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
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