Nick Smith, March 21, 2004

Sudan is geographically the largest country in Africa and is in the midst of a devastating 18-year civil war that killed an estimated two million people and has caused great misery to millions more. The conflict is between an aggressive Islamic government that draws most of its support from northern Sudan and animist and Christian groups in the southern part of the country. Government forces have harshly repressed rebel areas, starving an estimated 200,000 people to death in 1988 and enslaving significant numbers of captured rebels. When I was visiting Sudan’s neighbor, Libya, a few weeks ago, we discussed this troubled country.

At a hearing on March 12, Administration officials reported to my House International Relations Committee on the considerable progress since Congress passed the Sudan Peace Act in 2002. Security has improved in some parts of southern Sudan and there have been few, if any, slave raids over the past year. Under the eye of the US-led Civilian Protection and Monitoring Team, displaced families are returning to rebuild their villages, plant their gardens, and send their children to school. Humanitarian access to assist them in these efforts has improved dramatically.

Sudan, which like Libya was on the US list of "terrorist states," has now begun working with the United States on counter-terrorists activities. Sudan is also participating with other governments of the region in the war on terrorism and has signed all twelve international counter-terrorism agreements. Peace negotiations between the northern government and southern forces have made some progress. Thanks to the facilitation AID Administrator Natsios, as well as the engagement of Secretary Powell and National Security Advisor Rice, we are closer to a comprehensive peace agreement than ever before in Sudan’s 18-year civil war.

Yet some thorny issues remain, especially the right of people in the region of Abyei to determine their own political destiny. According to the testimony before my committee, the government is practicing a scorched earth strategy to crush insurgents, using military weapons to terrorize civilians while looking the other way as Arab militias systematically burn villages, kill and abuse villagers. Secretary Powell has called the situation in Darfur a "catastrophe." Administrator Winter characterized the war in Darfur as the most serious humanitarian crisis in Africa today. An additional million people could die.

We and other countries are working for change in Sudan. The generally improving humanitarian situation will bring relief not only to Sudanese citizens but also to US taxpayers who have spent $1 billion in humanitarian relief for Sudan over the past ten years. Meanwhile, the Sudanese government must be made to understand that dialogue, not repression, is the path to progress in Danfur. This is an international humanitarian disaster. Iraq made a difference with the reforms in Libya. Libya, our European partners as well as the United Nations should now be fully engaged in convincing Sudan to disarm the militias, protect villages, and keep its commitments to unrestricted humanitarian access.

Congressman Nick Smith, a Republican, represents Michigan's 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.