Half Strength Political Will

After billions spent, countless hours of debate, and an endless stream of tough words, it is deplorable that the most powerful nations in the world can muster only a ‘half-strength force’ to protect Darfuri civilians. The U.N. has now admitted what has long been clear: the previous promise to deploy 80 percent of the UNAMID force by December will not be kept. Even the new, reduced goal of 50 percent seems a stretch. Vitally needed helicopters, trucks and logistics are nowhere in sight. How can that be so?

This ‘half-strength force’ is a product of U.N. member states’ half-strength political will – not just on peacekeepers, but on the Darfur crisis overall. Talking tough about protecting Darfuris is easy; contributing equipment and peacekeepers and overcoming Sudanese government intransigence as part of a comprehensive strategy for peace is not. Speaking in platitudes about justice and accountability is easy; standing behind the ICC chief prosecutor is not. Calling for peace is easy; putting sustained effort into creating a viable and inclusive peace process is not. Deploring violence is easy; but calling out China, Russia, and others for arming a genocidal regime is not.

We understand that there is no quick fix for this crisis. Many factors of the crisis were decades in the making. But U.N. member states, and particularly the Security Council, are not addressing either the long-term or the short-term challenges in Darfur. After more than four years of being ‘seized of the matter,’ the Security Council still has not adopted a comprehensive strategy that includes peace, protection, accountability and development. Rather, it has stumbled along through a succession of ineffective half-steps.

While the UNAMID peacekeeping mission may indeed be a ‘half-strength force’ by December – the U.N. Security Council has already been a ‘full-strength’ failure on this crisis.

posted by Jerry Fowler

France might be open to deal on Sudan’s Bashir

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - France suggested on Wednesday it could support suspending an international indictment of Sudan's president for war crimes if Khartoum met several conditions including ending the killings in Darfur.

In July the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, asked the court's judges to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Sudan's conflict-ravaged Darfur region.Moreno-Ocampo accused the Sudanese leader of launching a campaign of genocide in 2003 that has killed 35,000 people outright, at least another 100,000 through starvation and disease and forced 2.5 million from their homes.

The African Union, Arab League and other alliances have urged the U.N. Security Council to use its powers under Article 16 of the ICC statute to block any proceedings against Bashir to avoid shattering the fragile peace process in Darfur.Although the ICC judges are not expected to make a decision before October or November, officials from some Western governments have been saying privately that issuing a warrant for Bashir's arrest might do more harm than good.France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters that Paris might be open to the idea of freezing any ICC action against Bashir provided specific conditions were met.

Ripert made it clear that bomb attacks and killings in Darfur would have to cease. Also, Khartoum would have to open a "full inclusive political dialogue" with all groups in Darfur, relations with Sudan's neighbor Chad would have to improve, and Khartoum would need to try two indicted war crimes suspects. If the Sudanese government were to meet those four conditions, Ripert said, "Why not?"'DANGEROUS SIGNAL'Britain also has not ruled out the possibility that it would back an Article 16 suspension. European diplomats have said that London's position was similar to France's.

The human rights organization Amnesty International and the United Nations' former human rights chief Louise Arbour spoke out on Wednesday against blocking ICC moves on Bashir. "To put ICC proceedings on hold in Darfur would send a dangerous signal to would-be war criminals that justice is negotiable and the Security Council can be held hostage to their threats," Arbour wrote in the International Herald Tribune newspaper.

The new U.N. peacekeeping chief, Alain Le Roy of France, told reporters that he was very worried about how Khartoum would retaliate if the ICC decided to indict Bashir. Diplomats say Khartoum has threatened to expel the U.N./African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, in Darfur if Bashir is indicted, although some U.N. officials play this down. "There have been contradictory messages," Le Roy said. "I'm not sure they have made up their mind" how to retaliate.Le Roy also said he did not expect UNAMID to reach 80 percent of its full deployment by the end of the year, as the United Nations had hoped, due to a delay in the arrival of Thai and Nepalese units in Darfur. (Editing by Xavier Briand)

Source: Reuters

By Louis Charbonneau

Darfur Peacekeepers Face Fourth Air Attack in Weeks

KHARTOUM, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur came under fire as they flew in to investigate reports of fighting in the region, officers said on Thursday, the fourth time their helicopters have been shot at in recent weeks.Officers from the joint U.N./African Union UNAMID force said they fear rebel groups were targeting their aircraft, mistaking them for government helicopters which, despite regular protests, often use the same white livery.

The attacks have also raised concerns among aid workers who rely on the flights to take them to remote corners of the area."The helicopter was about to land when they heard shots and saw tracers," said UNAMID spokesman Kemal Saiki.More than five years of fighting in Darfur has killed 200,000 people and forced more than 2.5 million to flee their homes, say international experts. Khartoum says 10,000 have died.The helicopter was attacked on Wednesday morning as it flew into the village of Birmaza, a settlement in North Darfur that rebel groups said was attacked by government troops and bombers.

Insurgent groups have accused government forces of launching a string of attacks against their positions in North Darfur over the past two weeks. One former rebel leader said the bombing continued on Thursday. His report could not be verified.Sudan's armed forces deny attacking rebels and say soldiers are in the area to protect humanitarian convoys against bandits.

Saiki said the latest helicopter carried 12 UNAMID officers who were planning to check on reports that fighting. The helicopter aborted its mission and returned to base unscathed.On Sunday, armed groups opened fire on another UNAMID helicopter, damaging its fuel tank. Two other helicopters came under fire in August, one of them hit by four bullets.

Saiki said it was unclear who had fired on the helicopter on Wednesday. But there were growing fears rebels were confusing UNAMID aircraft with the Sudanese army's attack helicopters.

A U.N. report in 2007 accused Sudanese forces in Darfur of violating a string of international agreements by painting their planes and adding insignia to make them look like U.N. aircraft.

Aid groups said any further attacks on aircraft in Darfur could have a devastating impact on their work." No one wants to use the roads because they keep being shot at," said Alun McDonald, spokesman for Oxfam in Sudan. "If they are starting to shoot at helicopters now, that doesn't leave us with many options." Mohamed Dirbeen, military spokesman for the arm of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Arcua Minnawi, said government aircraft bombed villages close to the town of Tawila in North Darfur on Thursday morning, leaving seven villagers dead and nine injured. The figures could not be confirmed.

Minnawi was the only rebel leader to sign a peace deal with Sudan's government in 2006.No one was immediately available from Sudan's armed forces to comment on the livery issue or the latest reports of attacks on Thursday.

Source: Reuters

By Andrew Heavens

Congress Highlights Arms Trade in Darfur

“It started firing. People began screaming. The shooting continued until the houses were burning. The woman was burned on her legs. Her body had a bullet hole that went from her chest to her back.” Such statements have tragically become routine since the start of the Darfur genocide, but what makes this quote of particular note is that the “it” was identified as a Chinese-made anti-aircraft gun mounted on the back of a Dong Feng truck, also manufactured in China.

Despite a UN embargo on arms transfers into Darfur, several countries, including Russia and China, continue to funnel weapons to the Sudanese government by exploiting a loophole. The existing embargo allows weapons sales to the Government of Sudan provided they are not bound for Darfur — but the Sudanese government has publicly stated that it has every right to transfer military equipment wherever it wishes.

In an attempt to stop the transfers of Russian-made helicopters, Chinese fighter jets, and assorted small arms, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) have authored Senate Resolution 660, which calls for the U.S. to push the UN Security Council to expand the arms embargo to cover all of Sudan. The resolution also highlights Russian and Chinese arms shipments to Sudan and finds that any further shipments to the Government of Sudan, given its refusal to keep their arms out of Darfur, would be in violation of the arms embargo.

While it may seem unlikely that two permanent members of the Security Council would cut off lucrative arms sales they profit from, this resolution will build public pressure for expanding the arms embargo in Sudan. If you would like to help in this effort, please email or call your Senators and urge them to support S. Res. 660.

Darfuris Speak about ICC Charges

While attending a conference with Darfuri civil society leaders in Tanzania, Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, spoke with attendees about the significance of the ICC charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. These leaders, who have witnessed the violence and injustice in Darfur, also reacted to reports that U.N. Security Council member countries may invoke Article 16 to let al-Bashir off the hook for his crimes.

The Darfur Contracting Act Passes the California Legislature

On August 31, the California contract prohibition law AB 498 passed both the Senate and the Assembly in California! The California legislature was in overtime session at the end of the month, so they were working late on Sunday when this bill passed both houses of the legislature.
Assembly Member Ed Hernandez authored The Darfur Contracting Act, A. B. 498, a law that will prohibit the state of California from doing business with the companies that help fund the genocide in Darfur. Through contract prohibition, this bill will ensure that the state of California does not enter into or renew contracts with companies that help fund the genocide.

In 2006 California passed divestment legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 294. This show of leadership was essential to starting the targeted Sudan divestment movement that has now swept the country and impacted the government of Sudan.

Now California is again taking the lead in using economic pressure to end genocide in Darfur. Thanks to an outpour of activist and coalition support, the legislature has acted; now is it up to the governor to sign the bill into law. If he does, California will join the state of Arizona in what could become a long list of states to pass Darfur contract prohibition. As we see violence continue against civilians and humanitarian groups, today it is clear that the people of Darfur cannot wait for the world to take action. Indeed, the California legislature has listened to that call for action.

posted by Sarah Grundahl

Guns against Sticks

The Sudanese military attacked the Kalma camp for displaced persons in South Darfur this week, gunning down civilians armed (according to the UN) mostly with “sticks, knives and spears.” The attack left more than 30 people dead. The UN denounced the attack as “excessive, disproportionate force.” But there’s another word for it – criminal.

Which makes it all the more unbelievable that a number of governments are considering UN Security Council action to suspend the International Criminal Court’s Darfur investigation, on the ground that accusing the Sudanese president of crimes impedes progress toward peace. What progress? What peace?

Sources tell us that some members of the Security Council seem eager to cut a deal and have suggested some terms to Khartoum. I hope before doing anything further, they will go to Kalma and ask the relatives of those murdered this week what they think of putting justice on hold.

Reports indicate attack by government forces on Kalma camp

Just days after announcing at a press conference in Istanbul that Sudan was beginning to undertake new efforts to bring peace to Darfur - including holding talks with opposition groups - there are news reports that government forces killed at least 27 in an attack on Kalma camp in Nyala, South Darfur. The camp is home to 80,000 internally displaced persons - the largest in Darfur. The United Nations reported during their noon briefing today that they are “gravely concerned” about the reports of the attack, and UNAMID has sent police and military patrols to the camp to investigate the attack.
Tags: UN, UNAMID

Jerry Fowler Reports From Tanzania

Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, recently returned from Tanzania where he attended a workshop on re-energizing the Darfur peace process. He recorded the following video at the conference:

Good News for the People of Darfur

PricewaterhouseCoopers donates $4 million to educate Darfur's refugees

NEW YORK (UNHCR) – PricewaterhouseCoopers has donated US$4 million towards the education of refugee children in eastern Chad's camps, in the single largest corporate donation ever received by the UN refugee agency.

The firm, also known as PwC, presented UNHCR with a cheque for US$4 million in New York on Monday. The funds will be used to build and operate schools for refugee children who have fled the conflict in Darfur, western Sudan. Specifically, more than 20,000 children aged between six and 14 years in the refugee camps of Iridimi, Touloum and Am Nabak in eastern Chad will have access to education in a safe learning environment. The children and their teachers will receive a daily meal. Teacher training and school supplies will also be provided.

"The donation from PwC employees is the largest single company donation UNHCR has ever received. Their generosity will provide direct assistance to refugee children from Darfur who currently have limited options for education," explained António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "Working together, UNHCR and PwC are committed to providing these children with hope for a better future."

More than 6,000 PwC staff members in more than 100 countries contributed to the 10-day "Power of 10" campaign, which was created by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers together with UNHCR to recognize the 10th anniversary of the company's creation.

"This program will help the children of Darfur maintain hope for a better life through education. It represents the people of PricewaterhouseCoopers at their best," said Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr, global Chief Executive Officer of PwC. "We have built a strong, successful organization over the past 10 years and demonstrated that we can accomplish great things when we work together. Our unique partnership with UNHCR is evidence of what can be accomplished when elements of the public and private sectors make a commitment to work together to get things done. The impact is profound."

UNHCR will soon begin working with local and international non-governmental organisations in eastern Chad to begin the construction of new schools and repairs on existing classrooms. The work is due to be completed within two years. The PwC contribution will provide sustainable education to refugee children for at least five years.

Some 250,000 refugees from Darfur are now living in 12 camps established and maintained by UNHCR in eastern Chad.

Roelf Kleon, a Power of 10 contributor from PwC Netherlands, said at Monday's event that the campaign had made him appreciate his good fortune in being able to grow up in a country where education is available for everyone. "When I saw the Power of 10 challenge, I, and many others, felt the responsibility to try to give the children of Darfur the same powerful tool for development that we have had," he said.

The Power of 10 campaign took place over 10 business days across PwC's global network of companies. Individual contributions were made by over 6,100 employees, with an average individual donation of $200. Some PwC firms also made institutional contributions on behalf of their employees.

Samantha Power's CUBE Portrait

Samantha Power, award-winning journalist, anti-genocide advocate and Harvard University professor, recently participated in Esquire magazine’s "Portrait of the 21st Century." The project, a creation of sculptor and new-media artist Lincoln Schatz is "an evolving video portrait of the most influential people of the coming decades."

In her Cube portrait, Power and John Prendergast, founder of the Enough Project (enoughproject.org), gathered five genocide survivors: Perouz Kalousdian, a 99-year-old survivor of the Armenian genocide; Bernard Gotfryd, a Holocaust survivor; Sophy Yem, who survived Pol Pot’s “killing fields”; Jacqueline Murekatete, who narrowly survived the Rwandan genocide; and Motasim Adam, who escaped the ongoing genocide in Darfur. The green bracelets, which say, “Not on Our Watch,” represent the growing strength worldwide of the movement to eliminate genocide.

Below is Samantha Power’s video portrait

Posted by Sarosh Syed: Sarosh is Director of Online Communications at the Save Darfur Coalition. Sarosh oversees the coalition's website, this blog, all email communications, and the coalition's presence on social networks such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Joey Cheeck barred from Olympics

Joey Cheek, 2006 Olympic gold medalist and co-founder of Team Darfur, has been denied entry to China for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Joey, who has also contributed to this blog, had been granted an entry visa to attend the games and support Team Darfur, an international coalition of Olympic athletes helping to raise awareness about the Darfur genocide. Last night, however, the Chinese government revoked the visa.

According to the Washington Post (registration required):
A Chinese official informed Cheek that it was not necessary to give a reason for revoking his visa less than 24 hours before he was scheduled to fly from Washington to Beijing.

In a statement published on the LA Times web site, Cheek said:

I am saddened not to be able to attend the Games. The Olympic Games represent something powerful: that people can come together from around the world and do things that no one thought were possible. However, the denial of my visa is a part of a systemic effort by the Chinese government to coerce and threaten athletes who are speaking out on behalf of the innocent people of Darfur.

Lopez Lomong of Team Darfur Named August’s Darfur Hero

My name is Joey Cheek and I am the president and co-founder of Team Darfur. Team Darfur is an international coalition of athletes committed to raising awareness about and bringing an end to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

I am so pleased and grateful that the Save Darfur Coalition is honoring one of Team Darfur’s most inspiring members, Lopez Lomong. Lopez will compete for the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing this summer. As a Sudanese refugee, Lopez provides a unique perspective on the crisis in Darfur and frequently speaks out about the need to raise awareness about the genocide because “a lot of people here don’t know what was going on in Sudan and I need to send a message as an athlete from Sudan.”

Lopez speaks from experience about what it is like to be separated from home and family. At age 6, he was abducted from a Sudanese church by a militia faction that wanted to turn young boys into child soldiers. He eventually escaped the militia camp through a hole in a fence with three older boys who carried them on their backs as they walked for three days until they reached Kenya, where police arrested them and sent them to a refugee camp. He spent 10 years in the camp, living on one meal a day.

Lopez learned of a program that sought to relocate 3,500 refugees to the U.S. After an interview with a U.S. embassy official, Lopez resettled with a family in New York and attended Northern Arizona University where he began to pursue his Olympic dreams. Now a member of the U.S. Olympic team, Lopez realizes his unique opportunity as an elite athlete to spread awareness about the crisis in Darfur. “As athletes, we need to send the message to the government not to kill or bomb and to China to stop because those guns are not to defend the country, but to kill innocent people. This is the 21st century. We don’t want kids growing up in refugee camps like I did.”

Lopez’s journey from imprisoned child soldier to Sudanese refugee to member of the U.S. Olympic team has inspired his fellow U.S. Olympic teammates. Philip Dunn, a U.S. Olympic racewalker, told me that “Lopez Lomong represents so many wonderful aspects of the Olympic movement: youth, talent, and an ability to overcome amazing obstacles in life with poise and determination. The movement to bring awareness to Sudanese suffering is well served by someone who has lived through it. As a fellow U.S. Olympic team member, I know I will be more inspired by his life experiences.”

Lopez hopes his story will also be an inspiration for Sudanese children. “I’m worried about the kids who are dying in Darfur and South Sudan. The kids don’t have the dream they could be Olympic athletes or doctors. I want those kids to reach what their dreams are. It’s not just what’s going on between the Chinese government and the Sudanese. It’s what’s going on with the people. We hope those kids can pursue what their dreams are.”

Lopez would like to take his message to the medal podium: “I would hold an American flag and a Sudan flag. It would be a way to say, ‘Here was a victim who had to run away, and look where he is now.’”

Of the more than 2 million people driven from their homes in Darfur, at least one or two could be Olympians. Lopez is clearly proof of that, and I hope that when you read his story and the many challenges he has faced, you are as proud as I am that he will represent us in the Olympics.

Posted by Joey Cheek

Darfur News! Today Show on Darfur!

"Today" Show Moves To Beijing, Will Report On Darfur, Human Rights

As reported by the Huffington Post:

Monday morning, the Today show begins broadcasting from Beijing where NBC's morning show will be for the duration of the Olympic Games. Matt Lauer is anchoring the program from the Great Wall starting Monday and the rest of the show's cast -- Meredith Vieira, Ann Curry and Al Roker -- is slated to join him later in the week. Even the weekend Today crew of Lester Holt, Amy Robach and Jenna Wolfe will be in China's capital city reporting on the Summer Games.

But the big question for NBC is whatexactly will the Today show be reporting?

Ten days ago, a grassroots group disrupted the taping of the Today show in Manhattan accusing the network of ignoring the Darfur genocide and what Darfur activists call "the China link," the Chinese government's complicity in the crisis in Sudan. Here is a video of last week's Today show protests:

A story appearing in Monday's Los Angeles Times suggests that NBC's morning show plans on tackling the controversial issues surrounding the Olympic Games that the Chinese government would prefer to be neglected, such as Darfur, human rights abuses in China, Tibet and the country's pollution problem.

Jim Bell, the executive producer of Today told the L.A. Times that the program will "answer the call" when it comes to reporting on these hot-button topics. Here's an excerpt from Monday's story.

"I do think there's an opportunity for us to shine a light on some of those questions," said Bell, who disputed the notion that NBC has paid too little attention to Darfur, noting that the subject is something of a passion for "Today" news anchor Ann Curry, who has made several reporting trips to Sudan.

"I think you'll see that we will answer the call," he added. "When there's news, we will deal with the issues as they come."

But it remains to be seen how many tough questions about China "Today" will raise on its own.

"We aren't going to go there as the guests of the Chinese government and deliberately poke sharp sticks in their eyes," said Lauer, who begins broadcasting from China today. "We're not going to go out of our way to do it. But we think there are going to be a lot of opportunities to bring the subject up, based on the events of the day."

* * * * *

Designers for Darfur has always been grateful for our partnership with the Today show and particularly Ann Curry as she was one of the first to bring our organization to the forefront. Below is a wonderful video of DFD on the Today show...

Principled U.S. Abstension on Darfur Peacekeeping Vote

We commend the U.S. government’s principled decision to abstain from a Security Council vote which unconscionably linked the reauthorization of the UNAMID civilian protection mission to possible legal protection for the architect of the Darfur genocide. The resolution was tainted by unnecessary language aimed at diminishing the role of justice and accountability in this conflict – and which ultimately could accord impunity to a government apparatus accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Leading nations must not blithely bargain away the ICC investigation.

Now that the UNAMID force has been reauthorized, the members of the Security Council must show real courage, leadership and sacrifice in obtaining and supplying the necessary equipment and support for this mission to succeed. The resolution to reauthorize UNAMID won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on if the peacekeepers on the ground don’t have the personnel, equipment and political support to complete their mission. Leading nations can begin by supplying the helicopters needed for the force.

posted by Jerry Fowler

Keeping the Promise to Darfur

A year ago today, people around the world gained hope that change was coming to Darfur. After four years of killings, rape, and destroyed villages, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to deploy a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, to protect the people of Darfur.

One year has passed, and the world community has failed to deliver the basic support the mission needs to succeed.

One key gap in the force’s capability is its lack of helicopters, which can enable the force to operate effectively and react quickly. The force is seeking a mere 18 transport helicopters, but so far, no country has stepped forward to provide even one.

A new report compiled by an aviation expert titled “Grounded: The International Community’s Betrayal of UNAMID,” presents data on which countries have suitable helicopters and the number available for deployment to Darfur.

Read the report and an AP article covering this issue to learn more.

Click here to urge the Permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to fulfill their promise to the people of Darfur.

posted by Jessica Moreland

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