NEWS

House Foreign Affairs Committee

U.S. House of Representatives

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican

CONTACT: Sam Stratman, (202) 226-7875, April 4, 2007

Lee Cohen, (202) 226-1139

For IMMEDIATE Release

Ros-Lehtinen Completes Three-Day Visit to Darfur & Southern Sudan

"Governments allied with Khartoum are complicit in a war on civilians

and the immeasurable human suffering occurring in Darfur"

(WASHINGTON) - U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, ended a three-day fact-finding trip to Sudan today, which included a site visit to an internally displaced persons refugee camp in Darfur.

The delegation, led by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and co-chaired by Ros-Lehtinen arrived Monday in the city of Juba in Southern Sudan.

JUBA

During a meeting with Salva Kiir, President of Southern Sudan, the delegation discussed factors affecting the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement; issues of economic and political development in Southern Sudan; the international response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in neighboring Darfur; and the growing number of refugees from Darfur arriving in Southern Sudan.

During the visit to Juba, the delegation also met with Rebecca Garang, Minister of Transportation and Roads for Southern Sudan and widow of the late Dr. John Garang, former leader of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement, who was killed in a tragic helicopter crash just 21 days after being sworn in as President of Southern Sudan and First Vice President of the Government of National Unity.

In Juba, they also visited with the Speaker of the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, where the discussion focused on the progress achieved thus far toward strengthening their nascent institutions, including the drafting of Southern Sudan’s first-ever constitution.

DARFUR

On Tuesday, the delegation traveled to the Darfur region where they visited an internally displaced persons camp at El Salaam where they met with refugees, particularly women and children, and with representatives of international relief agencies.

The visit to the camp also included meetings with doctors and visits to a medical clinic and a school, where Ros-Lehtinen distributed toys to children collected by civic groups in her Miami Congressional district.

In a meeting with Maj. General Luke Aprezi, force commander of the African Union Mission in Sudan, the delegation raised concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Darfur, including attacks on refugees and internally displaced persons, and the targeting of AU forces and aid workers by rebels, some of which are allied with leaders of the regime in Khartoum (North Sudan).

"Peacekeeping forces in Darfur are undermanned, under-funded and outgunned by the rebels," said Ros-Lehtinen, adding, "Governments allied with Khartoum are complicit in a war on civilians and the immeasurable human suffering occurring in Darfur."

During the visit to Darfur, the delegation also met with representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Development Program, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Program, and the International Office of Migration. Discussions focused on the security situation in the refugee camps and the targeting of relief workers by rebels groups.

“Responsible nations, particularly those countries that neighbor Sudan, must take an active positive role in helping to end the violence in Darfur, press for full implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between North and South, support the efforts of the African Union and international aid workers, so that the Sudanese people can rebuild a better future for themselves and their children,” Ros-Lehtinen added.

After meetings with other key figures in the Darfur conflict, the delegation left Sudan late today en route to Egypt, where it has scheduled meetings with President Hosni Mubarak, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and opposition and human rights leaders, including the wife of jailed dissident Ayman Nour.

Prior to the stop in Sudan, the delegation traveled to Greece to meet with the Greek Foreign Minister to whom Ros-Lehtinen presented a copy of legislation she authored recognizing the 186th anniversary of Greek Independence and celebrating Greek and American Democracy.

######