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| July 30th, 2007 |
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Media Contact(s): Peter Carr (202) 224-9854,
Jared Whitley (202) 224-5251 |
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Printable Version |
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HATCH SUPPORTS RESOLUTION TO SAVE DARFUR
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Washington – Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) announced his support for a Senate resolution (S. Res. 276) calling for the urgent deployment of a multi-national peacekeeping force to the Darfur region of the Sudan. The United Nations estimates that, since armed warfare erupted in Darfur in early 2003, as many as 450,000 innocents have died and 2.5 million have been displaced.
“Victims of this conflict have experienced unspeakable atrocities, and many who have survived violence have perished to disease and starvation,” Hatch said. “The amount of suffering is unconscionable: as many people in Darfur have been forced to flee their homes as live in the entire state of Utah, and as many have died as live in the Provo-Orem area.”
Supported by 34 U.S. Senators, the resolution comes at an important time, as leaders in the Sudan recently agreed to accept a hybrid U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission. However, they have also signaled that they may backpedal from their commitment. This resolution signals that the U.S. and the international community cannot let Sudan renege or dilute the peacekeeping mission to which it has agreed.
The U.N. Security Council will likely take up a new resolution authorizing the hybrid peacekeeping mission. S. Res. 276 signals Congress’s resolve that the mission consist of the force levels agreed to by all parties — including Sudan: 17,000 troops and 3,000 police. The resolution also calls for clear command and control procedures under U.N. guidelines and underscores the need for a sustained, high-level diplomatic effort to forge a comprehensive peace settlement.
“We need a peacekeeping force with the size, resources, leadership, and mandate to protect civilians in Darfur, so that a peace process can begin,” Hatch said. “If we don’t act, we will all look back in shame that we sat by and allowed this to happen.”
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