Yesterday Congress adopted resolutions (H Con Res 467 and S Con Res 133) which label the crisis in western Sudan a genocide. The fighting has left at least 30,000 dead since 2003. The congressional measures also requested that other countries support the United States in stopping the genocide. Although the resolution is non-binding, lawmakers hope it will pressure the United Nations and the Bush administration to also declare the Arab militia’s violence towards black Africans in the Darfur region genocide. Due to the inaccessibility of the region during the upcoming rainy season, it is estimated that up to 350,000 more may die within the next couple of months. If the United Nations was to declare that the violence is in fact genocide, under the 1948 Geneva Convention participants would be required to intervene to stop it. A resolution addressing the crisis is being drafted by the U.N. Security Council, however, the Sudanese government has cautioned against military intervention. Although Sudan has been under U.S. economic sanctions since 1997, the United States has little leverage to influence the government. In an effort take a stand against the ethnic cleansing, three Democratic lawmakers – Charles B. Rangel of New York, Bobby L. Rush of Illinois and Joseph M. Hoeffel of Pennsylvania – protested outside the Sudanese embassy and were arrested for disturbing the peace.