Senate Bill sb1698
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Florida Senate - 2007 (NP) SM 1698
By Senator Margolis
35-1013-07
1 Senate Memorial
2 A memorial to the Congress of the United
3 States, urging Congress, with the support of
4 the President, to engage the international
5 community to take action in the effort to bring
6 a just and lasting peace to the people of
7 Darfur.
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9 WHEREAS, United Nations officials have described the
10 ongoing crisis in Darfur as "the world's worst humanitarian
11 crisis," and
12 WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of people have died and
13 more than 2.5 million have been displaced in Darfur since
14 2003, and
15 WHEREAS, the Government of Sudan has failed in its
16 responsibility to protect the many peoples of Darfur, and
17 WHEREAS, the United States Congress declared on July
18 22, 2004, that the atrocities in Darfur constituted genocide,
19 and
20 WHEREAS, on September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin
21 Powell and President George W. Bush described the crisis in
22 Darfur as genocide, and
23 WHEREAS, on June 30, 2005, President Bush confirmed
24 that "the violence in the Darfur region is clearly genocide
25 and the human cost is beyond calculation," and
26 WHEREAS, on May 8, 2006, President Bush stated, "we
27 will call genocide by its rightful name, and we will stand up
28 for the innocent until the peace of Darfur is secured," and
29 WHEREAS, on May 5, 2006, the Government of Sudan and
30 the largest rebel faction in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation
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1 Movement, led by Minni Minnawi, signed the Darfur Peace
2 Agreement (DPA), and
3 WHEREAS, violence in Darfur escalated in the months
4 following the signing of the DPA, with increased attacks
5 against civilians and humanitarian workers, and
6 WHEREAS, violence has spread to the neighboring states
7 of Chad and the Central African Republic, threatening regional
8 peace and security, and
9 WHEREAS, in July 2006, more humanitarian aid workers
10 were killed than in the previous 3 years combined, and
11 WHEREAS, violence has forced some humanitarian
12 organizations to suspend operations, leaving 40 percent of the
13 population of Darfur inaccessible to aid workers, and
14 WHEREAS, on August 30, 2006, the United Nations
15 Security Council passed Security Council Resolution 1706
16 (2006), asserting that the existing United Nations Mission in
17 Sudan (UNMIS) "shall take over from the African Union Mission
18 in Sudan (AMIS) responsibility for supporting the
19 implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) upon the
20 expiration of AMIS's mandate but in any event no later than 31
21 December 2006," and that UNMIS "shall be strengthened by up to
22 17,300 military personnel...up to 3,300 civilian police
23 personnel and up to 16 Formed Police Units," which "shall
24 begin to be deployed no later than 1 October 2006," and
25 WHEREAS, on September 19, 2006, President Bush
26 announced the appointment of Andrew Nastios as Presidential
27 Special Envoy to lead United States efforts to bring peace to
28 the Darfur region in Sudan, and
29 WHEREAS, on November 16, 2006, high-level consultations
30 led by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations,
31 and Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairperson of the African Union
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1 Commission, and including representatives of the Arab League,
2 the European Union, the Government of Sudan, and other
3 national governments, produced the "Addis Ababa Agreement,"
4 and
5 WHEREAS, the Agreement stated that the DPA must be made
6 more inclusive, and "called upon all parties - Government and
7 DPA nonsignatories - to immediately commit to a cessation of
8 hostilities in Darfur in order to give the peace process the
9 best chances for success," and
10 WHEREAS, the Agreement included a plan to establish a
11 United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation that would
12 consist of no fewer than 17,000 military troops and 3,000
13 civilian police, and would have a primarily African character,
14 and
15 WHEREAS, the Agreement stated that the peacekeeping
16 operation must be logistically and financially sustainable,
17 with support coming from the United Nations, and
18 WHEREAS, it is imperative that a peacekeeping force in
19 Darfur have sufficient strength and the mandate to provide
20 adequate security to the people of Darfur, and
21 WHEREAS, on January 10, 2007, New Mexico Governor Bill
22 Richardson met with Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir;
23 their meeting resulted in the issuance of a Joint Statement
24 calling for "a 60-day cessation of hostilities by all parties
25 within the framework of the Darfur Peace Agreement," and
26 WHEREAS, the Joint Statement called for the initiation
27 of African Union/United Nations diplomatic efforts within the
28 framework of the DPA, and for two projected meetings - a
29 Government of Sudan-sponsored field commanders' conference to
30 be attended by representatives of the African Union and the
31 United Nations, and a subsequent African Union/United Nations
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1 sponsored peace summit, again within the framework of the DPA,
2 to be held no later than March 15, 2007, and
3 WHEREAS, the Joint Statement stated the need to disarm
4 all armed groups, including the Janjaweed, pursuant to the
5 provision of the DPA, NOW, THEREFORE,
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7 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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9 That the Florida Legislature:
10 (1) Supports, given the rapidly deteriorating
11 situation on the ground in Darfur, the principles of the Addis
12 Ababa Agreement of November 17, 2006, in order to increase
13 security and stability for the people of Darfur.
14 (2) Declares that the deployment of an African
15 Union-United Nations peacekeeping force under the command and
16 control of the United Nations, as laid out in the Addis Ababa
17 Agreement, is the minimum acceptable effort on the part of the
18 international community to protect the people of Darfur.
19 (3) Supports the strengthening of the African Union
20 peacekeeping mission in Sudan so that it may improve its
21 performance with regard to civilian protection as the African
22 Union peacekeeping mission begins to transfer responsibility
23 for protecting the people of Darfur to the United
24 Nations-African Union peacekeeping force under the command and
25 control of the United Nations, as laid out in the Addis Ababa
26 Agreement.
27 (4) Calls upon the Government of Sudan to immediately:
28 (a) Allow the implementation of the United Nations
29 light and heavy support packages as provided for in the Addis
30 Ababa Agreement; and
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1 (b) Work with the United Nations and the international
2 community to deploy United Nations peacekeepers to Darfur in
3 keeping with the United Nations Security Council Resolution
4 1706 passed on August 31, 2006.
5 (5) Calls upon all parties to the conflict to
6 immediately:
7 (a) Adhere to the Joint Statement issued by Governor
8 Bill Richardson and President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir on January
9 10, 2007;
10 (b) Observe the cease-fire contained therein; and
11 (c) Respect the impartiality and neutrality of
12 humanitarian agencies so that relief workers can have
13 unfettered access to their beneficiary populations and deliver
14 desperately needed assistance.
15 (6) Urges the President to:
16 (a) Continue work with other members of the
17 international community, including the permanent members of
18 the United Nations Security Council, the African Union, the
19 European Union, the Arab League, Sudan's trading partners, and
20 the Government of Sudan to facilitate the implementation of
21 the Addis Ababa Agreement and the subsequent Richardson-Bashir
22 Joint Statement;
23 (b) Ensure the ability of any peacekeeping force
24 deployed to Darfur to carry out its mandate by providing
25 adequate funding and by working with our international
26 partners to provide technical assistance, logistical support
27 and intelligence-gathering capabilities, and military assets;
28 (c) Vigorously pursue, in cooperation with other
29 members of the international community, strong punitive action
30 against those persons responsible for crimes against humanity
31 as previously authorized in the Darfur Peace and
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1 Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-344), United
2 Nations Security Council Resolution 1591 (2005), and the
3 Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-497,
4 118 Stat. 4012); and
5 (d) Make all necessary efforts to address the
6 widespread incidents of gender-based violence in Darfur,
7 including working with the Government of Sudan to help
8 institute a zero-tolerance policy for gender-based violence as
9 agreed to in the Richardson-Bashir Joint Statement.
10 (7) Calls upon the Speaker of the United States House
11 of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States
12 Senate, and the Florida delegation to the United States
13 Congress to:
14 (a) Provide all necessary funding and support for
15 United Nations and African Union peacekeeping operations in
16 Darfur;
17 (b) Provide all necessary funding and support for
18 humanitarian aid in Darfur and affected areas of Chad and the
19 Central African Republic;
20 (c) Conduct sufficient oversight of actions by the
21 United States administration to ensure that no opportunities
22 for furthering the peace are missed; and
23 (d) Continue to monitor the conflict and political
24 processes and, if necessary, examine imposing additional
25 punitive sanctions against the Government of Sudan, officials
26 within the Government of Sudan, rebel leaders, and any other
27 individual or group obstructing the ongoing peace process or
28 in violation of agreed-upon cease-fires and the Darfur Peace
29 Agreement.
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Legislature
31 urges Congress to do all in its power to further the goals
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1 expressed in this memorial in order to bring lasting peace to
2 the people of Darfur.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
4 dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
5 President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
6 United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
7 the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.
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