June 6, 2012

RIGHTS GROUPS ASK UNSC FOR SANCTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES ON SUDAN

Filed under Press Releases

On first anniversary of genocide in Nuba Mountains, 89 international groups ask UN Security Council to take escalated action against government of Sudan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Susan Morgan, susan@paxcommunications.org

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – June 6, 2012 – On the one year anniversary of the genocide in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, Act for Sudan, a bipartisan, interfaith alliance of American and Sudanese grassroots advocacy organizations, delivered to the UN Security Council a public letter signed by 89 human rights organization from around the world. The letter (full text below) was signed by 89 organizations and 12 notable individuals from countries including, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition to Act for Sudan, organizational signatories include Aegis Trust, American Jewish World Service, the Enough Project, United to End Genocide, the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, and the Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation, and Development Organization, among many others.

The letter urges the United Nations Security Council to “follow through with severe sanctions and other powerful consequences if the Government of Sudan does not allow immediate access for humanitarian aid” as outlined in a tri-partite proposal by the United Nations, African Union, and League of Arab States which is intended to pave the way for unfettered international access to deliver humanitarian aid. The tripartite proposal was referenced in Security Council Resolution 2046, which was adopted by the Security Council on May 2, 2012.

Further, the letter recommends a deadline of June 14, 2012, which is the third scheduled review by the UNSC of implementation of Security Council Resolution 2046.

According to the letter, UNSC Resolution 2046 “strongly urges Sudan and the SPLM-N to accept the tripartite proposal…to permit humanitarian access to the affected populations in the two areas.”  The SPLM-N has signed the proposal and has repeatedly agreed to the cessation of hostilities on the basis of humanitarian grounds; however, the Government of Sudan continues to bomb and attack the areas and to refuse access for humanitarian aid.  UNSC Resolution states that if the parties do not comply with the Resolution, the UNSC agrees “to take appropriate additional measures under Article 41 of the Charter as necessary.”

“We recognize the tenuous nature of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan and all that is at stake.  However, the people of the Nuba Mountains/Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile State must not be sacrificed in order to appease the Government of Sudan,” the letter states.

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Act for Sudan is an alliance of American citizen activists and Sudanese U.S. residents who advocate for an end to genocide and mass atrocities in Sudan. Act for Sudan is dedicated to advocacy that is directly informed by the situation on the ground and by Sudanese people who urgently seek protection, justice, and peace. For more information please visit www.actforsudan.org.

FULL TEXT OF LETTER:

June 6, 2012

Dear Members of the United Nations Security Council,

We write because of our dire concern for the people of the Nuba Mountains/Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile State who face imminent death by violence and starvation orchestrated by the Government of Sudan.

While we welcome United Nations Security Council Resolution 2046, which has succeeded in resuming negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan and has facilitated the removal of troops from Abyei, the ongoing violence and lack of humanitarian aid in the two areas has not been addressed.

UNSC Resolution 2046 “strongly urges Sudan and the SPLM-N to accept the tripartite proposal…to permit humanitarian access to the affected populations in the two areas.”  The SPLM-N has signed the proposal and has repeatedly agreed to the cessation of hostilities on the basis of humanitarian grounds; however, the Government of Sudan continues to bomb and attack the areas and to refuse access for humanitarian aid.

UNSC Resolution states that if the parties do not comply with the Resolution, the UNSC agrees “to take appropriate additional measures under Article 41 of the Charter as necessary.”

We recognize the tenuous nature of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan and all that is at stake.  However, the people of the Nuba Mountains/Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile State must not be sacrificed in order to appease the Government of Sudan.  Furthermore, the Government of Sudan’s blatant and longstanding disregard and abuse of its citizens clearly defines the nature of that government and calls into question its sincerity in pursuing and abiding by any outcome of negotiations between the two countries.

Rather than allowing the Government of Sudan to hold both countries and the international community hostage, we urge the United Nations Security Council to follow through with severe sanctions and other powerful consequences if the Government of Sudan does not allow immediate access for humanitarian aid as outlined in the tri-partite proposal.  We recommend a deadline of June 14, 2012, which is the third scheduled review by the UNSC of implementation of the Resolution.

For one year, the international community has had the opportunity to address the crises in Nuba Mountains/Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile State.  People are starving to death and dying violent deaths because the choice was made not to intervene.  This approach cannot continue if the United Nations hopes to preserve its credibility.  Resolution 2046 is a step in the right direction.  For the sake of peace and stability in Sudan, South Sudan and the region, please do not back down now.

Signed by

Act for Sudan
Martina Knee, Co-Founder
San Francisco, CA, USA

Aegis Trust
Dr. James Smith, CEO
London, UK

African Soul, American Heart
Debra Dawson, President
Fargo, ND, USA

Afro Canadian Evangelical Mission
Rev. Fr. Lexson A. Maku, Head of Mission
Abbotsford, BC, Canada

All Saints Episcopal Church
Tom Drino, Member
Pasadena, CA, USA

Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan
Joan Hecht, President
Jacksonville, FL, USA

American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan
Richard Parkins, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

American Jewish World Service
Ruth Messinger, President
New York, NY, USA

Americans Against the Darfur Genocide
Nikki Serapio, Director
Washington, DC, USA

Arry Organization for Human Rights and Development
Osman Naway, General Director
Kansas City, MO, USA

Asaad Komi
Artist and Nuba Activist
Fairfax, VA, USA

Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development
Ibrahim Tahir Ahmed, Co-Founder and Executive Director
Fairfax, VA, USA

Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan
Laura Limuli, Coordinator
Brooklyn, NY, USA

“Change the world. It takes cents.” TM
Sara Kornfeld, Project Founder/Educator
Denver, CO, USA

Christian Solidarity International-USA
Reverend Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach
Denver, CO, USA

Collectif Urgence Darfour
Dr. Jacky Mamou, President
Paris, France

Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action
Roz Duman, Founder/Director
Denver, CO, USA

Comité Soudan
Diagne Chanel, Présidente
Paris, France

Community Empowerment for Progress Organization – CEPO
Edmund Yakani, Coordinator
Juba, South Sudan

Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur
Tim Oslovich, Chairperson
Vernon, CT, USA

Craig Louis Perrinjaquet, MD, MPH
Medical Director, Doctors to the World
President, High Country Healthcare
Breckenridge, CO, USA

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Mohamed Yahya, Executive Director
Falls Church, VA, USA

Darfur Action Group of South Carolina
Richard Sribnich, MD, Chairman
Columbia, SC, USA

Darfur and Beyond
Cory Williams and Doreen A. Romney, Co-Founders
Phoenix, AZ, USA

Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA
Abdelgabar Adam, President and Founder
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Darfur Interfaith Network
Martha Boshnick, Co-Chairman
Washington, DC, USA

Darfur Leaders Network (DLN), USA
Motasim Adam, Director/ Co-Founder
Washington, DC, USA

Darfur People’s Association of New York
Ahmat Anou, President
Brooklyn, NY, USA

Darfur Solidarity USA
Mohammed Eisa
Cambridge, MA, USA

Darfur Union, UK & Ireland
Hussain Begira, Chairperson
London, UK

Dear Sudan Love Marin
Gerri Miller, Founder
Tiburon, CA, USA

Dr. Samuel Totten, Professor
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Fayetteville, AK, USA

Elizabeth Blackney
Author and Anti-Genocide Advocate
Virginia Beach, VA, USA

End-Impunity Organization
Angelina Daniel Seeka, Regional Director
Juba, Republic of South Sudan

Enough Project
John Bradshaw, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Eric Reeves
Smith College
Northampton, MA, USA

Genocide No More- Save Darfur
Marv Steinberg, Coordinator
Redding, CA, USA

Genocide Watch
Gregory Stanton, President
Washington, DC, USA

Gill Lusk
Journalist
London, UK

Hakim Mayol Jouk
South Sudan Community
Germany

Hamid E. Ali, PhD

Assistant Professor of Public Policy
The American University in Cairo
New Cairo, Egypt

Hebrew University-Hadassah and Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention
Professor Elihu D. Richter MD MPH
Jerusalem, Israel

Help Nuba
Rabbi David Kaufman, Founder and Co-Chair
Des Moines, IA, USA

Hope With Sudan
Jerry Drino, Executive Director
San Jose, CA, USA

Human Rights & Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND)
Abdalmageed S. Haroun, Chairperson
Brooklyn, NY, USA

Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)
Baroness Caroline Cox, Founder and CEO
United Kingdom

Idaho Darfur Coalition
A.J. Fay, Co-Founder
Boise, ID, USA

Investors Against Genocide
Eric Cohen, Chairperson
Boston, MA, USA

Iowa Center for Genocide Prevention
Kristen Anderson, Founder
Des Moines, IA, USA

Jewish World Watch
Fred Kramer, Executive Director
Los Angeles, CA, USA

Jews Against Genocide
Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder
New York, NY, USA

Joining Our Voices
Jack Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director
Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Kentucky Taskforce Against Genocide
Phil L. Nippert, Chairperson
Louisville, KY, USA

Keokuk for Darfur
Julia Hays, Director
Keokuk, IA, USA

Long Island Darfur Action Group
Nancy Walsh, Coordinator
Farmingdale, NY, USA

Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur
William Rosenfeld, Director
Boston, MA, USA

Mississippi Area of The United Methodist Church
Hope Morgan Ward, Resident Bishop
Jackson, MS, USA

Moro Association of United States, Inc.
Philip Tutu, President
Kansas City, MO, USA

Never Again Coalition
Lauren Fortgang and Diane Koosed, Co-Chairs
Portland, OR, USA

New York Coalition for Darfur and All Sudan
Neiki Ullah, Director of Communications and Advocacy
New York, NY, USA

New York Darfur Vigil Group
Helga Moore, Coordinator
New York, NY, USA

Nigrizia Magazine, Comboni Missionaries
Fr. Franco Moretti, Editor
Verona, Italy

Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition
Tito Elgassai, Principal
Dallas, TX, USA

Nuba Mountains American Advocacy Group
Mario Angelo, Secretary General
Fresno, CA, USA

Nuba Mountains International Assoc. USA
Magid Kabash, Secretary of Information
New York, NY, USA

Nuba Mountains Solidarity Abroad
Zaki Samwill, Chairman
Leeds, West Yorkshir, UK

Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Organization
Nagwa Musa Konda, Executive Director
Kauda, South Kordofan, Sudan

Nuba Vision Coalition, Inc.
Yassir Kori, Executive Director
Oklahoma City, OK, USA

NYC Genocide Prevention Coalition
Staci M. Alziebler-Perkins, Convener
New York, NY, USA

Operation Broken Silence
Mark C. Hackett, President
Memphis, TN, USA

Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition
David Rosenberg
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Roger P. Winter
Former Special Representative on Sudan
U.S. Department of State
Woodbine, MD, USA

Rona Wronker,  Member
Jewish Republicans of Colorado, Mountain Women’s Republican Club
Evergreen, CO, USA

San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition
Mohamed Suleiman, President
San Francisco, CA, USA

Save Darfur Washington State
Ned Laskowski, President
Seattle, WA, USA

Shine A Ray of Hope
Carmen Paolercio, Coordinator
New Rochelle, NY, USA

Society for Threatened Peoples
Sharon Silber, US Representative
New York, NY, USA

Stop Genocide Now
Gabriel Stauring, Director and Founder
Redondo Beach, CA, USA

Sudan Advocacy Action Forum
Bill Andress, Moderator
Lexington, SC, USA

Sudan For All
Emad Bukhari, Founder
Phoenix, AZ, USA

Sudan Human Rights Network
Ismail Kardoly, Vice President
Washington, DC, USA

Sudan Rowan Inc.
Ngor Kur Mayol, Founder
Atlanta, GA, USA

Sudan Unlimited
Esther Sprague, Director
San Francisco, CA, USA

Sudanese Marginalized Forum-USA
Gogadi Amoga (Amin Zakarai), Chair
Batavia, OH, USA

Sudanese Ministry Committee, Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi
Greg Miller, Janice Trimble Professor of English, Milsaps College
Jackson, MS, USA

Temple Ahavat Achim Darfur Social Action Committee
Lakshmi Linda Sirois, Chair
Gloucester, MA, USA

The Combat Genocide Association CGA
Uriel Levy, Director
Kibbutz Galuyot, Israel

The Institute on Religion and Democracy
Faith McDonnell, Director of Religious Liberties Programs
Washington, DC, USA

THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy
Joseph Grieboski, Founder and Chairman of the Board
Washington, DC, USA

The Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention (JC4GP)
Yael Stein MD
Jerusalem, Israel

The South Sudanese Community
Natalina Malwal, President
Washington, DC, USA

Triangles of Truth
Simon Goldberg, Executive Director
New York, NY, USA

Ubuntu Women Institute USA Inc.
Sunday Taabu, President & Founder
Greensbro, NC, USA

Unite for Darfur Organization
Bahar Arabie
Gaithersburg, MD, USA

United to End Genocide
Bama Athreya, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA

Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI
Sandra Hammel, Director
Portsmouth, RI, USA

Voices for Sudan
Jimmy Mulla, President & Co-Founder
Washington, DC, USA

Waging Peace
Olivia Warham, Director
London, UK

Wendy James FBA CBE
Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology
University of Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK

Download the pdf of Press Release and Letter here.