18 September 2004
Darfur Urgent Issue for U.S., Danforth Says
Amb. Danforth's U.N. Security Council remarks
U.S. President George Bush sent a message to the Security Council September 18 saying that "Darfur is a catastrophe the council should address on an urgent basis," U.S. Ambassador John Danforth said.
In remarks to an open council meeting, Danforth said that the crisis in the region is "uniquely grave in two respects. "
"First, it is the largest humanitarian disaster in the world today," he pointed out.
"Second, the disaster in Darfur is entirely man-made. Unlike natural disasters such as hurricanes and droughts, the tragedy in Darfur was entirely avoidable. It was fabricated by a government as an overreaction to a rebellion; a government intent on revenge, intent on persecution, intent on breaking the spirit of an entire people," said Danforth, who is the chief U.S. envoy to the United Nations.
The Security Council adopted a U.S. drafted resolution on Darfur by a vote of 11 to 0 with 4 abstentions. It endorses and expansion of the African Union mission in the region, calls for a genocide investigation, and urges the international community to fund the humanitarian aid programs to the more than 1.2 million people in need. It also threatens sanctions if Khartoum doesn't comply with the requirements of the resolution as well as an earlier one passed on July 30.
Following is the text of the ambassador's remarks:
(begin text)
Explanation of Vote by Ambassador John C. Danforth, US Representative to the United Nations, on Resolution 1564 Addressing the Situation in Darfur, in the Security Council, September 18, 2004
Mr. President,
Since he appointed me his Special Envoy more than three years ago, I have had numerous discussions with President Bush on the subject of Sudan. Yesterday afternoon he phoned me to ask that I convey his strongly held views on the resolution now before the Security Council.
He said that Darfur is a catastrophe the Council should address on an urgent basis.
He underscored the importance of the expanded mission of the African Union, which he asked us to support by this resolution and logistically.
He asked that the international community fulfill its commitments to humanitarian assistance for the people of Darfur.
He said that, in the long run, security in Darfur depends on successful peace talks in Abuja and on expeditious completion of the Naivasha negotiations.
In short, President Bush asked me to convey his strong support for what we are doing this afternoon.
Mr. President, this resolution has a threefold purpose. First, it throws the full weight of the Council behind the African Union in undertaking an increased mission in Darfur. It calls on the international community fully to support the African Union and the efforts of President Obasanjo. Second, it calls for the completion on an urgent basis of the Naivasha and Abuja negotiations as essential to creating a peaceful, prosperous, united Sudan. Third, it calls on the international community to fulfill - urgently - its pledges of humanitarian assistance to the people of Darfur.
We act today, because the Government of Sudan has failed to fully comply with our previous Resolution 1556, adopted on July 30. Today's Resolution demands that the Government of Sudan meet in practice its verbal commitment to accept an increased number of African Union monitors. The Resolution also states that if the Government of Sudan continues to persecute its people or does not cooperate fully with the African Union, the Council will indeed have to consider sanctions against it and individuals responsible for this disaster.
The Resolution is the product of a negotiating process. It reflects the wishes of some delegations to recognize that the Government of Sudan has met some of its commitments with regard to access for humanitarian assistance. But no one should be under the slightest illusion as to why the Government of Sudan has met even this commitment. It did so because of intense pressure from the international community and it did so with great reluctance and long delays that thwarted an early, effective humanitarian response.
Mr. President, the crisis in Darfur is uniquely grave in two respects. First, it is the largest humanitarian disaster in the world today-having claimed over 50,000 lives, having displaced over 1.2 million people, and having resulted in the rape and humiliation of hundreds of thousands more. Over 2.2 million people have been victimized in one way or another by the actions of the Sudanese government. And I note with concern that a recent UNICEF report warns that the humanitarian crisis will likely worsen in the coming weeks.
Second, the disaster in Darfur is entirely man-made. Unlike natural disasters such as hurricanes and droughts, the tragedy in Darfur was entirely avoidable. It was fabricated by a government as an overreaction to a rebellion; a government intent on revenge, intent on persecution, intent on breaking the spirit of an entire people.
Since the Security Council passed Resolution 1556 on July 30, the violence in Darfur has continued. The Secretary General's Special Representative, Mr. Pronk, reported that armed militias continue to threaten civilians. Mr. Pronk reported that, during the second half of August, militias attacked villages in the Yassin area, killing more than 50 people. He reported that some villages were attacked three or four times; some were looted, others completely destroyed. He also described reports of regular attacks on villages in Western Darfur, including Nertiti and Masteria. He reported continuing allegations of theft and sexual attacks throughout the region; he noted that the government had denied humanitarian workers access to the Kalma camp; and he criticized the government for refusing to identify the perpetrators of these crimes by name. Finally, Mr. Pronk discussed the deeply rooted fear of the people of Darfur toward the government of Sudan and its police forces. With more than 400 villages destroyed to date, such fears are more than justified.
Norwegian State Secretary Helgesen visited Sudan and Chad from September 2 to September 6 and came to similar conclusions. Members of the African Union Cease-Fire Commission informed him that Sudanese helicopters and bombers had been involved in several recent attacks on villages in Darfur. On one occasion, the Norwegian delegation witnessed an armed Sudanese Government MI 24 helicopter take off from El Fasher. Later the delegation received reports that this helicopter likely had been involved in an attack on a village.
Mr. Pronk's conclusions, and those of Mr. Helgesen, are consistent with the results of a recent survey taken by the U.S. State Department. In compiling its data, State Department officials interviewed 1,136 randomly selected refugees in 19 locations in eastern Chad. Sixty one percent (61%) had witnessed the killing of a family member. Four fifths had witnessed the destruction of their homes. Over and over again, the interviewers heard the same story: Government aircraft start the attacks by bombing villages; Government soldiers arrive in trucks followed by janjaweed on horseback; they surround and then enter the villages-- guns blazing; they shoot and bomb fleeing villagers; they loot and destroy the villages, often shouting racial epithets and curses as they proceed with their acts of destruction. They leave behind them nothing but devastation and death. And, importantly, nine in ten of the refugees said they had witnessed no rebel activity in the areas so mercilessly attacked by the government and the jinjaweed. These are indiscriminate acts of violence and terror. Secretary of State Powell recently told Congress that this evidence leads the United States to conclude that the Government of Sudan may be condoning and perpetrating genocide. In that light, we expect the Government of Sudan immediately to facilitate an increased AU presence in Darfur and to comply with the other provisions of today's resolution. We note the letter from Sudan's Permanent Representative, promising his government's full cooperation with the African Union. We note further that previous promises of the Government of Sudan have been made on paper, but not honored in practice.
The Government of Sudan has the responsibility to end the tragedy in Darfur. We expect it to do so.
Thank you, Mr. President.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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