Darfuri Children in Abu Shouk IDP Camp
Just three short months ago, I visited six Darfuri camps, the only homes many children in Darfur have ever known.
As I spoke with those children’s parents about the grinding day-to-day life in Darfur, I was inspired by their hope for the future and the smiles of their children. Every day, I wake up and remember those children and know that we must continue our work to help ensure their future. From that trip I was reassured that what we do to help bring peace, protection and justice to their lives matters.
In the last few months, we’ve had some success, but conditions in Sudan are slipping backward.
Most recently, we asked Vice President Biden to make Sudan a priority on his recent trip to Africa – and he did, holding high level talks with leaders in Egypt, Kenya and South Africa.
Following our intense election campaign – we delivered over 72,000 activists signatures on a petition to President Obama to make sure the US did not legitimize Sudan’s nationwide election – U.S. Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley declared that “this was not a free and fair election.”
But despite its fraudulent basis, the election has emboldened Sudan’s dictator Omar al-Bashir, and his regime has begun a new crackdown to silence human rights activists and civil society leaders by increasing arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture, restricting speech and increasing censorship, and seizing passports to keep activists from attending international events.
Furthermore, the peace negotiations between key Darfur rebel groups and the government have broken down, and armed conflict has begun anew. Sadly, the month of May became the deadliest month in Darfur since the arrival of UN peacekeepers – nearly 600 lives were lost.
Now, Sudan is just seven months away from holding a referendum to determine whether South Sudan will become an independent nation – and most agree that the south will vote to break away. Fears are rising that if key agreements between the North and South on sharing oil revenue, border demarcation, and citizenship are not completed before the referendum, a return to deadly civil war could result.
In the coming months we will monitor the rapidly changing situation on the ground in Sudan. We will continue to pressure President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton and others to lead the world in efforts to stop the violence in Darfur and bring all parties to the peace table, or call out Bashir and rebel leaders if they do not. We will also urge the United States to lead the international community in preparing for the upcoming referendum on Southern Sudanese independence.
We will call on Ambassador Susan Rice to lead the charge to renew Darfur’s peacekeeping force, support all efforts to bring Bashir and other perpetrators of the genocide to justice, and make sure that Sudanese civil society voices are being heard around the world.
Thinking back to my visit to Darfur, I recall one camp leader who asked us to “keep on working to raise your voice for all IDPs.”
I, for one, am motivated now more than ever to keep raising my voice on behalf of the millions in Darfur who want justice, peace, and security.
Please know that your efforts are making an impact for the children of Sudan, and are joined with the Sudanese who hope and struggle every day for peace and justice in Sudan.
Thank you again for your continued support.
