Remarks of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the Regional Impact of the Darfur Crisis
As Prepared for Delivery from the Senate
Floor
March 28, 2007
Mr. President, time and time again, history has taught us that preventing
a crisis is much less complicated and costly than ending and repairing
the damage caused by a humanitarian tragedy. The clumsy and irresolute
response to the current crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, however,
reveals that we still have not learned this painful lesson.
While the world’s leaders spout righteous rhetoric but stall
from taking robust action, the viral hatred and unspeakable violence
that has resulted in the death and displacement of hundreds of thousands
of innocent people in Darfur has now spread to infect nearby areas,
destabilizing neighboring countries and fueling a downward spiral of
conflict and insecurity in the region.
Mr. President, I am very disturbed by evidence that the brutal tactics
of Darfur – and their tragic consequences – have been transferred
across Sudan’s western border into eastern Chad and the Central
Africa Republic. Last week, I held a hearing to examine the regional
impact of the Darfur crisis. The overwhelming message from our distinguished
witnesses was that the victims and perpetrators of the Darfur conflict
are no longer confined within Sudanese borders, so both our humanitarian
response and strategy for peace need to incorporate these new regional
dimensions.
Nearly a quarter of a million Darfur refugees have fled into eastern
Chad, compounding an existing political and humanitarian crisis in that
country. Lax security along Sudan’s porous border has also allowed
weapons and Darfur-based rebel groups to spread violence into Chad.
Both the Chadian and Sudanese governments accuse each other of supporting
rebel factions seeking to overthrow the neighboring state. Last Saturday,
the Chadian government claimed Sudanese aircraft had shelled four Chadian
towns. Ironically, the UNHCR has now begun moving Chadian refugees into
Darfur for their safety.
Even before the recent outbreak of hostilities in the north, the Central
African Republic was suffering extreme poverty and deemed by the UN
as “the world's most silent crisis.” Displacement –
much of it the result of house-burning and other cruel tactics by government
forces – rose four-fold in the past year, with more than two hundred
thousand unable to return to their homes.
While U.S. attention to Darfur is essential, the extension of this
crisis now requires a more comprehensive approach that addresses the
interrelated emergencies and underlying causes of instability in this
volatile region. Conflicts in these countries will continue to simmer
and spread unless the international community musters the political
will and material resources to act upon the convictions so often expressed.
As the violence in Darfur worsens and spreads, we cannot pretend we
did not see this coming. For nearly three years now, my colleagues and
I have stood on this floor and called for an end to the genocide in
Darfur. It makes me ill to think of how many lives have been lost and
civilians displaced since then, but I become even more upset when I
consider how much worse this crisis could still become.
There is no excuse for the persistent reluctance of the U.S. Government
and the international community to begin applying the economic and
military leverage at their disposal to end the violence in Darfur
and beyond. I will continue to call for courageous U.S. leadership
to defend these innocent people and demand accountability from the
perpetrators of the atrocities that have been allowed to continue
for far too long.
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