AFS letter to UAE at the UN on addressing the crisis in Sudan

PDF of letter in English and in Arabic available here.

Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh
The Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations
315 E. 46th Street
New York, NY  10017

Your Excellency,

On behalf of Act for Sudan, I write to you in your capacity as President of the United Nations Security Council regarding the catastrophic war in Sudan that is taking on dimensions of ethnic cleansing in Darfur by the Rapid Support Forces.

Many world leaders have spoken out and condemned the violence, including at the UN.

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that he is deeply concerned about the situation in Darfur, appalled by reports of large-scale violence and casualties across the region, particularly in El Geneina, and other areas, including the city of Nyala in South Darfur, and in Kutum and El Fasher, located in North Darfur, and highly worried about the increasing ethnic dimension of the violence, as well as by reports of sexual violence.
• UN Special Representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes, stated, “there is an emerging pattern of large-scale targeted attacks against civilians based on their ethnic identities, allegedly committed by Arab militias and some armed men in Rapid Support Force (RSF)’s uniform. These reports are deeply worrying and, if verified, could amount to crimes against humanity,”
• UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, stated  that “Janjaweed and other rebel armed groups … have allegedly been retaliating against ethnic communities. These attacks, if confirmed, could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The governor of Sudan’s state of West Darfur, Khamis Abakar, was abducted and murdered by armed men in RSF uniforms shortly after publicly accusing the RSF and allied Arab fighters of “genocide.”

The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide requires member states to take measures to prevent genocide and to punish the crime of genocide. Please do not allow this convention to be ignored again, in Sudan.

Please use your UNSC Presidency to ensure that the United Arab Emirates leads the UN in taking every action possible to stop the violence, promote international peace and security, and avoid further crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

Sincerely,

Eric Cohen
Co-Founder
Act for Sudan