Engel Receives Top Grade For Opposing Genocide In Darfur
ENGEL RECEIVES TOP GRADE FOR OPPOSING GENOCIDE IN DARFUR
Genocide Intervention Network Applauds Engel's Leadership on Darfur
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Eliot L. Engel (D-NY) has received a top score of an "A" from the Genocide Intervention Network, a non-profit organization working to stop genocide around the globe. The group released the first-ever scorecard today, grading Members of Congress on their support of legislative efforts to address the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. The group awarded Congressman Engel an A for his strong support of aggressive U.S. action in the region.
"The genocide in Darfur is inexcusable, and the U.S. has a moral and practical obligation to lead the world to stop the killing there," Engel said. "I'm committed to that cause, and I'll continue to work with my colleagues to pursue a much more intensive course of action to save lives in Sudan."
Engel, a Senior Member of the House International Relations Committee, has urged action on Darfur in the past. Engel is a cosponsor of The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006, which passed overwhelmingly in the House, and has called for a U.S. Special Envoy for Darfur and Sudan. "This is something we must act on immediately. Congress cannot afford to sit idly by with genocide in our world," said Engel.
The House and Senate made history in July 2004 by becoming the first governmental body in U.S. history to declare genocide while it was occurring. Unanimous resolutions recognized that the atrocities in Darfur, in which as many as 400,000 civilians have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced, constituted ongoing genocide backed by the Sudanese government.
The scorecard measures whether each Member of Congress supported significant Darfur legislation introduced in the 109th Congress (2005 - 2006). Those provisions included legislation calling on the U.N. Security Council to approve a trained and adequate Darfur peacekeeping mission; an emergency appropriation increasing funding of the African Union peacekeepers by $50 million dollars; and directing the President to block the assets of, and deny visas and U.S. entry to, any individual associated with acts of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity in Sudan, among other measures.
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