San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition

With war continuing in the west and a fragile peace in the south, decades of fighting have left Sudan to cope with the effects of conflict, displacement, and insecurity. Respect for human rights remains a complex and challenging issue throughout the country. It has also led its longtime leader, President Omar al-Bashir, to become the first sitting head of state to be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, resulting in the International Criminal Court issuing a warrant for his arrest.

Speakers:

• Hon. Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, Head, Government of Southern Sudan Mission to the United States
• Tiseke Kasambala, Senior Researcher, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch
• Roger Winter, former State Department Special Representative for Sudan

Time: 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM

Please arrive early for registration

Registration: http://www.itsyourworld.org/assnfe/ev.asp?ID=2652

Location: World Affairs Council Auditorium
312 Sutter Street, Second Floor
San Francisco, California 94108

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Jan. 9, 2010 is the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between North and South Sudan. Come hear a situation update, see a video of celebrities and activists drumming for peace, cautioning that there is one year to prevent war again in Sudan, and attend the San Francisco film premiere of Rebuilding Hope. Dave Eggers calls it a “wonderful tribute to [Sudanese] spirit and perseverance.”

Deng Jongkuch, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan living in San Jose, will speak. In 2001, after nearly fourteen years in refugee camps, Deng was selected with 3,800 other boys to come to the United States. SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition President Mohamed Suleiman, a Darfuri, will also speak.

More about worldwide participation: http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/sudan365-a-beat-for-peace

SF Campaign Sponsors: San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, American Jewish World Service, The Congregation Emanu-El, Health Alliance for Sudan

DATE & TIME:
Saturday, January 9
6:45 pm-9:00 pm

LOCATION:
Congregation Emanu-El
2 Lake Street (at Arguello)
San Francisco, CA 94118
Map

COST & REGISTRATION:
Free – donations welcomed

MORE INFO:
Contact: Martina Knee
Email: info@darfursf.org
Phone: 415-221-8400

Senators Urge Ambassador Rice to Make Clear that Violations of U.N. Sanctions Will Not Be Tolerated

Washington, DC, December 15, 2009 – A bipartisan group of Senators is working to ensure the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council does not tolerate continued human rights and arms embargo violations by the Sudanese government and rebel groups in Darfur. U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ) led the group in writing to the United States Ambassador to the U.N., Dr. Susan Rice, citing a recent report by the Panel of Experts on Sudan, which states, “…almost all sides in the conflict have failed in their obligation to comply with Security Council sanctions” and urging her to ensure the U.N. Security Council reviews the panel’s recommendations for action.

Senators joining Feingold and McCain in sending the letter were Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Arlen Specter (D-PA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Robert Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (D-ME), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Richard Burr (R-NC), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), James Risch (R-ID), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

The text of the letter is below and a copy is available here (PDF).

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December 14, 2009

Ambassador Susan Rice
Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations

Dear Madam Ambassador,

We are pleased that you spoke forcefully about the UN Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), which reports dozens of instances in which the Government of Sudan has denied peacekeepers freedom of movement and access. As you said, this is a blatant violation of the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement and greatly impedes UNAMID’s ability to carry out its important peacekeeping mission. A fully operational UNAMID is critical to protect civilians and monitor the security situation until a viable political settlement can be reached to end the conflict.

We are writing to you about another recent report on Darfur presented to the UN Security Council by the Panel of Experts on Sudan in October. As you are likely aware, this report states that almost all sides in the conflict have failed in their obligation to comply with Security Council sanctions and to cooperate with the monitoring efforts of the Panel of Experts. We urge you, as you did with the UN Secretary-General’s report on UNAMID, to speak out publicly about these reported violations. With the next Panel of Experts currently being constituted, it is especially important that the Security Council make clear that obstruction of their work is unacceptable.

In their report, the Panel of Experts found that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law remain rampant in Darfur. The report states, “The Darfurian population continues to be victimized by effects of attacks and counter-attacks involving most of the armed movements that frequently lead to the disproportionate use of force by the Sudanese Armed Forces and their auxiliary forces, and results in killings, injuries and displacements.” The report documents a number of specific violations of the UN arms embargo by the Sudanese government and armed movements, especially the Justice and Equality Movement. The report also suggests that auxiliary forces of the Sudanese government, known as the Janjaweed, continue to carry arms and engage in violence.

The Panel of Experts recommends that the Security Council request the Government of Sudan report to the Sanctions Committee on a bimonthly basis on movements of troops and material into and out of Darfur, the scope and state of disarmament of the Janjaweed and related militias, and efforts to ensure the protection of all Darfurians. The report also recommends that the Security Council explore possible ways to provide assistance to the Dakar Contact Group’s monitoring of the Chadian-Sudanese border. Finally, the confidential annex of the report provides information on a number of individuals who could be added to existing sanctions lists.

We urge you to ensure that these recommendations are carefully reviewed and discussed by the Security Council. While we realize some Security Council members may oppose action at this time, we believe it is important to begin a discussion at the Security Council about pressures that can be brought to bear against belligerents in Darfur in the case that these violations persist. As we have learned from the past, such pressures will only be effective if they have multilateral support. We hope ongoing attempts to achieve a peace agreement will succeed and that such pressures will not be necessary, but we should be prepared if the parties continue to drag their feet as they have in the past.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you and General Gration to deliver on the administration’s commitment stated in its Sudan strategy to “work to more concretely transform widespread international concern about Darfur into serious multilateral commitments.”

In Wake of Pre-Election Human Rights Violations by Government, Sudan Advocates Ask President Obama to Impose Consequences

Merely condemning NCP’s actions not a sufficient consequence, say advocates

CITIES NATIONWIDE – December 15, 2009 – Today 50 organizations representing Sudan advocates and Sudanese expatriates from around the country, together with actress Mia Farrow and Sudan expert Eric Reeves, sent an open letter to President Obama calling on him to impose immediate consequences on the Government of Sudan for public violations of human rights in advance of the elections [in Sudan] and for the eroding situation on the ground.

The letter recommends that President Obama 1) Lead the United States and the broader international community in applying the pressures necessary to ensure that the conditions for credible elections mandated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) are enacted and implemented without further delay, 2) Act immediately to secure multilateral asset freezes and travel bans on National Congress Party (NCP) leaders, multilateral support of the International Criminal Court cases against key Sudanese officials, multilateral enforcement of the UN Security Council arms embargo; and denial of multilateral debt relief, 3) Direct Special Envoy Gration, the State Department and USAID to conduct and make public an assessment of the current status of humanitarian services and 4) Direct Special Envoy Gration to promptly brief the appropriate House and Senate committees on the contents of the classified documents that are part of the Administration’s Sudan policy.

According to the letter, the Administration’s Sudan policy review promised a balanced approach of both incentives and pressures. “The policy will lack credibility if no consequences are imposed now, particularly after the very public violations of human rights on Dec. 7 and 14 and the eroding situation on the ground. There is no need to wait further to impose consequences on Sudan for these clear and critical violations. These actions by the Government of Sudan illustrate the importance of the United States acting with a fierce urgency to deliver the promised consequences. Merely condemning the NCP’s action is not a sufficient consequence,” the letter states.

On Sunday, the NCP and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and south agreed to the terms of a controversial referendum on southern independence on Sunday. However, according to Mohamed Suleiman, a Darfuri and a spokesman for the group, the NCP has a consistent track record of breaking its agreements. “The fact that the government violently quelled a peaceful demonstration the day after announcing this agreement demonstrates that it will not honor the reform of Sudanese laws necessary for credible elections, including freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of speech,” he said.

The letter cites Obama’s recent address in Oslo where he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. “Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable. Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure — and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one,” President Obama said in his speech there.

[The text of the letter can be downloaded here (PDF).

Elizabeth Vargas, Anchor of ABC News 20/20, will host a one-night event featuring the documentary “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders” and will moderate a LIVE panel discussion with doctors featured in the film and award-winning journalists

The event will be broadcast via sasfbadctellite from the Skirball Center or the Performing Arts, NYU in New York City to over 440 select theaters nationwide.

Find a theater near you and see a clip from the film: https://www.doctorswithoutborders-usa.org/events/public/2009-livinginemergency/

Screenings in the following SF Bay Area locations: Cupertino, Daly City, Danville, Dublin, Emeryville, Hayward, Mill Valley, Mountain View, Pleasant Hill, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, San Rafael, Union City, Walnut Creek.

Please visit www.ipledge2protect.org and join the growing community of people who support a stronger commitment to preventing genocide.

As part of the 16 Days of Activism, The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the U.S. National Committee for UNIFEM, in conjunction with Pangea Global AIDS Foundation, is co-hosting an event in honor of World AIDS Day this Tuesday, December 1st, from 7-8:30pm.

Women’s Rights And Women’s Lives: Linking approaches to gender based Violence and HIV/AIDS for effective prevention
Featuring Megan Dunbar, DrPH, Public Health Scientist at the Women’s Global Health Imperative-a program of RTI International, and HIV Prevention Consultant at the Pangea Global AIDS Foundation.

Free Admission

Location: UC Hastings, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies
Alumni Reception Center, 200 McAllister Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA

Hosted By UNIFEM USNC SF Bay Area Chapter & Pangea Global AIDS Foundation
Co-Sponsored by UC Hastings Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, and Survivor’s International

Join American Jewish World Service President Ruth Messinger for one of three exclusive Bay Area advance screenings of the new documentary featuring Nicholas Kristof, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist.

REPORTER is a feature documentary about Nicholas Kristof, the two-time Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the New York Times, who almost single-handedly put the crisis in Darfur on the world map. By tracking a newsman, we track his news. In the summer of 2007, Kristof traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to shine his light into the darkest pockets of conflict and poverty.

View Film Trailer

November 30 – San Francisco or
December 1 – San Rafael or
December 2 – Los Altos

Space is limited. RSVP to Stephanie Tholand at stholand@ajws.org or 415.593.3298 with chosen location and number attending by November 25.