H. Res. 194

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

July 16, 2003.

Whereas the efforts of the government of Khartoum to subjugate the peoples of the southern Sudan have led to the

death of more than 2,000,000 persons and the displacement of another 4,000,000 persons;

Whereas the Department of State’s ‘‘Country Reports on

Human Rights Practices for 2001’’ estimates that between 5,000 and 15,000 Dinka women and children have

been abducted during the past 15 years, and that between 10,000 and 12,000 persons remain in captivity;

Whereas credible observers report that some of the abductees

were sold into slavery and others were used as forced

labor or drafted into the military, including children;

Whereas the Department of State’s ‘‘Country Reports on

Human Rights Practices for 2002’’ notes that persons

held in government controlled ‘‘Peace’’ camps for internally displaced persons were reportedly subjected to

forced labor;

Whereas the Special Rapporteur for Sudan to the General

Assembly of the United Nations concluded, on November

4, 2002, that the dire human rights situation in Sudan

had not significantly changed;
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Whereas the United States Civilian Protection Monitoring

Team (CPMT) reported in February 2003 that militia allied with the Government of Sudan and supported directly by Government of Sudan troops continued to

abduct civilians in the western Upper Nile region of

Sudan;

Whereas subsequent to the February 2003 report of the Civilian Protection Monitoring Team, the Government of

Sudan restricted the movements of the CPMT and prevented it from carrying out its mandate;

Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights declares ‘‘[n]o one shall be held in slavery or servitude:

slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their

forms’’;

Whereas numerous human rights organizations, including

Christian Solidarity International, the Center for Religious Freedom of Freedom House, and the American

Anti-Slavery Group have demanded an end to slavery in

all its forms and, in particular, to the abuses practiced

by the Government of Sudan;

Whereas the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People adopted, in May 1995, a Resolution to

Combat Modern Day Slavery stating that slavery in

Sudan was an ‘‘irrefutable fact, corroborated by numerous sources,’’ and pledging that ‘‘we will not rest until

these slaves are freed’’;

Whereas the House of Representatives has repeatedly decried

human rights abuses in Sudan and called for the abolition of the slave trade and of chattel slavery in Sudan;
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Whereas the House of Representatives committed itself to

practical measures to suppress the slave trade and chattel slavery in the Sudan by the passage, by a vote of

359–8, in the 107th Congress of H.R. 5531, the ‘‘Sudan

Peace Act’’, and the Senate passed a similar measure, S.

180, unanimously;

Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

conducted its 59th session in Geneva from March 17

through April 25, 2003;

Whereas the head of the United States delegation to the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, declared in her opening address

that ‘‘[t]he Commission has the solemn duty to speak for

those who are denied the right to speak for themselves’’;

Whereas Human Rights Watch and many other concerned

persons and organizations have called upon the United

Nations Commission on Human Rights to renew the

mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights for

Sudan, and to condemn gross abuses of human rights

and violations of international humanitarian law by the

Sudanese Government and rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) forces; and

Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights,

by a vote of 26 to 24 with 3 abstentions, refused to classify Sudan as an ‘‘Item 9’’ country, one in which grave

human rights problems justify the appointment of a Special Rapporteur to investigate abuses and to report on

them: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
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(1) slavery, under any circumstances, is an unconscionable practice;

(2) the subjection inherent in slavery inevitably

leads to other abuses, including torture and rape;

(3) human rights abuses and slavery in Sudan remain a matter of the most profound concern;

(4) the United States must condemn attempts to ignore or condone these outrages;

(5) the United States must make clear to all members of the United Nations Commission on Human

Rights that the refusal to condemn slavery in Sudan undermines any moral authority that the Commission

might seek to exert in other areas;

(6) the United States must work to re-classify

Sudan as an ‘‘Item 9’’ country, requiring a Special

Rapporteur at the next session of the United Nations

Commission on Human Rights; and

(7) the United States should encourage the United

Nations to consider reinstating sanctions against Sudan

and should urge the European Union, the African

Union, and all others who express concern for human

freedom and dignity to be engaged in activities that will
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convince Sudan to abolish slavery and respect human

rights.

Attest:

Clerk.