stands between it and the wealth oil promises. As long as the oil revenues flow to Khartoum, there is little that pushes the government of Sudan to negotiate peace. Finally, Mr. Chairman, the Administration has attempted a constructive engagement policy with Sudan, particularly in the light of our war against terrorism, and we applaud all efforts to end the conflict and find an enduring peace. However, I must state for the record that I have grave reservations about whether we can trust Khartoum to negotiate any serious peace deal in good faith. In April, Mr. Chairman, I wrote to the Administration expressing outrage that Sudan's President Bashir called publicly for the reopening of militants training camps to fight the State of Israel. I was assured in writing that the Administration had called on Khartoum to cease the rhetoric of Jihad and violence. Mr. Chairman, I call upon the Sudanese government not only to cease the rhetoric of Jihad and violence, but to cease the acts of violence against its people and the threat of violence against the State of Israel. I also call upon this Administration to avoid Khartoum's diplomatic game playing, and to ensure that the rights of the people of southern Sudan to practice their religion and culture is put squarely on the table where it belongs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Mr. Lantos. I am going to ask the indulgence of the Committee to forego at this time making opening statements except Mr. Sherman, who has entreated me for 1 minute's recognition, but we have a complicated panel of witnesses. We have the Secretary of State coming in early this afternoon, and we want to be through with this. So if you will please withhold your request for opening statements, and put them in the record, without objection all Members may have 5 days in which to insert opening statements into the record of today's hearing. Without objection, I would like to insert into the record the written comments of the Government of Sudan and the statement of the Reverend Walter Fountroy, a former Member of the House, whom I invited to testify. Reverend Fountroy was unable to attend today's hearing due to a scheduling conflict. I would like to have the record have the benefit of his remarks. I further ask unanimous consent that the statement of Mr. John Eidner of Christian Solidarity International and the statement of Dennis E. Bennett of Servants Heart, an organization in my congressional district, also be included in the record. The Chair recognizes for 1 minute Mr. Sherman of California. Two years ago the World Bank loaned $232 million to Iran, and later this year it is likely to approve another $755 million. Sudan is eligible and may well receive concessionary loans from the IDA branch of the World Bank, the very branch that is likely to receive $800 million appropriated this year by Congress. We will, of course, use our voice and vote against these loans, but this choreographed feeble protest is but a cynical excuse for a failure to enact legislation that would end all American appropriations to the World Bank if that bank loans money to the current vicious regimes in Khartoum and Tehran. Chairman HYDE. It is difficult for me give 1 minute to Mr. Sherman and not to Mr. Gilman. Mr. GILMAN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman HYDE. And so we are off and running. Mr. GILMAN. I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this importing hearing. There is an urgent need for reconciliation for peace and economic development in Sudan and our nation working closely with our allies is now in a position to provide the leadership that is needed to put an end to this conflict. Sudan continues to experience some of the worst human rights practices on record, such as its trading in slaves, religious discrimination, the starvation, and wanton killing of civilians, over 2 million dead during their period of independence. For quite some time Sudan has been supporting terrorists whose activities were aimed against our nation and our allies. However, things seemed to improve a little bit since September 11. Sudan placed itself in the camp of those countries fighting international terror, and that change of heart by the Sudanese government provides the opportunity to effectively address its own internal conflicts. Accordingly, the Administration's recent efforts to help mediate this conflict, as exemplified by sending Senator Danforth into the region as the President's special envoy for peace in Sudan should be commended. Mr. Chairman, I thank our witnesses for taking the time to help in our deliberations with their knowledge and experience, and I hope this hearing will provide further insight for clarifying the complex issues raised by the hearing. And thank you for your recognition. Chairman HYDE. After consultation with the Ranking Minority Member, Mr. Lantos, who feels strongly that all of the representatives of the United States Government organizations should testify on one panel, I have decided to have Mr. Young join the other witnesses on Panel No. I. So Mr. Young, if you would come to the witness table with the other members of Panel I, which I will now introduce. I would like to welcome Walter H. Kansteiner, III, who is Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of African Affairs at the Department of State. Secretary Kansteiner was sworn in just 1 year ago, bringing with him more than 20 years' experience with African and emerging market business issues. He is a founding principal of the Scocroft Group, has served the U.S. Government as a director of African affairs on the National Security Council, and also has served on the Secretary of State's policy planning staff, and with the Department of Defense. We welcome you today, Secretary Kansteiner. And also on Panel I, it pleases me to introduce Roger Winter, Assistant Administrator of the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Mr. Winter was director of U.S. AID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance prior to being sworn in as assistant administrator in January of this year. He served as executive director of the nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees for many years, and has farreaching field experience in Africa, Southeast Asia, the former Soviet Union, and Central America. We welcome you today, Mr. Winter. And we also welcome Michael K. Young, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Ambassador Young comes to the commission with a wide background of government service at the Department of State in addition to his positions as dean on the staffs of the George Washington University Law School and the School of Law at Columbia University. He is known as a scholar of Far Eastern affairs; has been published extensively in those areas, as well as international environmental law, human rights and religious freedom. And we thank you for coming today, Dean Young. I kindly ask that each of you summarize your statements within 5 minutes if at all possible. Your full statement will be placed in the hearing record. And so all the preliminaries having been completed, we recognize you, Secretary Kansteiner. Would you press the button? Mr. KANSTEINER. That always helps. STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE WALTER KANSTEINER, AS- Mr. KANSTEINER. I am please to have the opportunity to appear before this Committee to discuss what you and Secretary Powell have described as one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies on the world. The oft-quoted statistics of Sudan, which you mentioned in your opening remarks, include 36 years of civil war, 2 million dead, 4 million internally displaced, 500,000 refugees, these are numbing in their magnitude. Slave raiding, aerial bombing of civilians, attacks on relief centers, use of food as a weapon, forced displacements, interference with religious freedom, any of these would guarantee a country a prominent spot on the dismal map of human suffering, but in Sudan we see all of these together. The United States of America cannot ignore what is going on there. Sudan must be a priority in the context of our policy toward Africa, and I can assure this Committee that it is. As you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, we do have a keen interest in Sudan and the President and the Secretary and this Administration are committed to trying to bring peace to this country. We have set a policy course with four objectives in mind. These are: to deny Sudan as a base of operations for international terrorism; bring about a just and lasting peace; push for unhindered humanitarian access; and open the doors for improved human rights and religious freedom. My aim today in sharing these objectives with you is not only give you a briefing of where we are but also to ask for your continued support in this effort. As highlighted in the State Department's recent release of the patterns of global terrorism report, Sudan remains of particular concern to United States, as Congressman Lantos referred to in his opening statement. That concern centers around the Sudanese government's apparent tolerance of certain groups. The report also refers to significant increase in counterterrorism cooperation. However, due to the sensitive nature of this subject I recommend a different forum for detailed briefings on this matter. Ambassador Francis Taylor, the counterterrorism coordinator at the State Department, and I would be happy to provide such a comprehensive briefing. Our approach to the peace, humanitarian and human rights facets of Sudan policy have been guided by President Bush's pledge, which you quoted from, Mr. Chairman. In September of last year, President Bush named John Danforth, former Senator from Missouri, the Special Envoy for peace. His mandate was to determine the viability for an end to the civil war and to test the antagonist's commitment to peace. President Bush also asked USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios to be a special humanitarian coordinator and tasked him with developing and implementing strategies that would alleviate the humanitarian crisis we see there today. Roger Winter, who is on the panel, is very much a valued partner in that process, and we greatly appreciate his efforts in bringing some relief to the suffering in Sudan. While exploring the viability of an authentic peace process that would result in the end of the civil war, the U.S. has sought to achieve incremental humanitarian and human rights gains, and these are basically the four areas that we have worked with Jack Danforth to press, and these are the four areas that you mentioned earlier which are: a cease-fire and humanitarian access to the Nuba Mountains; zones of tranquility; an introduction of an international commission to investigate slavery; and the cessation of attacks on civilians. We believe that these four tests are hopefully the beginning of what will be a more comprehensive peace process. We need to build on these four tests, enlarge them, take the momentum that we have from them, and widen them to include the really tough issues-not that these weren't tough issues-but to include the really tough issues of self-determination, religious freedom, and resource sharing from the oil. Those are the key elements that are going to make up, if you will, phase two of this peace process. The duration and nature of the civil war make it clear that neither the government nor the opposition can win militarily. Without a strong international role, it is doubtful the parties to the conflict possess the initiative necessary to resolve the differences on their own. This is where we have focused our diplomatic efforts. None of Sudan's problems exist in a vacuum. So long as the civil war goes on, the suffering will continue. I cannot put it more directly than Deputy Secretary Rich Armitage said to you all some months ago, "We have got to try to stop the war." The release of the Danforth Report a few weeks ago has hopefully given us a little momentum to do just that. Specifically, he notes that the time is right for the U.S. to participate and act as a catalyst in the peace process. The Administration agrees with this conclusion and we are pursuing this course. In charting a course for peace, we are going to work closely with Kenya. The United States will also work with the U.K., Norway and others, and we will work through the intergovernmental authority on development framework-that's the IGAD frameworkbecause it truly is the only vehicle for peace that fits this need at this time. The IGAD process, as we all know, has stalled in the past due to a lack of broad participation from both the parties to the conflict, as well as outside assistance, and we mean to change that. We want to get behind the IGAD process, we want to help them, and we want to see it be successful. There are going to be tough issues that come up like self-determination for the south, and I might add that that has to be negotiated by the parties themselves if any agreement is to be sustainable. We can all assist, and we can help, and we can give ideas, and we can prod and push, but the parties themselves are going to have to come to the peace table. When we talk about the prospects for peace in Sudan, we must be realistic and be prepared for a long-term commitment. The latest iteration of this war is now 19 years old. Achieving a just peace will require resolution of difficult questions, and we need to be there to help. As I mentioned in my briefing to the House Subcommittee on Africa some months ago, peace negotiation will require sustained effort and the demonstration of a will to peace that appears so far to be less than enthusiastic. Humanitarian relief, human rights and peace are the three keys to our Sudan policy. We must work on all three. The Sudan conflict has gone one too long. We look forward to working with you, pushing and prodding those people to get to the table, and to have a lasting peace in Sudan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [The prepared statement of Mr. Kansteiner follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE WALTER KANSTEINER, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I am honored to have the opportunity to appear before this Committee to discuss what the Secretary has characterized as one of the greatest humanitarian tragedies in the world. The oft-quoted statistics on Sudan-36 years of civil war in 46 years of independence, two million dead, four million internally displaced, 500,000 refugees are numbing in their magnitude. Slave raiding, aerial bombing of civilians, attacks on relief centers, pillaging of aid supplies, use of food as a weapon of war, forced displacement of populations, interference with religious freedom, any of these would guarantee a country a prominent spot on the dismal map of human suffering, but in Sudan we see all these horrors together enacted and reenacted. Those who have seen the misery of that country's people know that the United States of America cannot ignore what is going on there. Sudan must be a priority in America's foreign policy. I can assure this Committee that it is. The Administration's Sudan policy is multifaceted in its approach to key U.S. strategic interests and its support for the ideals and compassion of the American people. We will seek to deny Sudan as a base of operations for international terrorism even as we work to bring about a just and lasting peace, push for unhindered |