Issue Position: Foreign Affairs - Stopping the Violence in Darfur

Issue Position

Since 2003, the ongoing crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan has led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people and the displacement of more than 2 million more. In 2004, Congress and the Bush Administration recognized that the violence in Darfur amounts to an ongoing genocide.

I believe the United States and the international community must do far more to break the cycle of violence and hunger that grips Darfur. So far, the response of the U.S. and international community to this crisis has been ineffectual, and the African Union force in Darfur has not been able to stop the killing. It is not enough to denounce the killings as genocide. We must put real resources and diplomacy into solving the problem.

This summer, I voted to provide $210.5 million for critical humanitarian and peacekeeping programs in Darfur as part of the Fiscal Year 2008 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations bill [H.R. 2764]. This is a 90 percent increase over the level of funding requested by the Bush Administration. The bill also provides an additional $738.8 million for Sudan, primarily for development assistance to build the economic base and strengthen democratic institutions in Southern Sudan.

I have also joined a number of my colleagues in writing to the new Secretary-General of the United Nations to urge him to focus even greater attention on the crisis in Darfur. The UN has an important role to play in resolving this crisis, and I have been heartened by the Secretary-General's commitment to be personally engaged in the issue.
During the last Congress, we took a significant step forward by enacting the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act [H.R. 3127]. I voted for and was a co-sponsor of this important legislation directing the President to take a number of actions to stop the genocide in Darfur. This includes providing assistance to an expanded African Union force in Darfur, advocating a NATO role in stopping the violence, pushing for a United Nations Security Council Resolution regarding Darfur, and freezing the assets of those responsible for acts of genocide.

We have taken a number of steps to stop the violence in Darfur, but we must do more. The entire international community has a responsibility to work together to stop these crimes against humanity.

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