San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition

Katie-Jay
August 16th, 2010

Forty-three Darfuris living in North America issued a statement today calling on the international community to act on their Responsibility to Protect (R2P), particularly the United States:

“Currently, our people in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp of Kalma are under threat of violence, homelessness, and lack of basic life subsistence. The threat is coming from the local government of South Darfur and from central government in Khartoum. Similar conditions are faced by IDPs in Hamideyeah in the Zalengi area of West Darfur. Full article >

August 6, 2010
This morning, Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced a resolution calling for the development of an interagency genocide prevention strategy. The resolution is the result of extensive work by the anti-genocide community to develop a bipartisan consensus around genocide and mass atrocities prevention. Students have played an integral role in this process.

This resolution, based in the recommendations of the Genocide Prevention Task Force, is an important first step in the development of a coordinated U.S. government strategy to prevent and end genocide and mass atrocities. As the Genocide Intervention Network recently wrote on Facebook, this resolution will facilitate “long-term structural change” in the U.S. government’s approach to these issues.

More >

President Obama and his senior advisors are expected to meet this week regarding the future of the U.S. Sudan policy. The situation in Sudan is urgent. President Obama and his administration should act now to provide the leadership necessary to prevent a return to war – a war that could be the deadliest the world will face on his watch.

There are many ways in which you can act. Choose one or more. Please send on to your family and friends. Every single person’s action makes a difference!

Please take one or more of these actions:

Facebook - Post on the White House Facebook page:

Mr. President: Millions of lives – and your legacy – are on the line. Your personal leadership is needed now to prevent a return to war in Sudan. With less than six months until a referendum that could split Africa’s largest country in two, and with the security situation in the country deteriorating, your administration must respond with a policy that is coherent, strategic, and unified. With the lives of millions potentially hanging in the balance, now is the time for your personal leadership on this issue.

Twitter - Tweet one or both of these messages:

Pls RT. In #Sudan millions of lives and your legacy are at stake, @BarackObama. Lead the push for peace in Sudan now. @presssec

Pls RT: @BarackObama’s legacy is on the line. Will the president personally work to ensure peace & justice in #Sudan now? @presssec

Email the White House

Call the White House between 9am-5pm ET at 202-456-1111.

More Opportunities for Action:

Twitter – Tweet this message:

Pls RT. @statedept-the time for outsourcing #SUDAN policy has passed. Sudan requires Sec. Clinton’s urgent attention & leadership. @pjcrowley

Facebook - Post on the State Department’s Facebook page:

Secretary Clinton: Millions of lives – and your legacy – are on the line. Your personal leadership is needed now to prevent a return to war in Sudan. With less than six months until a referendum that could split Africa’s largest country in two, and with the security situation in the country deteriorating, the administration must respond with a policy that is coherent, strategic, and unified. With the lives of millions potentially hanging in the balance, now is the time for your personal leadership on this issue.

Background:

The clock is ticking for the people of Sudan-and if the (likely) split of Africa’s largest state in two is handled poorly, it will adversely effect regional security in the whole of East Africa, as well as U.S. interests for years to come. It will also come with a terrible human cost.

While the United States has looked on, Sudan’s President al-Bashir continues to hold his own people hostage. He has upped the ante-by pushing Darfur increasingly close to the brink, by conducting an election that violated international standards, by cracking down on human rights and the media, by embarking on a series of high profile visits abroad, and by continuing to defy the will of the international community and that of the people of Sudan.

The time for delegating policymaking and the articulation of the U.S. policy to low level staff and special advisors has passed. The situation in Sudan demands urgent high-level attention and leadership.

John Prendergast.
Enough Project
July 20, 2010

Six months before the self-determination referenda for South Sudan and Abyei, U.S. policy is not contributing in a meaningful way to peace and justice in Sudan, whether in preventing a return to war between North and South Sudan, or in resolving the escalating conflict in Darfur. The time has come for an urgent rethink of how the United States can contribute to peace in Sudan now, building on the lessons of the recent past. Let’s be specific. There are four areas in which the Enough Project and a significant segment of the activist community disagree with the Obama administration’s words and actions. More >

Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a second warrant of arrest against the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, considering that there are reasonable grounds to believe him responsible for three counts of genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, that include: genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.

Read full article

For more than 7 years now, alleged war criminals of Darfur have lived freely, while the innocent people in their paths have lived in fear. But last month, when two Darfuri rebel leaders, suspected of killing peacekeepers, surrendered themselves to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the wall of impunity finally began to crack.

The suffering in Darfur won’t end until all those indicted by the ICC are brought to justice. International justice can’t work until there’s international cooperation. In order for the ICC to effectively prosecute those responsible for grave human rights abuses, the international community must do its part to fight impunity.

Urge the U.S. to strengthen its support of the ICC in bringing Darfuri war crimes suspects to justice.

June 18, 2010
Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in recognition of United Nations World Refugee Day, which will be observed on Sunday, June 20:

“On Sunday, United Nations World Refugee Day, we again bring attention to the plight of men, women and children all over the world who have been forced to flee their homes for safety. The theme of this year’s World Refugee Day is: ‘They have taken my home, but they can’t take my future.’ This is especially fitting given the current statistics on refugees around the world.”

“Currently, the UN estimates there are more than 43 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide. Sudan has the largest refugee population – 2.6 million have been internally displaced and 250,00 Darfuri refugees are in Chad. These individuals and families are driven from their homes without warning, and are often unable to access the most basic necessities. Refugees often live in overcrowded and under-supplied camps, where they are exposed to disease, crime, and other harsh conditions. They often have to wait from one month to eight years or more until a country accepts their application for residency.” Full statement >

Susan E. Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York, NY

June 14, 2010
Mr. President, I will focus today on three areas: remaining tasks for CPA implementation, the Darfur Peace Process, and the overwhelming importance of protecting civilians.

With the referenda fast approaching, all parties must redouble their efforts to begin referenda planning for Southern Sudan and Abyei. Referenda commissions must be appointed immediately to begin the difficult work of operational and budget planning, voter registration, education, logistics, and administration. This includes resolving the difficult and sensitive issue of who is eligible to vote in Abyei. We must also continue to press the parties to completely demarcate the North-South and Abyei borders. And we must continue to urge them to prepare for popular consultations, which provide a vital outlet for the people of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile to express their views on the CPA and their states’ relationships with Khartoum. Progress depends not only on the political will of the parties but also on support from the international community. We must lay the groundwork now so we will be prepared to provide as much immediate assistance as possible as conditions on the ground allow. See full briefing >

WHEREAS, on Dec. 4, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution naming June 20th World Refugee Day to bring attention to the plight of the world’s refugees and to affirm the values and collective efforts of all groups concerned with the protection of refugees; and

WHEREAS, the theme of World Refugee Day 2010 is “They have taken my home, but they can’t take my future;” and

WHEREAS, refugees are men, women and children forced to flee from their homes for safety; and

WHEREAS, the United Nations estimates there are over 41 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide; and

WHEREAS, the County of Marin prides itself on diversity, compassion, quality of life, and equality, and recognizes that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere;” and

WHEREAS, World Refugee Day is dedicated to the incredible tenacity and strength of the world’s refugees, not just by enduring the dangers and violence of the crises that made them refugees but also by the fortitude they demonstrate in rebuilding their lives.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Marin hereby proclaims Sunday, June 20, 2010 as “World Refugee Day,” and urges all citizens to support the work of humanitarians and human rights activists who take a leadership role eliminating the suffering of refugees and helping them build a secure, just and peaceful future.

PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Marin held this 8th day of June 2010. Link to Marin County document

By Laura Heaton, May 26, 2010

In a ceremony attended by Enough, Resolve Uganda, Invisible Children, and key Congressional supporters, President Obama signed into law the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Ugandan Recovery Act on Monday night.
In a statement released by the White House, President Obama commended Congress and the hundreds of thousands of Americans who mobilized to draw attention to this “unique crisis of conscience.” Read more>