It’s official. The U.S. has decided who its next president will be.
The inauguration of a new president promises to provide new opportunities to bring protection and peace to the people of Darfur. Even better, these promises are supported by strong statements of commitment from President-elect Obama:
“I will make ending the genocide in Darfur a priority from Day One. It is a collective stain in our national and human conscience that the genocide in Sudan, now starting its sixth year, has gone on for far too long.” (April 2008) (more…)
I’m often caught off guard by the number of people I meet who aren’t aware of the crisis in Darfur. These interactions — however surprising — serve as a great reminder that there’s much we can all do to spread awareness and build a movement that brings peace to Darfur and all Sudan.
I’ve recently spread the word using the video below. A quick email, blog posting, or note on Facebook with a link to the video encourages friends and family to “Be a Voice for Darfur” - as part of Save Darfur Coalition’s campaign to collect and deliver 1 million signed postcards to the next president.
Informed by ABC News that She Owns Mutual Fund with Sudan Holdings, Palin Says She Will Divest
10 Oct 2008 12:51 PM
Informed by ABC News that she holds an investment in a mutual fund that owns shares in companies that human rights organizations say help the government of Sudan, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Friday said through a spokesman that she will divest from that mutual fund.
According to financial disclosure forms Palin released last week (read them HERE). Palin owns up to $15,000 in Legg Mason International Equities, which the McCain-Palin campaign specified is the Legg Mason International Equity Fund.
In May, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama signed a joint statement promising their “unstinting resolve” to end the genocide in Darfur. This historic moment has afforded us a great opportunity.
No matter who is elected the next president, we’ll have a champion for the Darfuri people in the White House.
To make the most of this opportunity, we created an ambitious plan to keep Darfur on the national agenda and make sure the next president acts to end the violence. We have the promise, we have the plan, but we need support.
For the past week, we’ve been asking supporters and activists to help us meet our goal of raising $250,000 by September 26 to put our plan into action. Our deadline is midnight tomorrow – will you help us meet our goal?
While attending a conference with Darfuri civil society leaders in Tanzania, Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, spoke with attendees about the significance of the ICC charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. These leaders, who have witnessed the violence and injustice in Darfur, also reacted to reports that U.N. Security Council member countries may invoke Article 16 to let al-Bashir off the hook for his crimes.
Passers-by didn’t know what was happening. A helicopter was parked in the middle of the street, one block away from the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
What seemed like a wrong turn was actually a direct message to world leaders. As the U.N. Security Council debated its hybrid peacekeeping mission to Darfur, activists brought this helicopter one block away to deliver a strong message to the world’s leading nations: “Fulfill your promise to Darfur.”
Jerry Fowler, Save Darfur Coalition president, holds a petition to the U.N. Security Council with more than 55,000 signatures urging world leaders to “fulfill their promise to Darfur.” Behind Fowler is a helicopter — a symbol of the world’s failure to supply critical helicopters and equipment so desperately needed by the UNAMID peacekeeping mission.
A year ago today, people around the world gained hope that change was coming to Darfur. After four years of killings, rape, and destroyed villages, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to deploy a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, to protect the people of Darfur.
One year has passed, and the world community has failed to deliver the basic support the mission needs to succeed.
One key gap in the force’s capability is its lack of helicopters, which can enable the force to operate effectively and react quickly. The force is seeking a mere 18 transport helicopters, but so far, no country has stepped forward to provide even one.
A year ago today, people around the world gained hope that change was coming to Darfur. After four years of killings, rape, and destroyed villages, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to deploy a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, to protect the people of Darfur.