monitor their performance.
There have been some positive developments since my visit, since the visit of Senator Brownback, Congressman Wolf, and
the Secretary General.
The Sudanese have met some of our benchmarks such as improving humanitarian access, engaging in political talks with
the rebels and supporting the deployment of observers and troops from the Africa Union to monitor the ceasefire between
Khartoum and the rebels.
The AU Ceasefire Commission has also been set up and is working to monitor more effectively what is happening in
Darfur. The general who is in charge of that mission, a Nigerian general by the name of General Okonkwo, is somebody
that we know well. He is the same Nigerian general who went into Liberia last year and helped stabilize the situation
there -- a very good officer, a good commander who knows his business.
The AU's mission will help to restore sufficient security so that these dislocated, starving, hounded people can at
least avail themselves of the humanitarian assistance that is available. But what is really needed is enough security so
that they can go home, not be safe in camps. We need security throughout the countryside. These people need to go home.
We are not interested in creating a permanent displaced population that survives in camps on the dole of the
international community.
And what is really needed to accomplish that is for the Jingaweit militias to cease and desist their murderous raids
against these people -- and for the government in Khartoum to stop being complicit in such raids. Khartoum has made no
meaningful progress in substantially improving the overall security environment by disarming the Jingaweit militias or
arresting its leaders.
So we are continuing to press the Government of Sudan and we continue to monitor them. We continue to make sure that we
are not just left with promises instead of actual action and performance on the ground. Because it is absolutely clear
that as we approach the end of the rainy season, the situation on the ground must change, and it must change quickly.
There are too many tens upon tens of thousands of human beings who are at risk. Some of them have already been consigned
to death in the future because of the circumstances they are living in now. They will not make it through the end of the
year. Poor security, inadequate capacity, and heavy rains, which will not diminish until later this month, continue to
hamper the relief effort.
The United Nations estimates that there are 1,227,000 Internally Displaced Persons in Darfur. In July, almost 950,000
IDPs received food assistance. About 200,000 Sudanese refugees are being assisted by the UNHCR and partner organizations
across the border in Chad. The World Food Program expects two million IDPs will need food aid by October.
The United States Government provision of aid to the Darfur crisis in the Sudan and Chad totaled $211 million as of
September 2, 2004. This includes $112 million in food assistance, $50 million in non-food assistance, $36 million for
refugees in Chad, $5 million for refugee programs in Darfur, and $6.8 million for the African Union mission.
The U.S. also strongly supports the work of the AU monitoring mission in Darfur. In fact, we initiated the mission
through base camp set-up and logistics support by a private contractor that we are paying for. The AU mission is
currently staffed with 125 AU monitors now deployed in the field, and those monitors have already completed 20
investigations of ceasefire violations and their reports are now being written up and being provided to the AU and to
the UN and to the international community.
The AU monitoring staff is supported by a protection force of 305 troops, made up of a Rwandan contingent of 155, who
arrived on August 15, and a Nigerian contingent of 150, who arrived on August 30th. Recognizing the security problems in
Darfur, the UN and the United States have begun calling for an expanded AU mission in Darfur through the provision of
additional observers and additional protection forces so their presence can spread throughout this very, very large area
that is about, oh, 80 percent the size of the state of Texas. It is not a simple geographic or monitoring or military
mission. It is very complex. Khartoum seems to have expressed a willingness to consider such an expanded mission.
I am pleased to announce, Mr. Chairman, that the State Department has identified $20.5 million in FY04 funds for
initial support of this expanded AU mission. We look forward to consulting with the Congress on meeting additional needs
that such a mission might have.
As you know, as we watched the month of July, as you watched through the month of July, we felt that more pressure was
required. So we went to the United Nations and asked for a resolution. And we got that resolution on July 30th, after a
bit of debate, but it was 13-0 with 2 abstentions.
This resolution, 1556, demands that the Government of Sudan take action to disarm the Jingaweit militia and bring
Jingaweit leaders to justice. It warns Khartoum that the Security Council will take further actions and measures, which
his the UN term for sanctions. "Measures" is not a softer word. It includes sanctions and any other measures that might
be contemplated or available to the international community. And it warned Khartoum that the UN, through its Security
Council, will take actions and measures if Sudan fails to comply.
That resolution urges the warring parties to conclude a political agreement without delay and it commits all states to
target sanctions against the Jingaweit militias and those who aid and abet them as well as others who may share
responsibility for this tragic situation. Too many lives have already been lost. We cannot lose any more time. We in the
international community must intensify our efforts to help those imperiled by violence, starvation and disease in
Darfur.
But the Government of Sudan bears the greatest responsibility to face up to this catastrophe, rein in those who are
committing these atrocities, and save the lives of its own citizens. At the same time, however, the rebels have not
fully respected the ceasefire and we are disturbed at reports of rebel kidnapping of relief workers. We have emphasized
to the rebels that they must allow unrestricted access of humanitarian relief workers and supplies, and that they must
cooperate fully, including cooperating with the AU monitoring mission.
We are pleased that the Government of Sudan and the rebels are currently engaged in talks in Abuja, hosted by the AU.
These talks are aimed at bringing about a political settlement in Darfur. The two sides have agreed on a protocol to
facilitate delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance to rebel-held areas, and are now engaged in discussions of a
protocol on security issues.
These negotiations are difficult. We expect that they may be adjourned for a period of time after these initial
agreements and we are some ways away from seeing a political resolution between the two sides. We are urging both sides
to intensify negotiations in order to reach a political settlement. And I have personnel from State Department who are
on the ground in Abuja on a full-time basis to assist the negotiators in their work.
When I was in Khartoum earlier in the summer, I told President Bashir, Vice President Taha, Foreign Minister Ismail,
the Minister of Interior and others, that the United States wants to see a united, unified, prosperous, democratic
Sudan. I told them that to that end we are fully prepared to work with them. I reminded them that we had reached an
historic agreement on June 5th -- an agreement that we had worked on for so long, an agreement between the Government of
Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, the so-called north-south agreement. And this north-south agreement
covered all of the outstanding issues that had been so difficult for these parties to come to agreement on, they had
come to agreement on.
Since then, the parties have been engaged in final negotiations on remaining details. However, the parties now are
stuck on the specifics of a formal ceasefire agreement and have not yet begun the final round of implementation
modalities. Special Envoy Sumbeiywo met recently with the parties, but could not resolve the remaining ceasefire-related
issues. Khartoum appears unwilling to resume talks at the most senior level, claiming that it must focus on Darfur. That
would be fine if its focus were the right focus, but it is not. The SPLM is more forward leaning, but still focused on
negotiating details. We believe that a comprehensive agreement would bolster efforts to resolve the crisis in Darfur by
providing a legal basis for a political solution and by opening up the political process in Khartoum.
President Bashir has repeatedly pledged to work for peace, and he pledged that again when I met with him earlier in the
summer. But President Bush, this Congress, Secretary General Annan and the international community want more than
promises. We want to see dramatic improvements on the ground right now. Indeed, we wanted to see them yesterday.
In the meantime, while we wait, we are doing all that we can. We are working with the international community to make
sure all those nations who have made pledges of financial assistance and other kinds of assistance meet their pledges.
We are not yet satisfied with the response from the international community to meeting the pledges that they have made.
In fact, the estimated needs have grown and the donor community needs to dig deeper. America has been in the forefront
of providing assistance to the suffering people of Darfur and will remain in the forefront. But it is time for the
entire international community to increase their assistance.
The U.S. has pledged $299 million in humanitarian aid through FY05, and $11.8 million to the AU mission, and we are
well on our way to exceeding these pledges. Clearly, we will need more assistance in the future and we are looking at
all of our accounts within the Department to see what we can do. And when we are beyond our ability to do more from
within our current appropriations, we will have to come back to the Congress and make our requests known.
Secretary General Annan's August 30th report called for an expanded AU mission in Darfur to monitor commitments of the
parties more effectively, thereby enhancing security and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The
Secretary General's report also highlighted Khartoum's failure to rein in and disarm the Jingaweit militia, and noted
that the Sudanese military continued to take part in attacks on civilians, including aerial bombardment and helicopter
strikes.
We have begun consultation in New York on a new resolution that calls for Khartoum to fully cooperate with an expanded
AU force and for cessation of Sudanese military flights over the Darfur region. It also provides for international
overflights to monitor the situation in Darfur and requires the Security Council to review the record of Khartoum's
compliance to determine if sanctions, including on the Sudanese petroleum sector, should be imposed. The resolution also
urges the Government of Sudan and the SPLM to conclude negotiations, the Lake Naivasha negotiations, on a comprehensive
peace accord.
And, Mr. Chairman, there is, finally, the continuing question of whether what is happening in Darfur should be called
genocide.
Since the United States became aware of atrocities occurring in Sudan, we have been reviewing the Genocide Convention
and the obligations it places on the Government of Sudan and on the international community and on the state parties to
the genocide convention.
In July, we launched a limited investigation by sending a team to visit the refugee camps in Chad to talk to refugees
and displaced personnel. The team worked closely with the American Bar Association and the Coalition for International
Justice, and were able to interview 1136 of the 2.2 million people the UN estimates have been affected by this horrible
situation, this horrible violence.
Those interviews indicated: first, a consistent and widespread pattern of atrocities: Killings, rapes, burning of
villages committed by Jingaweit and government forces against non-Arab villagers; three-fourths of those interviewed
reported that the Sudanese military forces were involved in the attacks; third, villagers often experienced multiple
attacks over a prolonged period before they were destroyed by burning, shelling or bombing, making it impossible for the
villagers to return to their villages. This was a coordinated effort, not just random violence.
When we reviewed the evidence compiled by our team, and then put it beside other information available to the State
Department and widely known throughout the international community, widely reported upon by the media and by others, we
concluded, I concluded, that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Jingaweit
bear responsibility -- and that genocide may still be occurring. Mr. Chairman, we are making copies of the evidence that
our team compiled available to you and to the public today. We are putting it up on our website now, as I speak.
We believe in order to confirm the true nature, scope and totality of the crimes our evidence reveals, a full-blown and
unfettered investigation needs to occur. Sudan is a contracting party to the Genocide Convention and is obliged under
the Convention to prevent and to punish acts of genocide. To us, at this time, it appears that Sudan has failed to do
so.
Article VIII of the Genocide Convention provides that Contracting Parties may, I will quote now, "may call upon the
competent organs of the United Nations to take action, such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they," the
competent organs of the United Nations, "as they consider appropriate, actions as they consider appropriate for the
prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III" of the Genocide
Convention.
Because of that obligation under Article VIII of the Convention, and since the United States is one of the contracting
parties; today we are calling on the United Nations to initiate a full investigation. To this end, the United States
will propose that the next UN Security Council Resolution on Sudan request a United Nations investigation into all
violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law that have occurred in Darfur, with a view to ensuring
accountability.
Mr. Chairman, as I have said, the evidence leads us to the conclusion, the United States to the conclusion; that
genocide has occurred and may still be occurring in Darfur. We believe the evidence corroborates the specific intent of
the perpetrators to destroy "a group in whole or in part," the words of the Convention. This intent may be inferred from
their deliberate conduct. We believe other elements of the convention have been met as well.
Under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which both the United States
and Sudan are parties, genocide occurs when the following three criteria are met:
First, specific acts are committed, and those acts include: Killing; causing serious bodily or mental harm;
deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction of a group in whole or in
part; imposing measures to prevent births; or forcibly transferring children to another group. Those are specified acts
that, if committed, raise the likelihood that genocide is being committed.
The second criteria: These acts are committed against members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group; and the
third criterion is, they are committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the group, as such."
The totality of the evidence from the interviews we conducted in July and August, and from the other sources available
to us, shows that the Jingaweit and Sudanese military forces have committed large-scale acts of violence, including
murders, rape and physical assaults on non-Arab individuals. Second, the Jingaweit and Sudanese military forces
destroyed villages, foodstuffs, and other means of survival. Third, the Sudan Government and its military forces
obstructed food, water, medicine, and other humanitarian aid from reaching affected populations, thereby leading to
further deaths and suffering. And finally, despite having been put on notice multiple times, Khartoum has failed to stop
the violence.
Mr. Chairman, some seem to have been waiting for this determination of genocide to take action. In fact, however, no
new action is dictated by this determination. We have been doing everything we can to get the Sudanese Government to act
responsibly. So let us not be too preoccupied with this designation. These people are in desperate need and we must help
them. Call it civil war; call it ethnic cleansing; call it genocide; call it "none of the above." The reality is the
same. There are people in Darfur who desperately need the help of the international community.
I expect -- I more than expect, I know, that the government of Khartoum in Khartoum will reject our conclusion of
genocide anyway. Moreover, at this point, genocide is our judgment and not the judgment of the international community.
Before the Government of Sudan is taken to the bar of international justice, let me point out that there is a simple way
for Khartoum to avoid such wholesale condemnation by the international community, and that way is to take action -- to
stop holding back, to stop dissembling.
The government in Khartoum should end the attacks and ensure its people -- all of its people -- are secure, ensure that
they are all secure. 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.
Specifically, Mr. Chairman, the most practical contribution we can make to the security of Darfur in the short term is
to do everything we can to increase the number of African Union monitors. That will require the cooperation of the
Government of Sudan.
And I am pleased that the African Union is stepping up to the task. It is playing a leadership role and countries
within the African Union have demonstrated a willingness to provide a significant number of troops. And this is the
fastest way to help bring security to the countryside through this expanded monitoring presence so we can see what is
going on and act to prevent it.
In the intermediate and long term, the security of Darfur can best be advanced by a political settlement at Abuja, and
by the successful conclusion of the peace negotiations between the SPLM and the government in Sudan, the Lake Naivasha
accords.
Mr. Chairman, I will stop here and take your questions. Thank you. 2004/955 [End]
Released on September 9, 2004
*********
Colin L. Powell - The Crisis In Darfur
The Crisis In Darfur
Secretary Colin L. Powell
Written Remarks Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Washington, DC
September 9, 2004
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the situation in Darfur. Let me
start by reviewing a little history.
The violence in Darfur has complex roots in traditional conflicts between Arab nomadic herders and African farmers. The
violence intensified during 2003 when two groups -- the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement
-- declared open rebellion against the Government of Sudan because they feared being on the outside of the power and
wealth-sharing agreements in the north-south negotiations. Khartoum reacted aggressively, intensifying support for Arab
militias, the so-called jinjaweid. The Government of Sudan supported the jinjaweid, directly and indirectly, as they
carried out a scorched-earth policy towards the rebels and the African civilian population.
Mr. Chairman, the United States exerted strong leadership to focus international attention on this unfolding tragedy.
We first took the issue of Sudan to the United Nations (UN) Security Council last fall. President Bush was the first
head of state to condemn publicly the Government of Sudan and to urge the international community to intensify efforts
to end the violence. In April of this year, the United States brokered a ceasefire between the Government of Sudan and
the rebels, and then took the lead to get the African Union (AU) to monitor that ceasefire.
As some of you are aware, I traveled to the Sudan in midsummer and made a point of visiting Darfur. It was about the
same time that Congressman Wolf and Senator Brownback were there, as well as Secretary General Kofi Annan. In fact, the
Secretary General and I were able to meet and exchange notes. We made sure that our message to the Sudanese government
was consistent.
Senator Brownback can back me up when I say that all of us saw the suffering that the people of Darfur are having to
endure. And Senator Corzine was just in Darfur and can vouch for the fact that atrocities are still occurring. All of us
met with people who had been driven from their homes -- indeed many having seen their homes and all their worldly
possessions destroyed or confiscated before their eyes -- by the terrible violence that is occurring in Darfur.
During my visit, humanitarian workers from my own Agency -- USAID -- and from other Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGOs), told me how they are struggling to bring food, shelter, and medicines to those so desperately in need -- a
population of well over one million.
In my midsummer meetings with the Government of Sudan, we presented them with the stark facts of what we knew about
what is happening in Darfur from the destruction of villages, to the raping and the killing, to the obstacles that
impeded relief efforts. Secretary General Annan and I obtained from the Government of Sudan what they said would be firm
commitments to take steps, and to take steps immediately, that would remove these obstacles, help bring the violence to
an end, and do it in a way that we could monitor their performance.
There have been some positive developments since my visit, and since the visit of Senator Brownback, Congressman Wolf,
and the Secretary General.
The Sudanese have met some of our benchmarks such as engaging in political talks with the rebels and supporting the
deployment of observers and troops from the AU to monitor the ceasefire between Khartoum and the rebels. Some
improvements in humanitarian access have also occurred though the government continues to throw obstacles in the way of
the fullest provision of assistance.
The AU Ceasefire Commission has also been set up and is working to monitor more effectively what is actually happening
in Darfur. The general who is in charge of that mission, a Nigerian general by the name of Okonkwo, is somebody that we
know well. He is the same Nigerian general who went into Liberia last year and helped stabilize the situation there.
The AU's mission will help to restore sufficient security so that these dislocated, starving, hounded people can at
least avail themselves of the humanitarian assistance that is available. But what is really needed is enough security so
that they can go home. And what is really needed is for the jinjaweid militias to cease and desist their murderous raids
against these people -- and for the Government in Khartoum to stop being complicit in such raids. Khartoum has made no
meaningful progress in substantially improving the overall security environment by disarming the jinjaweid militias or
arresting its leaders.
So we are continuing to press that Government and we continue to monitor them. We continue to make sure that we are not
just left with promises instead of actual action and performance on the ground. Because it is absolutely clear that as
we approach the end of the rainy season, the situation on the ground must change, and it must change quickly. There are
too many tens upon tens of thousands of human beings who are at risk. Some of them have already been consigned to death
because of the circumstances they are living in now. They will not make it through the end of the year. Poor security,
inadequate capacity, and heavy rains (which will not diminish until late September) continue to hamper the relief
effort.
The UN estimates there are 1,227,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Darfur. In July, almost 950,000 IDPs
received some form of food assistance. About 200,000 Sudanese refugees are being assisted by UNHCR and partner
organizations in Chad. The World Food Program (WFP) expects two million IDPs will need food aid by October.
U.S. Government provision of aid to the Darfur crisis in Sudan and Chad totaled $211.3 million as of September 2, 2004.
This includes $112.9 million in food assistance, $50.2 million in non-food assistance, and $36.4 million for refugees in
Chad, $5 million for refugee programs in Darfur, and $6.8 million for the African Union mission.
The U.S. also strongly supports the work of the AU monitoring mission in Darfur. In fact, we initiated the Mission
through base camp set-up and logistics support by a private contractor. The Mission is staffed with 125 AU monitors now
deployed in the field and has completed approximately 20 investigations of cease-fire violations. The AU monitoring
staff is supported by a protection force of 305, made up of a Rwandan contingent of 155 (they arrived on August 15) and
a Nigerian contingent of 150 (they arrived on August 30). Recognizing the security problems in Darfur, the UN and the
U.S. have begun calling for an expanded AU mission in Darfur through the provision of additional observers and
protection forces. Khartoum appears to have signaled a willingness to consider an expanded mission.
I am pleased to announce, Mr. Chairman, that the State Department has identified $20.5 million in FY04 funds for
initial support of this expanded mission. We look forward to consulting with the Congress on meeting additional needs.
As you know, as we watched through the month of July, we felt more pressure was required. So we went to the UN and
asked for a resolution. We got it on July 30.
Resolution 1556 demands that the Government of Sudan take action to disarm the jinjaweid militia and bring jinjaweid
leaders to justice. It warns Khartoum that the Security Council will take further actions and measures UN-speak for
sanctions if Sudan fails to comply. It urges the warring parties to conclude a political agreement without delay and it
commits all states to target sanctions against the jinjaweid militias and those who aid and abet them as well as others
who may share responsibility for this tragic situation. Too many lives have already been lost. We cannot lose any more
time. We in the international community must intensify our efforts to help those imperiled by violence, starvation and
disease in Darfur.
But the Government of Sudan bears the greatest responsibility to face up to this catastrophe, rein in those who are
committing these atrocities, and save the lives of its own citizens. At the same time, however, the rebels have not
fully respected the ceasefire. We are disturbed at reports of rebel kidnappings of relief workers. We have emphasized to
the rebels that they must allow unrestricted access of humanitarian relief workers and supplies and cooperate fully,
including with the AU monitoring mission.
We are pleased that the Government of Sudan and the rebels are currently engaged in talks in Abuja, hosted by the AU.
These talks are aimed at bringing about a political settlement in Darfur. The two sides have agreed on a protocol to
facilitate delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance to rebel-held areas, and are now engaged in discussions of a
protocol on security issues. We are urging both sides to intensify negotiations in order to reach a political
settlement.
At midsummer, I told President Bashir, Vice President Taha, Foreign Minister Ismail, the Minister of Interior and
others, that the United States wants to see a united, prosperous, democratic Sudan. I told them that to that end we are
fully prepared to work with them. I reminded them that we had reached an historic agreement on June 5 -- an agreement
between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). That agreement covered all the
outstanding issues in the north-south process.
Since then, the parties have been engaged in final negotiations on remaining details. However, the parties are stuck on
the specifics of a formal ceasefire agreement and have not yet begun the final round of implementation modalities.
Special Envoy Sumbeiywo met recently with the parties, but could not resolve the remaining ceasefire-related issues.
Khartoum appears unwilling to resume talks at the most senior level, claiming it must focus on Darfur. That would be
fine if its focus were the right focus. But it is not. The SPLM is more forward leaning, but still focused on
negotiating details. We believe that a comprehensive agreement would bolster efforts to resolve the crisis in Darfur by
providing a legal basis for a political solution (decentralization) and by opening up the political process in Khartoum.
President Bashir has repeatedly pledged to work for peace, and he pledged that again when we met in midsummer. But
President Bush, this Congress, Secretary General Annan and the international community want more than promises. We want
to see dramatic improvements on the ground right now. Indeed, we wanted to see them yesterday.
In the meantime, we are doing all that we can. We are working with the international community to make sure that all of
those nations who have made pledges of financial assistance meet those pledges. In fact, the estimated needs have grown
and the donor community needs to dig deeper. America has been in the forefront of providing assistance to the suffering
people of Darfur and will remain in the forefront. But it is time for the entire international community to increase
their assistance. The U.S. has pledged $299 million in humanitarian aid through FY05, and $11.8 million to the AU
mission, and we are well on the way to exceeding these pledges.
SYG Annan's August 30 report called for an expanded AU mission in Darfur to monitor commitments of the parties more
effectively, thereby enhancing security and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The report also
highlighted Khartoum's failure to rein in and disarm the jinjaweid militia, and noted that the Sudanese military
continued to take part in attacks on civilians, including aerial bombardment and helicopter strikes.
We have begun consultation in New York on a new resolution that calls for Khartoum to cooperate fully with an expanded
AU force and for cessation of Sudanese military flights over the Darfur region. It also provides for international
overflights to monitor the situation in Darfur and requires the Security Council to review the record of Khartoum's
compliance to determine if sanctions, including on the Sudanese petroleum sector, should be imposed. The resolution also
urges the Government of Sudan and the SPLM to conclude negotiations on a comprehensive peace accord.
And finally there is the matter of whether or not what is happening in Darfur is genocide.
Since the U.S. became aware of atrocities occurring in Sudan, we have been reviewing the Genocide Convention and the
obligations it places on the Government of Sudan.
In July, we launched a limited investigation by sending a team to refugee camps in Chad. They worked closely with the
American Bar Association and the Coalition for International Justice and were able to interview 1,136 of the 2.2 million
people the UN estimates have been affected by this horrible violence. Those interviews indicated:
* A consistent and widespread pattern of atrocities (killings, rapes, burning of villages) committed by jinjaweid and
government forces against non-Arab villagers; * Three-fourths (74%) of those interviewed reported that the Sudanese
military forces were involved in the attacks; * Villages often experienced multiple attacks over a prolonged period
before they were destroyed by burning, shelling or bombing, making it impossible for villagers to return.
When we reviewed the evidence compiled by our team, along with other information available to the State Department, we
concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the jinjaweid bear
responsibility -- and genocide may still be occurring. Mr. Chairman, we are making copies of the evidence our team
compiled available to this committee today.
We believe in order to confirm the true nature, scope and totality of the crimes our evidence reveals, a full-blown and
unfettered investigation needs to occur. Sudan is a contracting party to the Genocide Convention and is obliged under
the Convention to prevent and to punish acts of genocide. To us, at this time, it appears that Sudan has failed to do
so.
Article VIII of the Genocide Convention provides that Contracting Parties may call upon the competent organs of the
United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the United Nations as they consider appropriate for the
prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article III.
Today, the U.S. is calling on the UN to initiate a full investigation. To this end, the U.S. will propose that the next
UN Security Council Resolution on Sudan request 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.
Mr. Chairman, as I said the evidence leads us to the conclusion that genocide has occurred and may still be occurring
in Darfur. We believe the evidence corroborates the specific intent of the perpetrators to destroy "a group in whole or
in part". This intent may be inferred from their deliberate conduct. We believe other elements of the convention have
been met as well.
Under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which both the United States
and Sudan are parties, genocide occurs when the following three criteria are met:
* specified acts are committed: a) killing; b) causing serious bodily or mental harm; c) deliberately inflicting
conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction of a group in whole or in part; d) imposing measures
to prevent births; or e) forcibly transferring children to another group;
* these acts are committed against members of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group; and * they are committed
with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, [the group] as such .
The totality of the evidence from the interviews we conducted in July and August, and from the other sources available
to us, shows that:
* The jinjaweid and Sudanese military forces have committed large-scale acts of violence, including murders, rape and
physical assaults on non-Arab individuals; * The jinjaweid and Sudanese military forces destroyed villages, foodstuffs,
and other means of survival; * The Sudan Government and its military forces obstructed food, water, medicine, and other
humanitarian aid from reaching affected populations, thereby leading to further deaths and suffering; and * Despite
having been put on notice multiple times, Khartoum has failed to stop the violence.
Mr. Chairman, some seem to have been waiting for this determination of genocide to take action. In fact, however, no
new action is dictated by this determination. We have been doing everything we can to get the Sudanese government to act
responsibly. So let us not be preoccupied with this designation of genocide. These people are in desperate need and we
must help them. Call it a civil war. Call it ethnic cleansing. Call it genocide. Call it "none of the above." The
reality is the same: there are people in Darfur who desperately need our help.
I expect that the government in Khartoum will reject our conclusion of genocide anyway. Moreover, at this point
genocide is our judgment and not the judgment of the International Community. Before the Government of Sudan is taken to
the bar of international justice, let me point out that there is a simple way for Khartoum to avoid such wholesale
condemnation. That way is to take action.
The government in Khartoum should end the attacks, ensure its people -- all of its people -- are secure, hold to
account those who are responsible for past atrocities, and ensure that current negotiations are successfully concluded.
That is the only way to peace and prosperity for this war-ravaged land.
Specifically, Mr. Chairman, the most practical contribution we can make to the security of Darfur in the short-term is
to increase the number of African Union monitors. That will require the cooperation of the Government of Sudan.
In the intermediate and long term, the security of Darfur can be best advanced by a political settlement at Abuja and
by the successful conclusion of the peace negotiations between the SPLM and the Government of Sudan. 2004/954 [End]
Released on September 9, 2004
ENDS