Press Releases

The Honorable James P. McGovern (MA)
Introduction of the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2013
April 24, 2013
Five-Minute Special Order

M. Speaker - Ten years ago, crimes by the Government of Sudan against its own people in Darfur were just beginning. The world witnessed the burning of villages, poisoning of water, murder, rape, brutal assault, and the deliberate forced displacement of entire villages by violence. In 2004, these acts were characterized by the U.S. government and Congress as "genocide."

For the past six years, the International Criminal Court has indicted and issued arrest warrants for Sudan's high officials, military commanders and militia proxies for multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. In 2009 and 2010, President Omar al-Bashir himself was indicted by the ICC for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

International movements in support of the people of Darfur arose around the world, including a broad coalition here in the U.S. of religious, labor, peace, human rights and student organizations, calling for an end to the genocide in Darfur. Between 2004 and 2007, Congress passed a series of bills limiting U.S. aid to Sudan and applying sanctions against Sudan for its atrocities in Darfur.

In 2007, I visited refugee camps in eastern Chad, filled with hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who had fled the violence in Darfur. Each has a personal story of horror and violence. While I was there, the Janjaweed crossed the border and attacked two villages inside Chad, displacing thousands of people in the desolate landscape and brutal heat of the Sahel in the dry season. I witnessed with admiration the emergency response mobilized within hours by U.N. and international humanitarian agencies and NGOs to provide these newly-homeless and traumatized people with water, food, shelter, immunizations and medical care.

I will never forget those people, those children. And I will never forget the caring and highly-professional humanitarian aid workers who provided life-saving support to these refugees under difficult and dangerous conditions.

Khartoum continues its brutal campaign in Darfur and there is no end in sight. Eric Reeves, who ten years ago bravely brought to the world some of the very first photo and video images of the scorched earth campaign taking place in Darfur, continues to document on-going atrocities in the region. The primary targets continue to be civilians from African tribal groups surviving tenuously in the chaotic region. Eric is now on the faculty of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and I am very proud to be his representative in Congress.

Today, the violence and abuses of Darfur have expanded across Sudan. This February, the U.N. reported that over 1.5 million people have been displaced or severely affected because of the violence in Darfur, Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile - including some 90-to-100,000 people newly displaced in Darfur.

For over three years, the Sudanese government has carried out aerial bombing and a scorched earth campaign against civilians in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, under the pretext of battling armed insurgencies that operate in the area. The Government continues to deny the World Food Program and other humanitarian and religious organizations access to South Kordofan and Blue Nile to help the thousands in desperate need of food and basic care. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that abuses by the Government of Sudan in these states may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

There comes a time when we have to say enough is enough. This is why Congressmen Frank Wolf, Mike Capuano and I are re-introducing today the Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act.

Khartoum's abuse of its own people is nation-wide, and this bill focuses on Sudan as a whole. It requires a U.S. comprehensive strategy to end serious human rights violations in all of Sudan. It would provide genuine accountability for persons who have committed or assisted in serious human rights abuses. The bill supports the aspirations of the Sudanese people for peace and democratic reform. It encourages other governments and individuals to end support and aid to the Government of Sudan. And it reinvigorates genuinely comprehensive and sustainable peace efforts to end Sudan's multiple crises.

We must send a clear message to Khartoum that the time for change is now. That these abuses must stop. And that peace and genuine participation in the future of Sudan are rights that belong to all of the people of Sudan, no matter their race, ethnic or tribal background, religion, or political affiliation.

I ask all of my colleagues to join us on this legislation. It is past time to put an end to the pain, suffering and genocide taking place in Sudan. It is time to support peace, security and accountability.