A delegation that included New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and members from the Save Darfur Coalition travelled to Khartoum, Sudan this week for talks with Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. Bashir has made commitments to:▪ A 60-day ceasefire with an international peace summit to be held before March 15, 2007.
▪ Sudan's cooperation to work with the African Union and United Nations on the deployment of a hybrid peacekeeping force in Darfur.
▪ Ensuring "zero tolerance" policies for gender-based violence in Darfur.
▪ Free access for humanitarian aid workers and journalists.
You can read the full joint statement and press release here. What an amazing opportunity for long-term resolution to the violence in Sudan!
We are far away from the realities of war and blessed, for the most part, with access to medical care, clean water, a safety net that keeps us and our children from starvation, and security from the threat of violence. It is easy to forget about the 2.5 million people in Darfur who have been driven from their homes. We can sometimes feel hopeless and helpless, but let's use the power we have to make a difference.
▪ Please take just 30 seconds to add your name to the Save Darfur petition to President Bush and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, encouraging international action to stop the genocide; or send a message to your Member of Parliament through Amnesty International Canada.
▪ Ultimately, "peace" imposed from without will not last unless there is real investment and participation from both sides in the conflict. Pray for a Sudanese solution to end the violence.
▪ Talk with friends, family, coworkers, and others about what's happening in Sudan and how they can make a difference.
▪ Consider making a donation to Mennonite Central Committee. You can direct your donation to the Sudan emergency or "where needed most."
▪ If you'd like to get more involved, Amnesty International USA has a great page of resources for activism on the crisis in Darfur.
7 comments:
Hi Mel,
Thanks for posting this, I never would have heard about this otherwise. Thanks for using this great tool to communicate these injustices to others!
It was weird... I couldn't find much about it in the news, either. It's amazing how little attention is given to this huge crisis.
I hope the international community fully embraces this opportunity to help Sudan make peace. There have been cease-fire agreements in the past, but hopefully good things will come out of this try at it. I'm encouraged by the commitment to accepting an African Union/UN peacekeeping force and free access for humanitatian aid workers and journalists.
Did the links work okay for Amnesty and the Save Darfur Coalition? hint hint ;)
hmmmm so I've read your comment a few times to try to get the hint hint thing. If you're asking if the links worked because I went and signed up then rest assured your links do work...as if I needed a hint hint ....you know I'm all about these things!!!! I hope the internal community fully embraces this as well....hmmmmm time for the first soap box blog I do believe!
me again.....any way I can just blog your blog about this on my page? I'm not sure how to do all these fancy link things since I'm still new at this....thanks for the help!
have you heard about the night walk? i've only sort of heard about it but it's a walk to raise awareness of the violence against the kids in uganda. here's a link to an article about it http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/special_packages/join/13100223.htm
Hi Mel,
No worries I figured it out in another way. So no need to respond to my previous comment. K, I'll stop crowding your page with my concerns now :)
Thanks for passing on that link, Rachel. Great article. I can't imagine living in such a climate of fear that my kids would have to walk to the city just to be able to sleep "safely."
I have a book I'd love to share with you. I was reorganizing the bookshelves last night and thought of you when I came across it.
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