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Statement by Governor Bill Richardson Commending UN Resolution on Darfur, Urges Immediate Action

August 01, 2007

SANTA FE, NM -- Governor Bill Richardson released the following statement today on the UN resolution to get peacekeeping troops into Darfur:

"I applaud the passage of the UN resolution on peacekeepers for Darfur. It is about time that the international community steps up to its moral and strategic obligation to end the bloodshed and instability in Darfur. This is an excellent step in the right direction.

"Let us be clear -- this is only the first step. Now that we have a UN mandate, we must make sure that nations finalize their contributions to UNAMID and that the resolution is full supported and implemented without delay. In Darfur, delay equals death. We must keep up the pressure on the Sudanese government and launch a full-scale diplomatic effort to find a political solution to this crisis. Now is the time for the Administration to show true diplomatic leadership and aggressively work with other countries to ensure the resolution is implemented and to find an end to killing and homelessness.

"Our leaders would do well to note the courage of Steven Spielberg, who has threatened to resign from his role as Artistic Director of the 2008 Olympics over China's inaction in the Sudan. We can end this horrible slaughter, but only with leadership and continued and determined diplomacy.

"I am pleased that we finally have a resolution, but this must be the beginning, not the end, of our involvement in Darfur. We cannot rest until the killing stops and the refugees return home."

Bill Richardson, Statement by Governor Bill Richardson Commending UN Resolution on Darfur, Urges Immediate Action Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/295177

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