Susan Morgan, susan@paxcommunications.org
Elizabeth Blackney, eliz@medializzy.com
NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 3, 2012 – Act for Sudan and 95 international organizations sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council, the African Union, the League of Arab States and IGAD, urging immediate and drastic measures to save the lives of men, women and children living in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and the Blue Nile states of Sudan. Thousands of civilians in these regions face imminent death by violence and starvation orchestrated by the Government of Sudan.
For more than one year, the international community has had the opportunity to address the crises in the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and the Blue Nile State. The crises are unfolding in a manner and on a timeline that has been predicted for many months; however, the weak response by the international community has proven ineffective, according to the letter.
“We strongly recommend immediate airlifts, in coordination with the SPLM-North, to deliver aid to war affected populations in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile that are inaccessible due to Sudan imposed blockades and due to impassable roads caused by the rainy season,” the letter states. “The international community has exercised extraordinary patience and exhausting but fruitless diplomacy to secure access for the delivery of aid. The international community must now exercise its right and responsibility to protect the citizens of the two areas from crimes committed by the Government of Sudan.“
Since UN Security Council Resolution 2046 was adopted on May 2, many thousands more refugees have fled Sudan and found “shelter” in desperately inadequate border camps. The New York Times and others have reported deaths by starvation, injury and disease for those unable to flee Sudan or for those not strong enough to complete the long journey out of Sudan.
Just as it had forecast earlier, USAID raised its food insecurity threat level from “crisis” and declared a food “emergency” in its July 5 alert for the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, noting the need for emergency action because of “large food consumption gaps, very high levels of acute malnutrition, and excess mortality” as a result of the Government of Sudan blocking humanitarian access and bombing civilians. Since then the rainy season has begun further restricting the possibilities of transporting food from “on border” locations to those in need across the border.
In 2005, the United Nations adopted the principle of Responsibility to Protect, which allows the international community to take stronger measures if a State is the perpetrator of crimes against its citizens. The African Union Constitution Article 4(h) states “the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.”
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Act for Sudan is an alliance of 72 American and Sudanese grassroots organizations that 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.
To: The United Nations Security Council
The African Union Peace and Security Council
The League of Arab States
Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chair of the African Union Commission
Thabo Mbeki, Chair of the African Union High Implementation Panel
Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia, Chair of IGAD
From: The Undersigned 96 International Organizations
Date: August 3, 2012
Re: Implementation and Review of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2046
On June 6, 2012, 89 international organizations urged the UN Security Council to impose consequences as outlined in Resolution 2046 on Sudan if it did not allow immediate access for humanitarian aid into Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile by June 14, 2012.
On June 14, 2012, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon acknowledged serious food shortages particularly in the areas not under government control, and he committed to the delivery of 8,000 metric tonnes of food assistance. We understand Sudan recently allowed the World Food Programme to provide a 3 month supply of aid to approximately 170,000 people in 13 government-held areas in eastern South Kordofan.
We appreciate the initial efforts to supply aid to war affected populations and we appreciate attention by the UN Security Council, the African Union and IGAD to address the crises in Sudan and South Sudan through implementation of the African Union Roadmap and UN Security Council Resolution 2046.
According to Resolution 2046 article 6, the UN Security Council intends to take appropriate measures under Article 41 of the UN Charter if Sudan, South Sudan and the SPLM-North do not comply with decisions set forth in the Resolution. Review of compliance was scheduled for May 17th and in two week intervals thereafter. In addition, Resolution 2046 article 5 established a 3 month deadline on August 2, 2012 for conclusion of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan over oil, citizenship, the border and Abyei.
Besides concluding negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan, compliance by the parties is based on the following actions:
Non-compliance of these requirements is subject at any time to measures under Article 41, which include partial or complete interruption of economic relations and severance of diplomatic relations.
It is widely recognized that while South Sudan and the SPLM-North have largely complied with the Resolution, Sudan has not and instead has committed the following violations:
We recognize the tenuous nature of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan and the implications of failed negotiations. While there may be a reluctance to antagonize Sudan for fear of repercussions, failing to implement Resolution 2046 emboldens Sudan and other states to disregard international law and institutions and to instigate violence that threatens global peace and security.
We strongly recommend immediate airlifts, in coordination with the SPLM-North, to deliver aid to war affected populations in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile that are inaccessible due to Sudan imposed blockades and due to impassable roads caused by the rainy season. The international community has exercised extraordinary patience and exhausting but fruitless diplomacy to secure access for the delivery of aid. The international community must now exercise its right and responsibility to protect the citizens of the two areas from crimes committed by the Government of Sudan.
As part of the UN Secretary General’s September 2, 2012 proposal to address outstanding issues related to negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan, we recommend the inclusion of immediate consequences according to Article 41 if Sudan fails to comply with all components of the Resolution and if it continues to commit crimes against its citizens and the citizens of South Sudan.
In addition, serious and unresolved humanitarian and political crises are ongoing in Darfur, Eastern Sudan and throughout Sudan. Compliance with Resolution 2046 article 3, a negotiated settlement based on the June 28, 2011 Framework Agreement on Political Partnership, would pave the way for a comprehensive security and political arrangement at the national level. However, the effectiveness of an agreement is contingent upon full participation by opposition parties and rebel groups, civil society organizations, grassroots activists and Sudanese citizens, particularly citizens from the marginalized regions. Given Sudan’s well established pattern of failing to abide by negotiations, commitment by the international community to strictly monitor the implementation process and the ensuing transitional period will be necessary
We appreciate your immediate attention to these urgent matters.
Signed by:
Act for Sudan
Martina Knee, Co-Founder
San Francisco, CA, USA
Aegis Trust
Dr. James Smith, CEO
London, England, 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
Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan
Joan Hecht, President
Jacksonville, FL, USA
American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (AFRECS)
C. Richard Parkins, Executive Director
Washington, DC, USA
Arry Organization for Human Rights and Development
Osman Habi, President
Kansas City, MO, USA
Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development
Ibrahim Tahir Ahmed, Co-Founder and Executive Director
Fairfax, VA, USA
Blue Nile Association
Abdal Babikir
Washington, DC, USA
Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan
Laura Limuli, Coordinator
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi
Bishop Latino, Roman Catholic Bishop of Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, MS, 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
Combat Genocide Association (CGA)
Uriel Levy, Director
Tel Aviv, Israel
Comité Soudan
Diagne Chanel, Présidente
Paris, France
Community Empowerment for Progress Organization – CEPO
Edmund Yakani, Program Coordinator
Juba, Central Equatoria, Republic of South Sudan
Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur
Tim Oslovich, Chairperson
Vernon, CT, USA
Darfur Action Group of South Carolina
Richard Sribnich, MD, Chairman
Columbia, SC, USA
Darfur and Beyond
Cory Williams, Co-Founder
Doreen A. Romney, Co-Founder
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Darfur Development Agenda (DDA)
Saifeldin A. Nemir,
Manchester, England, UK
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 Nour, President
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
Hamid Eltigani Ali, Chair, Board of Directors
Geneva, Switzerland
Darfur Solidarity USA
Mohammed Eisa, Vice President
Boston, MA, USA
Darfur Union, UK & Ireland
Hussain Begira, Chairperson
London, England, UK
Darfur Victims Organisation for Rehabilitation and Relief (DVORR)
Mariam Suliman, Chairperson
London, England, UK
Dear Sudan Love Marin
Gerri Miller, Founder
Tiburon, CA, USA
End-Impunity Organization
Angelina Daniel Seeka, Regional Director
Juba, Republic of South Sudan
Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, Des Moines for Darfur
Rev. Peggy Harris
Des Moines, IA, USA
Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi
The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III, Bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi
Jackson, MS, USA
Genocide No More- Save Darfur
Marv Steinberg, Coordinator
Redding, CA, USA
Genocide Prevention Institute/ Georgia Coalition to Prevent Genocide
Melanie Nelkin, Founder (Institute)/ Chair (Coalition)
Atlanta, GA, USA
Genocide Watch
Gregory Stanton, President
Washington, DC, USA
GeNoticed
Elizabeth Blackney, Founder and Managing Director
Virginia Beach, VA, USA
Help Nuba
Rabbi David Kaufman, Founder and Co-Chair
Mark Finkelstein, Executive Council
Des Moines, IA, USA
Hope for Women and Children of South Sudan
Teresa Yaak, Founder and President
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Hope With Sudan
Jerry Drino, Executive Director
San Jose, CA, USA
Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)
Baroness (Caroline) Cox, House of Lords and CEO
United Kingdom
Humanity Is Us
Kimberly Hollingsworth, Founder
New York, NY, USA
Idaho Darfur Coalition
A.J. Fay, Co-Founder
Boise, ID, USA
Institute for Training and Research
David Adalla, Program Director
Juba, Republic of South Sudan
Investors Against Genocide
Eric Cohen, Chairperson
Boston, MA, USA
Iowa Center for Genocide Prevention
Kristen Anderson, Founder
Des Moines, IA, USA
Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention
Professor Elihu D Richter MD MPH
Yael Stein MD, Co-Founder
Jerusalem, Israel
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
Justice & Equality Movement Sudan (JEM)
Ahmed Hussain Adam, Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Sudan
Kentuckiana Taskforce Against Genocide
Phil L. Nippert, Chairperson
Louisville, KY, USA
Live Well Clinic
Dr. Thon Paul Agok, Managing Director
Juba, Republic of South Sudan
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
My Sister’s Keeper
Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, M.D., Executive Director
Sarah Cleto Rial, Program Director
Boston, MA, USA
National Sudanese Women Association (NSWA)
Omayma Elmardi, Chairperson of the Executive Committee
Khartoum, Sudan
Never Again Coalition
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 Christian Family Mission, Inc.
George Tutu, Founder/President
Denver, CO, USA
Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition
Tito Elgassai, Co-Founder
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 Samwiil, Chairman
United Kingdom and Ireland
Nuba Vision Coalition, Inc.
Yassir Kori, Executive Director
Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Nubia Project
Nuraddin Abdulmannan, President
Washington, DC, USA
NYC Genocide Prevention Coalition
Staci M. Alziebler-Perkins, Convener
New York, NY, USA
Operation Broken Silence
Mark C. Hackett, President
Memphis, TN, USA
Persecution Project Foundation
Brad Phillips, Director
Culpeper, VA, USA
Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre
Fahima Hashim, Director
Khartoum, , Sudan
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 Rowan Inc.
Ngor Kur Mayol, Founder
Atlanta, GA, USA
Sudan Unlimited
Esther Sprague, Director
San Francisco, CA, USA
Sudanese Marginalized Forum-USA
Gogadi Amoga, Chair
Batavia, OH, USA
Sudanese Ministry Committee, Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi
Greg Miller, Janice Trimble Professor of English, Milsaps College
Bul Garang Mabil, Sudanese Ministries
Jackson, MS, USA
Sudanese Women Empowerment for Peace (SuWEP)
Zaynab Elsawi, Coordinator
Khartoum, Sudan
The Institute on Religion and Democracy
Faith McDonnell, Director of Religious Liberties Programs and Church Alliance for a New Sudan
Washington, DC, USA
THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy
Joseph Grieboski, Founder and Chairman of the Board
Washington, DC, USA
The International Justice Project, Inc.
Kristin Rosella, Program Director
Newark, NJ, USA
The South Sudanese Community
Natalina Malwal, President
Washington, DC, USA
Triangles of Truth
Simon Goldberg, Executive Director
New York, NY, USA
Unite for Darfur Organization
Bahar Arabie, CEO
Gaithersburg, MD, 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, England, UK
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