H. Res. 1588 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
September 28, 2010. 
Whereas Sudan stands at a crossroads, in the final phase of 
what could be a historic transition from civil war to 
peace, and Sudan’s full implementation of the Com-
prehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in this next year will 
determine the future of this centrally important country 
in Africa and the stability of the region; 
Whereas January 2010 marked the fifth anniversary of the 
signing of the CPA which ended more than 20 years of 
civil war between northern and southern Sudan, fueled by 
northern persecution of populations in the south, that re-
sulted in the deaths of more than 2,000,000 people and 
the displacement of over 4,000,000 people in southern 
Sudan; 
Whereas the CPA committed the northern-dominated Na-
tional Congress Party (NCP) and the southern-domi-
nated 
Sudan 
People’s 
Liberation 
Movement/Army 
(SPLM/A), to assume joint governing responsibility dur-
ing a six-year Interim Period ending in July 2011; 
Whereas Sudan’s April 2010 elections did not meet inter-
national standards due to widespread and continuing vio-
lations of political rights, irregularities in voter registra-
tion, significant logistical and procedural shortcomings, 
intimidation and violence in some localities, and the con-
•HRES 1588 EH 
tinuing conflict in Darfur which prevented full cam-
paigning and voter participation; 
Whereas the conflict in Darfur remains unresolved, with over 
300,000 people killed and over 2,000,000 people still dis-
placed in a highly unstable security situation perpetrated 
largely by the government in Khartoum; 
Whereas since 1999, the United States Department of State 
has designated Sudan as a ‘‘country of particular con-
cern’’ for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations 
of religious freedom or belief and related human rights, 
as recommended by the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom, and despite progress 
made via the CPA on religious freedom issues, there are 
still reports of abuses; 
Whereas at the end of the CPA in January 2011, the agree-
ment requires referenda on self-determination for south-
ern Sudan and on whether Abyei will remain in the north 
or join the south; 
Whereas following the Interim Period, popular consultations 
in Southern Kordofan State and Blue Nile State are to 
be held to determine the governance arrangements in 
those two states; 
Whereas it is essential that the referenda and accompanying 
popular consultations are held on time, that they are 
free, fair, and credible, and that if the outcome of the 
southern Sudan referendum is independence, two stable 
and viable democratic states result; 
Whereas the Government of Southern Sudan faces post-con-
flict reconstruction challenges including establishing 
democratic, responsive, and transparent governance, ad-
dressing human resources and capacity-building needs,
•HRES 1588 EH 
strengthening and reforming the judiciary and security 
forces to address communal and inter-ethnic violence, 
professionalizing the police and security forces, devel-
oping basic infrastructure, natural resources and the 
economy; providing basic services including water, edu-
cation, health care and social services, and establishing 
cooperative and transparent wealth-sharing mechanisms; 
Whereas in August 2009, the NCP and SPLM signed a bilat-
eral agreement to address and implement many of the 
CPA’s outstanding provisions, but since that time the 
NCP has consistently delayed and reneged on its CPA 
commitments, thereby increasing tension and distrust be-
tween northern and southern Sudan and endangering the 
CPA by infringing on the freedom of speech, assembly, 
and association of candidates, political party activists, 
and journalists during and after the election process, in-
cluding censoring the media and arresting political party 
leaders; 
Whereas the NCP continues to restrict and disrupt United 
Nations peacekeeping, humanitarian operations, and 
human rights organizations in Darfur; 
Whereas the United States played a central role in negotia-
tions that led to the CPA, is a guarantor of that peace 
agreement, and continues to play a leading role bilat-
erally and multilaterally to bring about a just and lasting 
peace in Sudan; 
Whereas Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated in 
October 2009 that ‘‘the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
between the North and South will be a flashpoint for re-
newed conflict if not fully implemented through viable na-
tional elections, a referendum on self-determination for 
the South, resolution of the border disputes, and the will-
•HRES 1588 EH 
ingness of the respective parties to live up to their agree-
ments’’; and 
Whereas sustained pressure and engagement from the inter-
national community in support of the CPA, including the 
upcoming referenda, is essential to bring about sustain-
able peace in Sudan: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Represent-
atives that the United States Government should— 
(1) work with appropriate Sudanese parties and re-
sponsible regional and international partners to— 
(A) build consensus on the steps needed to im-
plement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
(CPA), including the upcoming referenda, and pro-
mote stability throughout Sudan; 
(B) correct serious and systemic problems in 
the election process to ensure that they do not reoc-
cur during the referenda campaign and voting proc-
esses, including irregularities in voter registration, 
logistical and procedural challenges, poor voter edu-
cation, human rights infringements, intimidation, 
and violence; and 
(C) ensure that the National Congress Party 
(NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Move-
ment (SPLM) implement procedures whereby the 
referenda occur as scheduled, including appointing 
competent and credible members to all referenda
•HRES 1588 EH 
commissions and providing technical assistance to 
and funding for the commissions; 
(2) work with the United Nations Mission in Sudan 
(UNMIS) to ensure security during and after the 
referenda campaign and voting processes, which will re-
quire a robust monitoring and protection presence in 
areas prone to conflict; 
(3) take concrete steps through the contribution of 
targeted resources and technical expertise to— 
(A) ensure international monitoring and obser-
vation of registration and polling to guarantee a se-
cure environment for individual registration and 
voting, and to prevent voter intimidation or fraud 
occurring during these critical phases of the 
referenda; 
(B) ensure that the Government of National 
Unity (GNU), as required by the CPA, provides 
adequate funding at predetermined levels and 
timelines for the registration and polling periods, 
given the need to ensure that those who register are 
able to access polling stations on voting day; 
(C) ensure that responsible nations commit 
adequate resources and technical expertise to sup-
port the referenda and voter education programs in 
southern Sudan, Abyei, and other areas where peo-
•HRES 1588 EH 
ple will vote in the referenda to promote under-
standing of the nature, importance of participation, 
consequences of the referenda process; and 
(D) support the popular consultation processes 
in Southern Kordofan State and Blue Nile State, 
including through provision of technical assistance 
and support for public education; 
(4) work with appropriate Sudanese parties and re-
sponsible regional and international partners to ensure— 
(A) the right of return of Sudanese refugees 
and displaced persons, including Darfuris and 
southerners, by providing assistance and safe pas-
sage to all such persons; and 
(B) that the citizenship rights of southerners 
in the north and northerners in the south are re-
spected in accordance with international standards 
should the south vote for independence; 
(5) work with responsible regional and international 
partners to ensure a stable north-south border and a 
permanent peace in Sudan, utilizing policy options if 
parties fail to honor the CPA, especially as it relates to 
border demarcation pre-referenda; 
(6) continue to utilize diplomats and experts and 
sustain engagement to support the African Union and 
United Nations-led negotiations over the post-ref-
•HRES 1588 EH 
erendum issues, including working with responsible re-
gional and international partners to assist in making 
necessary arrangements for a post-2011 peaceful transi-
tion, with specific focus on oil and revenue sharing, citi-
zenship, return of refugees and displaced persons, secu-
rity arrangements along the border, and protection of 
the rights of minorities, particularly the religious and 
ethnic minorities historically marginalized; 
(7) utilize diplomats and experts to revitalize the 
Darfur Peace Process and press the NCP, northern po-
litical parties, armed groups, and civil society representa-
tives to address human rights abuses (including gender- 
based violence) and the ongoing atrocities and displace-
ment in Darfur; 
(8) undertake renewed efforts to define and imple-
ment the Administration’s stated Sudan policy of Octo-
ber 2009, including by publicly articulating the bench-
marks and related incentives and pressures used by the 
Administration to gauge progress or backsliding on key 
provisions of the CPA, including the holding of a free 
and fair referendum in southern Sudan; 
(9) hold the NCP accountable for its actions given 
the NCP’s human rights violations and efforts to impede 
CPA implementation since the announcement of the
•HRES 1588 EH 
United States Sudan policy, and the need for the United 
States to both balance incentives with pressures, by— 
(A) identifying NCP government agencies and 
officials responsible for particularly severe human 
rights and religious freedom violations as required 
under section 402b(2) of the International Religious 
Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), and prohibit those 
individuals identified under section 402b(2) of 
IRFA from entry into the United States; 
(B) encouraging multilateral asset freezes on 
NCP government agencies and travel bans on offi-
cials responsible for particularly severe human 
rights and religious freedom violations; 
(C) continuing to encourage greater multilat-
eral enforcement of the arms embargo set out in the 
2004 United Nations Security Council Resolution 
1556 and strengthened in the 2005 United Nations 
Security Council Resolution 1591; 
(D) continuing to encourage multilateral sup-
port for efforts to hold accountable Omar al-Bashir 
and other Sudanese officials accused of genocide, 
war crimes, or crimes against humanity, recognizing 
that justice is essential for there to be lasting peace; 
and
•HRES 1588 EH 
(E) vigorously advocating on behalf of any 
credible humanitarian organizations that come 
under pressure from Khartoum or are at any point 
expelled from the country, thereby compromising 
their ability to provide vital services; 
(10) support the Government of Southern Sudan, 
including through the provision of technical assistance 
and expertise, in developing its economy, rule of law, and 
social service and educational infrastructures, improving 
democratic accountability and human rights, and 
strengthening reconciliation efforts; and 
(11) unequivocally stand, during this period of 
preparation and possible transition, with those people of 
Sudan who share aspirations for a peaceful, prosperous 
and democratic future. 
Attest: 
Clerk.