As Prepared for Delivery

“I would like to begin by thanking the Chairman of this Committee, Senator Biden, for holding this hearing on Sudan, but I would also like to express my disappointment and frustration that such a hearing remains necessary.

“Dating back to the Sudan Peace Act in 1999, which called on the United States Government to ‘use all means of pressure available to facilitate a comprehensive solution to the war’ between North and South Sudan, Congress has been advocating U.S. leadership to bring about peace, stability, and democracy throughout the whole of Sudan. Since then, the list of U.S. accomplishments in Sudan has certainly grown longer – from brokering the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which formally ended the North-South conflict in January 2005 to securing passage of numerous UN Security Council Resolutions to being the largest bilateral donor to humanitarian and peacekeeping activities in Sudan. Meanwhile, however, conditions on the ground, particularly in the Darfur region but also in the war-torn south, remain insecure and unstable.

“By now, we are all aware of the devastation being wrought upon the innocent people of Darfur. For more than five years, they have been the victims of ongoing and escalating violence by the Sudanese government, associated Janjaweed militia, and numerous rebel factions. We know the human toll – more than two hundred thousand Darfuris killed and another 2.5 million displaced – but these numbers do not begin to convey the full horror of this conflict. The violence and lawlessness in Darfur has spilled over into Chad and the Central Africa Republic, further burdening humanitarian operations there and contributing to internal conflicts in these countries. Refugees, rebels, and weapons flow across Sudan’s porous borders and threaten to destabilize the entire region. U.S. policy towards Sudan must consider all of these causes and consequences in order to develop and implement a comprehensive, coordinated strategy to building a sustainable peace in Sudan.

“Earlier this month, the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum marked the three-year anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) by celebrating ‘CPA Solidarity Week’ in Juba. But the ‘peace dividends’ have yet to meet the many outstanding reconstruction challenges that must be dealt with, along with the critical issues of Abyei, North-South border demarcation, constituency boundaries, electoral laws, and other essential preparations for Sudan's 2008 census, 2009 elections, and the 2011 referendum on independence for Southern Sudan, which are the cornerstones of the CPA.

“Committed support and pressure for the complete implementation of the CPA are essential not only if the fragile peace agreement is to hold, but also if we are to see legitimate peace throughout the whole of Sudan. The CPA sits at the root of this stability, as rebel groups in Darfur watch to see whether the ruling party in Khartoum is compelled to live up to the commitments it made more than three years ago. Similarly, in the south, the rebel-movement-turned political-party, the SPLM, has threatened to resume guerilla warfare if Khartoum does not hold up its end of the deal. And this administration, as one of the key facilitators and guarantors of the agreement, can not ignore how close it may be to collapse – or at the very least towards significant breakdown. As Khartoum drags its heels on the implementation of key provisions, we are watching the situation on the ground in both Abyei and Darfur worsen significantly. The census that began yesterday, with significant U.S. and international support, is critical, but it only lays the foundation for the fight over the division of wealth, resources, and power that could still tear Sudan apart in the coming months.

“While emergency food aid and support for peacekeepers in Darfur are essential to mitigating the consequences of the immediate humanitarian emergency there, we must not lose sight of the broader, long-term objective of sustainable peace throughout Sudan. This means actively pressing for the implementation of the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement while simultaneously creating pressure and incentives for the parties in Darfur to commit to and carry out a peace agreement of their own. It also means helping to build the infrastructure and resources necessary for reconciliation and reconstruction in the affected communities both in Darfur and southern Sudan.

“To that effect, I am working with Congressman Wolf to introduce the Senate companion to his legislation that would establish a program to enable young Sudanese refugees who came to the U.S. in 2001 to return to southern Sudan by allocating funds necessary to cover travel, lodging, living, and student loan repayment. These young men and women – commonly referred to as the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan – have acquired valuable higher education and professional experience in the United States, and are eager to help develop the human capacity of the coalition government in southern Sudan, which desperately needs smart, talented people to staff its institutions. The energy and expertise these young people will inject back into war-torn southern Sudan will be more effective than even the most generous foreign assistance, so I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

“The stakes are high in Sudan. Not just because Sudan is the largest country in Africa with 40 million citizens; not just because it borders on North Africa and the Middle East, the volatile Horn of Africa, and resource rich Central Africa. But also because Sudan has become a kind of litmus test for the effectiveness of international diplomacy, conflict management, and peacebuilding. The implications of failure in Sudan – whether rooted in the breakdown of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement or inability to achieve peace in Darfur – are dismal and far-reaching. A sustainable peace in Sudan, along with accountability for those responsible for committing heinous crimes will not only bring relief to the people of Sudan and throughout the region, but will also enable stability to truly take root.”