Hashtags to use on social media to help elevate the crisis: #KeepEyesOnSudan #SpeakOutOnSudan #SudanNeedsYou #StandWithSudan #StandWithDarfur

Targets in U.S. Congress:
Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Senators Ben Cardin, Jim Risch, Cory Booker, and Tim Scott
House Foreign Affairs Committee: Representatives Michael McCaul, Gregory Meeks, John James, and Sarah Jacobs

Click here for www.SudanAction.org: Take Action on the War and Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan

January 14 NYC, London and Paris: Protest UAE Funding Atrocities

#SpeakOutOnSudan #COP28UAE
Target: Seven Emirati Women Leaders Participating in COP28
Goals: End War, Protection

SHARE Do Not Ignore the Suffering of Sudanese Women - Op-ed on Sudan by former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Twitter/X: “The UAE, which is hosting the #COP28 climate summit, must sever any ties with the criminal forces of the RSF.” @MaEllenSirleaf in @AJEnglish https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/11/24/do-not-ignore-the-suffering-of-sudanese-womencMJy #SpeakOutOnSudan #COP28UAE

SHARE this joint letter by 30 Sudanese & African women’s rights groups and global allies calling on Emirati women leaders participating in COP28 to publicly condemn the brutal violence and mass rapes against women and girls in Sudan.

Twitter/X: UAE women leaders: @shamma @hlcchampions @hanaalhashimi @mariammalmheiri @nah_208 @DubaiAbulHoul @cop28uae Will you denounce the brutal violence & mass rapes against Sudanese women & push your leaders to act? Will you #SpeakOutonSudan during #COP28UAE? https://bit.ly/3SXoMTs  

LinkedIn: UAE women leaders: will you respond to this call by Sudanese and African feminists and their global allies? Will you denounce the war on women and push your leaders to act? Condemning all forms of violence and expressing solidarity with victims of sexual assault, often perpetrated in a context of impunity, should go hand in hand with your work for climate justice. Will you #SpeakOutOnSudan during #COP28UAE? @razanalmubarak @hlccchampions @mariam-almheiri @hanaalhashimi @nawal-alhosany @shamma-bint-sultan @shammaalmazrui @dubai-abulhoul https://bit.ly/3SXoMTs

Instagram: UAE women leaders: @shamma @hlcchampions @hanaalhashimi @mariammalmheiri @nah_208 @DubaiAbulHoul @COP28UAE will you respond to Sudanese & African feminists' call? Will you denounce the war on women and push your leaders to act? Condemning all forms of violence and expressing solidarity with victims of sexual assault, often perpetrated in a context of impunity, should go hand in hand with your work for climate justice. Will you #SpeakOutonSudan during #COP28UAE? https://bit.ly/3SXoMTs

#SudanNeedsYou
Target: U.S. Congress, U.S. Government, UN Security Council
Goals: Protection, Humanitarian Aid, Justice, End War

Share DWAG’s campaign on social media: Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook
Click here for the campaign’s press release.
Send DWAG’s Letter to Congress to your representatives and urge the U.S to end genocide and hold perpetrators accountable.

#SpeakOutOnSudan
Target: US President Joe Biden
Goals: End War, Justice

Check out Refugees International social media and share the video of President Biden on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Click here for the social media toolkit.

The campaign calls on:
The Biden administration to investigate and name the atrocity crimes that have occurred in Sudan so that those responsible may be held to account.
The global media to cover the conflict in Sudan with the urgency and attention that these atrocities demand.
You (the public) to stay informed and speak out.

Prevention and Protection Working Group
Target: Secretary of State Anthony Blinken
Goals: End War, Protection, Justice, Humanitarian Aid

The Prevention and Protection Working Group, Refugees International, on behalf of 50 endorsing civil society organizations, sent a letter to Secretary Blinken urging the Biden Administration to immediately issue an atrocity determination for Sudan. However, words are not enough. A public determination must be coupled with a comprehensive and multisectoral strategy with robust policy, programmatical, and practical responses to protect civilians, prevent further abuses, and hold perpetrators to account. View the letter here and here. Please use this social media toolkit to amplify our collective message. 

Social Media Posts:

50 organizations are urging @SecBlinken to immediately issue an #AtrocityDetermination for #Sudan & act now to stop the violence & protect civilians #SudanCantWait #KeepEyesOnSudan @AfPeacebuilding @RefugeesInternational https://bit.ly/47Da34z

Many of the 2003 #DarfurGenocide horrors are happening again. @SecBlinken must issue an #AtrocityDetermination for #Sudan. But words aren’t enough. The US must act to prevent further violence & hold perpetrators to account #SudanCantWait #KeepEyesOnSudan https://bit.ly/47Da34z

Nearly 8 months into the conflict, 6+ million are displaced, ethnic violence is rampant, & the specter of #genocide in #Darfur once again looms large. 50 orgs call on @SecBlinken issue an #AtrocityDetermination for #Sudan #SudanCantWait #KeepEyesonSudan https://bit.ly/47Da34z

Take Decisive Action to Prevent Further Atrocities
Target: The International Community
Goals: Protection, Justice, Humanitarian Aid, End War

Please amplify the statement circulated by the Never Again Coalition calling for swift action to prevent further atrocities in Sudan. You can share one of their posts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or use one of the following:

• Twitter: 7 months into the war in #Sudan, we join 50 Sudanese and intl civil society groups to call on the international community to take decisive action to prevent further atrocities. Failure to act now "would be negligent, if not complicit in what comes next." https://tinyurl.com/mr3xw4j4

• Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram: 7 months into the war in #Sudan, we join 50 Sudanese and international civil society groups to call on the international community to take decisive action to prevent further atrocities. Failure to act now "would be negligent, if not complicit in what comes next." https://tinyurl.com/mr3xw4j4 #KeepEyesOnSudan

Sunday, April 14 Deadline: In support of the efforts to pressure President Biden to speak out on Sudan, a sign-on letter is being organized for Dr. Jill Biden.  Women of Sudan, South Sudan, the US and other countries around the world are invited to sign the letter.  Please click here to sign the letter to Dr. Biden and please share the link with others.

Friday, April 12 Deadline: Contact your member of Congress and urge them to sign the letter organized by Rep. Kildee and Rep. Kim Young to the Biden Administration on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Click here for the text of the letter. 25 MEMBERS SIGNED THE LETTER - THANK YOU!

URGE your Members of Congress to support the request for supplemental funding which includes funding for humanitarian aid to help the people of Sudan.

Archived Actions

Sudan: Urgently convene a special session of the Human Rights Council and establish an investigative mechanism
Joint Letter by NGOs, April 26, 2023

In light of these developments, we urge your delegation to support the adoption, during a special session on the unfolding human rights crisis in Sudan, of a resolution that, among other actions:
- Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to urgently organize on the most expeditious basis possible an independent investigative mechanism, comprising three existing international and regional human rights experts, for a period of one year, renewable as necessary, and complementing, consolidating and building upon the work of the designated Expert on Human Rights in the Sudan and the country office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the following mandate:
(a) To undertake a thorough investigation into alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law and related crimes committed by all parties in Sudan since 25 October 2021, including on their possible gender dimensions, their extent, and whether they may constitute international crimes, with a view to preventing a further deterioration of the human rights situation;
(b) To establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of any such violations and abuses, to collect, consolidate, analyze and preserve documentation and evidence, and to identify, where possible, those individuals and entities responsible;
(c) To make such information accessible and usable in support of ongoing and future accountability efforts, and to formulate recommendations on steps to be taken to guarantee that the authors of these violations and abuses are held accountable for their acts and to end the cycle of impunity in Sudan;
(d) To provide guidance on justice, including criminal accountability, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence;
(e) To integrate a gender perspective and a survivor-centred approach throughout its work;
(f) To engage with Sudanese parties and all other stakeholders, in particular United Nations agencies, civil society, refugees, the designated Expert on Human Rights in the Sudan, the field presence of the Office of the High Commissioner in Sudan, African Union bodies and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, in order to provide the support and expertise for the immediate improvement of the situation of human rights and the fight against impunity; and
(g) To ensure the complementarity and coordination of this effort with other efforts of the United Nations, the African Union and other appropriate regional and international entities, drawing on the expertise of, inter alia, the African Union and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to the extent practicable;
- Decides to enhance the interactive dialogue on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, called for by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 50/1, at its 53rd session so as to include the participation of other stakeholders, in particular representatives of the African Union, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and civil society;
- Requests the independent investigative mechanism to present an oral briefing to the Human Rights Council at its 54th and 55th sessions, and a comprehensive written report at its 56th session, and to present its report to the General Assembly and other relevant international bodies; and
- Requests the Secretary-General to provide all the resources and expertise necessary to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to provide such administrative, technical and logistical support as is required to implement the provisions of the present resolution, in particular in the areas of fact-finding, legal analysis and evidence-collection, including regarding sexual and gender-based violence and specialized ballistic and forensic expertise.

Joint Letter to President Biden on US Policy toward Sudan
NGOs urge bold action that prioritizes human rights, civilian protection

April 28, 2023

President Joseph R. Biden
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

RE: Human rights concerns in Sudan

Dear President Biden,

We, the undersigned organizations, are writing with deep concern over the catastrophic situation unfolding in Sudan. Since 15 April, fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed and wounded civilians in Khartoum, Darfur, and other parts of the country, leading to a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation. While we acknowledge the difficulties in responding to a volatile and evolving crisis, we urge you to take bold, forward-looking steps to ensure US policy prioritizes human rights, civilian protection, and humanitarian access in Sudan.

We urge your administration to pursue the following actions:

Appoint a Special Envoy for Sudan. Establishing such a position will elevate US policy toward Sudan and signal the administration’s prioritization of the current crisis. This post should be well-resourced and ensure that policy decisions are centered on the Sudanese people and their determined pursuit of a civilian-led government.

Sanction abusive actors. Use existing authorities, or authorize new ones, to impose targeted sanctions on leaders of the Rapid Support Forces and Sudan Armed Forces and others responsible for serious abuses against civilians. Imposing sanctions on individuals can act as a deterrent to other bad actors.

Engage in atrocity prevention. In line with the US Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities, conduct an atrocity prevention risk analysis and publicly issue warnings and calls for prevention of large-scale, systematic and deliberate killing of civilians. Coordinate atrocity prevention messaging and actions with the International Atrocity Prevention Working Group, the United Nations, and the African Union.

Seek an arms embargo on the warring parties in all of Sudan at the UN Security Council. Both parties have a history of widespread and systematic abuses for which an arms embargo is justified. Also hold current suppliers of arms to Darfur, where an arms embargo is already in place, accountable for ongoing violations as documented by the Panel of Experts.

Support human rights monitoring and documentation efforts. Call for a special session on Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council, with the objective of establishing an independent international mechanism to investigate and report on international human rights and humanitarian law violations and advance accountability in Sudan. Press for additional funding to support monitoring and documentation of human rights violations and abuses and atrocity crimes, including through mechanisms of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the African Union.

Increase emergency assistance and support local civil society. Such assistance, via State Department and USAID programming, should provide urgently needed items to individuals and groups who are most at risk. It should also aim to prioritize Sudanese civil society groups, human rights defenders, journalists, and other democratic activists.

Pursue accountability more robustly. Press for criminal accountability for the most serious crimes committed in Sudan by insisting that the Security Council revisit how to increase cooperation with the Darfur investigation by the International Criminal Court, highlighting publicly and privately how impunity for international crimes has fueled further abuses, and consulting with Sudanese justice experts to develop a US plan to address past and present crimes.

Prepare for increased humanitarian needs in pre-existing vulnerable areas. Darfur, Kordofan, and other areas were already experiencing unmet humanitarian needs, insecurity, and violence. These areas have large, displaced populations in addition to refugees and other vulnerable communities. These conditions will be gravely compounded should fighting increase in these areas.

We understand and acknowledge the US government’s current focus on ensuring the safety and security of US citizens and government personnel, as well as urging parties to agree to a ceasefire. However, the dire nature of the situation, which has the potential to further devolve, highlights the need for an immediate governmental response that seeks the protection of all civilians in Sudan.

We thank you for your attention to our concerns and would be pleased to meet with members of your staff to discuss these matters further.

Sincerely,

Act for Sudan
Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities
Center for Civilians in Conflict
Charity & Security Network
Darfur Network For Human Rights
Darfur Women Action Group
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Human Rights Watch
Humanity United
Jews Against Genocide NYC
Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur
Never Again Coalition
New Sudan Council of Churches
Nonviolence International
Nonviolent Peaceforce
NY Coalition for Sudan
Open Society Foundations
Peace Direct
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Rights for Peace
Society For Threatened Peoples
Stop Genocide Now
Sudan Unlimited
The International Civil Society Action Network
The Sentry
Waging Peace (United Kingdom)
Win Without War

*The signatories have various mandates that may not cover the full scope of the recommendations

cc: Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken

100 human rights organization, scholars, physicians, faith groups and leading activists urge the Biden Administration to impose targeted sanctions on Sudanese Generals al-Burhan and Hemedti. Click here to read the letter.

Tweet: Failure to hold #SudanCoup leaders accountable buys them time and legitimacy. 100 human rights defenders urge @Biden to impose targeted sanctions now with clear benchmarks for removal to help secure real change. @USAMBSudan @AsstSecStateAF #مليونية25اكتوبر https://bit.ly/3Dswn3l

Letter signed by 30 organisations protesting against Al Burhan's invitation to the UK to attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral: http://bit.ly/3BNsTsn
Burhan is not welcome in the UK - war criminal, Sudan coup leader, human rights abuser #BurhanNotWelcomeinUK #Sudan_Coup #AlBurhanUK

Second Letter to President Biden Urging Targeted Sanctions to Establish a Line of Defense for Democracy in Sudan
Click here to read the letter.
Tweet: Letter to @POTUS: Targeted sanctions help correct the existing power imbalance and create necessary space for civilians to form a transitional government in #Sudan. https://bit.ly/3ewsXn6 @SecBlinken @AsstSecStateAF @USAMBSudan @SenatorMenendez @SenatorRisch @RepGregoryMeeks

Letter to President Biden Urging Targeted Sanctions for Coup Leaders, Burhan and Hemedti
Click here to read the letter.
Radio Dabanga: Intl. activists call for ‘targeted US sanctions on Sudan coup leaders’
Tweet: End impunity for serious human rights abuses in #Sudan, @POTUS @SecBlinken @AsstSecStateAF. Targeted sanctions for Burhan and Hemedti #SudanCoup Letter: https://bit.ly/3wcRL90 cc: @SFRCdems @SenateForeign

Urgent Letter to President Biden and Secretary Blinken re the Crisis in Sudan
Click here to read the letter.

World Unites with the People of Sudan and Against #SudanCoup

United Nations

UN Secretary General António Guterres 10.25.21
I condemn the ongoing military coup in Sudan. Prime Minister Hamdok & all other officials must be released immediately. There must be full respect for the constitutional charter to protect the hard-won political transition. The UN will continue to stand with the people of Sudan.

UNITAMS - Spokesperson for the Secretary-General 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ He calls for the immediate reconstitution of the governing arrangements provided for under the Constitutional Document.
+ The Secretary-General calls for the immediate release of the Prime Minister and others who have been detained arbitrarily.
+ Sudanese stakeholders must immediately return to dialogue, and engage in good faith to restore the constitutional order and Sudan’s transitional process.

African Union

Statement of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on the situation in Sudan 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ The Chairperson calls for the immediate resumption of consultations between civilians and military within the framework of the Political Declaration and the Constitutional Decree.
+ The Chairperson further calls for the release of all arrested political leaders and the necessary strict respect of human rights.

IGAD

IGAD Statement On The Current Political Development In Sudan 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ The Executive Secretary strongly condemns any attempt to undermine the transitional government andurges all parties to exercise utmost restraint.
+ He further calls for the immediate release of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and all arrested political leaders.
ACTION by IGAD:
+ Sudan is the current chair and important founding member of IGAD and the organisation stands ready to support the transitional government of Sudan and the Sudanese people consolidate peace and democratic gains.

Arab League

“It is important to respect all decisions and agreements that were decided upon … refraining from any measures that would disrupt the transitional period and shake stability in Sudan,” the statement added. 10.25.21

European Union

Sudan : Statement by the High Representative Josep Borrell on the current political situation 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ We call on the security forces to immediately release those they have unlawfully detained.
+ The right of peaceful protest must be respected; violence and bloodshed must be avoided at all cost; we also urge communication networks to be open.
ACTION of EU:
+ The EU will continue to support those working for a democratic Sudan with a fully legitimate civilian government ensuring peace, freedom and justice for the Sudanese people.

Troika (U.S., UK and Norway)

Troika Statement on Military Takeover in Sudan 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ We call on the security forces to immediately release those they have unlawfully detained
+ Rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must be respected; violence and bloodshed must be avoided; and communication networks must be restored
+ Call for the immediate restoration of the civilian-led government on the basis of the Constitutional Declaration and other foundational documents of the transition.

China

Wang Wenbin, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ Resolve their differences through dialogue so as to maintain peace and stability of the country.
ACTION by China:
+ Take necessary measures to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel there.

Denmark

Jeppe Kofod, Minister for Foreign Affairs 10.25.21 Extremely concerned w/ evolving situation in #Sudan. PM Hamdok & all other officials must be released immediately and civilian led transition process resumed. DK and #EU will continue to support those working for a democratic Sudan.

Egypt

"Egypt calls on all parties in the brotherly nation of Sudan to exercise self-restraint and responsibility to prioritize the welfare of the country and national agreement," the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement. 10.25.21

Ethiopia

Statement of the Government of #Ethiopia on the Current Situation in the #Sudan
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ Calls on all parties for calm and de-escalation in the Sudan and to exert every effort towards a peaceful end to this crisis.
ACTION by Ethiopia:
+ The Government and people of Ethiopia, as always, will continue to stand firm with the democratic aspirations of the people of Sudan.

France

President Emmanuel Macron 10.25.21 France condemns in the strongest terms the attempted coup d'état in Sudan. I express our support for the Sudanese transitional government and call for the immediate release and respect for the integrity of the Prime Minister and civilian leaders.

Germany

Foreign Minister Maas on reports of an attempted coup in the Sudan 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ I call upon all those responsible for security and state order in the Sudan to continue the peaceful process of political transition to democracy in the Sudan and to respect the will of the people. This attempted overthrow of government must be stopped immediately.
+ Those in positions of political responsibility must resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue.

The Netherlands

Dutch MInistry of Foreign Affairs 10.25.21 The Netherlands is gravely concerned about the military coup in #Sudan. This attempt to disturb the democratic transition in the country is unacceptable. We stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan in their call for freedom, peace, and democracy.

Norway

Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway on the military take-over of the transitional government in Sudan 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ We call on the security forces to release Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and all others who have been detained. The security forces have the responsibility to protect the public. Any form of violence against peaceful demonstrators must stop immediately. Those responsible for transgressions must be held accountable.
+ All parties must immediately return to dialogue and engage in the civilian-led transition.

Qatar

The State of Qatar Following Developments in Sudan with Concern 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ not to escalate, contain the situation, allow for the voice of reason to prevail, and work in the interests of the brotherly Sudanese people to achieve stability, justice, and peace.
+ stresses the need to have the political process get back on track, in order to achieve the aspirations of the Sudanese people.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Expresses ‘Extreme’ Concern over Sudan Developments, Urges Restraint 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ “It calls for restraint, calm, de-escalation, and to preserve all the political and economic gains that have been achieved and all that aims to protect the unity of the ranks among all political components in brotherly Sudan,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Sweden

Anne Linde, Minister of Foreign Affairs 10.25.21: Deeply concerned by the information of a coup d’etat in Sudan this morning. Violence is not the answer, I urge all parties to honor and sustain the transition and show restraint. Sweden will continue to support Sudan’s people and the democratic transition.

Turkey

Press Release Regarding the Coup Attempt in the Sudan 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ We underscore our strong expectation that all sides in the Sudan adhere to the commitments within the framework of the Constitutional Declaration and refrain from disrupting the transition process.

United Arab Emirates

Afra Al Hameli, Deputy Director of Strategic Communications, MInistry of Foreign Affairs 10.25.21
The #UAE is following closely developments in the Republic of #Sudan, calling for stability &avoidance of escalation. #UAE stresses need to preserve Sudan’s political &economic gains, &all that aims to protect its sovereignty &unity, in the interest of its brotherly people.

United Kingdom

Giles Lever, British Ambassador to Sudan 10.25.21 The military cannot credibly claim to be “safeguarding a transition to democracy” while arresting civilian politicians, and unilaterally abrogating parts of Constitutional Declaration. UK calls on security forces to release those arrested, and to respect the right to protest.

Robert Fairweather, UK Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan 10.25.21 Deeply concerned at reports of arrests of civilian members of Sudan’s govt by the military. Any such step would represent a betrayal of the revolution, the transition and the Sudanese people

United States of America

White House

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary 10.25.21 "We reject the actions by the military and call for the immediate release of the prime minister and others who have been placed under house arrest."

U.S. Department of State

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State The United States Condemns Actions Against Sudan’s Civilian-led Transitional Government 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ The arrest of Prime Minister Hamdok and other civilian leaders is unacceptable. The military forces must ensure their safety and release them immediately.
+ Security officials should immediately cease the use of violence against peaceful protesters. We also urge the restoration of Internet services.
ACTION by USG:
+ The United States is immediately pausing the delivery of $700 million in emergency Economic Support Funds to Sudan, which were intended to support the country’s democratic transition, while we evaluate next steps.
+ We are working closely and on an urgent basis with our partners to chart a common diplomatic approach to address these actions and to prevent them from leading to further instability in Sudan and the region.

Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa 10.25.21
The US is deeply alarmed at reports of a military take-over of the transitional government. This would contravene the Constitutional Declaration and the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people and is utterly unacceptable. As we have said repeatedly, any changes to the transitional government by force puts at risk U.S. assistance.

The Pentagon
.@PentagonPresSec on Sudanese military: "We call on the military to unconditionally release and reinstate all detained civilians in order to allow the civilian-led transition to continue its progress toward elections."

USAID

Samantha Power, Administrator
Statement 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ We call for the safety and immediate release of political detainees, restoration of the civilian-led transitional government and its associated institutions, and resumption of internet and telecommunications services.
+ We demand that Sudan’s security forces refrain from any further violence against protesters and hold to account those responsible.
ACTION by U.S.:
+ In light of the developments of the past day, the United States is pausing delivery of $700 million in Economic Support Funds to Sudan, which Congress appropriated to support Sudan’s democratic transition.
+ USAID’s humanitarian assistance for people in need in Sudan, which exceeded $386 million in fiscal year 2021, will continue.
Tweet 10.25.21: .@USAID stands resolutely with the people of #Sudan, including those mobilizing to protect the freedoms they won through their revolution. We strongly condemn the military takeover. This young woman—not tanks & coercion—captures the spirit of the people:
Tweet 10.25.21: Senator @ChrisCoons unequivocal on #Sudan. The US, @UN @_AfricanUnion and countries around the world are united in opposition to this military takeover, which will have serious & immediate consequences.
Tweet 10.25.21: Closely following reports of large protests in response to the military takeover in #Sudan. The Sudanese people’s right to peaceful protest must be respected, and protestors and members of the transitional government must be protected from violence.

U.S. Congress

Senate and House Foreign Policy Leadership Condemn Coup in Sudan 10.25.21
ACTION for Sudan Military:
+ end the state of emergency, release Prime Minister Hamdok and members of his cabinet unharmed, restore the civilian-led transitional government, and respect the rights of Sudanese citizens to peacefully protest. They must show restraint and safeguard the human rights of all protesters.”
ACTION for US Govt:
+ assess the implications for our relationship with Sudan, including the immediate suspension of further international financial assistance and other appropriate measures.”

Senator Chris Coons 10.25.21
As Chair of the Senate panel that funds foreign aid, I have fought hard for new assistance to Sudan to support the country’s transition to democracy & full civilian rule. That assistance will end if the authority of PM Hamdok & the full transitional government is not restored.
I am watching with grave concern the apparent military coup underway in #Sudan, including the arrest of PM Hamdok & civilian leaders. I condemn this brazen effort to undermine the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people & put the gains of the revolution at risk. (tweet)

Senator Jim Risch 10.25.21
The reported house arrest of @SudanPMHamdok & arrest of other civilian gov't ministers by #Sudanese military forces reflects a deep betrayal of the Sudanese people & all that #Sudan has struggled to accomplish during its transition period. Sudan’s military must handover power.

Rep. Steny Hoyer 10.25.21
I am deeply concerned by the news of an apparent military coup in Sudan and condemn any efforts to derail Sudan’s transition to democracy. Today’s coup is an unacceptable effort to undo the progress that has occurred since the end of the al-Bashir regime.

Rep. Barbara Lee 10.25.21
I unequivocally condemn the military takeover in Sudan and strongly urge the Sudanese military to release the detained officials and cease violence immediately. The Sudanese people deserve a government that is accountable to them.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal 10.25.21
I condemn the unacceptable military coup in Sudan. The US and our global partners must treat this as the serious attack on democratic reforms that it is. Having spent time in Sudan, I know the Sudanese people want a peaceful and democratic future for their children and country.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee 10.25.21
It is an outrage that a military coup has taken place against the transitional government in #Sudan. It is clear that the people of Sudan want peace and democracy. The fact that there has been violence and lives have been lost calls upon an immediate response by both the United States and the United Nations. As a member of the United States Congress and the Homeland Security Committee, we will be monitoring this situation in #Sudan for a quick resolve and a return of power to the transitional government. The people of Sudan deserve to be safe and secure. It is urgent that the world responds to this crisis now!

Rep. Jim McGovern 10.25.21
I strongly condemn the attempted military coup in Sudan. As Co-Chair of @TLHumanrights & a leader on US-Sudan relations, I’m working to ensure U.S. aid supports human rights & democracy in #Sudan. There must be consequences if PM Hamdok & civilian leadership aren't restored.

Rep. Ilhan Omer 10.25.21
Let’s call this what it is: a military coup. The United States should immediately demand the release of the Prime Minister and cabinet members. Solidarity with the Sudanese people, who have so bravely fought for democracy.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib 10.25.21
Today’s coup in #Sudan is a betrayal of what so many Sudanese sacrificed so much for. The US and the world must unite in opposition to this attempt to roll back democracy and demand the immediate release of all civilian leaders and a return to the agreed upon transition process.

Sudan Now

123 human rights organizations, scholars and leading activists sign letter to @POTUS urging immediate senior level U.S. engagement to support freedom, peace and justice in #Sudan #DemocracyIsNoAccident #SudanUprising #SudanNow

Support Justice in Abyei

On the morning of January 22, 2020, the village of Kolom was attacked by militia and 32 people were killed, many were injured, children were abducted and property was destroyed. Please join Pion Nyan Abyei, an NGO supporting development in Abyei, in calling for an immediate international investigation into these horrific crimes.

Read the statement by Pion Nyan Abyei by clicking here.

Please tweet: Our sincere condolences to the people of Kolom. Please read and support the recommendations of Pion Nyan Abyei. #JusticeForAbyei @AU_PSD @UNISFA_1 @SudanPMHamdok @antonioguterres @RepSouthSudan @USAIDSudan @USAIDSouthSudan STATEMENT: https://bit.ly/2RqYmt2

#SudanUprising #SudanRevolts

Please click here to sign the petition to Congress to support #SudanUprising!

In support of the protests in Sudan and the call for freedom, justice and democracy for Sudan, please tweet:

U.S. Policy on #Sudan Must Pivot to Advance Freedom, Justice and Democracy @POTUS @SenatorRisch @SenatorMenendez @RepEliotEngel @RepMcCaul Pls support #SudanProtests #BashirMustGo https://actforsudan.org/2019/01/16/letter-u-s-policy-sudan-pivot-advance-freedom-justice-democracy/

Click here to read the letter signed by 93 human rights organizations and activists!

U.S. Policy on Sudan Must Pivot to Advance Freedom, Justice and Democracy

Dear Mr. President and Leaders of the Foreign Relations and Foreign Affairs Committees,

The people of Sudan are demanding freedom, justice and democracy; therefore, we, the ___ undersigned Sudanese, scholars, human rights organizations and leading activists, strongly urge the United States Government to support their aspirations, as well as greater regional stability, by calling for President Bashir to step down and by supporting democratic transformation in Sudan.

Throughout Sudan, thousands are peacefully protesting the Sudan regime, its massive crimes, including genocide and support of terrorist actors, and its gross mismanagement of the economy, which is exacerbated by widespread corruption at the highest levels at the same time as breadlines lengthen and access to basic necessities, including access to personal funds, becomes increasingly scarce.

Despite the right to peacefully assemble, a guarantee of Sudan’s Interim National Constitution, peaceful protesters have been fired upon by the Sudan regime and reports indicate that over 40 have been killed, well over 300 have been wounded, and more than 800 have been arrested. The news from Sudan is replete with reports of government forces deliberately shooting to kill peaceful demonstrators and other shocking violations of basic humanity. In spite of these terrifying circumstances, protests are growing and courageous Sudanese across all regions of Sudan are calling for an end to the Bashir regime.

The Government of Sudan is clearly failing the tests of the United States’ Phase II Engagement Plan, as evidenced by the violent crimes and egregious human rights violations committed by the regime since peaceful protests began on December 19, 2018. Any consideration of normalizing relations with the Sudan regime sends the wrong message, not only to the regime in Sudan, but also to bad actors worldwide, putting the United States and its allies at additional risk. U.S. policy must pivot to advance freedom, justice and democracy in Sudan. Please support the people of Sudan and their call for an end to Bashir’s genocidal regime.

Sincerely,

Click here to read the final letter with signatures by 93 human rights organizations and activists!

If you are on twitter, search #SudanUprising and #SudanRevolts and help spread the word about the courageous struggle the men, women and youth of Sudan have undertaken to end the Bashir regime and to begin an era of freedom, democracy, equal citizenship and a just peace in Sudan!

Share this webpage and video of Bashir justifying the killing of peaceful protesters with your elected officials! #EndImpunity
http://www.sudanhumanrights.org/?p=1664&fbclid=IwAR1lodyHuEoxlE5IEncVKK5Obke1EiB2Dgpkk5ce4nSL8G6NrsAM_u_laOo

In the US, please contact your Senator!

Below is a template of a letter to the Senate,originated by Amir Ibrahim and Mustafa Sharif at Texas A&M University. Their goal is to make it available/easy for everyone (Sudanese and non Sudanese American citizens/residents) to simply add his/her name and send it to his/her respective senator. Their hope is to create an environment for a stream of letters appearing constantly at senators’ mail/emails to keep the Sudan issue in the forefront of America’s foreign affairs.

Find your Senator here:  https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact

December 27, 2018

The Honorable (full name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator (last name):

I am writing to draw your attention to the concerning excessive use of force and brutality by Sudanese governmental authorities against peaceful protests that have swept across Sudan recently.

I am primarily concerned about the violent suppression by Sudanese Government forces of citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and protest. These forces, including Intelligence Service, Police, and Army, have brutally cracked down on peaceful protestors with sticks and batons, fired tear gas, and used live ammunition to disperse protests. So far, at least 37 civilians were killed and over 300 wounded, many of whom have sustained serious gunshot injuries. The death toll is expected to rise if the violent crackdown continues to mount up, unstopped. 

To make things worse, the Government of Sudan has cut off all internet connections and blocked social media such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. Furthermore, many activists remain detained incommunicado and concern about their safety is rising among their families and friends.

I urge the US Senate to call on the Sudanese Government to immediately cease committing atrocities on peaceful demonstrations and protests, stop unjustified arbitrary arrests, and release all detainees. This is simply a human rights matter.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Your name,
Address
Phone Number
E-mail Address”

MENENDEZ, LEAHY CALL FOR EXPULSION OF TOP SUDANESE DIPLOMAT

WASHINGTON – Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, yesterday sent a letter to President Trump calling for the expulsion and potential sanctioning of the Charge D’Affaires at the Embassy of Sudan in Washington.

PLEASE TWEET: Thank you @BobMenendezNJ and @SenatorLeahy for urging @realDonaldTrump to expel Mohamed Atta from the U.S. and to determine if Atta is subject to sanctions under the Magnitsky Act. We agree, Atta is "an affront to our values and our national interests." https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/ranking/release/menendez-leahy-call-for-expulsion-of-top-sudanese-diplomat

#ExpelAtta:  Former Director of NISS belongs in the Hague not the U.S.

Given the terror and destruction associated with Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), we are shocked the U.S. would issue a visa to Mohammed Atta al-Moula, the former Director of NISS, and accept Atta as Sudan’s top diplomatgy in Washington, DC.  Atta’s presence in the U.S. is not only  an affront to the victims of NISS torture who have sought refugee asylum here, but also a national security risk for the U.S. due to Atta's extensive connections with terrorist networks. By law, Atta should have been denied a U.S. visa because of his involvement in serious crimes, such as genocide, acts of torture, and severe violations of religious freedom.

Please take a few minutes to read this urgent letter to Secretary of State Pompeo, then help us raise the alarm with the Administration, including Homeland Security and the related Congressional Committees, by taking one or all of the actions below:

Tweet:  

.@SecPompeo Fmr NISS Dir. Mohammed Atta al-Moula's crimes in #Sudan make him a national security risk and ineligible for US visa. #ExpelAtta @realDonaldTrump  @VP @StateDept @SecNielsen @nikkihaley @McFaul @BennieGThompson @SenRonJohnson @SenateHSGACDems https://t.co/LEWnmZBo4m

Post on Facebook:

The US should #ExpelAtta, not welcome him. #Sudan’s former NISS Director Mohammed Atta al-Moula’s involvement in these crimes makes him a national security risk and ineligible for a visa according to U.S. immigration law. @USDOS @homelandsecurity @NikkiHaley @MikePence @DonaldTrump @MichaeltMcCaul @CongressmanBennieGThompson @senronjohnson @HSGAC http://bit.ly/2LZHdAW

Call Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), former Sudan Caucus Co-Chair and current Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security at 202-225-2401 and leave this message:

Chairman McCaul, as the former Co-Chair of the Sudan Caucus, you are well aware of the crimes committed by NISS and its connection to terrorist networks. We are shocked to learn that the former Director of NISS, Mohammed Atta al-Moula, is currently in the U.S. serving as the head of the Sudan Embassy in Washington, DC. Atta has been part of NISS since 1992 and his support of terrorist organizations poses a serious national security risk. His involvement in genocide, torture, religious persecution and other serious crimes make him ineligible for a U.S. visa and yet somehow he is working in the U.S. On behalf of Sudanese who have been terrorized by this individual and for the security of the United States, we ask you to please seek Atta’s immediate expulsion from the U.S.

Tweet the new Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs

Please consider posting this tweet targeting Amb. Tibor Nagy:

The Demand for Real Change: Putting the Interests of the Sudanese People First @TiborPNagyJr http://www.sudanunlimited.com/blog/2018/6/30/the-demand-for-real-change-putting-the-interests-of-the-sudanese-people-first #SudanTerrorIsTerror #SudanPoorGovernance #NotEnough #EndImpunity #ArrestBashir #Sudan

June 30, 2018 Join the Protest Against 29 Years of Mis-rule by the Sudan Regime

Sudanese Diaspora in the UK along with Waging Peace and HART organized protests against the Sudan regime that were carried out in cities around the world, including San Francisco!  #SudanPoorGovernance

Support Letter to UNSC re Proposed Cuts to UNAMID in Darfur

Click here to read the letter organized by the Never Again Coalition and for important tweets! 

Urge Secretary Pompeo to Take a Fresh, Clear-eyed Look at U.S. Policy on Sudan

Read the recent, powerful sign-on letter to Secretary of State Pompeo, asking for a "fresh, clear-eyed look at U.S. policy on Sudan" and actions to bring about a "long overdue and real transformation in Sudan."

We urgently need your help to reinforce the messages in the letter, as the U.S. considers what to do in its "phase 2" engagement policy with Sudan.

Please tweet and post your own messages to Secretary Pompeo.

Suggested tweets:

.@SecPompeo current US policy on Sudan #NotEnough. NotEnough progress from #Sudan: deadly attacks on civilians, forced displacement, extremist ideology, humanitarian aid blocked, torture, marginalization #NotEnough for removal from SST #SudanTerrorIsTerror http://bit.ly/2I1QoPq

#NotEnough progress from #Sudan: deadly attacks, forced displacement, extremist ideology, humanitarian aid blocked, arrests, torture, marginalization #NotEnough for removal from SST List @SecPompeo #SudanTerrorisTerror #EndImpunity @actforsudan http://bit.ly/2I1QoPq 

US #Sudan policy must substantially change the dynamics of diplomacy, else Sudan regime undeterred. #NotEnough progress from Sudan: deadly attacks, forced displacement, extremist ideology, aid blocked @SecPompeo #SudanTerrorisTerror @actforsudan http://bit.ly/2I1QoPq 

134 Human Rights Defenders Urge Helsinki Commission to Protest Detrimental EU Practices re Migration

Please tweet:  134 human rights defenders urge @HelsinkiComm to protest detrimental EU (@EU_Commission) practices re migration. Thank you @PatrickKingsley for raising this important issue! Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/22/world/africa/migration-european-union-sudan.html  Human Rights Letter:  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5644a0e7e4b042aca2c36b4a/t/5ade49ef2b6a28979df0e92b/1524517360412/Commission+on+Security+and+++Cooperation+in+Europe.pdf

Click here to read the February 5, 2018 letter by 134 human rights defenders.

April 24, 2018 The Guardian: 'Deals with the devil always unravel': the UK blind spot for Sudan's abuses
April 22, 2018 New York Times Article: By Stifling Migration, Sudan's Feared Secret Police Aid Europe

Other articles and reports on this critical issue: 

Sudan:  The E.U.'s Partner in Migration Crime
Border Control from Hell: How the EU's migration partnership legitimizes Sudan's "militia state"
Belgium in Uproar Over Torture of Sudanese It Deported
Belgium Teamed up with Sudan on Deportations.  Then, allegedly, there was torture.
The Judas Face of Europe: What Can You Do with Thirty Coins of Silver? The EU and Refugees once again
Meeting Sudanese Asylum Seekers in Paris (interview re France's cooperation with the Sudan regime begins at min 6:07)
CNN:  Exposing Migrant Slave Auctions in Libya
Time:  The Libyan Slave Trade has Shocked the World
First they were burned and whipped, then their families were sent the videos
Inside the EU's flawed $200 million migration deal with Sudan

Petition on the Deteriorating Human Rights and Humanitarian Situation in Sudan

We call on the relevant mechanisms of the United Nations, the African Union and the international community at large to bring effective pressure to bear on GoS and ensure that it undertakes concrete measures to: 

1. Guarantee the safety, physical integrity and well-being of all persons held in government custody and put an immediate end to the use of torture and inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees by NISS.

2. Allow all political detainees, especially those held in detention facilities run by NISS, to have immediate and regular access to their family members, legal advice and essential medicines and medical care.

3. Bring all individuals arrested and detained for political reasons before courts of law without delay and enable such persons and their lawyers to challenge the legality of their arrests and the conditions of their detention

4. End discriminatory practices and treatment of all persons and political activists originating from Darfur and other war-affected regions of Sudan who are currently held in government custody, especially those persons accused of sympathy with the armed movements in these areas.

5. Embark on a comprehensive reform of the laws relating to Sudan’s security apparatus so as to bring them into conformity with international standards. The GoS should amend or repeal measures that allow security officials carte blanche to commit human rights violations. In particular, it is vital that the GoS amends the National Security Act of 2010 as well as the Criminal Procedures Act of 1991 and the State of Emergency Act of 1997 and ensure that the provisions of such laws are in line with international standards on the treatment of people deprived of their freedom and guarantee them fair trial and access to legal counselling.

6. 6. The GoS should repeal all Presidential Decrees that bestow immunity on members of NISS, the armed forces, the Rapid Support Forces and other government-affiliated paramilitary and militia groups and any other measures that encourage these forces to commit human rights crimes with total impunity.

Click here to read the full letter.
Sudan Tribune Article:  Rights defenders call for international pressures over arbitrary detention in Sudan

Don't Remove Sudan from the Terrorism List

ENOUGH Project Day of Action - April 24, 2018!
I am asking that my Senator/Representative make a public statement clearly opposing the removal of Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, whether it be an announcement on twitter or a formal press release.

Please consider tweeting the following to draw attention to Enough's recent article:  Don't Remove Sudan From the Terrorism List

TWEET:

@POTUS @VP @StateDept @nikkihaley @SenBobCorker @SenatorCardin @JeffFlake @CoryBooker @RepEdRoyce @RepEliotEngel @RepChrisSmith @RepKarenBass @RepMcGovern @RepHultgren @RepMikeCapuano @JeffFortenberry @RepBarbaraLee @TomRooney @USEmbassyKRT https://www.usnews.com/opinion/world-report/articles/2018-02-23/dont-remove-sudan-from-the-terrorism-list @EnoughProject 

Retweet British Ambassador to Sudan

Michael Aron‏ @HMAMichaelAron Jan 25

Disappointed & concerned that detainees in #Sudan are being held without charge or trial, some with serious medical conditions. They should be released. #FreedomOfExpression #FreedomtoDemonstrate

Sudan: The E.U.’s Partner in Migration Crime

Read:  Sudan: The E.U.’s Partner in Migration Crime (Part 1)

Tweet:  We can't afford to ignore the suffering of those forced to live under violent dictatorships. It requires consistent holistic engagement for change and real support for victims of these regimes. @EU_SUDAN @StateDept @UNHumanRights #HumanityBeforePolitics

#FREE_RUDWAN

January 20, 2018 Update!

Rudwan was released at 1:00AM Sudan time! He made it to his family's home and he's doing well!

Praise God and thank you all for your kindness and persistence!

Warm regards,
Nancy Dawod

From Rudwan's wife:

My husband has now been in prison for 40 DAYS; no crime, no charges, no consular visit, no access to his lawyers. How can this happen?! Why do we not have any leverage with the Sudanese government given we've just lifted sanctions and are considering removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism?

I am dumbfounded...

This is a flagrant violation of human rights and a prime example of the daily operations unabated by a government led by a dictator wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Our failure to Rudwan, and every other human rights defender in Sudan, emboldens this behavior.

#FREE_RUDWAN
#FREE_SPEECH_IN_SUDAN
#FREE_PRESS_IN_SUDAN
#FREE_PRISONERS_OF_CONSCIENCE

TWEET:

#FREE_RUDWAN! American imprisoned in #Sudan for 40 DAYS; no crime, no charges, no consular visit, no access to lawyers. A flagrant violation of human rights & a prime example of Bashir's criminal leadership @POTUS, @VP, @StateDept, @USEmbassyKRT , @nikkihaley , @TLHumanRights

Support #SudanProtests

Step 1: Find Eric Reeves' tweet:

#Sudan: The names of 106 Sudanese political detainees, including the 29 arrested in connection with today's (January 16, 2018) demonstrations in Khartoum (as of 1pm EST, January 16, 2018) | https://wp.me/p45rOG-2bT  | video of security force beatings at |

Step 2:  Re-tweet Eric's tweet and add:

#DoNotBeSilent @POTUS, @VP, @StateDept, @nikkihaley - speak out against state sponsored violence on peaceful protesters.  #EndImpunity, sanction #corruption and support #freedom, #justice and #equality for all Sudanese.  Please support #SudanProtests! @USEmbassyKRT @TLHumanRights

Sudanese and Activists Demand Justice for the People of Sudan

We urge the UN to seriously consider adopting new mechanisms to enforce ICC arrest warrants on any areas administered by the UN, including its headquarters, to end President al-Bashir’s impunity.  The people of Darfur have cried for years for a simple and humble demand; to see justice served for internationally recognized crimes that have been perpetrated against them with impunity.  It is imperative that the international community makes it clear to President alBashir and all perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, that impunity for these crimes will not and must never be an option.

Click here to read the entire letter to the ICC and UNSC.

Remember the Victims of Genocide in Sudan

“Genocide does not happen by accident; it is deliberate, with warning signs and precursors,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Saturday in his message for the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.

Please tweet:

Today on #genocidevictimsday, we remember the victims of genocide in #Sudan and urge the @UN member states to uphold their responsibility under the #GenocideConvention to #ArrestBashir and other leaders of the #NCP guilty of #genocide  cc: @POTUS, @nikkihaley @antonioguterres 

Protest Corporate Council on Africa's Promotion of US Business Engagement in Sudan.

Please tweet:

Promoting business opportunities in Sudan under the current regime is funding genocide and mass atrocities @CorpCnclAfrica http://svdaily.net/index.php/new-posts/local-news/11410-first-american-trade-mission-of-businessmen-of-cca-visits-sudan?utm_source=The+Corporate+Council+on+Africa+%28Revised%29&utm_campaign=8fcfcc0a6e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_04&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4004c77546-8fcfcc0a6e-325769297

Doing business in Sudan is funding genocide and mass atrocities @Shell http://svdaily.net/index.php/new-posts/local-news/11411-shell-company-resumes-operation-in-sudan?utm_source=The+Corporate+Council+on+Africa+%28Revised%29&utm_campaign=8fcfcc0a6e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_04&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4004c77546-8fcfcc0a6e-325769297

Enough Project:  Ominous Threats Descending on Darfur

Please tweet:  Critically important analysis by @EnoughProject for @USEmbassyKRT @nikkihaley @StateDept @POTUS @VP @CIA @SenDanCoats @SenBobCorker @RepEdRoyce @stevenmnuchin1 and @USAIDMarkGreen https://enoughproject.org/blog/new-report-ominous-threats-descending-darfur-2

Appeal to World Health Organization to Address the Cholera Crisis in Sudan

Dear Dr. Ghebreyesus,
We call on you to take leadership in addressing the cholera crisis in Sudan, especially in the Darfur region and save the lives of thousands of likely victims that are languishing in miserably camps for internally displaced persons. We particularly appeal to you to call upon the GoS to declare, in no ambiguous terms, the existence of a cholera pandemic in the country. We further call on the WHO to develop emergency plans for intervention to curb the ongoing cholera epidemic in Sudan, taking into consideration the special needs of regions of the country that witness concentration of vulnerable groups in densely populated makeshift settlements with extremely poor health service and sanitation such as Darfur, where environmental and health infrastructures are extremely poor.

Click here to read the entire letter.

Urge the US, UK, UN, AU and Others to Protect Darfuri University Students

Please sign the petition:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/770/114/012/

Please tweet:  

• Please sign & urge @UN, @UKinSudan @StateDept, @USEmbassyKRT @AU_PSD, @igadsecretariat to protect Darfuri students http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/770/114/012/

• URGENT @USEmbassyKRT @UKinSudan Darfuri Bakht Aruda Univ students under siege by NISS @ Sheikh Alyagoot near Janel Awlia. Please intervene!

• Attn @UN @AU_PSD @igadsecretariat 1,200 Darfuri university students under seige by NISS. Please intervene in #Sudan. http://www.sudanunlimited.com/take-action/

Re: Darfour Students in danger - A call for Urgent Action
We urge the international community to take immediate actions to protect the Darfur students against the deliberate and targeted violence by the Sudanese Security Forces.
Thousands of Darfouri students from Bakht Aruda University in the White Nile Province submitted their resignation after being targeted by members of the University staff by a series of racially discriminatory acts.This included unlawful detention and expulsion from University .The protesters set off to Khartoum ,the capital to peacefully protest against the University punitive actions .They had to walk for miles as they were denied access to transport by NISS ( Sudanese National Intelligence Security Services).
In an unprecedented escalation of violence , the students have been placed under siege in Sheikh Alyagoot area near Janel Awlia since Tuesday
 .At the writing of this email the students are being surrounded by police cars and being forced to get on board a bus to an unknown destination.
We are extremely concerned for the students’ safety .
We hereby urge the international community to take urgent action to ensure their well-being and to stop the targeted racial discrimination and human rights violation crimes .
Human rights activists
Better Future
@nashat cafe
July 20, 2017 9:30pm EST

Click here for a statement by Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre dated 20 July 2017.
Click here for Rights for Peace Foundation statement 20 July 2017.
Click here for Amnesty International statement 19 July 2017.

Protest Squire Patton Boggs Lobbying for the Sudan Regime

Letter to Mark J. Ruehlmann, CEO, Squire Patton Boggs (September 11, 2017):  We, the undersigned 130 Sudanese, scholars and human rights organizations, write to request your help.  Your firm is lobbying for the government of Sudan, a regime comparable to the Nazis whose leaders are indicted for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.  At the hand of your client, over 3 million Sudanese have been killed and over 5 million have been forcibly removed from their homes.  The regime has eliminated all basic freedoms and Sudanese are discriminated against and targeted because of their race and religion.  Christians, in particular, are persecuted and their places of worship destroyed.  We believe the actions of the Sudan regime are incompatible with the values of your firm, which emphasize corporate responsibility and fostering social justice, and the values of all Americans, and therefore, we write to strongly urge Squire Patton Boggs to no longer associate itself with the Sudan regime. 

"Sudan has used the provisional easing of the sanctions put in place in January, not to begin the necessary reforms of the structural deformities of the country’s economy, but instead to order fighter jets and battle tanks from its traditional arms suppliers, Russia and China."
Brad Brooks-Rubin, The Enough Project, House Subcommittee on Africa Hearing, April 26, 2017

Information:

Foreign Agent Registration
Foreign Policy:  Sudan Hires U.S. Lobbyist to Roll Back Sanctions
MSNBC Interview with Greta Van Susteren:  Will Donald Trump Let a Brutal Dictator off the Hook?
Bloomberg:  Sudan Ramps Up D.C. Lobbying Bid as Sanctions Deadline Looms
The Kansas City Star:  Melinda Henneberger: Even genocidal regimes now have Washington lobbyists
Time:  George Clooney and John Prendergast:  An American Lobbying Firm is Helping Sudan's Vile Regime

Tweets:

.@SPB_Global "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr. #EndImpunity #FireBashir

.@SPB_Global #FireBashir "$40k a month will buy you a place in history alongside the supporters of the Nazi and Pol Pot regimes." - @omerish

.@SPB_Global per @USCIRF Sudan hasn't shown progress on allowing religious freedom. #KeepSanctions #FireBashir  http://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/press-releases/sudan-uscirf-urges-secretary-state-maintain-sanctions

.@SPB_Global End the miscarriage of justice against Dr Mudawi and his colleague Hafiz Idris Eldoma. #DoGood https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/06/sudan-end-the-miscarriage-of-justice-against-dr-mudawi-and-his-colleague/

While Nuba farmers hide in caves away from GoS bombs, famine worsens, but lobbyists eat well. Shame on @SPB_Global.  http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/melinda-henneberger/article157716354.html

.@SPB_Global - Humanity before partner profits.  Say no to Government of Sudan blood money.  #FireBashir

.@SPB_Global say no to Sudan regime's blood money, #FireBashir.  @POTUS lifting sanctions funds terrorism and atrocities, #ArrestBashir.

.@SPB_Global, accepting blood money from GoS is a line you shouldn't cross. You are better than this. #FireBashir http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/20/sudan-hires-u-s-lobbyist-to-roll-back-sanctions/

.@SPB_Global, lifting sanctions = lining GoS pockets & freeing up funds for atrocities & terrorism. #FireBashir https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5644a0e7e4b042aca2c36b4a/t/59436b32d1758eff2fd46dd0/1497590581376/Lobby+Form.pdf

Protest Squire Patton Boggs @SPB_Global for representing genocidal Sudan regime - June 19, 2:00pm, 2550 M St NW, DC
http://www.sudanunlimited.com/take-action/

Demonstrations:

Sudan Change Now:  The outbreak of Cholera is a Deliberate Crime of Negligence

May 29, 2017 - For weeks now, Sudan witnesses an epidemic outbreak of Cholera that spread in White Nile, Khartoum and North Kordofan states in addition to multiple reported cases in East Sudan.   Similar outbreak of Cholera took place few months ago in Blue Nile and Gadarif states and extended to other areas of the country. The Government of Sudan insist then and still now on covering up these outbreaks by naming them Acute Watery Diarrhoea, in a In a blatant circumvention that has no reasons but underestimating the health and lives of Sudanese citizens. The main causes of these repeated outbreaks of Cholera are related to the deteriorated environmental situation, the lack of safe drinking water, pollution of the water supply networks, and the ineffectiveness of water purification plants, which are problems that Bashir's regime ignores while spending on political bribery and militarily expenses in its three fronts of civil war. 

The outbreak of Cholera in the beginning of Autumn and the start of the rainy season is a disastrous harbinger of a disastrous situation if not quickly remedied since these conditions are the most suitable for quick spread of cholera. Cholera victims are in fact victims of negligence, ill prioritization, and mismanagement, as well as rampant corruption that puts corrupt and unqualified officials in positions of responsibility for our health.

We support and salute the non-governmental campaign that began working in fighting the spread of epidemics. These campaigns expressed the cohesion and solidarity of our people in the face of crises and they are working to save the sons and daughters of our people from death and mitigate the impact of the disaster. However, we clearly say they are not enough.We insist that the regime and the new quota government, which came by bribes of the cake of power, to assume their full responsibility. We tell them that quotas, positions, and adherence to power are not a gesture or an experiment for those who enter it, but will stain their hands with the blood and lives of our people.

We call for public pressure to move in parallel with the humanitarian action, using all means of peaceful resistance to force the regime to actually conduct its duties and putting together an integrated package of measures in order to defeat the epidemic.

We urgently demand the following: 

First: The declaration of the true magnitude of the epidemic and its real diagnosis. In order to attract international support of preventive means including the oral cholera vaccine.

Second: we affirm that recognition alone is not enough, as the government must allocate enough funds to fighting the spread of the outbreak from the budget reserves to cope with the emergency epidemiological situation.

Thirdly, we seek through this pressure to hold the corrupt officials who failed to perform their duties, led by the health ministers and the governors of the affected state accountable. their inaction led to the recurrence of the epidemic and the transformation of cholera into a endemic disease in Sudan.

Fourth, we call on the government to allow local and international humanitarian organizations to intervene and work in coordination with the Ministry of Health in fighting cholera, similar to what happened in the countries of the world hit by this epidemic.

Finally, we affirm that these demands will not be achieved as they should and as we want, unless popular and public pressure is applied on the government.

Resistance Continues and Shall Overcome
 

Congratulations and Thank You, Dr. Tom Catena

Tom Catena is the 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate!

When the war first started, he was encouraged to evacuate, but he insisted on staying. “I’ve never regretted that decision,” says Dr. Catena. “I was needed at that point more than ever. I couldn’t just abandon the people I had gotten to know just as they needed support the most. Because it’s the people that count here. What they do never ceases to amaze me.”

Statements re Sudan to the African Commission on Human and People's Rights

May 4-6, 2017 | NGO Forum, Niger:  Resolution on the Human Rights Situation in Sudan

May 8-22, 2017 | ACHPR Official Session:  Statement on the Human Rights Situation in Sudan by the Darfur Bar Association dated May 8th

March 21, 2017 Global Day of Prayer to End Famine

The World  Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches call for a Global Day of Prayer

Click Here for the Resource Pack

Video message from the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit

Prayer for South Sudan

Act for Sudan:  Urge President Trump to Avoid Bashir in Saudi Arabia

BREAKING NEWS:  Sudan’s Bashir will not attend American-Islamic summit: official report

The Riyadh Summit is coming up soon. The US Embassy has issued an statement reiterating the opposing position of the US Government to the travel of Al Bashir to Saudi Arabia and attending a conference attended by President Trump. We hope this is true but we need to make sure President Donald J. Trump understands the gravity of the situation.

Please tweet the following:

.@POTUS don't #shakehandswiththedevil Bashir of #Sudan @ @riyadhsummit #arrestbashir #smartsudanpolicy #riyadhsummithttp://nyti.ms/ 2rvyAnV

Bashir indicted by ICC for genocide against Muslims in Darfur. Christians also under attack. @POTUS #ArrestBashir #SmartSudanPolicy

.@POTUS don't #shakehandswiththedevil - Bashir indicted by ICC for genocide/crimes against Darfuri Muslims. Christians also under attack.

JWW:  Tell Your Senators: Cosponsor the Elie Wiesel Genocide & Atrocities Prevention Act

The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act seeks to strengthen the U.S. government's ability to prevent and respond to genocide and mass atrocities around the world by:

• Creating the Mass Atrocities Task Force

• Authorizing the Complex Crises Fund

• Training of Foreign Service Officers to recognize the early warnings of genocide and mass atrocities

• Requiring reporting by the State Department and Director of National Intelligence

Click here to send a letter to your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2017, S.1158. If your Senator is already a cosponsor, send them a thank you message. 

Amnesty International:  Release Dr Mudawi now and investigate allegations of his torture

Dr Mudawi bravely spoke up for families fleeing violence in Sudan, as well as on many other human rights issues. Because of this, he's been arrested several times by Sudanese authorities and held in prison since December - even though he hasn't been charged with anything.

It looks like Dr Mudawi has also been tortured. Someone who was in the same prison told Dr Mudawi’s family that he witnessed him chained to a pole with his hands cuffed and his legs shackled, as government agents brutally beat him.

In his day job, Dr Mudawi is a Professor of Engineering at the University of Khartoum. He also founded and is the former director of the Sudan Social Development Organization. He won the 2005 Human Rights First award and the 2005 Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, for fighting for the rights of others in Sudan.

Dr Mudawi went on hunger strike protesting his imprisonment, but he has still not been charged or brought before a court. Even though he suffers from chronic respiratory and heart complications, he has only been allowed access to a doctor three times since his detention in December and he was only allowed to speak to his lawyer for the first time 77 days after he was imprisoned.

Click here to help defend the brave and sign the petition to release Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam.

Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition:  5th Annual Forum on Sudan and South Sudan

Sunday, April 30, 2017 | 1:30pm - 4:30pm | East Liberty Presbyterian Church

Click here for more details!

Pittsburgh Post Gazette:  Panelists share thoughts on Trump travel ban, issues facing Sudan and South Sudan

Statement of the Honorable Mike Doyle, U.S. Congressman Representing the 14th District of Pennsylvania

Important Enough Project Reports on Sudan

Border Control from Hell: How the EU's migration partnership legitimizes Sudan's "militia state"

Sudan's Deep State: How Insiders Violently Privatized Sudan's Wealth, and How to Respond

Amnesty International:  April 7th GET ON THE BUS Action Letter on Sudan

Get on the Bus for Human Rights (GOTB) is an annual day of human rights education and activism organized by Amnesty International USA Group 133 of Somerville, MA and a dedicated team of volunteer community organizers. Now in its 22nd year, GOTB draws upwards of 1,200 participants riding buses, commuter trains, and carpooling down to New York City to take peaceful action in front of embassies, consulates and corporate headquarters in NYC in support of human rights. 

Download Action Letter

Click here for additional information

DWAG: Global Week of Action Against the Genocide in Darfur

We will be hosting two events in Washington, DC, as part of the Global Week of Action Against the Genocide in Darfur (April 7-16). Join us and bring a friend as we protest against the continuing genocide in Darfur and unceasing violence in Sudan.

April 7
What: 24-hour hunger strike
Where: In front of the White House (Lafayette Square)
When: Starts at 12:30pm

April 8
What: Rally
Where: In front of the White House (Lafayette Square)
When: 1pm-4pm

Host Your Own Event
Please let us know if you are interested in hosting your own event as part of Global Week of Action - such as rallies, protests, forums, workshops and panels. We can help! For more information please contact
outreach@darfurwomenaction.org.

Act for Sudan:  Letter to the OPCW

Excerpt:  

We are writing to you in your capacity as U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Act for Sudan is an alliance of over 70 U.S.-based organizations that advocate for an end to genocide and mass atrocities in Sudan. In October last year we wrote to you to urge you to use your influence in the OPCW to push for a full, thorough investigation of allegations made by Amnesty International that Sudan’s government had used chemical weapons in attacks against civilians in the country’s Darfur region.1

We are writing now to express our dismay that the OPCW has greeted these violations with yet more impunity, by instituting Sudan as Deputy Chairperson of its Executive Council. Given the serious nature of the allegations made by Amnesty International, the fact that these allegations remain uninvestigated, and with the government of Sudan blocking access to the besieged Jebel Marra region which was targeted in these attacks, this appointment of Sudan to a leadership role in OPCW is a shocking disgrace and a grave affront to the victims of these attacks.

Letter to Amb. Kenneth Ward dated March 26, 2017

PCUSA:  Support Humanitarian Aid for South Sudan

Click here to sign a petition and send a message to President Trump and your members of Congress to support humanitarian aid for South Sudan.

JWW and STAND:  Preventing Mass Atrocities and Genocide, From Rhetoric to Reality

Conference:  April 1 - 2, 2017 at the University of Southern California

Learn about ongoing mass atrocities throughout the world and how the US government can play a better role in preventing atrocities. And most importantly: how you can take action. Connect with other passionate community leaders and activists working to protect human rights in the U.S. and abroad.

Recommended Sudan Policy

Please share the Recommended Sudan Policy statement that is an outcome of the February 3, 2017 Sudan Advocacy Workshop in DC and supported by 77 Sudanese, scholars and human rights groups.  Please share on social media and with government officials in the U.S. and abroad.  Thank you!

Recommended Sudan Policy PDF

Sudanese DC Diaspora Urge Congress to Avoid Speaker of the Sudan National Assembly

Congressman Jim McGovern met with the Speaker and challenged him on the humanitarian aid blockade, cessation of all hostilities and political prisoners!

The letter was also included in the article, A Terrorist Goes to Washington.

February 15, 2017

Sen. Bob Corker, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Sen. Ben Cardin, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Sen. Chris Coons, Chairman, Subcommittee on African Affairs
Sen. Jeff Flake, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on African Affairs
Rep. Ed Royce, Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee
Rep. Eliot Engel, Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee
Rep. Chris Smith, Chairman, Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and Int’l Organizations
Rep. Karen Bass, Ranking Member, Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and Int’l Organizations
Rep. James McGovern, Co-Chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Rep. Randy Hultgren, Co-Chair, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Rep. Michael Capuano, Co-Chair, Sudan Caucus
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, Co-Chair, Sudan Caucus
Rep. Barbara Lee, Co-Chair, Sudan Caucus
Rep. Michael McCaul, Co-Chair, Sudan Caucus

RE:  Urgent Appeal to Stand with the People of Sudan

Dear Members of Congress,

We, the members of the Sudanese community in the Diaspora, respectfully request your support of the people of Sudan at this critical time.  An enemy of the Sudanese people, Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, Speaker of the Sudan National Assembly, has received a visa for a visit to the United States from February 20, 2017 to March 4, 2017.  The purpose of his visit is to lobby Congress and other officials to lift the remaining U.S. sanctions and to lift sanctions permanently.  Please do not meet with him or his colleagues.

Mr. Omer is an ideologue of the Muslim Brotherhood and a long-time member of the National Congress Party (NCP), which is responsible for the death, injury and displacement of millions of Sudanese under the leadership of an internationally indicted criminal.  Mr. Omer has personally overseen the passage of repressive legislation that has eroded the basic human rights and the civil rights of Sudanese in addition to entrenching policies that destroy and marginalize the country’s institutions and more importantly, its citizens.

During Mr. Omer’s tenure as the Minister of Higher Education (1990-96 and 1997-2000), he devised and oversaw the policy of forced conscription of Sudanese high school students in what was called Actionable Mandatory Service.  High school graduates were not allowed to enroll in college in Sudan or abroad without first completing training camps of indoctrination and military training.  Some of these students became suicide bombers, known as tank busters, during the civil war in southern Sudan. 

In addition, Mr. Omer converted the Africa International University into a training ground of African Muslim jihadists, some of which later became the leaders of Al-Shabab in Somalia and Boko Haram in the Sahel.  All along, he has been a senior person in the Shora "advisory" Council of the Sudanese Islamic Movement, a cell of the international Muslim Brotherhood. 

Mr. Omer and his colleagues in the NCP have launched a massive campaign that targets the U.S. and European Embassies for the purpose of normalizing relations, lifting sanctions and ensuring their ruthless grip on power.  Please do not fall for their tactics, but instead, please send the important message that you are standing with the people of Sudan, not the perpetrators of genocide and mass atrocities and the proponents of terrorism worldwide.  The United States has made it very clear what the government of Sudan must do to normalize relations.  Please do not move the goal posts or lower the bar.

The United States Congress is the symbol of democracy around the world and while the crisis in Sudan is largely overshadowed by other world events, the people of Sudan sincerely appreciate the decades-long commitment by Congress to help Sudanese in need and to support our struggle to find a just and sustainable peace.  At this critical time, we would be especially grateful for your continued support.

Respectfully yours,

Concerned Sudanese Americans in the Washington Area

For further inquiries please contact:

Omer Ismail
omergismail@gmail.com

African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies:  Urgent Concern for Rights Defender on Hunger Strike over Unlawful Detention

Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, a prominent Sudanese human rights defender, has been unlawfully detained for over two months, held by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) at Khartoum’s Kober Prison without charge or access to legal representation, 39 human rights groups and activists said.

Darfur Women Action Group:  Letter to Member States of the UNSC

Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) and the undersigned would like to express our deep concern about the recent massacres against civilians in Nertiti, Jabel Marra, Central Darfur, and El Geneina West Darfur. We are particularly concerned with the continuing surge of violence that has killed countless men, women and children and devastated lives in Darfur, Sudan for more than 14 years. We are equally appalled by the lack of independence and transparency in the investigations of these incidents, a continuing and unfortunate trend regarding violent crimes committed against civilians in the area.

Sudanese and Activists Oppose Lifting US Sanctions on Sudan!

Huffington Post:  President Obama, Will the Moral Arc of the Universe Bend Toward Justice for the People of Sudan during Your Presidency?

Huffington Post:  Sudan Sanctions:  Obama, You've Been Played, Advantage Bashir

“What's concerning for many pro-democracy activists and human rights defenders on the ground is that the outcome of the deal with Khartoum relegates improvements in humanitarian relief, human rights and basic freedoms to the background.  In this situation, regime access to US investment, trade and banking facilities can only help benefit a kleptocratic genocidal dictatorship adept at securing its power by repression and imposing economic misery on its people.  It is quite saddening that a President who championed the cause of the Sudanese people when a Senator, now leaves office handing them only a numbing sense of betrayal.”  - Ali Abdelatif, DAAM- Sudanese Pro-Democracy Activists Network Abroad

"It is shocking and outrageous to see the outgoing Obama Administration rewarding terrorists.  You can't fight terrorism by rewarding terrorists!  The Sudan Government is the cradle where all the terror of political Islam was born and raised.  It continues to be so to this day. This is a government which lives and thrives on terrorism. To rid the whole world of the terror of political Islam you need to remove Bashir's government not reward it. The issue is as simple as that."  - Ali Askouri, Chairman, Alliance of the Dam Affected Communities in the Sudan

“President Barack Obama, who recently regretted not doing enough to save lives in South Sudan, is about to commit a grave mistake by trying to, at the last minute of his presidency, reward the world's brutal killer and ICC indicted war criminal, Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan, with his decision to lift sanctions imposed on the Sudanese government for genocide in Darfur and the ongoing killings in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile.  As a survivor of the north-south Sudanese civil war and a proud American from President Obama's hometown of Chicago, and a committed activist who wholeheartedly supported President Obama for his first term election and second term reelection, including my appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s show on the morning of his election in 2008 and joining him for his victory celebration in Grand Park on the night of November 4, 2008, I am deeply disappointed that my trusted President is turning his back on millions of supporters like me and the Sudanese who suffered for so long under Omar Al-Bashir.”  - Peter Magai Bul is a Former Sudanese Lost Boy and a committed member of the Sudanese Community Association of Illinois

“I believe that the Sudan government has done little to nothing to improve its poor records on human rights and rule of law in this poor country.  The country is ruled arbitrarily by different pro-regime militias and security apparatuses where killing, kidnapping and looting civilians has become daily practices of the regime forces and elements, especially in Darfur.  While I believe general economic sanctions are harmful for the citizens of Sudan, I believe that strict and specified sanctions on the regime leaders and elements involved in human rights' violations should be provided and implemented, not the opposite.”  - Adil Abdel Aati, Political and Civil Activist

“Sudanese people have stood up for change and against tyranny, yearning for democracy to exercise their basic rights to live in peace.  It is time for the United States of America to extend a hand to the people of Sudan to bring about political change in the country.  The sanctions have brought this regime to its knees, it is gasping for air, it is time to continue the pressure to stave off the government from any means to maneuver and execute another brutal military tactic to lock the country in new waves of violence.  We urge the administration not to assist the genocidal regime run by a corrupt political oligarch.  The sanctions against the regime should continue.”  - Hamid Eltgani Ali, Professor at the American University in Cairo   

“Easing the US sanctions on Sudan is a catastrophic action.  This will make the habitual genocidal killer more powerful.  We are disappointed.  There is no progress on human rights and humanitarian issues.  The point of view regarding improvement is not accompanied with the truth.  We must tell how it is.”  - Abdelrahman

“It is so sad that Obama has rewarded the genocidal regime in Khartoum, who is advancing their genocidal strategy now.  The outgoing administration can say anything to justify its harmful move. Nevertheless, the facts on the ground remain as they are.  (1) The regime continues its massacres and using food as a weapon againstthe civilian populations in Darfur, Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile. (2) The regime is still committing gross violations of human rights all over Sudan.  Darfuri students and political and civil society activists are still languishing in their horrible detention cells and subjected to severe torture by the notorious NISS.  (3) It is true that the regime banned Riek Machar from entering Sudan, but it isn't a secret that the regime continues its support to various rebel commanders of South Sudan.  No doubt, Bashir will continue his strategy of destabilization of South Sudan.  (4) On counter-terrorism, let us not forget that when the Sudanese regime decided to cooperate on counter-terrorism it did it for its own survival tactics.  In other words, its cooperation with the US was not out of a genuine change of policy or behavior or ideology.  At the time, Bashir and his clique were scared,  so they wanted to avoid imminent military attacks and other harsh measures by the Bush administration in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks!  The regime/NISS is playing a double game with regard to the issue of terrorism.  Sometimes NISS puts some terrorist elements in prison just to mislead and show the US and other Western governments that the regime is fighting against terrorist and extremist groups.  In reality, they are not taking any real measures against extremist groups.  In fact, Bashir is creating the environment within which these groups are growing and expanding.”  - Ahmed H. Adam, Visiting Fellow, Institute for African Development (IAD), Cornell University 

Video Response:  “It is unbelievable that the Obama Administration rewards a regime that committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against its own people.”  - Niemat Ahmadi, Founder and President, Darfur Women Action Group

"The need for accountability for crimes against humanity does not diminish with time. History has repeatedly shown us the deep value of justice in peace building. If sanctions are eased, what other measures are being taken to hold the Government of Sudan responsible for their horrific actions against their people?"  - Pam Omidyar

"The Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 which led to the independence of South Sudan in 2011 also included a range of provisions for bringing peace to three main areas, north of the new frontier, which had participated in the national struggle of the SPLA.  These were Abyei, South Kordofan (including the Nuba Mountains) and the Blue Nile.  However, the implementation of the CPA provisions has been severely neglected, with the result that the people of these regions have seen only political stalemate since 2011; along with military escalation (including aerial attacks), severe displacement in key places, and intolerable suffering among civilians.  It is astonishing to hear that the United States is planning to improve relations with Khartoum by relaxing sanctions at this point.” -  Wendy James, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford

“I became part of the anti-genocide movement in 2005 to stand up against the violence in Darfur.  Now, a dozen years later, that tragedy continues unabated despite global awareness of Bashir's atrocities against his own people and despite the voices calling desperately for an end to this atrocity.  Millions have been uprooted from their homes and their lives; hundreds of thousands of innocent people have perished through bombing, torture, starvation, and disease; and towns and villages have been completely destroyed.  The perpetrators have impunity for the terror they cause.  When you became president, I had great hope that you would be a leader on the world stage to advocate for law, not war; for justice, not impunity.  You have failed the people of Darfur - and the people of Syria, Myanmar, Yemen, and so many places on the planet.”  - Ellen J. Kennedy, Executive Director, World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law

 “For a bystander country, the only thing worse than never taking action against mass violence is taking action for a time and then stopping even though nothing has improved.  If, to an indicted genocide perpetrator, the former signals indifference, the latter conveys unambiguous approval.  If the United States ends its sanctions now, Omar al Bashir will not just understand this to mean that the US has no intention of any kind of intervention in the future against the horrific human rights violations he is committing now, but he will take it to mean that he is free to commit even more violence without any negative consequences.  The end result of US policy of the past two decades will be that it has made things yet worse for the millions of human beings in Sudan who suffer under al Bashir’s genocidal butchery, forced starvation, campaigns of rape, and more.  For an out-going US President concerned about his legacy, I can imagine little that would be worse.”  - Henry C. Theriault, Professor of Philosophy, Worcester State University, Co-Editor, Genocide Studies International

Article:  “The Final Betrayal of Sudan: Obama administration’s lifting of economic sanctions; UN Ambassador Samantha Power justifying the move, claiming a ‘sea change’ of improvement in humanitarian access” – by Eric Reeves, The Huffington Post, January 17, 2017

“’Why is a man punished for killing another man, yet the killing of a million is a lesser crime than the killing of an individual?’  Raphael Lemkin’s question is, unfortunately, as pertinent today as it was decades ago. Omar al Bashir and his genocidal regime must be held accountable for their heinous crimes against the people of Sudan.”  - Paul Slovic, The Arithmetic of Compassion

"Thousands of brave Sudanese dissidents will be profoundly disappointed by President Obama's actions. They have looked to the United States as a beacon of democracy and freedom; they have been inspired by the history of American civil rights campaigners; and they believed President Obama stood with them against the corrupt and authoritarian Khartoum regime. Now they are horrified that America is turning a blind eye to gross human rights abuses against Sudan's minorities."  - Rebecca Tinsley, author of When the Stars Fall to Earth, Founder, Waging Peace, London, UK

“How can we abandon ‘the least of these’?” - Karen Henderson

“We Americans, friends of the Sudanese people who are suffering genocide under the regime of Al-Bashir, share the feelings of Rep. McGovern: “I am angry and deeply disappointed that the last act by the Obama Administration on Sudan policy is to ease sanctions against a genocidal regime when there has been little to no change on-the-ground in the human rights and humanitarian crises suffered by the Sudanese people.”  The act was made without consultation with the Lawmakers, and it now becomes clear that it is up to Congress to take the moral leadership, create legislation that will end the killing and provide the desperately needed humanitarian access.”  - Al Sutton M.D., African Freedom Coalition

"The lifting of sanctions against Sudan should be attached only to real, concrete progress on the ground. Full government humanitarian blockades in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan and Blue Nile remain in effect.  Government-orchestrated violence against civilians continues.  Millions of Sudanese still cannot return home for fear of being raped or killed.  The progress cited by the Obama Administration is non-existent on a large scale.  Sanctions relief only buys the regime more time to pursue its disastrous policies even further.  The simple fact that this deal was made in secret between the U.S. government and a genocidal regime without the input of the Sudanese people and experts with on-the-ground experience in the conflict areas is deeply unsettling.  This decision only benefits the dictatorship and, because of that, it should be reversed."  - Mark C. Hackett, Executive Director, Operation Broken Silence, obsilence.org

“It is deeply saddening that Obama has chosen, as one of his last acts as president, to lift sanctions on the genocidal government in Sudan.  Equally devastating is Ambassador Samantha Power's open support.  Power has long been an advocate for victims of genocide and mass atrocities. Whatever progress that the US has seen in their "behind the scenes [engagement] with the government of Sudan in a discreet way", the Sudanese people are witnessing that the Government of Sudan's "ceasefire" just means that the Sudanese army can massacre civilians like they did in the January 1st attack in Nertiti. What message is the US trying to send to the world about oppressive regimes when they reward a government like that of Omar al Bashir's? This carrot and stick approach will only encourage human rights abusers throughout the world.  Shame on you Mr. President.  Shame on you Ambassador Power.”  - Lauren Fortgang, Policy Director, Never Again Coalition

“‘In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.’   Martin Luther King, Jr.  | Dear President Obama, At the close of your Presidency, how will the men, women and children of The Republic South Sudan, Darfur and the Nuba Mountains remember you?”  - Joan Hecht, President, Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan

 “The last act by the Obama Administration on Sudan policy is a double-edged sword because the partial lifting of sanctions against Sudan is mostly motivated by the cooperation with the United States on counter-terrorism, despite the on-going dire situation of the Sudanese people.  The Treasury Department mentions 'Sudan sustained progress' on several fronts, but it is clearly ignoring the tragic recent events (Nertiti massacre), brutal offensives targeting civilians in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, and the continued detention, torture and trials of activists and human rights defenders in Sudan.  More than ever we must do everything possible so this 'goodwill gesture' lifting the embargo will benefit the Sudanese people, empower civil society organizations, boost the economy and ensure a long, lasting change in the country by pressing Sudan on human rights, peace and democracy. Accountability is mandatory to this new carrot and stick policy and no compromises should be accepted. Optimists will see the glass half full, but previous experiences already taught us the risks coming from a compromised carrot and stick policy, whitewashing crimes with no consequences for the perpetrators but for the populace.”  - Max Dana, Founder of The MagkaSama Project

• “Sudan didn’t do anything to be rewarded. If anything, targeted sanctions should be tightened against those who perpetrate violence that continues to hapen in every corner of the country. The Obama policy towards Sudan has miserably failed and all that is left is to reward a government of genocidaires and perpetrators of violence and mass atrocities.” - Omer Ismail

• “The fact is there is no progress on the ground. The people of the Nuba Mountains are still starving over 5 years by the Khartoum regime. And also in Jabel Marra there continues bombing daily by Sudanese government aircraft and Antonov. The U.S must keep the sanctions tightly on Sudan instead of lifting them. The game is over with the NCP regime. Compromises don’t work. Genocide is happening now by the Khartoum criminal regime.” - Hawa Abdallah Mohammed Salih

• “The US can and should keep the sanctions on. The US has no need to support the genocidal regime in Khartoum. We know from experience that Bashir will do everything he can to cause trouble (in South Sudan, in Libya, in Egypt, ...), and we know that any deal with Bashir and his regime is no deal at all. The US can pursue a tough policy with Sudan that supports and seeks to protect the people of Sudan, without fear that somehow Sudan will go over to the dark side. Sudan’s government lives on the dark side. Let’s be sure not to give them ammunition or money that makes them more powerful, particularly now that Khartoum is teetering under economic pressure.” - Eric Cohen

• “Any relief AlBasher gets from US on sanctions, debt, normalization, removal from the terror list, will be an enormous reward to his regime and a nod to finish the genocide. Albashir will never be reformed. There will be NO peace in Sudan with AlBashir in power in Khartoum. Just last week the Sudanese media published this terrible statement by AlBashir to his troops at a training center in the Northern Nile State on December 23rd 2016, ‘I want you to train well, aim well, because the end of this month (December 2016) will be the end of the cease fire I gave to those who refused so far to come to the peace table. I tell them: After the end of this month, we will come to your place. We will come to you and we will get you down from the top of the mountain (Darfur: Jebel Marra) and we will get you out of the caves (Nuba Mountains) one by one.’” - Mohamed Suleiman

• “If you concur with the lifting of sanctions against Sudan and are silent about its genocidal assaults on civilians in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, you will risk being remembered in history as a President complicit with genocide.” - The Baroness Cox, House of Lords, Parliament of the United Kingdom

• “When you were running for president in 2007 you called the genocide in Darfur a ‘stain on our souls’ and said that ‘as president of the United States I don’t intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.’ I supported you and worked for your election in 2008 and I was so hopeful when you appointed Susan Rice and Samantha Power to important positions in your administration. But now, over eight years later, nothing has changed for the victims of the regime in Khartoum. In fact, for many in Sudan things are much worse, not only for Darfuris but also for those in the Nuba Mountains and other marginalized areas of the country. You have abandoned the men, women, and children of Darfur. You have turned a blind eye to the slaughter of the innocents. They greeted your election with expectations that their lives would be better but so many during the last eight years have lost all hope. Now is not the time, in the last weeks of your presidency to change sanctions that have already been imposed.” - Marv Steinberg

• “Hopefully the Administration will understand the situation and keep the sanctions in place.” - Hashim Orta Adaw, Blue Nile Youth for Peace and Development Organization

• “STAND emerged out of the struggle to stop genocide in Darfur and we have continued to support the struggle for justice in Sudan for nearly a decade. As senator, President Obama was a strong ally of this cause, and we are disappointed to see his policy as President overlook the country’s horrific and ongoing human rights abuses. The decision to withdraw sanctions on Sudan as atrocities continue to occur with appalling frequency will offer financial support and confer legitimacy to a government that has made clear that it has no intention of stopping abuses against its people.” - STAND: The Student-led Movement to End Mass Atrocities

• “The U.S. cannot lift the sanctions to Sudan!” - Philip Nima

• “In one of his last speeches Bashir designated USA as the enemy. In a another occasion he said the USA, UK and France are under his shoes. He is anti-western and inhumane. His same message but in a relatively more sophisticated theological manner had been continuously propagated in Sudanese official education, media and mosques. Such hatred should not be for free. And for us as Sudanese democrats, it is better to suffer from sanctions for a while than to continue to suffer under the brutal Islamist fascism.” - Elhag ali Warrag, Hurriyat Editor-in-Chief

• “Every school child knows that appeasing a bully never solves the problem. Reducing sanctions on Sudan, and on the individuals in Sudan responsible for the carnage, only emboldens them. The architects of the ethnic cleansing of Sudan’s minorities will perceive weakness and redouble their efforts to eliminate their opponents. The sanctions must remain.” - Rebecca Tinsley, Founder of Waging Peace

• “One of the agendas in your campaign was a solution for the Darfur crisis. I am hopeless. Because of your policy failure I am not able to return back home to join my kids and start my legal business. My dreams are ruined in the Diaspora. Five years have passed and nothing has improved. Your promise has failed.” - Abdelrahman

• “By rewarding a Regime that commits mass atrocities, the US is marginalizing accountability, the rule of law and dishonoring those that have been killed or maimed by the Bashir Regime. The Regime has attacked innocent civilians in Darfur, and continues to bomb innocent civilians in places of refuge in Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile States. As an U.S. international criminal lawyer, I am ‘disappointed’ that the U.S. is choosing to reward genocidaires, instead of taking a stand to uphold rule of law and protect innocent civilians. Lifting any of the sanctions against the Bashir Regime rewards the regime and curtails peace. Please keep the existing sanctions in place.”

• “Sudan is one of only three States on the US list of Sponsors of Terrorism; its President Al-Bashir is the only sitting Head of State in the world with an arrest warrant by the ICC for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. Its actions and policies continue to pose ‘an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States’, as you wrote upon renewing sanctions against Sudan, Nov. 3, 2016. These sanctions, instituted in 1997, have been effective: Khartoum is desperate to have them lifted, and to get debt relief of $59 billion. For the US to relent on either would be rewarding a criminal regime, and facilitating their murderous actions. Equally important is for the US to discourage the Europeans from rewarding Sudan for control of illegal immigration and for ‘counterterrorism’ (EU has just awarded them 170 million British pounds on Dec. 18, ‘16). We must reject the notion that this Sponsor of Terrorism can be useful in counterterrorism operations, or in solving the immigration problem of which it is a primary cause.” - Al Sutton M.D., African Freedom Coalition

• “Our 44th President was quoted as saying: ‘To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.’ Appeasement has its place, but if Omar al-Bashir unclenches his fist, which he has not, the crushed bodies of countless innocent women and children will fall out. Don’t find yourself on the wrong side of history 44.” - John Jefferson, Co-founder, End Nuba Genocide Project

• “When President Obama called the genocide in Darfur ‘a stain on our souls’, we all thought: at least a committed leader who understands the urgency of the situation, eventually. Two years later when President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, he declared: ‘I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.’ Even if no action whatsoever had been taken since his first statement in 2007, many thought the Nobel Peace Prize would be an incentive for Barack Obama to take his responsibilities and move up Darfur and Sudan on the agenda of world leaders. Once again, nothing happened. The lack of political leadership to resolve the problem is a real shame, on Obama but also on the world leaders and the international community. Now is the last chance for President Obama to do something before it is too late, for History to remember he is a man of his words. He won’t remove the indelible stain on our souls, but he can leave with a clear conscience and do something for the innocent men, women and children being killed everyday in complete impunity and total indifference.” - Max Dana, Founder of The MagkaSama Project

• “It is with utter disbelief that those of us who have tried to convince you and our own government to act on Sudan look toward 2017 and see no change for the people still suffering unimaginable horror. In 2011 when the terrible attacks began in the Nuba Mountains I believed that if we could make the US and UK governments aware of what was happening and who was responsible they would act immediately to stop Bashir from going against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement which was brokered by our countries. That action alone should tell you that his regime cannot be trusted. Let’s be honest, they are manipulative and nasty and like all abusive and psychopathic characters they will tell you anything to stay in power and change nothing. Please do anything you can to make this understood. The people of Sudan are suffering while the world is largely ignorant of their plight. We understand how difficult things are for you right now. But you know what is happening to these amazing people and you must act quickly to prevent a worsening situation. Please do all you can, before it is too late. With hope,” - Claire Vera, Nuba Now

• “Releasing funds to Albashir by lifting sanctions is equal to helping him finance his genocidal wars. Khartoum’s policies will not change by cookies and rewards. The NCP understands only pressure.” - Gibril Ibrahim, Chairperson, JEM

• “During the years of your administration, Sudan government-initiated violence and inhumane conditions increased, not only for Darfuris (who the U.S. and others long have considered targets of genocide) but also for members of ethnic-African tribes in other marginalized regions such as South Kordofan/Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Beja. The Sudan government also supported initiation and advancement of the civil war in South Sudan, on which your administration has focused unsuccessfully while ignoring al Bashir’s murderous activities in Sudan. Yet Sudanese from these regions still express belief that the U.S., and its people, will save them or at least increase protections and access to humanitarian aid: they still believe in ‘the promise’ of America, that we are incapable of standing by while slaughter and suffering occur. You have let down America’s image and philosophy abroad, for victims and freedom-seekers in so many countries, in ways that are harmful to the American people, but you have an opportunity to not enable the situation in Sudan to worsen - by increasing sanctions against Sudan’s president, specific government officials and other specific employees, and by improving the quality and value of the impact of sanctions on these people. Also, you can impede government violence in Sudan by freezing accounts and property-ownership by these same people in the U.S. and any other location where such American actions are legal, impede their travel and that of their families to, and within the U.S., where some now may be attending school. You also can press American allies to take the same actions against Sudan’s government and lackies.” - Laura Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur& Marginalized Sudan

• “Early in his presidency, Obama made a promise to protect the people of Darfur. With the genocide in Darfur now in its fourteenth year and with violence in other areas of Sudan taking place, the current approach to diplomacy with Sudan must be improved. The Sudanese government, under President Omar al Bashir, has proven that they cannot be trusted. There can be no sanctions relief for Sudan. If a genocidal regime is not held accountable for their actions, impunity will continue. As President Obama said at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on April 23, 2012, ‘Remembrance without resolve is a hollow gesture. Awareness without action changes nothing.’ It is not too late for the Administration to stand up for the Sudanese people and say ‘NO to Bashir and NO sanctions relief for the NCP!’” - Lauren Fortgang, Policy Director, Never Again Coalition

• “To even consider easing the sanctions on Sudan is unfathomable. And not only unfathomable but unconscionable. President Obama, have you conveniently distanced yourself from the fact that millions of Sudanese people live in absolute misery and fear under the al Bashir regime? Under a dictatorship that considers ‘black Africans’ ‘abid’ (slaves)? Really, why in the world would anyone even suggest the possibility of lifting sanctions on a regime that has wreaked havoc and killed at will in the Nuba Mountains (1989-1995), Darfur (2003 through today), again in the Nuba Mountains and now in the Blue Nile State as well (2011-present)? One has to wonder, really wonder, has your moral compass, Mr. President, altered so dramatically over the past eight years that your administration is now considering lifting sanctions on a government where killing ‘the other’ is second nature to it. Are you the same man who wrote the following words in 2007 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: ‘I dismiss the cynics who say that this new century cannot be another when, in the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, we lead the world in battling immediate evils and promoting the ultimate good.’ Indeed, are you the same man who spoke the following words over a decade ago during your first presidential campaign when queried about the mass murder underway in Darfur: ‘We can’t say ‘never again’ and then allow it to happen again. And, as President of the United States, I don’t intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter’? Mr. President, is there some quid pro quo here that you and your minions are hiding from the rest of us?” - Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; author of Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan (Transaction, 2015)

• “It would be unconscionable to lift sanctions on a government who has had a history of genocide as an ongoing policy. And a history of lying. I consider it a betrayal if the United States lifts sanctions on the Sudan government. In his first term, President Obama wrote to me that Darfur and Sudan are a priority to his administration. I have seen no sign of this being true. Senator Barack Obama said in his speech at the Save Darfur Rally on April 30, 2006 ‘If we care, the world will care. If we bear witness, the world will know. If we act, the world will follow.’ We have done nothing to show we care. If only words could heal ~ and they can play a part, but we need our leaders to have the political will and moral integrity to act on behalf of courage and basic human rights that allow living out a normal lifespan with dignity. We are waiting for the actions of our honorable President to match the words he so eloquently and rightly spoke when he was a U.S. Senator and a Presidential candidate. There is nothing redeeming about being silent when speaking up is the humane thing to do. The honor and integrity of the human race relies on it. Complicity is not a policy. Complicity comes from a lack of will. It comes from an administration that has lost its moral compass. It comes from a world too wrapped up in its self-importance to stop and contemplate just what human disaster will we condemn, if not genocide. Just exactly when is genocide not okay with us? Just exactly which group of people can we turn our backs on and the definition of genocide fits our values? A moral nation needs to stand up for justice. Genocide flourishes when there is no accountability. Where there is a will there is always a way. Where there is no will there is never a way. One voice won’t stop a genocide, but that is no excuse to be silent. I have never chosen silence regarding Sudan. I cannot imagine lifting sanctions is the honorable thing to do. How can this administration? Omar Hassan Al Bashir is a suspect at large from the International Criminal Court for 10 counts of crimes: 5 counts of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape; 2 counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, 3 counts of genocide. The legacy of President Obama and his administration regarding Sudan is already poor, lifting sanctions would make the legacy even worse.” - Sandra Hammel

• “Looking back on the history of Sudan’s war timeline, Sudan keeps killing its own citizens. It makes me cry sometimes to myself and to God, asking him did you create all humans equally in the universe. For example, since the beginning of the Darfur war in 2003 between rebels and the government, Sudan’s military has never stopped killing innocent people in the region. It is the US and UN leadership who failed the people of Sudan. The US should not lift the sanctions against President Bashir’s regime. If the US allows this to happen, then it will mean that they give the government of Sudan a green light to continue to commit the worst atrocities in Dafur and in Southern Kordafan and the Blue Nile region as well. It is important to keep the sanctions until the Sudan government has fully accepted peace and is allowing access to humanitarian aid into the region. We can’t just let the Sudan government keep killing civilians who have done nothing or even know the root cause of the wars in the region.” - Ngor Kur Mayol, President of Sudan Rowan, Inc.

• “We: you, me, ... the world has a Responsibility 2 Protect the civilians of Darfur and all of Sudan. Yasir Arman, SPLM-N Secretary General, wrote on 1 January 2017, “The SPLM-N calls on the Sudanese public to stand against genocide and war crimes and it appeals to the United Nations Security Council, the United States, and the European Union to take measures against General Bashir. This [latest] massacre is reminding all of the international stakeholders of the need for civilian protection in Sudan rather than rewarding General Bashir and casting a blind eye on his war crimes.” Sanctions need to be enforced, fines for broken sanctions should go to the people who have suffered under the Government of Sudan, and al-Bashir, Haroun and all with evidence against them should be arrested and tried at the ICC. This could be your greatest legacy. With much appreciation for all you have done in other areas to improve our world,” - Lakshmi Linda Sirois

• “We are writing to express our deep concern and distress regarding administrative plans to lift sanctions on Sudan. We ask in the strongest possible terms that you do not lift the sanctions on Sudan. As you know, the government of Sudan often says they will abide by agreements and then ignore them. They have never changed course when given ‘carrots’ and there is no reason to believe they will do so now. We ask that you not reward the Sudanese government for allowing aid in when they should never have stopped aid in the first place. It’s pure blackmail. While all injustice and human suffering concerns us, as Jewish Americans, crimes of hatred and genocide are especially heinous and we believe that there must be NO appeasement where such crimes are concerned. As victims of the Holocaust, we understand the particular evil of the crimes being perpetrated by the Khartoum regime against ‘the other,’ in Darfur, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and all marginalized regions of Sudan. In the words of Rabbi Marshall Meyer: ‘I have no right to be silent in the face of injustice. We human beings are made in the image of God, and when humans are denigrated, humiliated, and persecuted, the sanctity of human life is threatened everywhere.’ As Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel said, ‘In a democratic society, not all are guilty, but indeed all are responsible. We all are responsible for the sins of our society. I cannot, nor can you, dare to hide in our respective gardens when people scream in pain! Circumcise your hearts and listen to the calls of the most vulnerable who are in pain and who are bleeding! They are asking, where are you?’ At a time when the Sudanese government has increased its attacks on its most vulnerable citizens, we ask the same question. Mr. President, where are you? Where are we all?” - Eileen Weiss and Sharon Silber, Jews Against Genocide and NY Coalition for Sudan

Over 40 NGOs, individuals send open letter to UN on Sudan's TRACKS cases

"In the letter, the civil society organisations urge the UN human rights groups and commissioners “to call on the Government of Sudan to immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against ten staff members and affiliates of the Centre for Training and Human Development (TRACKS), an organisation which provides training on a range of issues from IT to human rights, in two overlapping cases that include crimes against the state. Crimes against the state charges carry the death penalty."  Source:  Dabanga

CASS:  South Sudan Sign-on Letter to AU and IGAD Warns of Genocide

The Sudan Tribune picked up the letter:  Activists call to avert "looming genocide" in South Sudan

Please Tweet:  Urgent letter to @DlaminiZuma, @_AfricanUnion and the @igadsecretariat - #StopGenocideinSouthSudan https://www.scribd.com/document/330931071/AU-and-IGAD-Stop-Genocide-in-South-Sudan

November 12, 2016

H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Chairperson
African Union Commission
P.O. Box 3243, Roosevelt Street
W21K19 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ambassador (Eng.) Mahboub Maalim
The Executive Secretary
IGAD Secretariat Avenue Georges Clemenceau
P.O. Box 2653
Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti

H.E. Dr. Zuma and Ambassador Maalim,

We, the undersigned South Sudanese, human rights organizations, scholars and friends of South Sudan, write to express our grave concern regarding the deteriorating crisis in South Sudan. The actions of the actors in the South Sudanese conflict have produced an outcome that has raised the possibility of genocide as shown by the recent increase in ethnically-targeted attacks in the country.  Polarized communities are also increasingly using various social media platforms to spew hate speech. This rhetoric is inciting violence and animosity in a period when bridge-building is desperately needed.  All indications point to the fact that the threat of genocide will only increase in the days ahead.

IGAD and the African Union are in charge of addressing the crisis in South Sudan, therefore, we write to warn you that the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate  and to urge you to take immediate action to avert a looming catastrophe in South Sudan.  Peace in South Sudan and stability in the region are entirely dependent on the respect for the rule of law and the coexistence of communities in mutually complementary terms.  The competency and legacy of your organizations and more importantly, the life or death of innocent South Sudanese will be determined by the actions you choose to take.  Do not let another genocide happen on your watch.  Please act now.

Sincerely,

Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan, Kwaje Lasu, MPH, RCP, Chairman of the Board, Ypsilanti, MI, USA

Al Khatim Adlan Center for Enlightenment & Human Development (KACE), Albaqir A Mukhtar (PhD), Director, Khartoum, Sudan

Azande Global Community Association (AGCA) USA, Edward Mitri Rudwan, Chairman

Balanda Community Association (BCA), Mr. David Pons Bandasi, Chairman, USA

Blue Nile Association for Peace and Development, Omer Abdelsawi Omer, Mulberry, FL, USA

Darfur People's Association of New York, Mohamed Ebead, President, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre, Abdelbagi Jibril, Vice President, Cairo, Egypt

Empowerment Through Education (ETE) Foundation, Micklina Kenyi, Executive Director, Boulder, CO, USA

Face Past for Future Foundation (FP4F), Abdelrahman Gasim, Chairman, Kampala, Uganda

Friends of Sudan / South Sudan, Justin Laku, SR, Founding & Executive Director, University of Ottawa, Canada

Global Partnership for Peace in South Sudan, Theresa Samuel-Boko, Secretary, Santa Clara, CA, USA

Harambi Foundation, Adil Abdel Aati, CEO, Warsaw, Mazowsze, Poland

Jonglei Peace Initiative (North America), Dr. Isaac K. Gang, Co-Founder and Executive Secretary, Belton, TX, USA

Learning Victory, Inc., Ariik Nyok MPA, Founder and Executive Director, Queens County, Long Island City, NY, USA

New Sudan Generation, Silvestro Akara Bakhiet, Founder / President, San Francisco, CA, USA

Nubia Project, Nuraddin Abdulmannan, President, Washington, DC, USA

NyaEden Foundation, Nyamal Tutdeal, Executive Director, Kuoth Wiel, Director, Los Angeles, CA and Philadelphia, PA, USA

People's Democratic Movement (PDM), Hakim Dario, PhD, London, UK

Sisters Hope for South Sudan, Hanna Andrew K. Dijok, Executive Director, Washington, DC, USA

South Sudan International Advocacy for Human Rights(SSIAHR), Peter Gatkuoth Wadar Kuel, Executive Director, Kent, WA, USA

South Sudan Reborn Inc., Pa'gan Amum Okiech, Spokesperson, Denver, CO, USA

South Sudan Women United

South Sudanese Women Christian Mission for Peace

The Center for Democracy and Peace, Sabri Elshareef, Director, New Jersey, NJ, USA

The Nile Institute for Peace and Development (NIPD), William Pay Tuoy-Giel, M.Ed., Founder and Executive Director, Phoenix, AZ, USA

The Regional Centre for Training and Development of Civil Society (RCDCS), Dr. A.M. Girshab, Director General, Khartoum, Sudan

United Sudanese and South Sudanese Communities Association (USASSCA), Henry Y. Lejukole, PhD, Chairman, Des Moines, IA, USA

Western Equatoria Community Association (WECA), Moses Dangba, Executive Director, USA

Ahmed H. Adam, Visiting Fellow, Institute for African Development (IAD), Cornell University, New York, NY, USA

Hamid E. Ali, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy and Administration, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo, Egypt

David Alton, Lord Alton of Liverpool, Independent Crossbench Member of the House of Lords, Professor of Citzenship, Liverpool John Moores University, London, UK

Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro, Former Governor, Western Equatoria State, South Sudan

Sharon Carver, 1st United Presbyterian Church of Crafton Heights, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

G. Jan Colijn, Dean Emeritus, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, USA

The Baroness Cox, The UK Parliament, Westminster, London, UK

Asha Khalil Elkarib, Dr. CS Activist and Researcher, Khartoum, Sudan

Karen Henderson, Volunteer to Sudan and South Sudan, Waverly, OH, USA

Robert K. Hitchcock, PhD, Kalahari Peoples Fund, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director, World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, MN, USA

Khalid Kodi, Adjunct Professor, Boston College, Brown University, Boston, MA, USA

Dr. Deborah Mayersen, Historian, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

Victoria Sanford, PhD, Professor & Chair, Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, Director, Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

K.M. Greg Sarkissian, President, International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (Division of Zoryan Institute), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch, Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA

Henry C. Theriault, Ph.D., Founding Co-Editor, Genocide Studies International, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, Worchester State University, Worcester, MA, USA

Rebecca Tinsley, Journalist and Author, London, UK

Dr. Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Author of Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Fayetteville, AK, USA

Ernesto Verdeja, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Genocide, New York, NY, USA

Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Dr. Marsha Raticoff Grossman Associate Professor of Holocaust Studies, Director, Master of Arts in Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, USA

John H. Weiss, Professor of History, Founder/Director, Caceres-Neuffer Genocide Action Group, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

Act for Sudan, Eric Cohen, Co-Founder, San Francisco, CA, USA

African Freedom Coalition, Al Sutton M.D., President, New York, NY, USA

African Soul, American Heart, Debra Dawson, President, Fargo, ND, USA

American Friends of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan (AFRECS), Richard Parkins, Executive Director, Alexandria, VA, USA

Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn, NY, USA

Christian Solidarity International-USA, The Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach, Denver, CO, USA

Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action, Tim Kubick, Ph.D., Chair, Denver, CO, USA

Colorado Episcopal Foundation, Anita Sanborn, President, Denver, CO, USA

Comité Soudan, Diagne Chanel, Présidente, Paris, France

Concerned Citizens for Change, Gene Binder, Steering Committee Member, Bronx, NY, USA

Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, Richard Sribnick, MD, President, Columbia, SC, USA

Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams, Co-Founder, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Darfur Interfaith Network, Martha Boshnick and Richard Young, Co-Chairs, Washington, DC, USA

Dear Sudan Love Marin, Gerri Miller, Founder and Coordinator, Tiburon, CA, USA

Doctors to the World, Honduras/ Nepal/Nuba Mountains - The Sudan, C. Louis "PJ" Perrinjaquet, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Breckenridge, CO, USA

Empower One, Mike Congrove, Executive Director, Dallas, TX, USA

Enough Project, Brian Adeba, Associate Director of Policy, Washington, DC, USA

Genocide No More - Save Darfur, Marv Steinberg, Coordinator, Redding, CA, USA

Humanity United, David Abramowitz, Managing Director, Washington, DC, USA

Idaho Darfur Coalition, Marilyn Griep, Co-Founder, Boise, ID, USA

Institute for Sustainable Peace, Randall Butler, CEO, Houston, TX, USA

International Growth Centre, Richard Newfarmer, Country Director, South Sudan, Washington, DC, USA

Jewish World Watch, Mike Brand, Director of Advocacy & Programs, Encino, CA, USA

Jews Against Genocide, USA, Sharon Silber, Co-Director, New York, NY, USA

Joining Our Voices, Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Kentuckiana Taskforce Against Genocide, Robert Brousseau, Founder, Louisville, KY, USA

Long Island Darfur Action Group, Nancy Walsh, Coordinator, Farmingdale, NY, USA

Never Again Coalition, Diane Koosed and Loren Fortgang, Co-Chairs, Portland, OR, USA

New York Coalition for Sudan, Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder, New York, NY, USA

Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition, Bob Cooper, Dallas, TX, USA

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology, Gladys Tiffany, Executive Director, Fayetteville, AK, USA

People4Sudan, Valerie Delacretaz, Global Coordinator, Geneva, Switzerland

Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, David L. Rosenberg, Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Pittsburgh Presbytery (PCUSA) International Partnership Ministry Team, The Rev. David B. Carver, Moderator, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship, Cody U. Watson, Jr., Associate Director, Birmingham, AL, USA

Redstone Presbytery Mission Committee, Rev. Sylvia Carlson, Chair, Greensburg, PA, USA

San Diego Lost Boys of Sudan, Karen Richards, President, Carlsbad, CA, USA

San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, Mohamed Suleiman, President, San Francisco, CA, USA

Society for Threatened Peoples, Mr. Ulrich Delius, Africa Desk, Göttingen, Germany

South Sudan Mission Task Group, Paul A. Lucia, Facilitator, Reading, PA, USA

St. Clare's Episcopal Church, The Reverend Ronald D. Culmer, Pleasanton, CA, USA

STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities, Savannah Wooten, Student Director, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

Stop Genocide Now, Katie Jay Scott, Managing Director, Redondo, CA, USA

Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Eleanor Wright, PhD, Moderator, Birmingham, AL, USA

Sudan Evangelical Alliance Partners, Dr. Donnie Brake, President, United States/Kenya/South Sudan

Sudan Sunrise, Tom Prichard, Executive Director, Reston, VA, USA

Sudan Unlimited, Esther Sprague, Founder and Director, San Francisco, CA, USA

The Elsa-Gopa Trust, Nell Okie, Director, Madison, CT, USA

The MagkaSama Project, Max Dana, Founder, Paris, France

The Radler Foundation and East African Ministries, BJ Goergen, Executive Director, Fort Worth, TX, USA

Water is Basic, Stephen R. Roese, President, Dallas, TX, USA

A discussion about Sudan, South Sudan and a new initiative, The Sentry, designed to dismantle the systems that facilitate genocide and mass atrocities.  

Omer Ismail was born in the Darfur region of Sudan. He has spent over 30 years working both independently and with international organizations on relief efforts and human rights. Omer fled Sudan in 1989 as a result of his political views. He helped found the Sudan Democratic Forum, a think tank of Sudanese intellectuals working for the advancement of democracy in Sudan. In addition, he co-founded the Darfur Peace and Development organization to raise awareness about the crisis in his troubled region. He currently works as Policy Advisor to several agencies working in crisis management and conflict resolution in Africa. Omer was a Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and he earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. 

The discussion will be moderated by Tom Giles, a journalist for more than 20 years and currently an executive editor for global technology at Bloomberg. He's worked as a reporter and editor in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, London and Eastern Europe -- covering financial services, foreign exchange, civil and religious rights and a wide range of industries. Tom graduated with a BA in Politics from Princeton and earned a Master's in International Affairs and Writing from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs.

Genocide No More, Save Darfur
October 10-12, 2016 / Redding, CA

Demonstrations to Condemn the Use of Chemical Weapons in Sudan

Joint NGO Letter:  Call for an Independent International Investigation into the Use of Chemical Weapons and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law in Darfur

Waging Peace:  Sign-on letter to the UN calling for an investigation
The letter was signed by 87 organisations and 44 individuals.

Urge the international community to investigate and act!

Friday, October 28, 2016, 12pm - 4:30pm
The White House, Washington, DC

Saturday, October 8, 2016, 12pm - 4pm
United Nations Headquarters, New York City

Saturday, October 8, 2016, 11am - 1pm
City Hall, San Francisco
(slide show and videos below)

Information regarding the use of chemical weapons in Sudan is available through Amnesty International.  Click here for the report, "Scorched earth, Poisoned air."

Blue Nile Association for Peace and Development:  Call for Action to Save Lives in Sudan

Please see the statement below regarding a possible cholera outbreak in Sudan. 

If you would like to add your organization, please respond to Omer Abdelsawi Omer, who is with the Blue Nile Association for Peace and Development, by Friday, September 23rd at 5pm EST.  His email address is omersawi@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Call for Action to Save Lives in Sudan

This is a call to the international community and concerned health organizations to intervene in order to clear the ambiguity surrounding the rising death toll in Sudan due to an epidemic of diarrhea believed to be cholera.   

As reported in AllAfrica “Medical sources have stated that the number of infected people is still not known as hospitals and various state medical centers have been receiving dozens of patients. This has made the hospitals' wards overcrowded, while the majority of the infected lack essential treatment measures.” 

Between the government’s denial and the international community’s inaction, people in the Blue Nile, Sinnar, Kassala and River Nile states of Sudan are dying of epidemic diarrhea likely to be cholera.  Radio Dabnga reported, “Hundreds in the Blue Nile state are reported to have died and are infected with water-borne diarrhea, feared to be caused by Cholera. While unofficial reports say cholera death toll has risen to over 100 cases.” 

As the number of dead and infected has risen, reports point to the spread of the disease further north and east to include Kassala, a state-bordering Eritrea. 

Cases of diarrhea confirmed to be cholera were relayed by reliable sources on the ground in the capital, specifically Omdurman and Alhaj Yusif at the vicinity of Khartoum.  The figures at hand, which were admitted by the government of Sudan and published widely, quoted in AllAfrica read as follows, “The federal Health Ministry stated that the death toll has risen to 17 people.   416 people have been infected: at a rate of 1.2 per every 100,000 people.  The disease broke out in the third week of August.”  

Thus, there is a real danger that this epidemic will most likely spread within Sudan and pose a regional pandemic threat, if not contained.  Accordingly, we call on the international community, UN organizations including the WHO, Red Cross and other concerned organizations to pressure the government of Sudan to declare these states as cholera stricken, and open the door for needed assistance to reach those affected.      

Signed by:

Blue Nile Association for Peace and Development USA
Human Rights Network USA
Darfur People's Association of New York
DPANY
Darfour Human rights Organization USA
Sudan National Democratic Forum of California
Sudanese Marginalized Forum USA
SudanUnlimited

ACJPS:  NGO Letter regarding the human rights situation in Sudan in advance of the 33rd Session of the Human Rights Council

Link to the letter provided by Human Rights Watch.

Act for Sudan:  Germany Stand with Sudan

This week, Act for Sudan delivered a letter to Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, supported by 77 signatories. Germany has developed a relationship with Sudan and has engaged in the process of negotiations between the regime and its opposition. In addition, Germany leads the European Union, which has provided financial support to Sudan to curb immigration.

The letter specifically asks for Germany's:  

1. Assistance in securing the immediate release of internally displaced Darfuris who were arrested by the Sudan government after recent meetings with Ambassador Donald Booth;

2. Intervention on behalf of the people of Sudan to pressure the Sudan government to abide by the ceasefires it declared on the 17th and 30th of June and to end all attacks by its forces and militias, and;

3. Influence to end support to the Sudan government as part of its program to curb the flow of immigrants into Europe.

Act for Sudan will be meeting with the German Embassy in Washington D.C. this week to follow up on the letter.

Support Act for Sudan's call to action by:

Posting the letter on Facebook (be sure to tag the German Embassy Washington and the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy by first liking their Facebook pages and then starting their names with "@" in your post):

• Dear German Embassy Washington, Please help secure the immediate release of internally displaced Darfuris who were arrested by the Sudan government after recent meetings with Ambassador Donald Booth, from the Office of the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. http://bit.ly/2aQ0V2I #PeaceinSudan

• Dear German Embassy Washington, Stand with the people of Sudan by exerting pressure to curb financial support to the Khartoum regime to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into Europe. A genocidal regime is an inappropriate partner for the EU and Germany. http://bit.ly/2aQ0V2I #PeaceinSudan

Tweeting about the letter:

• To @GermanyDiplo: stop financial support of genocidal #Sudan regime to curb immigrants into Europe. #fundinggenocide bit.ly/2aQ0V2I

• To @GermanyDiplo: pressure #Sudan regime to release displaced Darfuris arrested after meeting with US Special Envoy bit.ly/2aQ0V2I

Thank you for standing with the people of Sudan,

Katie-Jay Scott, on behalf of Act for Sudan

SU:  Letter to Secretary Kerry re a Special Envoy for South Sudan

Given the urgent crises in Sudan and South Sudan, we, the undersigned 70 human rights groups, activists, scholars and civic leaders, write to request the immediate appointment of a prominent senior level official to support the engagement of the U.S. Special Envoy’s Office in South Sudan.

Click HERE to read the entire letter!

Act for Sudan:  Oppose Sudan or Egypt Chairing UNESCO

Take action for Sudan! UNESCO, AU, EU, U.S. Congress, and the international community must oppose the candidature of either Egypt or Sudan to the UNESCO Director General position.

Sign the petition now.

Nubian organizations in Egypt, Sudan and the Diaspora call upon the international community to oppose the candidature of Egypt or Sudan for the UNESCO Director General position because they do not recognize the Nubian language or history. Egypt and Sudan must officially recognize the Nubian language as an official language in both countries and include Nubian language, history, and culture in their educational system.

Thank you for taking action,
Katie-Jay, on behalf of Act for Sudan

CASS:  Letter to the Leaders of South Sudan re the Immediate Delivery of Humanitarian Aid to Address the Effects of Starvation

We, the undersigned 75 organizations, scholars and prominent individuals, are alarmed by the drastic humanitarian situation in South Sudan, with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network reporting increasing death rates and a deepening humanitarian catastrophe.  

Click HERE to read the entire letter!

The Enough Project and United to End Genocide:  Tell President Obama to Take a New Approach to Sanction

Sign the letter to President Obama by clicking here!

Learn more about this proposed approach to sanctions by watching the videotaped panel discussion, which was held in the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill.

Nuba Mountains International Association, USA:  Protests 5 Year Anniversary of Genocide

Monday, 6 June 2016 at 1-4 PM (EST)
In New York City at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
On East 47th Street, Between 1st & 2nd Avenues

On May 1, 2016, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, sent another jet fighter into the Nuba Mountains to kill more civilians. This time, six children died in Heiban town, four from one family. Since June 6, 2011, the people living in the Nuba Mountains have been forced to hide in caves and foxholes to escape the bombs sent by the Government of Sudan. For five years, the world has known about the suffering in the Nuba Mountains that Greta Van Susteren, George Clooney, Rep. Frank Wolf [R-VA10, 1981-2014], and Mukesh Kapila have witnessed and reported, but for five years the United Nations Security Council has done nothing to stop the genocide happening in the Nuba Mountains. When will the international community finally end the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed against the civilians from the Nuba Mountains, Darfur, and the Blue Nile? When will the UN care about our children?
CONTACT INFORMATION
Magid Kabashi Tel.: 1.347.579.5111/Email: kuku66kuku@yahoo.com
Anwer Tiea Tel.: 1.203.560.3082/Email: tiea1999@yahoo.com

Nuba Reports:  Another Attack on Heiban

Act for Sudan:  Stand with Sudan 

120 Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama urging him to make Sudan a priority in his remaining months in office in order to stop the long running government sponsored mass atrocities and genocide in Sudan. Since that letter was drafted, attacks on civilians have continued in Sudan, including the recent massacre of children in Heiban in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. That's why it is so important that President Obama act.

TAKE ACTION:

1) Please call the White House and tell President Obama that to act in support of the bi-partisan Congressional Letter urging the president to make Sudan a priority and force an end to the mass atrocities and genocide in Sudan. Call between 9am - 5pm EST: 202.456.1111

2) Tweet: Civilians in #Sudan pay the price for #impunity @AmbassadorPower #JusticeNow #HeibanMassacre @actforsudan http://1.usa.gov/1R7heCp

3) Post: Too many civilians in #Sudan pay the price for #impunity @AmbassadorPower #JusticeNow #HeibanMassacre @ActForSudan http://mcgovern.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/bipartisan-group-of-120-lawmakers-call-on-president-obama-to-keep-sudan 

(Note: to tag on Facebook, you must first like Ambassador Power's page here and Act for Sudan's page here.)

Thank you for standing with the people of Sudan.

Katie-Jay, on behalf of Act for Sudan

Sudan Advocacy Framework: Join the #Heiban_Massacre Online Campaign!
#مذبحة_هيبان

Graphic Images

Dear All, 

We are launching a mini-campaign to shed light on the killing of 6 children in Heiban in the Nuba Mountains by the barrel bombs from the MiG jets on the 1st May 2016.

The aerial bombardment in Heiban using barrel bombs continued for the following days causing two casualties on the 2nd of May (Nagwa Musa Kunna, female, 22 years and Samia Adam, female, 21 years). This is expected to escalate with the recent statement by Gen. Adawi on putting an end to the “rebellion” this year, which has seen an acceleration in the bombing in the last months (attached is a report by the Nuba Human Rights Observatory about the bombing in the Nuba Mountains region in April).

The aerial bombardment in Darfur has continued since 2003 and in Blue Nile and South Kordofan/Nuba Mountains since 2011, with its brutal consequences of killing civilians and animals, damaging land and destroying properties. The voices calling for stopping the bombardments need to be amplified to end this violence and destruction.

Below are some materials:

Campaign Hashtag:

Kindly join the online campaign via posting online using the Hashtag: (#Heiban_Massacre) #مذبحة_هيبان

Online Campaign Materials:

-          Attached are some photos from Heiban from the bombing site on May 1st. Kindly feel free to use them for posters and the production of other comms materials (we have authorization from the photographer).

-          Posters: attached are some posters already designed.

-          PDF, Word, and JPG versions of the statement in Arabic and English in addition to the list of signatories.

-          Whatsapp Radio clip also on the youtube link (here).

3ayin and Nuba Reports have useful materials including info graphs, reports, photos and videos, please look and share.

Reports and links:

-          Attached is a useful report from Nuba Human Rights Observatory (in Arabic and English).

-          Kindly find below couple of useful links from 3ayin.

o    http://www.3ayin.com/detail.php/19/ - Jan 2014 - A bombing that happened in Yabus, Blue Nile, on

o    http://www.3ayin.com/detail.php/26/ - Dec 2014 - Includes a video about the children who have fallen victims in both the gov held areas and he children who were recruited by SAF. The bombing that happened was in Buram county

o    http://www.3ayin.com/detail.php/23/ - Oct 16 2014 - This is another bombing in Heiban that happened on Oct 16 2014 where four siblings were killed

o    http://www.3ayin.com/detail.php/28/ - Jan 7th 2015 - Video about Al-Baneen Butrous who was killed in Abu Leila, Um Dorein county, South Kordofan along with these other casualties (وفي قصف مدفعي على قرية ( ام دورين ) التي ظلت تحت قصف المدفعي من قبل القوات المسلحة السودانية خلال الشهر الماضي وبداية الشهر الحالي قتل فيها ثلاثة اطفال حرقاً واصيب ستة آخرون بحروقات مختلفة) .

#Heiban_Massacre #مذبحة_هيبان

heiban.campaign@gmail.com

Statement with 620 signatures (English)

Statement with 620 signatures (Arabic)

Darfur Women Action Group:  Speak Up for Darfur Now!

Hello Supporters!  

Will you sign this petition?   http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/speak-up-for-darfur-now?source=c.em.cp&r_by=15577396 

We created a petition to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama which says:

"The suffering of the people of Darfur has gone far too long after 13 years of daily attacks. 

As a member of your constituency, I write to appeal to you and urge you to speak up for the people of Darfur and make ending genocide in Darfur and Sudan at large a priority.

We implore you to demand civilian protection, unhindered humanitarian access, accountability for perpetrators and empowerment of the affected communities by genocide in Darfur, Sudan to enable them to rebuild their lives."

Thanks again for making a difference!

Sincerely,

Darfur Women Action Group

Bipartisan Group of 120 Lawmakers Call on President Obama to Keep Sudan Humanitarian Crisis a High Priority (click here for letter)

Call the White House and tell President Obama that you support the recent letter signed by 120 Members of Congress to to keep Sudan a priority in his remaining months in office.  

Call 1-202-456-1111 between the hours of 9am - 5pm EST or send a message online by clicking here:  The White House.

Sudan Unlimited was pleased to sign the letter regarding excessive use of force against Sudanese students and demonstrators (click here for letter)

Huffington Post Article:  Sudan Regime Fears Students Will Recover What It Stole

Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition:  4th Annual Forum on Sudan and South Sudan

Sunday, April 24, 2016
2:00pm - 5:00pm
East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh

Click here for Forum photos by Chelsey Engel Photography for Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition!

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:  "Interaction by U.S. is sought by faction in Sudan genocide"  

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Letter to the Editor: "Thank you for raising awareness about the Sudans"

Special Remarks by U. S. House Rep. Mike Doyle and Pittsburgh City Councilman Dan Gilman

Speakers and Panelists:

• Breanna Green, U. S. State Dept. Special Envoy Office, Sudan Desk Officer

• Omer Ismail, Enough Project, Senior Advisor

• Philip Tutu, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, Representative and Chairman-USA

• Ibrahim Tahir, Activist for Beja People

• Reuben Garang, Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan

• Isaac Gang, Coalition of Advocates for South Sudan

• Margaret Ihiju Atarry, South Sudan Women United

Lunch provided by members of the Sudanese Community of Pittsburgh
Please RSVP by April 17 to David Rosenberg at jumphook@gmail.com
The Luncheon and Forum is free and open to the public

DWAG:  April 15 and 16 Hunger Striker and Rally at the White House

Please join us as we stand in solidarity with Darfuri survivors and demand an action to end the genocide in Sudan. Darfur Women Action Group will have a 24- hour hunger strike on April 15th. A rally at the White House will follow the hunger strike on April 16th.

Event details:

WHERE:  In front of the White House
600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington D.C. 

WHAT:  24 hrs Hunger strike starting on April 15th starting at 12:30

WHEN: 24 hrs Hunger strike starting on April 15th starting at 12:30 pm. Rally on April 16, 2016, 1:00-4:00 pm

 Please don’t hesitate to contact us at our email and phone listed below.

phone: (202) 496-1298                                                                       

mediarelations@darfurwomenaction.org

JWW:  Walk to End Genocide

• April 17, 2016 Los Angeles

• May 15, 2016 Santa Rosa

• May 1, 2016 Washington DC

Click here to learn more!

The UN Independent Expert on Human Rights to Sudan: Urgent Action to protect the Sudanese academician Mr. Abdul Qadir Ismail

On April 13, 2016, members of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service arrested Mr.Abdul Qadir
Ismail- who is a researcher and educator at the University of Omdurman Alahlia- from his home and took him to an unknown destination. Prior to that, security service summoned Mr. Ismail on daily bases for an entire week before the day of his arrest and leave him in the Security offices, without interrogation since early morning until the end of the day.  Security service uses this practice in order to overburden and restrict the freedoms of activists and those involved in public work.

Before this incident two academics at Alnilin University (Mr. Hamid Aldoon and Mr. Abdulrahman Abboudy) were threatened and beaten by members of the ruling party inside the campus of the University.

We-the signatories to the memorandum- would like to draw the attention of the independent expert to these practices against the Sudanese academics and activists, which represent a violation of their rights and freedoms. As well, we request him to take urgent steps to ensure the freedom and safety of Mr. Abdul Qadir Ismail.

Click here to sign the petition.

UEG:  Tell Congress: Break the silence on Darfur

Without demands for action and sustained pressure from concerned citizens, the world’s eyes can quickly be diverted from atrocities taking place. Nowhere is that clearer than in Sudan.

So far this year, violent attacks in Darfur have driven 129,200 innocent people from their homes. And the situation may be much worse. The government of Sudan is blocking aid workers and UN officials from the region, keeping them from seeing what is really going on.

A group of concerned lawmakers are breaking the silence on Darfur by sending a letter to President Obama demanding action. Click here to sign the petition and make sure your Representative joins them.

JWW: Tell President Obama: Don't Forget About Sudan

With so much going on in the world, Sudan has faded from the headlines. But the crisis is not over. The genocidal regime in Khartoum continues to attack, kill, and displace civilians from Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile. 

While running for office, then Senator Obama was very outspoken against the genocide in Darfur. He said, "We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again. And as President of the United States, I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter." 

Members of Congress will be sending a bipartisan letter to the President, urging him to re-prioritize Sudan in U.S. foreign policy and ensure our government is doing everything it can to pressure the government of Sudan to cease its attacks on civilians and bring peace to the region.  

Please click here to ask your Representative to join their colleagues in sending this letter to President Obama, encouraging him to step up engagement in Sudan during his last year in office. 

DARFUR WOMEN ACTION GROUP:  GLOBAL WEEK OF ACTION AGAINST GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

APRIL 15TH - 25TH, 2016

Please join us and bring a friend with you as we to stand in solidarity with survivors, speak up against genocide and demand an action to end genocide in Darfur and Sudan at large.

Between April 15th -25th,  2016,  Darfur Women Action Group in partnership with the Sudanese diaspora, and friends of Darfur and Sudan worldwide will protest the continuing genocide and violence in Darfur. As a community we will organize rallies, protests, forums, workshops and panel discussions in several countries including the United States, Europe, Canada, Africa, and Australia. These events will be conducted to draw the world's attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur, and other crises in Sudan. 

Starting on April 1st, 2016 we will be sharing an online video for our supporters to screen along with stories of survivors to be used to educate more people and mobilize them to act.

Darfur Women Action Group will contribute by having a 24- hour hunger strike on  April 15th from 12:00 PM until April 16th 12:00 PM. 

A rally at the White House will follow the hunger strike on April 16th  from 1-4 P.M.

WE NEED YOU, YOUR VOICE , AND YOUR SUPPORT.

We hope you can join us by organizing an event in your community and join our online or offline actions. If you would like to organize an event please email: campaign@darfurwomenaction.org.

TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WE CAN END THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR AND ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD.

Click here to Stand with Sudan: #JusticeNow – A Virtual Action

DEMONSTRATION TO COMMEMORATE THE 7TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST ICC ARREST WARRANT AGAIN SUDANESE PRESIDENT OMAR AL-BASHIR

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016 | UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK