BILL REQ. #:  S-4035.1 

Read first time .   Referred to .

     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, including militia forces backed by the Government, and rebel forces in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan has resulted in attacks by ground and air forces of the Government of Sudan against innocent 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, 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, On February 17, 2004, Amnesty International reported that it "continues to receive details of horrifying attacks against civilians in villages by government warplanes, soldiers, and progovernment militia"; 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 April 20, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights delayed the release of a report citing gross human rights abuses, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in Darfur in a bid to gain access to Sudan for investigators; and
     WHEREAS, The Government of Sudan continues to deny humanitarian assistance for the people of the Darfur region by denying them unrestricted access to humanitarian aid organizations, resulting in the lowest rate of humanitarian access in twenty-one months; and
     WHEREAS, Nearly three million people affected by the conflict in the Darfur region have remained beyond the reach of aid agencies trying to provide essential humanitarian assistance, and United Nations aid agencies estimate that more than two million people have been displaced within Sudan; and
     WHEREAS, During the first week of December, the seventh Sudanese peace talk has failed; and
     WHEREAS, On December 8, Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced that the situation in Darfur was worsening because all parties were not respecting their cease-fire agreement; and
     WHEREAS, There has been an increase in the number of harassments, threats, and ambushes on humanitarian workers; and
     WHEREAS, The United Nations Security Council has initiated an investigation to determine if human rights abuses have been committed in the Darfur region;
     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 full, unconditional, and immediate access to Darfur to humanitarian aid organizations, the human rights investigation and humanitarian teams of the United Nations, and an international monitoring team in compliance with the temporary cease-fire agreement that is based in Darfur and has the support of the United States and the European Union;
     (2) 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;
     (3) 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 subsection (1) of this Memorial, including a plan to seek a Security Council resolution addressing the Darfur situation;
     (4) 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.