House Increases Money to Stop Genocide, Protect Civilians in Darfur, Sudan
For Immediate Release – March 16, 2006
The House of Representatives vote today to increase emergency funding for the African Union Mission in Sudan is an important step forward in the process of preventing genocide and protecting civilians in Darfur, the Friends Committee on National Legislation said today.
A small African Union peacekeeping force of 7,000 is all that stands between the people of Darfur and horrific violence that has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more in western Sudan. The president in February requested an additional $123 million in funding to support this mission as part of the emergency supplemental legislation debated on the floor of the House this afternoon. Today, House members voted 213 to 208 to increase funding for that mission by $50 million to a total of $173 million.
"Labeling the situation in Darfur genocide, as Congress did in July 2004, puts a moral obligation on members of Congress to do all in their power to stop the killing. While the situation remains dire, the addition of $173 million for peacekeeping is a step in the right direction," said Scott Stedjan, a lobbyist at FCNL.
Funding for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) is more crucial than ever. Last Friday the AU authorized the continuation of AMIS until at least September 30th to allow sufficient time for continued negotiations on allowing UN peacekeepers in Darfur. As AU peacekeepers are likely to remain the only force on the ground charged with protecting civilians in the near future, it is all the more critical for AMIS to be fully funded and given the resources to effectively protect civilians and prevent further destabilization in Darfur.
For more information, read the FCNL Recommendations for U.S. Policy in Sudan.
The Friends Committee on National Legislation is a non-partisan Quaker lobby in the public interest that represents 26 Yearly Meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (called Quakers). FCNL speaks for itself and like-minded individuals. Working with a network of constituents in every congressional district in the United States, FCNL seeks to bring the concerns, experiences and testimonies of Friends to bear on national policy decisions. For more information: www.fcnl.org
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