H. Res. 726 

In the House of Representatives, U. S., 

October 29, 2007. 

Whereas, during war, rape and sexual violence are often used 

systematically as a weapon of intimidation, humiliation, 

terror and ethnic cleansing; 

Whereas it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 

women and girls were raped during the genocide in 

Rwanda; 

Whereas, on September 2, 1998, the United National International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Jean Paul 

Akayesu guilty of rape and held that rape and sexual assault constitute crimes against humanity; 

Whereas, on October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security 

Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1325 

(2000), calling on all parties to an armed conflict to take, 

‘‘special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of 

sexual abuse’’; 

Whereas the Rome Statute of the International Criminal 

Court, which entered into force on July 1, 2002, states 

that rape and ‘‘any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity’’ may constitute both ‘‘crimes against humanity’’ and ‘‘war crimes’’; 
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Whereas since 2003, mass rape committed by members of the 

Sudanese armed forces and affiliated militias with the 

support of the Government of Sudan has been a central 

component of the Government of Sudan’s violence and 

ethnic cleansing in Darfur; 

Whereas women and girls leaving Internally Displaced Persons camps in Darfur and refugee camps in eastern 

Chad, to seek firewood, water or outside sources of income are often attacked and subjected to rape and sexual 

violence perpetrated by members of the Sudanese armed 

forces and associated Janjaweed militia and other armed 

combatants; 

Whereas, on July 19, 2004, Amnesty International reported 

that it collected the names of 250 women who had been 

raped in Darfur and information on 250 additional rapes; 

Whereas, on January 25, 2005, the International Commission 

of Inquiry on Darfur, in a report to the United Nations 

Secretary General, reported numerous cases of mass rape 

throughout Darfur including an incident in which a large 

number of Janjaweed attacked a boarding school, and 

raped as many as 110 girls; 

Whereas, on October 14, 2005, the Secretary General of the 

United Nations reported ‘‘Many girls have given birth as 

a result of rape. Although local communities are trying 

to accept the offspring, the children face a great deal of 

stigmatization.’’; 

Whereas, on March 9, 2007, members of the United Nations 

High-Level Mission on the situation of human rights in 

Darfur reported that ‘‘rape and sexual assualt have been 

widespread and systematic, terrorizing women and breaking down families and communities’’ and that ‘‘women 
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are also attacked in and around refugee camps in eastern 

Chad’’; 

Whereas, on April 27, 2007, the International Criminal 

Court, acting under the authority provided in Security 

Council Resolution 1593 (2005), issued arrest warrants 

for Sudan’s Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Janjaweed Colonel Ali Muhammad 

Al Abd-Al-Raham seeking their arrest for 51 counts including 6 counts involving rape; 

Whereas under Sudanese law victims of rape have virtually 

no legal recourse and may in fact be charged with the 

crime of zina, or sexual intercourse outside of marriage, 

punishable by one hundred lashes if the victim is unmarried and death by stoning if she is married; 

Whereas, on July 31, 2007, the United Nations Security 

Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1769 authorizing the deployment of a United Nations-African 

Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) to Darfur and expressing strong concern about ‘‘on-going attacks on the 

civilian population and humanitarian workers and continued and widespread sexual violence’’ while ‘‘emphasising 

the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of such 

crimes’’; and 

Whereas, on August 20, 2007, the United Nations High 

Commissioner for Human Rights, reported on attacks, 

abductions and systematic rapes of women in Darfur and 

the resulting ‘‘grave health risks from the consequent 

physical injuries and psychological trauma’’, and declared 

that these acts may ‘‘constitute war crimes’’: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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(1) calls upon the President of the United States to 

develop within the United States Department of State 

and the United States Agency for International Development a Women and Girls of Darfur Initiative to improve 

assistance to victims and potential victims of rape and 

sexual violence in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad and the 

Central African Republic by— 

(A) offering specialized grants to non-governmental organizations, operating within IDP and refugee camps in Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic that can provide all essential quality 

health care services and medical supplies, psychological and social counseling, and legal advice to 

Darfuri victims of rape and sexual violence; 

(B) providing treatment for the prevention of 

sexually transmitted diseases, including 

antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV infections, and 

specialized care for rape victims already infected 

with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases; 

(C) meeting the psychological, social and educational needs of victimized women, girls, children 

born as a result of rape, their family and the community in order to limit the stigmatization associated with rape; and 
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(D) providing financial, technical and other 

forms of assistance to support women’s peace initiatives; 

(2) calls upon the Secretary General of the United 

Nations, the permanent members of the United Nations 

Security Council, the African Union, the European 

Union, the Arab League and other nations to immediately take steps to— 

(A) ensure that a fully funded and fully 

equipped UNAMID is deployed to Darfur, Sudan; 

(B) mandate that UNAMID employ all necessary measures to protect women and girls from 

acts of rape and sexual violence both outside and 

within Darfuri refugee and IDP camps; 

(C) provide sufficient resources and training to 

UNAMID troops and police to ensure a capability 

to properly respond to acts of rape and sexual violence; 

(D) provide for firewood patrols and other 

safeguarding measures to protect women and girls 

leaving refugee and IDP camps; and 

(E) include an adequate number of female 

troops and police in UNAMID to properly manage 

incidents of rape and sexual violence; and 
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(3) calls on the United Nations Security Council to 

immediately— 

(A) find the Government of Sudan in noncompliance with Security Council Resolution 1325 

(2000); 

(B) call on the Government of Sudan to provide full legal protections to victims of rape and sexual violence and to bring to justice individuals responsible for such crimes; and 

(C) adopt under Chapter VII of the United 

Nations Charter a Security Council Resolution calling on the Government of Sudan to respect all related Security Council Resolutions, including Security Council Resolution 1593 (2005), enforce the arrest warrants for Ahmad Muhammad Harun and 

Ali Muhammad Al Abd-Al-Raham, and further recognize the systematic rape of women and girls in 

Darfur as crimes against humanity and war crimes. 

Attest: 

Clerk.