CONTENTS Page MARKUP OF: H. Con. Res. 403, Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute offered by the Honorable Edward R. Royce, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN FOR ITS ATTACKS AGAINST INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN THE IMPOVERISHED DARFUR REGION OF WESTERN SUDAN THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2004 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Washington, DC. The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 4:40 p.m. in Room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce (Chairman of the Committee) presiding. Mr. ROYCE. Pursuant to notice, I call up the resolution H.Con.Res. 403, Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan, for purposes of markup. [H. Con. Res. 403 follows:] (1) IV 108TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 403 Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2004 Mr. WOLF submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Condemning the Government of the Republic of the Sudan for its attacks against innocent civilians in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan. Whereas since early 2003 a conflict between forces of the Government of the Republic of the Sudan and rebel forces in the impoverished Darfur region of western Sudan has resulted in attacks by Sudanese Government ground and air forces against innocent civilians and undefended villages in the region; Whereas Sudanese Government forces 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 re 2 Whereas United Nations officials and nongovernmental organizations have indicated that the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region is extremely urgent, particularly in light of restrictions by the Government of Sudan on the delivery of humanitarian assistance for the people of the region; 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"; Whereas on February 17, 2004, Amnesty International reported that the organization "continues to receive details of horrifying attacks against civilians in villages by government warplanes, soldiers and pro-government militia"; Whereas on February 18, 2004, United Nations Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, Tom Eric Vraalsen, declared following a trip to the Darfur region that “aid workers are unable to reach the vast majority [of the displaced]"; Whereas Doctors Without Borders, the Nobel Peace Prizewinning 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 nearly 3,000,000 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 they have been able to reach only 15 percent of people in need and that more than 700,000 people have been internally displaced in the past year: Now, therefore, be it ⚫HCON 403 IH |