Save Darfur and Stop the Genocide

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As a whole...people of the world should not be able to ignore the fact that humans are being sacrificed day after day after day. I am a college student and find it absolutely amazing that many of my peers are not aware of the Genocide occuring in Sudan at this time or should I even say for almost the past 3 year (in large numbers that is). As human beings, we need to step back and realize what is going on in our world before we have another Rwanda on our hands. It is absolutely abhorring that this kind of treatment and torture is happening yet again and nothing is being done to stop it. If you can help to spread the word and the knowledge, maybe some of these innocent lives can be saved. Below is information plus sites that can be used to inform yourself as well as others so we do not remain ignorant to the fact. Human life is precious regardless of the context. Help your fellow man and please do not turn a deaf ear. Thank you for your time and consideration. As well, understand the only reason I thank you is because there are several millions Sudanese that cannot. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Thank you again.
Three years after the conflict started, a humanitarian crisis still exists in Darfur, a western region of Sudan where government-sponsored militias have committed systematic human rights abuses and crimes against humanity. These crimes include murder, rape and sexual assault, forced relocation, destruction of property and robbery. Today, the humanitarian, security and political situation continues to deteriorate. According to reports by the World Food Program, the United Nations and the Coalition for International Justice, 3.5 million people are now hungry, 2.5 million have been displaced due to violence, and 400,000 people have died in Darfur. Despite widespread acknowledgement of the seriousness of the situation, the international community is failing to protect civilians or to influence the Sudanese government to do so. More than 100 people continue to die each day, and more than 5,000 die every month. After purchase, the proceeds will be donated to one or more relief organizations. Since late 2004, students at the Claremont Colleges, a group of schools with a population of just over 5,000, have sold over 2,000 shirts on campus raising more than $8,000 for refugees in Darfur!
Would anyone be interested in purchasing these t-shirts through Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society Alpha Nu Delta Chapter for Darfur Awareness? If so, could you message me as to which colors and sizes you would be interested in? Thank you and continue to spread the awareness!
TAKING ORDERS IN SEPTEMBER!
We will be using PayPal for your security!
US Senator Barack Obama and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wearing their Stop Genocide in Sudan T-Shirts!
WHAT IS GENOCIDE?
Genocide, from the Greek genos (family, tribe, race) and the Latin cide (massacre), was originally coined by Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jewish legal scholar, in 1943. There exists, however, a large debate on how to properly define the word genocide and moreover, what events constitute genocide or are otherwise crimes against humanity or war crimes.
In 1948, the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defined genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The Convention was ratified in 1951, becoming a part of the international body of law. However, the USSR did not join until 1954, China until 1983, and the US until 1988. 133 countries have now ratified the Convention and are subject to its responsibilities. The countries that have signed the Convention are required to prevent and punish acts of genocide, in peace and wartime.
There are 8 stages of genocide, as identified by Genocide Watch. They are: Classification, Symbolization, Dehumanization, Organization, Polarization, Identification, Extermination, and Denial.
Classification includes the creation of the other, dividing society into defined groups. Symbolization is when a group is forced to wear or adopt a certain symbol, such as the yellow stars Jews were made to wear in Germany . Dehumanization is when the hatred against one group becomes so strong that murder, rape, and destruction does not become as deplorable. Organization, phase 4, is when special militias or army units are trained, recruited, and armed to stage the genocide; genocide is not a series of random acts, but rather is well-orchestrated and highly sophisticated. Polarization includes the usage of hate propaganda, intending to greater separate and fuel hatred between or among groups. Identification leads the victims to be identified and separated according to their race, ethnicity, or tribe. Extermination is when the physical violence and murders takes place. Denial, after the extermination, is when the perpetrators refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
There have been numerous noted genocides in the 20th and 21st century. The Armenian genocide of 1915 is regarded as the first of the 20th century, followed by the Holocaust of WWII, and followed by the Cambodian, Bosnian, and Rwandan genocides. The most recent genocide, as identified as such by the US , is that occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan , having begun in early 2003 and continuing through to today.
HISTORY OF THE DARFUR CONFLICT
Open warfare erupted in Darfur in early 2003 when the two loosely allied rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), attacked military installations. This was followed closely by peace agreements brokered by the United States to end the twenty-year-old civil war in the south of Sudan which allocated government positions and oil revenue to the rebels in the south. At that time rebels in Darfur, seeking an end to the region's chronic economic and political marginalization, also took up arms to protect their communities against a twenty-year campaign by government-backed militias recruited among groups of Arab extraction in Darfur and Chad. These "Janjaweed" militias have over the past year received government support to clear civilians from areas considered disloyal to the Sudanese government. Militia attacks and a scorched-earth government offensive has led to massive displacement, indiscriminate killings, looting and mass rape, all in infringement of the 1949 Geneva Convention that prohibits attacks on civilians.
The war, which risks inflicting irreparable damage on a delicate ethnic balance of seven million people who are uniformly Muslim, is actually multiple intertwined conflicts. One is between government-aligned forces and rebels; a second entails indiscriminate attacks of the government-sponsored Janjaweed militia on civilians; and a third involves a struggle among Darfur communities themselves. Its implications go far beyond Darfur's borders. The war indirectly threatens the regimes in both Sudan and Chad and has the potential to inspire insurgencies in other parts of the country.
CURRENT SITUATION
Nearly three years into the crisis, the western Sudanese region of Darfur is acknowledged to be a humanitarian and human rights tragedy of the first order. The humanitarian, security and political situation continue to deteriorate: atrocities continue, people are still dying in large numbers of malnutrition and disease, and a new famine is feared. According to reports by the World Food Program, the United Nations and the Coalition for International Justice, 3.5 million people are now hungry, 2.5 million have been displaced due to violence, and 400,000 people have died in Darfur thus far. The international community is failing to protect civilians or to influence the Sudanese government to do so.
The international community is deeply divided -- perhaps paralyzed -- over what to do next in Darfur. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur described the massive scope of atrocities carried out in the territory, primarily by the government and its allied Janjaweed militias. And the situation on the ground shows a number of negative trends, which have been developing since the last quarter of 2004: deteriorating security; a credible threat of famine; mounting civilian casualties; the ceasefire in shambles; increasing tensions between Sudan and Chad; and new armed movements appearing in Darfur and neighboring states. Chaos and a culture of impunity are taking root in the region.
The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, due to ongoing state-sponsored violence, layers of aid obstruction, the lack of an overall humanitarian strategic plan, and the weakened state of displaced Sudanese. Refugees and internally displaced civilians (IDPs) have been displaced for long periods, they are in terribly weakened states, they are subject to sexual abuse and attack, they do not have adequate shelter, and a new famine is feared. Infectious diseases and dysentery will drive up the body counts rapidly. Conventional responses are simply inadequate to prevent increasing mortality rates, and the current response will fail unless buttressed by a number of bold and urgent actions.
Rape has become a hallmark of the crimes against humanity in Darfur. It has proven one way for the Janjaweed militias to continue attacking Darfurians after driving them from their homes. Families must continue collecting wood, fetching water or working their fields, and in doing so, women daily put themselves or their children at the risk of rape, beatings or death as soon as they are outside the camps, towns or villages. It is assumed that the hundreds of rapes reported and treated grossly underestimate the actual number committed, as victims of rape in Darfur are often too scared or too ashamed to seek help. In a culture where rape draws heavy social disgrace, victims are often ostracised by their own families and communities. These women and children have been forced from their communities and even punished for illegal pregnancy as a result of being raped.
As need far outstrips the ability of agencies to deliver aid, it is not too soon to sound a famine alert. Relief workers on the ground are convinced that few if any of the nearly 2 million IDPs will return to their homes in time for the next planting season, thus ensuring at least longer term food insecurity. The onset of the rainy season in late May will further restrict access.
Compounding the problem is that the numbers of at-risk civilians continue to increase. The Janjaweed continue to undertake attacks against villages, prey on IDPs, and obstruct aid activities. Many Janjaweed have been integrated into the army and police; no one has been charged with any crime, and their actions are not being challenged. There remains a state of total impunity.
Not since the Rwanda genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement. I The Sudanese government continues to flout international law with impunity.
North-South Conflict Conflict in Darfur On January 9, 2005, a peace deal was signed to end the long war between the government and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement (SPLM). This war, which has raged for the past 20 years, is commonly referred to as the North-South conflict and is often confused with the violence in Darfur. This peace deal signed earlier this year did not address the issues in Darfur, where the genocide continues.
UN RESOLUTIONS AND REPORTS
Action at the UN The U.S. must continue to push the UN Security Council to introduce a Security Council resolution authorizing a UN takeover of the African Union peacekeeping mission. The UN mission must have a sufficient complement of troops and equipment, as well as a strong mandate to , preferably protect civilians. U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton has already facilitated passage of a Security Council statement directing the Secretariat to begin planning for a UN takeover of the African Union peacekeeping mission now in place.
It is now imperative that the U.S. push for a formal resolution authorizing the UN transfer before China assumes control of the Council in April. China has in the past blocked or diluted several Security Council resolutions against Sudan. This step will require a formal request from the AU, which the U.S. should be working hard to secure as soon as possible.
Report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council on Darfur May 10, 2005 A large number of internally displaced persons in the western Sudanese region of Darfur are unlikely to return to their homes in the immediate future, according to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annans monthly report to the Security Council, which called for the strengthening of the African Union mission in Darfur. April report
Report of the Secretary-General on UN assistance to the AU mission in Darfur May 3, 2005 The report states that prevailing insecurity continues to impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inhibits those displaced from returning home, but that in the areas where the AU mission (AMIS) had deployed, it was doing an outstanding job under very difficult circumstances, greatly contributing to an improved security situation. The report detailed a three-phase plan to strengthen AMIS that calls for a total of 7,447 troops in Darfur by August 2005. The UN offers technical assistance and training support to AMIS, but not direct logistical support (troops, helicopters, etc.), for fear that doing so would compromise the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in the South.
UN Commission of Inquiry Report January 25, 2005 The UN dispatched a commission of inquiry to investigate the situation in Darfur and reports of violations against international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The commission found that Government forces and militias conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement, throughout Darfur on a widespread and systematic basis. The commission determined that there was a lack of genocidal intent on the part of the Government of Sudan and therefore did not label the situation in Darfur genocide, but concluded that international offences such as the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in Darfur may be no less serious and heinous than genocide.
UN Resolutions
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1593 March 31, 2005 Resolution 1593 referred the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. The Court can now begin investigating and prosecuting those responsible for committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The resolution passed 11-0 with four members abstaining (United States, Algeria, Brazil and China)
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1591 March 29, 2005 The resolution imposes an arms embargo on the government of Sudan, imposes targeted sanctions (travel ban and asset freezes) on those determined to be responsible for, and demands that the government of Sudan stop using air attacks against villages in Darfur.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1590 March 24, 2005 Resolution 1590 establishes a 10,000 member peacekeeping force in Southern Sudan to enforce the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The accord was signed in January, ending more than 20 years of civil war between northern and southern Sudan. In addition to 10,000 military personnel, the United Nations Mission in Sudan will also include 715 civilian police and is set to have an initial six-month mandate.
The resolution does not directly address the situation in Darfur, but the Security Council is hopeful that effects of a lasting peace in southern Sudan will spill over into the troubled western region.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1564 September 18, 2004 Resolution 1564 called for the creation of a Commission of Inquiry to determine whether genocide has occurred and threatened possible sanctions against the government of Sudan if it does not stop the violence.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1556 July 30, 2004 Resolution 1556, passed on July 30, 2004, gave the government of Sudan 30 days to disarm the Janjaweed and threatening economic and military sanctions if the orders were not carried out.
Even in areas where access to civilians is secure, humanitarian agencies are faced with increasing obstruction by Sudanese government policies and practices in Darfur. The Sudanese government has a long record of deliberately restricting the activities of international humanitarian agencies trying to assist civilians in conflict-affected areas of Sudan. Under international pressure, special procedures for aid work were introduced in Darfur in 2004 that facilitated the massive expansion of the aid effort. However the Sudanese government is now steadily rolling back the gains that were made. In February 2006 the Sudanese government passed a new law regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There is increasing harassment, arbitrary detentions, and intimidation of aid workers by government officials, and arbitrary administrative regulations are affecting the humanitarian activities of many agencies working in Darfur, even in areas that are secure. The Darfur rebel movements and other armed groups, including bandits, are responsible for a growing number of armed attacks on humanitarian convoys and other threats against relief workers. Numerous vehicles have been looted from humanitarian agencies and aid workers have been beaten or threatened in an increasing number of incidents over the past months, rendering many roads, particularly in volatile West Darfur, nogo areas for the U.N. and NGOs.
Under international humanitarian law (the laws of war), civilians suffering undue hardship have the right to humanitarian relief. Parties to a conflict must allow rapid and unimpeded access of aid from humanitarian agencies to such populations. Attacks on humanitarian workers, infrastructure and objects used in relief operations, including food and medicine, as well as deliberate impediments to relief efforts, are serious violations of international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. When such obstruction is knowingly part of a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population, it can amount to crimes against humanity.
Since mid-2004, when the Sudanese government was pressured by the international community into lifting its near total embargo on humanitarian activity in Darfur, there has been a massively expanded relief effort in the region. As of April 2006, 14,000 emergency relief workers are engaged in efforts to save the lives of 3.5 million Darfurians in need of humanitarian assistance. The recent, escalating trends of attacking and obstructing humanitarian agencies threaten to undermine the survival of more than three million people who are dependent on international aid. Human Rights Watch urges the international community to take immediate steps to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian access to all areas of Darfur. The United Nations Security Council and the African Union (A.U.) must put intense pressure on the government of Sudan to immediately remove all obstacles to humanitarian operations, cease attacks on civilians, and facilitate both the current African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and any future U.N. mission in Darfur. All individuals responsible for attacks on civilians, including on humanitarian convoys, should also be placed under U.N. sanctions. Donor governments must meet their financial commitments to international humanitarian organizations so that they can serve the needs of vulnerable groups, particularly displaced persons in especially hazardous areas such as Jebel Marra and other parts of West Darfur. Donors must also provide AMIS with the financial and logistical assistance, including military helicopters, needed to protect civilians and secure roads for humanitarian convoys. They must insist on an AMIS transition to a larger, more robust U.N. force at the earliest feasible time, to reverse the tragic decline and save lives in Darfur.
Recommendations To the Government of Sudan Facilitate the full, safe, and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel and the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to all populations in need in Darfur, expedite entry visas and travel authorization for all humanitarian aid organizations and workers, and fully cooperate with such organizations;
Permit U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland and other diplomatic and aid officials full access to Khartoum and Darfur;
Maintain and fully implement the 2004 government moratorium on restrictions on humanitarian work in Darfur and extend it to all of Sudan;
Remove all regulations on the operations of national and international nongovernmental organizations, including the 2006 NGO law, that place unnecessary obstacles and constraints on humanitarian assistance, and desist from bureaucratic and other obstruction of such operations;
Remove all obstacles to, and cooperate fully with, the operations of AMIS, and support the urgent transition of AMIS to a U.N. force;
Cease to provide arms and logistical, financial, and other support to all militia groups in Darfur and disarm them; and
Take all necessary steps, including by issuing clear public orders to government forces and police, including the Border Intelligence Patrol guards and government-sponsored and supplied paramilitary and militia forces, to immediately cease attacks on civilians, civilian property and humanitarian operations. To the SLA, JEM, and other rebel factions
Stop all attacks on humanitarian convoys and humanitarian personnel and cease interfering with the impartial distribution of humanitarian assistance; and
Remove all obstacles to and cooperate fully with the operations of AMIS. To the United Nations Security Council
Demand that the government of Sudan facilitate the full, safe, and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel and the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to all populations in need in Darfur, whether under government or rebel control;
Take all necessary measures to ensure the deployment of a U.N. force in Darfur immediately upon, if not before, the September 30, 2006 expiry of the AMIS mandate;
In the interim period prior to a transition to a U.N. force, support the African Unions efforts in Darfur to reach full operational capacity and to robustly interpret its mandate to protect civilians and humanitarian operations, and urge member states to provide AMIS with increased support for personnel, equipment, and funding and other resources from national and multinational forces to enable it to effectively protect civilians and humanitarian operations pending transition;
Extend targeted sanctions to Sudanese government officials, rebels and others identified by the Panel of Experts of the Sanctions Committee of the Security Council; and
Extend the arms embargo from Darfur to cover all of Sudan. To the Donors
Insist that the government of Sudan facilitate the full, safe, and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel and the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to all populations in need in Darfur, whether under government or rebel control;
Exert maximum political pressure on the government of Sudan to remove all obstacles to, and cooperate fully with, the operations of AMIS and support the urgent transition of AMIS to a U.N. force;
Provide increased financial and technical resources to AMIS to ensure that it is fully funded and able to robustly protect civilians and humanitarian operations, and monitor an enhanced ceasefire agreement; and
Ensure that humanitarian agencies operating in Darfur are adequately funded. To the African Union
Proactively and aggressively interpret AMISs mandate to protect civilians and humanitarian operations;
Work with donors and national and multinational forces urgently to secure logistical and financial resources to support an increased force posture; and
Deploy in each sector fully equipped quick reaction forces to respond immediately to imminent threats to civilians and humanitarian operations, including along the Chad-Sudan border.