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strawberryspasm's post in sustainable_dev
Jun. 23rd, 2004 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
transpaoHere's information on what's going on in Sudan right now, and you can take action too (just click here.)
Take action to stop the killing, systematic rape and internal displacement of people in Darfur, Sudan.
http://advocacy.globalsolutions.org/site/Advocacy?id=117&page=UserSplashPage
The nation of Sudan cannot bear the weight of so many innocent lives being taken in Darfur. Urge Secretary of State Colin Powell, and your U.S. Senators today to call for the Administration to pressure the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to take a lead on Darfur and:
• Issue a UN Security Council Resolution under the Chapter VII authority to condemn the atrocities in Darfur by the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed, and call upon them to end the campaign of ethnic cleansing and demonstrate a readiness to impose further measures if the Government of Sudan fails to act immediately. The UN Security Council should immediately commence planning for the creation of secure areas for civilians and the airlifting of assistance to these areas to prevent a famine.
• Convene a UN High-Level Panel on the Atrocities. The UN panel should immediately begin the investigation of crimes against humanity in Darfur and all violations of international law. The panel will save evidence that might otherwise be lost for possible future prosecutions, and be ready to refer the cases to the International Criminal Court. This will send a clear warning to officials in Khartoum to stop the violence now.
Background
Over the past fifteen months, 30,000 people have lost their lives in the Darfur region of Sudan. Over the next nine months, as government-sponsored militias accused of 'ethnic cleansing' continue their attacks and as the rainy season brings disease, at least 350,000 and as many as one million more could die. More than 1.2 million people have already been ethnically cleansed from their homes and farms. Some have managed to flee to neighboring Chad. Others have been penned into government-supported Janjaweed run camps in Darfur, where women and girls are raped and men are killed if they try to leave to find food.
Charges of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and even genocide have been used to describe the violence in Darfur, western Sudan. Mukesh Kapila, the former UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said on March 19th that the violence in Darfur is "more than a conflict, it's an organized attempt to do away with one set of people." The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum issued its second ever genocide warning alert on May 20 and also closed the Hall of Witness at the Museum for 30 minutes to highlight the desperate nature of the situation. The UN Security Council also issued a presidential statement on May 25, expressing "grave concern over the deteriorating situation" and called on the government to respect its commitments to the ceasefire of April 8 and agreement to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militias.
However, this action has not been enough. Despite U.S. and international condemnation of the crisis in Darfur, the Sudanese government has done almost nothing to stop the death, destruction and displacement. They continue to stall on their promises to the international community while hundreds of thousands of individuals die daily. While the West debates whether the Darfur conflict is 'ethnic cleansing' or 'genocide', widespread famine is also looming large. As the rainy season begins and families are unable to access clean water or food. They also can't return to their homes to begin farming again, for fear of the government sponsored Janjaweed. The Sudanese government is using starvation as a weapon against the people of Darfur, killing off those that have survived so far against the atrocities.
Take action to stop the killing, systematic rape and internal displacement of people in Darfur, Sudan.
http://advocacy.globalsolutions.org/site/Advocacy?id=117&page=UserSplashPage
The nation of Sudan cannot bear the weight of so many innocent lives being taken in Darfur. Urge Secretary of State Colin Powell, and your U.S. Senators today to call for the Administration to pressure the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to take a lead on Darfur and:
• Issue a UN Security Council Resolution under the Chapter VII authority to condemn the atrocities in Darfur by the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed, and call upon them to end the campaign of ethnic cleansing and demonstrate a readiness to impose further measures if the Government of Sudan fails to act immediately. The UN Security Council should immediately commence planning for the creation of secure areas for civilians and the airlifting of assistance to these areas to prevent a famine.
• Convene a UN High-Level Panel on the Atrocities. The UN panel should immediately begin the investigation of crimes against humanity in Darfur and all violations of international law. The panel will save evidence that might otherwise be lost for possible future prosecutions, and be ready to refer the cases to the International Criminal Court. This will send a clear warning to officials in Khartoum to stop the violence now.
Background
Over the past fifteen months, 30,000 people have lost their lives in the Darfur region of Sudan. Over the next nine months, as government-sponsored militias accused of 'ethnic cleansing' continue their attacks and as the rainy season brings disease, at least 350,000 and as many as one million more could die. More than 1.2 million people have already been ethnically cleansed from their homes and farms. Some have managed to flee to neighboring Chad. Others have been penned into government-supported Janjaweed run camps in Darfur, where women and girls are raped and men are killed if they try to leave to find food.
Charges of war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and even genocide have been used to describe the violence in Darfur, western Sudan. Mukesh Kapila, the former UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said on March 19th that the violence in Darfur is "more than a conflict, it's an organized attempt to do away with one set of people." The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum issued its second ever genocide warning alert on May 20 and also closed the Hall of Witness at the Museum for 30 minutes to highlight the desperate nature of the situation. The UN Security Council also issued a presidential statement on May 25, expressing "grave concern over the deteriorating situation" and called on the government to respect its commitments to the ceasefire of April 8 and agreement to disarm and neutralize the Janjaweed militias.
However, this action has not been enough. Despite U.S. and international condemnation of the crisis in Darfur, the Sudanese government has done almost nothing to stop the death, destruction and displacement. They continue to stall on their promises to the international community while hundreds of thousands of individuals die daily. While the West debates whether the Darfur conflict is 'ethnic cleansing' or 'genocide', widespread famine is also looming large. As the rainy season begins and families are unable to access clean water or food. They also can't return to their homes to begin farming again, for fear of the government sponsored Janjaweed. The Sudanese government is using starvation as a weapon against the people of Darfur, killing off those that have survived so far against the atrocities.
