On Sunday, Vice President Joe Biden set off on a week-long trip to Egypt, Kenya and South Africa where he is meeting with several heads of state and other high ranking officials to discuss a host of global and regional issues. This is an excellent opportunity for the United States to engage some of Africa’s most powerful nations on the problems in Sudan.
Activists across the nation are joining together to issue this call, and you can add your voice today.
The Save Darfur Coalition delivered the first batch of over 13,000 signatures to the Vice President’s office late last week, and yesterday Foreign Policy reported that “Biden’s Africa trip is all about Sudan“:
Biden is there to get involved in Sudan policy and lend some senior-level supervision to an issue that has split the Obama administration for months.
…the Obama team is getting concerned about the January 2011 elections, when the South is widely expected to vote to separate from the North, a result that could spark violence or even a return to civil war.
There are Sudan meetings woven throughout Biden’s seven-day journey through Africa. He already spoke about the future of southern Sudan with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, it’s sure to come up in his Tuesday meetings with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and the vice president’s office has said Sudan will be at the top of the agenda during Biden’s meeting Thursday with former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
It is reassuring to know that VP Biden’s strong words as senator and presidential candidate (see the video above) are being reflected in a commitment to Sudan at this time.
Update:
The White House released Vice President Biden’s remarks with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, which included:
We also discussed present developments in Sudan, in the context of the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement, of which both our governments are guarantors. We have noted the recent elections in Sudan. We expect that the referendum planned for January next year will take place as scheduled. In our view, the best way of supporting Sudan’s internal stability, regional peace, and prosperity is to respect the verdict of the people, irrespective of the outcome of the referendum.
Video by iAct.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
