Speech #1030131828

Security Council action. Sadly. the situation has rapidly deteriorated since the important congressional attention of last fall. It is now estimated by the United States Committee for Refugees that 1.3 million civilians in southern Sudan have died over the past 10 years as a direct result of civil war and the Sudan Governments genocidal policies against its citizens in the south. That is nearly 2.500 deaths every week for the past 10 years. As many of my colleagues know. I have witnessed first hand the massive suffering occurring in southern Sudan. located in the Horn of Africa. My most recent trip there was last February. when I traveled to southern Sudan with the assistance of the United States Committee for Refugees. Norwegian Peoples Aid. a humanitarian relief organization. and Catholic Relief Services. I have stood on the flour of the House many limes in the past. trying to describe to you the malnulrition. the disease. the massive population displacement. the gruesome effects of war. and human rights abuse that I have witnessed in Sudan. The reality in Sudan is difficult to describe. because it begs description. The new report by the U.S. Committee for Refugees. estimating that 1.3 million southern Sudanese have perished since 1982. is yet another indication that southern SudaA is hell on Earth due to the unconscionable policies of the Sudanese Government and infighting between rebel groups. I hasten to point out that the U.S. Committee lor Refugees is a highly respected organization whose reports on refugee emergencies worldwide are reliable. credible. and authoritative. I have long had the highest regard for the U.S. Committee for Refugees. particularly for its tireless reporting. analysis. and advocacy on the tragic situation in Sudan. This exhaustive report. "Quantifying Genocide in the Southern Sudan: 19831993" by Millard Burr of the U.S. Committee on Refugees. is based on systematic compilation of yearbyyear field reports and internal Sudanese documents. It concludes that the death toll in Sudan is. sadly. not diminishing. The report estimates that some 300.000 persons died in southern Sudan during 1992 and the first 5 months of 1993nearly 4.000 deaths per week for 17 monthsmaking it one of the deadliest periods ever in Sudan. One of every five southern Sudanese has died from the war or from warrelated causes. according to the report. and 4 of every 5 southern Sudanese have been uprooted from their homes at some lime since 1983. More than 300.000 southern Sudanese are refugees. and some 5 million Sudanese from the south and north are internally displaced. Mr. Speaker. I must repeat what I said on the House floor last November: We have a responsibility to continue to demand justice in Sudan. because we can no longer say that we dont know whats happening there. This thorough report by the U.S. Committee for Refugees tells us all too clearly. This House acted responsibly last November when we passed House concurrent resolution 131. which condemned the Government of Sudan for its severe human rights abuses and deplored the bloody internecine fighting among factions of the rebel Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army. A great deal of work went into that resolution. including work and analysis by the U.S. Committee for Refugees. This newest report. "Quantifying Genocide in the Southern Sudan." reminds all of us that we cannot cease our efforts. Men. women. and children continue to perish in southern Sudan as we speak. I will distribute this report to members of the Human Rights Caucus of the House of Rep.resentalives. Others who are interested need only contact my office or the U.S. Committee for Refugees. I respectfully urge my colleagues and their appropriate staff persons to pay atlention to this authoritative report. and I commend the U.S. Committee for Refugees for its diligence on behalf of the people of southern Sudan. In closing. I want to say that time is of the essence.