III 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 531 

To urge the President to appoint a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 14, 2006 

Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Mr. BURNS, Mr. REID, Mr. BOND, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. PRYOR, Mr. TALENT, Ms. MIKULSKI, Ms. 

SNOWE, and Ms. CANTWELL) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

To urge the President to appoint a Presidential Special 

Envoy for Sudan. 

Whereas, on July 22, 2004, the Senate and House of Representatives declared that the atrocities occurring in the 

Darfur region of Sudan are genocide; 

Whereas, on September 9, 2004, Secretary of State Colin L. 

Powell stated before the Committee on Foreign Relations 

of the Senate, ‘‘When we reviewed the evidence compiled 

by our team, along with other information available to 

the State Department, we concluded that genocide has 

been committed in Darfur and that the Government of 

Sudan and the [Janjaweed] bear responsibility—and 

genocide may still be occurring.’’; 


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•SRES 531 IS 

Whereas, on September 21, 2004, in an address before the 

United Nations General Assembly, President George W. 

Bush affirmed the finding of Secretary of State Powell 

and stated, ‘‘At this hour, the world is witnessing terrible 

suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of 

Sudan, crimes my government has concluded are genocide.’’; 

Whereas various nongovernmental organizations have estimated that up to 400,000 people have died in Darfur 

from combat, hunger, and disease since February 2003; 

Whereas prominent human rights groups, think tanks, and 

members of Congress have called for the appointment of 

a Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan; 

Whereas Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who had 

acted as the lead negotiator and coordinator for the 

United States Government toward Darfur, resigned from 

that position on June 19, 2006; 

Whereas Ambassador Zoellick was instrumental in securing 

the peace agreement among the Government of Sudan 

and rebel factions on May 5, 2006, and was described by 

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as ‘‘indispensable in 

our efforts to bring peace to Sudan and to end the violence in Darfur’’; 

Whereas other United States Government officials deeply involved in Darfur are departing public service or moving 

to new positions, including White House Policy Advisor 

Michael Gerson, National Security Council Senior Director for African Affairs Cindy Courville, and the State Department Special Representative to Sudan Michael 

Ranneberger; and 


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•SRES 531 IS 

Whereas the crisis in Darfur, and generally Sudan, continues 

to command urgent attention due to the ongoing displacement of roughly 2,500,000 people, the continuing instability in the region, the fragility of the May 5, 2006, 

peace accord, the spread of the conflict to neighboring 

Chad, the lack of security that prevents multilateral organizations and nongovernmental organizations from providing assistance to the most vulnerable displaced persons 

of Darfur, the reluctance by the Government of Sudan to 

allow a robust United Nations presence in that country, 

and the difficulties involved in assisting the African 

Union Mission in Sudan and transitioning that body into 

a United Nations force: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the Senate commends the efforts of former 

3 Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick in Darfur 

4 and the contributions of White House Policy Advisor 

5 Michael Gerson, Ambassador Cindy Courville, and 

6 Ambassador Michael Ranneberger; and 

7 (2) it is the sense of the Senate that— 

8 (A) the United States urgently needs an 

9 individual of Ambassadorial rank and high stat10 ure to devote exclusive attention to Darfur and 

11 related issues concerning peace and stability in 

12 Sudan; 

13 (B) such individual should formulate and 

14 coordinate policy, lead negotiations, engage with 

15 parties to the conflict to monitor their compliVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:17 Jul 15, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR531.IS SR531

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•SRES 531 IS 

1 ance with the terms and deadlines of the May 

2 5, 2006, Darfur Peace Agreement, gather re3 sources from donors, and ensure that this crisis 

4 retains high visibility and remains a top priority 

5 for the United States Government until it is 

6 substantially resolved; and 

7 (C) the President should, at the earliest 

8 date possible, appoint a Presidential Special 

9 Envoy for Sudan with the rank of Ambassador 

10 and should provide not less than $250,000, to 

11 support the Presidential Special Envoy, in ac12 cordance with Senate Amendment 3719 to H.R. 

13 4939 of the 109th Congress, as agreed to in the 

14 Senate on May 3, 2006. 

Æ 


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