Pending U.S. Legislation and Updates |Save Darfur

SAVE DARFUR

Pending U.S. Legislation and Updates

Want to schedule a meeting with your elected officials? Here you'll find resources to help you plan and run an effective lobby meeting, a list of legislation elected U.S. officials can act on, and messages you can deliver to them on behalf of the people of Darfur.

How to Lobby:

You can help pressure Congress to do more to help the people of Darfur by meeting with your congressional representative or members of his or her staff.

Find your members of Congress and contact them by email
Visit DarfurScores – what have your legislators done to end genocide?
- If your members have a poor record on Darfur, educate them on the issues. If they are already a leader for Darfur, thank them for their support and urge them to continue their efforts.
Call 1-800-GENOCIDE – a hotline with up-to-date talking points and actions your legislators can take to help end genocide
Hold a lobby meeting with your member of Congress or their staff. It’s simpler than you may think! Use our lobbying resources for help along the way:
- Planning an effective advocacy meeting with members of Congress (PDF)
- Running an effective advocacy meeting with members of Congress (PDF)
Report the results of your lobbying efforts by emailing us at .

U.S. Congress

State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, 2009

Purpose: This legislation will establish funding levels for foreign assistance programs, including Darfur-related programs, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009. Save Darfur is requesting that the following funding be provided:

$414 million for the U.S. Contribution to the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). This amount, which matches the Administration’s request, is needed to support the UN-AU peacekeepers currently deployed in Darfur, and speed the deployment of additional forces.
$16 million in Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) funding for the continued training of troops for each of 16 battalions that the US will have bilaterally trained and equipped for deployment as a part of UNAMID. These funds will go train replacement troops for those rotating out of Darfur.
$800 million in International Disaster Assistance (IDA) to respond to complex humanitarian emergencies worldwide, including in Darfur and the rest of Sudan. These funds are also necessary to mitigate and respond to the immediate effects of the global food crisis.

Status: Approved by the House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations on July 16. Approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 17. Further action on these bills before Congress adjourns is unlikely.

Action: Call or write your Representative and Senators urging them to support these critical programs for Darfur at the funding levels listed above.

H. Con. Res. 423: Calling for a comprehensive strategy to address the crisis in Darfur, Sudan, and condemning the ongoing assaults and obstruction by the Khartoum regime.

Purpose: This resolution:

Urges the President, the UN Secretary-General, the African Union and other key members of the international community should pursue a comprehensive solution to the Darfur crisis;
Condemns the Government of Sudan for its continued obstruction of the deployment of UN-AU peacekeepers;
Condemns the ongoing acts of violence in an obstruction of aid to Darfur committed to all parties; and
Calls upon the Government of Sudan and armed parties in the region to declare and respect an immediate cessation of hostilities, abide by the UN embargo on the importation of arms, cease predation and attacks upon humanitarian organizations, and participate in international efforts to negotiate a lasting political settlement for the region.

Status: Introduced by Representative Mark Kirk, R-IL. Open for co-sponsors.

Action: Call or write your representative urging him or her to co-sponsor H. Con. Res. 423.

House Resolution 1462: Condemning ongoing sales of arms to belligerents in Sudan, including the Government of Sudan, and calling for both a cessation of such sales and an expansion of the United Nations embargo on arms sales to Sudan

Purpose: This resolution expresses the sense of Congress that:

The United States supports United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1556 and 1591, which impose an arms embargo on all belligerents in Darfur;
All United Nations member states should immediately cease all arms sales to the Government of Sudan; and
The United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations should use the voice and vote of the United States to seek an expansion of the arms embargo to cover all of Sudan, with an appropriate exception for non-lethal assistance to the Government of Southern Sudan.

Status: Introduced by Representative James McGovern (D-MA). Open for co-sponsors.

Action: Call or write your Member of Congress urging them to co-sponsor House Resolution 1462.

H.R. 3844: To establish the United States Commission to Monitor Slavery and its Eradication in Sudan

Purpose: This legislation would create a commission to:

Report on and document existing cases of slavery in Sudan;
Identify those individuals and groups responsible for slavery in Sudan;
Recommend action to be taken by the United States Government to end slavery in Sudan;

Status: Introduced by Representative Chris Smith, R-NJ. Open for co-sponsors.

Action: Call or write your representative urging him or her to co-sponsor H.R. 3844.

House Resolution 792: Honoring Professor Eric Reeves

Status: Awaiting action in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Key Offices: Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, Rep. Pelosi, D-CA. Rep. Hoyer, D-MD.

Purpose: This House resolution honors Professor Eric Reeves, a Sudan expert who has been instrumental in raising awareness about the genocide in Darfur.

Action: Call or write your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor H. Res. 792.

House Resolution 1290: Joining the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in observance of World Refugee Day and calling on the United States Government, international organizations, and aid groups to take immediate steps to secure urgently needed humanitarian relief for the more than 2,000,000 people displaced by genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Purpose: This resolution:

Calls on the United States Government to continue and strengthen its leadership role in the international community in response to the people of Darfur who have been displaced by genocide, including the most vulnerable populations who endure sexual violence, human trafficking, forced conscription, and exploitation;
Demands that all armed groups in the region immediately cease their attacks on civilians, peacekeepers, and humanitarian operations and halt all recruitment activities in camps for displaced persons; and
Calls on the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate the resettlement of an appropriate number of Darfuris who have been displaced and have little chance of returning to their homes by formulating a program of resettlement of Darfuris in fiscal year 2009;

Status: Introduced by Representative Berman, D-CA. Open for co-sponsors.

Action: Call or write your representative urging him or her to co-sponsor H. Res. 1290.