Call on G8 leaders to stand up for Darfur

Sign the petition sponsored by Human Rights First

Join activists around the world in urging the G-8 leaders to take a strong stand, including a promise to act, for peace in Darfur at this year's Summit, coming up soon in Japan.

The Genocide Continues - NY Times editorial- original link


Despite the dispatch of United Nations peacekeepers to Darfur and the issuing of international arrest warrants for leaders of the genocide, the killing goes on. So does the burning of villages, the bombing of schools and the systematic rape of women and girls. And it will continue until the Security Council shows the will to stop it.

The Council needs to get more peacekeepers, helicopters and reconnaissance planes in the field, enforce the arrest warrants and increase diplomatic and financial pressure to get Sudan to stop obstructing the work of the peacekeepers. But the Council has shown little urgency in doing any of that.

Thwarted by Sudan and the United Nations’ own bureaucratic rules, far less than half of an anticipated force of 26,000 international soldiers and police officers is now in Darfur. That is too small to protect the population, or even the peacekeepers themselves. An additional 100,000 people have been forced from their homes since the peacekeepers began arriving in January.

The Council (and separately the European Union) must ensure that Khartoum’s leaders pay a price for their cruelty — through expanded visa and financial sanctions against those coordinating the genocide as well as an expanded arms embargo. The International Criminal Court should get strong backing from the Council when it presents further charges next month.

Responsibility for the Darfur horrors lies squarely with the government of Sudan. Its army, air force and intelligence agencies have directly participated in the attacks. Ministers have coordinated the genocidal campaign. Ahmad Harun, sought by the International Criminal Court for planning atrocities while the deputy interior minister, has been promoted to minister of humanitarian affairs. He used that position to block the delivery of aid to Darfur refugee camps and to thwart the effective deployment of United Nations peacekeepers.

But a minority of Council members, led by China, have let their economic interests — in Beijing’s case substantial investments in Sudan’s abundant oil supplies — trump their moral and legal responsibility to thwart genocide. Last week, China’s president, Hu Jintao, used stronger-than-usual language to urge Khartoum to cooperate with United Nations peacekeepers and enforce a cease-fire in Darfur. If China is prepared to back up those words with a tougher line in the Security Council, it could make a huge difference.

The Bush administration has its heart in the right place on Darfur. Its special envoy, Richard Williamson, has been a strong advocate for action, and Washington has imposed stiff sanctions of its own. But what’s needed is stronger action by the Council as a whole.

Darfur’s plight is not yet hopeless, but without greater international commitment it may become so. As the criminal court’s prosecutor told the Security Council on June 5, it takes a lot of planning and organization to commit massive crimes.

“But mostly,” he said, “it requires that the rest of the world look away and do nothing.”

Darfur activism in the news

  • Click here to ask the President and UN Secretary General to take decisive action for Darfur.
  • Click here to take the pledge to turn off Olympics ads and tune in to Darfur - Switch Over to Darfur
  • Click here, here, and here for news of the special meeting on Darfur of the UN Security Council
    "You have allowed the Government of Sudan, perpetrator of atrocities of the worst kind, to dictate which battalians can and cannot enter Darfur. How long will you continue to allow the Government of Sudan to manipulate this body? Did Adolf Hitler get to choose which troops should be deployed to end his genocide?"
     - Mia Farrow
  • Click here to read the latest policy papers from ENOUGH at EnoughProject.org.
  • Click here to read the latest campaign news from DreamForDarfur.org.
  • Click here for the Mia Farrow video on "One World, One Dream?"

Support genocide-free investing

Fashion for Darfur major fundraiser in Boston held on May 15

  • Thank you to all who attended and donated, making Fashion for Dafur event a success, raising thousands of dolloars for Darfur. Proceeds benefitted Oxfam (70%), GI-Net (25%), and the Massachusetts Coalition (5%).
  • A special thank you to Farah, Jason, Meagan, Sarah for leading the event, to all the sponsors, and to the speakers Donatella Lorch, reporter and correspondent, Michael Delaney, Oxfam America's Director of Humanitarian Response, and Sifa Nsengimana, for the Genocide Intervention Network.
  • Watch the 30 second TV spot from WHDH here.

Tents of Hope

Massachusetts is participating in the national Tents of Hope project
  • November 7-9 -- Save the date for the Tents of Hope national rally on the Mall in Washington DC as communities from all over the country bring their tents and delegations to a national event.
  • Tents of Hope projects are springing up all over the state. If your community or school wishes to organize a Tents of Hope event please contact Leena at LPMATOH@gmail.com.
  • Helpful links for Tents of Hope - www.tentsofhope.org
    -     Flyer for Tents Of Hope
    - Community Package
    - Curriculum Package
    -     Video from the kick-off event on December 9 at the Worcester African Cultural Center, featuring Congressman James McGovern and renowned Sudanese-American artist and Boston College faculty member Khalid Kodi.

Coming events

07-12 Freestyle Dance for Darfur, Ipswich
08-09 Freestyle Dance for Darfur, Ipswich
11-07 to 11-09 Tents of Hope, national rally on the Mall, Washington DC