THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

112

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

requesting hawaii's congressional delegation to sponsor, actively support, and vote for the darfur accountability act of 2005.

 

WHEREAS, on July 22, 2004, the United States Senate and House of Representatives passed resolutions declaring the atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan to be genocide; and

WHEREAS, on September 9, the administration of President George W. Bush made the same declaration; and

WHEREAS, press accounts, human rights reports, and the February 2005 report by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry all confirm that atrocities continue; and

WHEREAS, the government of Sudan has demonstrated that it responds only to sanctions, and backsliding by the United Nations Security Council since it threatened sanctions in July 2004 has allowed the situation in Darfur to deteriorate; and

WHEREAS, the African Union has taken the lead in confronting the violence in Darfur, but the deployment of African Union troops has been slow, as has the distribution of American and other assistance to the African Union; and

WHEREAS, the government of Sudan continues to use planes and helicopter gunships, in connection with militia, to attack civilians; and

WHEREAS, on March 2, 2005, United States Senators Jon S. Corzine and Sam Brownback introduced a bill proposing the "Darfur Accountability Act of 2005"; and

WHEREAS, the bill reconfirms that genocide is occurring in Darfur and calls for a new United Nations Security Council resolution imposing sanctions; and

WHEREAS, the bill calls for concerted diplomacy to achieve an effective United Nations Security Council resolution by requiring the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense to raise Darfur in bilateral meetings, and for the Secretary of State to embark on an international campaign aimed at passing an effective United Nations Security Council resolution and stopping the genocide; and

WHEREAS, the bill calls for:

(1) An extension of the current arms embargo to cover the government of Sudan because the current arms embargo does not cover the government;

(2) Targeted sanctions such as the freezing of assets and denial of visas to those named by the United Nations Commission and others deemed responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur;

(3) Accelerated assistance to the African Union mission in Darfur and an expansion of the size and mandate of the mission necessary to protect civilians;

(4) Establishment of a military non-fly zone in Darfur;

(5) The appointment of a Presidential Envoy to Sudan to work with all parties and the international community to stop the genocide in Darfur and push for comprehensive peace in Sudan; and

(6) Real accountability in the form of United Nations action, pursuant to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, to ensure prompt prosecution and adjudication of those named by the United Nations Commission in a competent international court of justice; and

WHEREAS, the bill supports comprehensive peace in Sudan by affirming the peace agreement signed between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Army on January 9, 2005, extending existing sanctions against Sudan, with the exception of assistance to implement the peace agreement, assistance to the South, and humanitarian assistance, and by calling for continued peace talks between the government of Sudan and Darfur rebels; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the people of Hawaii condemn those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur and support any action necessary to stop the carnage, establish peace, and bring prosperity to Darfur; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii's congressional delegation is urged to sponsor, actively support, and vote for the Darfur Accountability Act of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation and to the Sudanese ambassador to the United States.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Support for the Darfur Accountability Act of 2005