Biden Introduces Resolution on DARFur

On September 7, 2006 Senator Biden [D-DE] introduced S. Res. 559, a resolution urging President Bush to take immediate steps to halt the violence in Darfur including working with NATO and our international allies to impose a no-fly zone, providing the full U.S. share of funding for a U.N. peacekeeping Mission to Sudan, dispatching a high-level Special Envoy to the region, and engaging diplomatically with China, Russia and U.S. allies in the Arab League to secure compliance of the Government of Sudan with the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers.

S. Res. 559  – the latest in a series of bills related to Darfur (S.3801, S.Res.531, H.R.3127, S.1462) – comes as violence in region has escalated. The Government of Sudan has launched a military offensive in Darfur, an action that violates the terms of the Darfur Peace Agreement, which was signed in May, 2006. The resolution calls upon Khartoum to immediately cease these operations and allow United Nations peacekeepers to take over security from the African Union forces, as called for by the UN Security Council in resolution 1706.

Sen. Biden's legislation has attracted a bipartisan group of 27 cosponsors including most members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, an indication that this legislation could soon move to the Senate floor for a vote.

Still, it is unclear what impact, if any, S. Res. 559 will have on the situation in Darfur. Legislation passed by the House and Senate has failed to alter the security situation on the ground and the violence continues today. Nevertheless, Citizens for Global Solutions urges the Senate to support this resolution. Continued pressure from Congress and from civil society may still succeed in moving the Bush Administration to lead a robust international response to the genocide in Darfur.  

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