Darfur Action Campaign
Genocide Charge for Sudan's President
On July 12, 2010 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for three counts of genocide against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, had appealed the pre-trial chamber’s decision not to include genocide charges and the decision was reversed. The genocide charges include the crime of targeted mass killing, the causing of serious bodily or mental harm to members of a target group, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction.
The judges concluded: "There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. al-Bashir acted with specific intent to destroy in part the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.”
When an arrest warrant was issued for President al-Bashir 16 months ago on charges of “crimes against humanity” the government retaliated against civilians by expelling over a dozen aid groups that provided approximately half of all capacity to deliver critical humanitarian support.
Recent News
Since April’s election in Sudan that was won by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir amid widespread fraud, corruption, intimidation and the subsequent withdrawal of most of the opposition candidates, the situation in Darfur has deteriorated. The month of May saw more deaths than any other month since UNAMID peacekeepers were deployed in 2008. Humanitarian access has been hampered by the upsurge in violence as aid agencies are unable to provide many basic services including disbursing much needed food. Peace talks on Darfur are stalled with many of the key stakeholders not even at the negotiating table.
American Jewish World Service is urging President Obama and other key decision-makers to prioritize peace in Sudan and to fully implement the Sudan policy that was unveiled last October. The policy proposes a series of "incentives and disincentives” designed primarily to encourage the government of Sudan to implement the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended a 22-year civil war that killed approximately two million people, and provide security and a sustainable peace for the people of Darfur. With the situation clearly deteriorating and violence rising, where are the “disincentives” that will hold all sides accountable?
‘A Benchmarks Report Card for Sudan’: Rights Groups Find Sudanese Peace Process is Stagnating and Backsliding’
The report released on May 6th, “A Benchmark Report Card for Sudan,” analyzes 28 leading indicators of progress across nine overarching categories of benchmarks over the past six months. The report concludes that 17 indicators show significant worsening of the situation on the ground, while the remaining 11 indicators show a stalemate. The Enough Project and the Save Darfur Coalition developed the report along with partners American Jewish World Service, Genocide Intervention Network, iAct/Stop Genocide Now, and Investors Against Genocide.
Actions You Can Take Now for Darfur
Arrest Warrant for Genocide
On July 12 the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for three counts of genocide against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. When an arrest warrant was issued for President al-Bashir 16 months ago, the government retaliated against civilians by expelling over a dozen aid groups that provided approximately half of all capacity to deliver critical humanitarian support. We must not let this happen again.
Darfur: More violence and no accountability
President Obama unveiled his Sudan policy eight months ago. It called for the use of “disincentives” so there would be accountability when peace talks went nowhere and violence escalated. But the threat of “disincentives” has been hollow. Recent months have been characterized by a marked increase in violence and a lack of progress toward reaching a peaceful political settlement. Where are the “disincentives” that the Obama administration promised?
Divest Yourself
AJWS is part of a national campaign encouraging mutual fund companies to make investments genocide-free. You can help by examining your personal investments, urging major financial institutions to divest from problematic companies or voting with your proxy ballot at shareholder meetings.
Take Action: Send a message to mutual fund companies today
Background on the Crisis
Since 2003, the government of Sudan and their proxy militia, the Janjaweed, have been conducting a counter-insurgency operation against rebel groups in Darfur. Their primary strategy is a scorched earth campaign targeting communities that share the same ethnicity as the rebels. Government forces and Janjaweed continue to terrorize and kill civilians, rape women and girls, burn villages, and drive innocent people from their homes. Almost three million people have been displaced and some estimate that at least 450,000 have lost their lives to this genocidal campaign.
Since 2004, AJWS has been providing humanitarian aid while simultaneously engaging in U.S.-based education and advocacy to end the crisis.
Stop the Violence Against Women
Ask you member of Congress to co-sponsor the International Violence Against Women Act.
