Washington, DC — Secretary of State Colin Powell testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday that the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan is a genocide. This was his first public use of the word, even though the U.S. Congress passed a non-binding resolution condemning the violence as genocide earlier this summer.
"This was a coordinated effort, not just random violence," Powell said. "When we reviewed the evidence compiled by our team and then put it beside other information available to the State Department and widely known throughout the international community we concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government and the Janjaweed bare responsibility."
Powell said that genocide may still be occurring. "We believe the evidence corroborates the specific intent of the perpetrator to destroy a group in whole or in part," he said.
The State Department based its assertions partially on interviews, compiled in conjunction with the American Bar Association and the Coalition for International Justice, of 1,156 displaced Sudanese people in refugee camps in Chad. Powell said that in order to confirm the full scale of the genocide, the UN should conduct a full and unfettered investigation.
Powell said the evidence and interviews show that the Janjaweed militias and government forces have committed large scale acts of violence including murders, rape and physical assaults on non-Arab individuals, and destroyed villages, foodstuffs and other means of survival. "The Sudan Government and its military forces obstructed food, water, medicine and other humanitarian aid from reaching affected populations, thereby leading to further deaths and suffering." Powell said. "Despite having been put on notice multiple times, Khartoum has failed to stop the violence."
Sudan, a signatory to the genocide convention, is responsible for preventing and punishing acts of genocide, Powell said. "It appears that Sudan has failed to do so," Powell said. Instead, the Sudanese government has actively participated in the abuses.
Khartoum can avoid condemnation by the international community by taking action and making sure that all of its people are secure, Powell said. He also called on Khartoum to make sure that current negotiations in Abuja are successfully concluded and that the peace agreement signed in May in Naivasha, Kenya is upheld.
The U.S. also has a role to play in ending the violence, Powell said.
"The most practical contribution we can make to the security of Darfur in the short term is to do everything we can to increase the number of African Union monitors," Powell said. "That will require the cooperation of the government of Sudan. Countries within the AU have demonstrated a willingness to provide a significant number of troops, and this is the fastest way to help bring security to the countryside through this expanded monitoring presence."
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also supported AU involvement. "It is clear to me that the AU can play a major role," he said. "This is an African problem that Africans want to address."
Frist proposed that a third of the peacekeeping forces come from the Sudanese People's Liberation Movements (SPLM), a third come from Khartoum and a third come from the AU.
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) questioned the ability of the UN to force action from Khartoum. "You will get resolutions but what does it mean unless anybody, including the government of Sudan, pays any attention to the UN," he said.
"I can assure you that the leaders in Khartoum are watching this hearing very carefully," Powell said. "And they are not completely indifferent or invulnerable to the effect of international pressure."
Powell said recent visits by UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas), Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) and others resulted in greater access for relief agencies to deliver humanitarian aid, as the Sudanese again began issuing travel permits and visas and releasing humanitarian vehicles stocked with supplies.
"That pressure worked in respect to getting the humanitarian aid in," Powell said. "The more serious problem now is the retail distribution of the aid and making sure those who promised the aid actually produce the aid." Powell said that Khartoum also responded to pressures by not objecting to the AU monitoring forces. The threat of sanctions, Powell said, particularly those involving oil, are weighing on Khartoum.
"There is not that much more we can do in the way of sanctions unilaterally that would affect the Sudanese very much," Powell said. The possibility of oil sanctions was included in the draft resolution presented by the United States to the UN Security Council last week.
Diplomatic pressure on Khartoum must be calibrated in response to the factions of the Sudanese government that resent any pressure and those that believe they have to respond to the threat of international pressure, Powell said.
Sen. Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey) expressed concern over the treatment of the thousands of displaced people in refugee camps. "I've never personally witnessed anything as horrifying as the visits to these camps," he said. "Frankly we had access to the ones that were more showcases than the other 137 camps."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Corzine doubted the efficacy of current AU monitoring. He said that 157 monitors when there are 137 camps "is a concept that does not make any sense."
UN security force support for the AU monitors in Sudan needs to be put in place as soon as possible, Powell said. The possibility of a resolution on Sudan from the UN Security Council has been delayed because some members of the UN Security Council such as China and Pakistan have shown reluctance.
"At some point, we may have to use our own defense assets in a logistics way to get things in," says Powell.
AU forces that will be deployed in Sudan will be composed of anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 troops, but Powell said he does not have any information on how the troops will be used or where they will be deployed.
Powell said the U.S. should continue training African militaries when there is not a crisis, giving them the equipment and experience they need to conduct peacekeeping missions when necessary. "We have to invest before these crises," Powell said.
