Rob Andrews: “I rise in support of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, and urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes on this…”

“I rise in support of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, and urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes on this important piece of legislation. I commend Chairman Hyde and my fellow New Jerseyans, African Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith and Ranking Member Donald Payne for bringing this bill to the floor and helping keep our focus on the terrible crisis in Darfur and humanitarian needs in Sudan. Three years ago, the people of Sudan began a bloody civil war, with two rebel groups in the South rising up against the government in Khartoum. The response from the Sudanese government was swift and brutal, and its aerial bombardment and support of the criminal militia known as the Janjaweed continues today throughout the country. But what has been done in the Southern region of Darfur is beyond anything we have seen in many years. Mr. Speaker, it was not lightly that Congress declared the situation in Darfur a genocide on July 22, 2004. The government and its Janjaweed allies have killed hundreds of thousands of its non-Arab citizens in the region, and this genocide continues unabated today. More than two million civilians have been displaced from their homes, over 100,000 fleeing to neighboring Chad, and these refugees live in the most difficult situations, still surrounded by Janjaweed abusers and fearful for their safety.…”