Sudanese refugees travel by donkey past a makeshift school in a refugee camp in Chad near the Sudan border.

Darfur Humanitarian Emergency (a State Dept./IIP webpage) Press Conference of the President The United States and the United Nations (a State Dept./IIP webpage)

15 September 2006

(Also says Iran should not be allowed to "wait out" the international community)

Washington -- President Bush called on the United Nations to take “robust action” in Sudan and deploy a peacekeeping force to provide security in the troubled Darfur regions.

The United Nations’ lack of action against the genocide in Darfur has been a source of frustration for him and other Americans, the president said during a September 15 press conference at the White House.

Bush said there are “other alternatives” to continuing to wait for the Sudanese government to invite the peacekeepers into the country, such as “passing a resolution saying we're coming in with a U.N. force in order to save lives.”

“I'm frustrated with the United Nations in regards to Darfur,” Bush said.  “I have said and this government has said there's genocide taking place in the Sudan, and it breaks our collective hearts to know that.”

The president said the best way to solve the crisis is to have both a political and a security track in the country, and said he had suggested that NATO provide support and logistics help for the U.N. force.

However, he said, the United Nations “hasn't acted,” and added, “I can understand why those who are concerned about Darfur are frustrated.  I am.”

Bush said he was proud of U.S. humanitarian efforts in Sudan.  “We provided by far the vast majority of food and aid,” but said he is troubled by reports of escalating violence.  “I can understand the desperation people feel for women being pulled out of these refugee centers and raped.  And now is the time for the U.N. to act,” he said.

For additional information, see Darfur Humanitarian Emergency.

61ST U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Looking ahead to the opening of the 61st U.N. General Assembly in New York, Bush said he would be addressing the gathering of international leaders to talk about “our obligation to defend civilization and liberty, to support the forces of freedom and moderation throughout the Middle East.”

The president also said the United Nations needs better management structures and accountability and he hopes the organization “would support my call to end tyranny in the 21st century.”

“I'm going to have a strong message, one that's … based upon hope and my belief that the civilized world must stand with moderate reformist-minded people and help them realize their dreams.  I believe that's the call of the 21st century,” he said.

Turning to Iran, Bush said there continues to be a “common” consensus against the country developing nuclear weapons and that he would warn U.N. member states against allowing the Iranian government to stall in its talks with the international community over the issue.

“[W]e need to  move the process, and they need to understand we're firm in our commitment.  And if they try to drag their feet or, you know, get us to look the other way … we won't do that,” he said.  “[W]e're firmly committed in our desire to send a common signal to the Iranian regime.”

The president also took questions on his plan to define U.S. obligations under Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.  He said any legislation passed by Congress must ensure intelligence officers and others conducting the CIA’s interrogation program “have no doubt that what they’re doing is legal.”

“We’re trying to set high standards, not ambiguous standards,” Bush said.

A transcript of the president’s press conference is available on the White House Web site.

For additional information, see The United States and the United Nations.