Calls for full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan.
Demands full implementation of the Abyei Border Commission decisions.
Urges President Bush to maintain all sanctions, keep Sudan on the terrorism list, and reject calls to upgrade diplomatic relations with Sudan until the Agreement is fully implemented and peace is secured in Darfur, Sudan.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 910 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 910
Calling for the full implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace
Agreement.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 19, 2007
Mr. Payne submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling for the full implementation of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace
Agreement.
Whereas on January 9, 2005, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's
Liberation Movement (SPLM), after two and half years of negotiations,
signed the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement at a ceremony in Nairobi,
Kenya;
Whereas the signing of this agreement effectively ended the 21-year old civil
war and triggered a six-year Interim Period;
Whereas at the end of the Interim Period, southerners are to hold a referendum
to decide their political future;
Whereas in September 2005, after weeks of contentious negotiations, the SPLM and
the National Congress Party (NCP), formerly known as the National
Islamic Front (NIF), agreed on a cabinet;
Whereas on July 30, 2005, First Vice President and Chairman of the SPLM, Dr.
John Garang, was killed in a plane crash in southern Sudan;
Whereas the death of Dr. Garang triggered violence between government security
forces and southerners in Khartoum and Juba;
Whereas the Bush Administration played a key role in the North-South peace
process, while pressing for a resolution of the Darfur crisis in Western
Sudan;
Whereas through the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD)-
sponsored talks, the Bush Administration engaged the parties at the
highest levels;
Whereas United States financial support for the peace process and technical
assistance during the talks were considered by the parties and the
mediators as critical;
Whereas American interventions at critical times during the negotiations helped
break a number of stalemates;
Whereas the Bush Administration's sustained pressure on the Government of Sudan
helped secure the Comprehensive Peace Agreement;
Whereas, however, the Administration has not been forceful in ensuring
implementation of the CPA, despite repeated warnings by SPLM officials;
Whereas implementation of the CPA by the Government of National Unity has been
selective and at times deliberately slow;
Whereas the Bush Administration took the lead in setting up the mechanism to
resolve the Abyei problem and a former United States Ambassador to Sudan
chaired the Abyei Border Commission (ABC);
Whereas the Abyei protocols in the CPA was written by the United States;
Whereas the ABC was mandated to ``define and demarcate'' the area known as the
nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms transferred in 1905 to Kordofan in North
Sudan;
Whereas in July 2005, the ABC submitted its final report to the Presidency;
Whereas, according to the CPA, ``upon presentation of the final report, the
Presidency shall take necessary action to put the special administration
status of Abyei Area into immediate effect.'';
Whereas after the signing of the peace agreement, the Abyei area was suppose to
be administered by an Executive Council;
Whereas members of the Executive Council were suppose to be elected by the
residents of Abyei and the Chief Administrator appointed by the
Presidency;
Whereas at the end of the Interim Period, the residents of Abyei are to choose
between retaining a special administrative status in the north or be
part of South Sudan;
Whereas the Bashir Government has not put in place an administration in Abyei
and continues to reject the recommendation of the ABC;
Whereas, according to a September 2007 report by the United Nations Secretary
General, ``the lack of administration in Abyei has hampered CPA
activities and left gaps in policing, public sanitation, and health
services.'';
Whereas the CPA in many ways continues to face serious challenges despite the
number of commissions created and decrees issued by the Presidency to
address issues related to the agreement;
Whereas in October 2007, the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) suspended the
participation of its Ministers, State Ministers, and Presidential
Advisors from the Government of National Unity to protest and demand
full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement;
Whereas the SPLM has been complaining and urging the Sudanese government to
implement key provisions of the CPA and to consult the First Vice
President on key issues;
Whereas President Omer Bashir has been taking important decisions with little or
no consultation with the First Vice President since the signing of the
peace agreement in 2005;
Whereas on Darfur, President Bashir has been waging war and deliberately
sidelining the SPLM on key decisions;
Whereas, according to the CPA, ``the President shall take decisions with the
consent of the First Vice President on declaration and termination of
state of emergency, declaration of war, appointments that the president
is required to make according to the peace agreement, summoning,
adjourning, or proroguing the National Assembly, and.'';
Whereas in December 2007, President Bashir agreed to some of the GOSS demands,
although the issue of Abyei remains unresolved in large part due to the
intransigence of the Bashir Government; and
Whereas if the Abyei issue is not resolved soon, the prospects for war are real:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls for the full implementation of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement;
(2) strongly condemns the obstructionist behavior of the
Bashir government;
(3) urges President Bush to continue applying pressure on
the Government of Sudan to ensure full implementation of the
CPA and an end to the genocide in Darfur;
(4) strongly condemns any attempt to open up the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement in order to appease the Bashir
Government;
(5) demands full and immediate implementation of the Abyei
Border Commission decisions;
(6) calls on the Bush Administration to impose additional
punitive measures if the Bashir government refuses to implement
the United States-led Abyei Commission decisions; and
(7) strongly urges President Bush to maintain all
sanctions, keep Sudan on the terrorism list, and reject calls
to upgrade diplomatic relations with the Bashir government
until the CPA is fully implemented and the outcome of the
referendum respected by the Bashir government, and a lasting
and just peace is secured in Darfur, Sudan.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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