Darfur Women Action Group 419 7th St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20004
Phone: (804) 439-2022
www.darfurwomenaction.org

On April 24th and 25th, Darfur Women Action Group in partnership with the Sudanese diaspora, and friends of Darfur and Sudan worldwide will protest the continuing genocide in Darfur and violence in Sudan. As a community we will organize rallies, protests, forums, workshops and panel discussions in the United States, Europe, Canada, Africa and Australia to draw the world’s attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to call for a sustainable change in Sudan.

The Darfur genocide began 12 years ago and continues today, affecting over 4 million people. Since 2003, over 3 million Darfuris have been displaced and forced to live in dangerous and deplorable conditions in internally displaced camps or as refugees. In 2006, the United Nations (UN) reported that over 300,000 civilians had been killed. These numbers haven’t been updated in nine years and are therefore grossly underestimated.

Recently, violence has escalated and intensified more than at any time since the genocide began in the early 2000s. In October 2014, over 221 women and girls were raped and tortured by the Sudanese army. Many of the victims were in elementary school. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident as mass rapes have been ongoing since the beginning of the Darfur genocide. In 2013, approximately 460,000 people were newly displaced, and just last year more than 500,000 people were forced to flee their homes. During the month of January 2015, 150 villages were burned and completely destroyed by government forces. Additionally, Darfur university students are targeted for speaking out against the regime and they are kidnapped, raped, and murdered by government forces.

Since June 2011, the Sudanese government has been attacking civilians in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, strategically dropping bombs on hospitals and other social service organizations. A 2011 report from the United Nations Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights found that Sudan’s actions likely amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, attacks continued as government-sponsored bombings of civilian areas continue to rise in Darfur and the two areas.

Although they know what is happening in Darfur, world leaders have done nothing to protect the victims or hold the perpetrators accountable. In spite of the longstanding suffering and the new surge of violence against the people of Darfur, the world leaders remain silent. In most instances their action has not gone beyond a few words of condemnation.

To date, nearly all humanitarian aid organizations operating in Darfur have either been forced to leave or have had their operations severely restricted by government orders. This has limited food supplies to hungry populations and created mass starvation, yet another successful tactic of the government to wipe out the people.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for 10 counts of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Darfur, still pursues the genocidal policy with total impunity because the international community has failed to bring him to court to face justice.

The United Nations African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID), although deployed with 27,000 troops, has not only constantly failed to protect the vulnerable, but has also been accused of covering up several government attacks, misrepresenting death tolls, and failing to acknowledge or report incidents of rape and sexual violence. To date, no one at the UN has been held accountable for these wrongdoings.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently decided to put the case of Darfur on hold because there isn’t enough support from UN Security Council (UNSC) members, who originally referred the case to the ICC. Without support from the UNSC, the ICC cannot effectively bring Al-Bashir to justice.

Darfuri and many Sudanese have cried and yearned for change, but the international community has turned a blind eye instead of supporting them to meet their aspiration. Darfur genocide continues unabated as a result of the inaction and lack of concern by the international community, who has turned a blind eye to the longest genocide in history. Some world leaders want to maintain the Sudanese genocidal regime for their own political and economic interests while others who have the power to act choose to look the other way. This includes President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, who have both failed to mention the situation in Darfur in their foreign policy addresses.

This neglect by world leaders and the international community indicates that we are currently living in a very dangerous world where genocide is tolerated and allowed to continue for over a decade.

We need your support to fight against genocide. Become a voice for action and an ally to those in Darfur by joining us, speaking out, and holding your leaders accountable.

We urge you to join us in calling on the United States and the international community to implement the following demands:

– International forces with the capability to effectively protect civilians should be deployed before UNAMID leaves Darfur.
– UNSC members including the US and the member states of the ICC must provide resources and cooperation needed to allow the ICC to continue investigating crimes and to implement the arrest warrants against Al-Bashir and other criminals responsible for atrocities committed in Darfur.
– The United States must lead the UN and the international community in delivering humanitarian aid to the needy in Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile states with or without permission from the Sudanese government.
– The United States Government must prohibit Sudanese officials responsible of committing crimes in Darfur from entering the United States for any reason.
– The United States must not ease sanctions or lift Sudan’s name from its list of terrorist-sponsored countries.
– The United States and the international community must provide long-term support to empower the victims of genocide in Darfur through education, creation of independent civil societies, and providing redress and psychosocial support for survivors of rape and sexual violence.

By raising your voice and encouraging those around you to do the same, we can show the world that we do care and that it must not look the other way in the face of genocide. We can make a difference by compelling our leaders to act and create the political will that will help end genocide and pursue accountability for the world’s worst crime of the 21st century. Together, we can end genocide and help bring positive and sustainable change to Darfur and Sudan as a whole.

Genocide is the worst form of human destruction and we believe that human destruction anywhere affects humanity everywhere.

Sincerely,

Niemat Ahmadi


President of Darfur Women Action Group