HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

243

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

Condemning the genocide in western sudan and urging congress with the support of the president to engage the international community to take action to protect the people of darfur.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii is committed to supporting the dignity and worth of each human being; and

WHEREAS, three years have passed since the media began releasing images of the mass displacement, human misery, and killings in western Sudan where now, over two million people remain in camps and the death toll of men, women, and children is estimated to be more than one hundred and eighty thousand; and

WHEREAS, a report dated January 25, 2005, from the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity were perpetrated in Sudan's Darfur region; and

WHEREAS, the report established that Sudanese government forces and the militia known as Janjaweed are responsible for the killing, torture, rape, pillage, and forced displacement of people throughout Darfur and that these acts are conducted on a widespread, systematic basis and result in approximately ten thousand deaths each month; and

WHEREAS, United States President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and the United States Congress have declared these acts to be genocide; and

WHEREAS, one hundred and thirty-six countries, including the United States, signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and agreed that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which the signatories undertake to prevent and to punish; and

WHEREAS, millions of lives are in jeopardy and the risk of inaction or little action is too great; and

WHEREAS, the continuing atrocities in Darfur demand an aggressive response from the international community; and

WHEREAS, a multi-national force is essential to:

(1) Stop the violence;

(2) Provide protection for the two million displaced Sudanese;

(3) Facilitate the expansion of the urgent humanitarian relief effort; and

(4) Create a climate conducive to political negotiations; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii and its citizens cannot be bystanders, as genocide is a moral and ethical issue that implicates us all; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Congressional delegation is urged to support legislation that allocates sufficient funds for the African Union international peacekeeping mission currently in place and for any future United Nations peacekeeping force that may be necessary, as well as sufficient funds for humanitarian aid to sustain the approximate three and a half million people of Darfur who depend on aid for their survival; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States President and the United States Department of State are urged to work within the United Nations Security Council to expand the mandated aid and logistical support, including the force size, to the African Union Mission in Sudan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States President and the United States Department of State are urged to facilitate the creation of a viable political framework for a lasting peace in Darfur by increasing the engagement that is presently in its seventh round in Abuja, Nigeria; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States President and the United States Department of State are urged to work within the United Nations Security Council and with the African Union to encourage an immediate transfer of peacekeeping duties from the African Union Mission in Sudan to a larger United Nations peacekeeping force with adequate resources and a clear mandate to protect civilians; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's Congressional delegation, the United States President, and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Genocide; Sudan's Darfur Region