Genocide Intervention Network www.GenocideIntervention.net

This week, the Genocide Intervention Network was honored to be nominated by the NetSquared community as a 2008 Featured Project for our proposal to upgrade and extend the DarfurScores.org website:



The Genocide Intervention Network seeks to create a new website, modeled on our successful Darfur congressional scorecard, DarfurScores.org, tentatively named GenocideScores.org.

Our current plan for the site -- which could change as we explore different options and hear feedback from our members -- has four main components:



1. Collecting together anti-genocide data, not only on Darfur but on each of our areas of concern. Instead of being limited to only legislative records, each state would list its status on other anti-genocide initiatives like Sudan divestment and genocide education.

2. Provide clear illustrations of legislative status. Instead of just hearing about a bill when a member of Congress does (or doesn't) vote for it, we'll be tracking bills as they move through each chamber.

3. Cross-index a bill's status with a member's location. When the latest bill on genocide prevention is up for a vote, anti-genocide activists whose members of Congress represent key votes on the legislation will be able to receive automatic alerts.

4. Provide embeddable badges or widgets for activists to place on their profiles, blogs or websites. At a glance, both you and visitors to your website, blog or social networking profile will be able to see how your state and legislators are doing on the question of genocide. And when urgent action is needed, these badges will be automatically updated with a special link to take action.

The process for our project, however, isn't over. Now that we've been nominated as a featured project, we'll be able to attend the 2008 NetSquared Conference and present our project for a chance to win a portion of a $100,000 prize.

Before that time, however, we need your feedback. If you have a chance, read through our proposal for DarfurScores.org and leave a comment -- tell us what you like, what you think could be changed, what we're overlooking. Remember that this is all about our core mission: empowering individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide. We hope this project will result in a valuable new tool, and we'd love to have your input!

Ask your representative to co-sponsor House Resolution 1011.

With the humanitarian crisis stemming from Darfur continuing to destabilize not only Sudan, but the surrounding region, including Chad and the Central African Republic, it has become increasingly urgent that the international community develop, fund, and implement a "comprehensive regional strategy."

The United States and President Bush have the ability and responsibility to protect by using their influential position on the United Nations Security Council and financial ability to provide humanitarian assistance to the region.

House Resolution 1011 urges President Bush to stick to his promises by:

Urging the UN Security Council to implement sanctions against the government of Sudan for its detrimental actions and the continued destabilization of the region, and continue US humanitarian assistance to the refugees and internally displaced people in Chad and the Central African Republic.

This week, ask your representative to call on President Bush to stick to his promises and implement a comprehensive regional strategy by co-sponsoring House Resolution 1011.

On Tuesday, December 18, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act with a vote of 411-0. Now we need your help with the last step!

President Bush has 10 days to sign the bill into law. Call 1-800-GENOCIDE and ask President Bush to sign SADA.

During his first year in office, President Bush wrote the words, "Not on my watch" in the margins of a memo on the genocide in Rwanda. Help President Bush to remember his promise.

Call President Bush and ask him to sign the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act.

Call as soon as you can -- if it's after hours, help us fill the comment line with pro-Darfur messages! Your support is critical in ensuring that American dollars are not enabling the genocidal government in Khartoum. Call today!

Great news! Late last night, the United States Senate unanimously passed the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act (PDF). It was a tough fight and opposition to the bill was only overcome after thousands of Americans from all 50 states called and e-mailed their Senators.

Thanks for your work to pass the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act (SADA)! Please help us keep up the fight by contributing to GI-Net.

SADA is a huge blow to the small group of foreign companies funding the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Already, three companies have suspended their Sudan operations fearing that SADA will become law. To keep our elected officials engaged on the issue, it is important to call and thank your Senators for supporting this important measure.

Please call 1-800-GENOCIDE and thank your Senators for passing SADA.

What's Next: Ensuring SADA Becomes Law

SADA will be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration. In August, the House passed a similar bill, the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act, with a vote of 418-1. On Monday, the House is expected to quickly pass SADA by an overwhelming majority.

Once the House passes SADA, President Bush will have ten days to sign the bill into law. Your calls and e-mails will be critical as President Bush has been unsupportive of the bill.

Please help us to continue our advocacy efforts and to expand our civilian protection efforts on the ground in Darfur. Make a contribution today.

Thanks for all you do to end genocide!

Don't miss "Darfur Now," the new documentary featuring "Hotel Rwanda" star Don Cheadle, and the Genocide Intervention Network's own Adam Sterling, director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force! Coming to select theaters on Nov. 2 and 9, 2007.

"This film is a great example of a film that can make a difference," said Angelina Jolie. Learn more about the film:

"Darfur Now" is a story of hope in the midst of one of humanity's darkest hours -- a call to action for people everywhere to end the catastrophe unfolding in Darfur, Sudan. In this documentary, the struggles and achievements of six different individuals from inside Darfur and around the world bring to light the tragedy in Sudan and show how the actions of one person can make a difference to millions.

Learn more, watch trailers and find showtimes in your area.

Written and directed by Ted Braun, the film explores the Darfur conflict through the first-hand experiences of Don Cheadle, Hejewa Adam, Pablo Recalde, Ahmed Mohammed Abakar, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, and GI-Net's Adam Sterling.

At 24 years old, Adam Sterling is just of one of many young people involved in the fight to help the people of Darfur. A UCLA student whose Jewish grandmother fled Nazi Germany, Adam learned about the situation in Darfur and felt he had to do something. Despite his youth and inexperience in the political arena, he works to get a bill passed that will keep California's State funds out of Sudan. Amazingly, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the bill.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, dreams of achieving justice for the people of Darfur. At the request of the United Nations Security Council, he launches investigations into the complex and horrifying crimes in Darfur and manages to secure arrest warrants against a top Sudanese official and one of the leaders of the Janjaweed militias. From his position on the world stage, he relentlessly pursues the perpetrators of the worst crimes in Darfur.

Academy Award-nominated actor Don Cheadle first learned about the situation in Darfur while working on Hotel Rwanda, a film that dramatized the Rwandan genocide. Don was inspired to travel to Darfur and use his celebrity to shine a light on the catastrophe unfolding in Darfur. In Darfur Now Don travels the world, along with fellow actor George Clooney, to pressure government officials and world leaders to act. He also uses his book, Not On Our Watch, as a vehicle to meet people face to face to show them the steps they can take to get involved.

Once a respected builder and farmer in a Darfur village, Ahmed Mohammed Abakar fled his home and now resides in Hamadea camp with 47,000 other internally displaced Darfurians. Asked to lead the people of Hamadea, he is charged with holding his community together, navigating the complex world of international aid agencies, and protecting the camp from hostile local authorities, corruption, and the threat of attack by militias. Sheikh Ahmed dreams of someday returning to his home.

Raised by socially aware and politically committed parents in Ecuador, Pablo Recalde is a man dedicated to improving the lives of the most vulnerable people on the planet. Horrified by the conditions in Darfur, he left his wife and children to work in one of the world's most dangerous places. Leader of the World Food Program team in West Darfur, he mobilizes massive convoys to deliver food to the suffering people of the region. Amid shootings, high-jackings, terrorist threats, and an ongoing civil war, Pablo is driven to end the suffering he sees around him.

Hejewa Adam had been a mother who dreamt of going back to school until her West Darfur village was attacked and destroyed by Janjaweed militias and government forces. When she fled, her three-month-old son was beaten to death as he clung to her back. She faces two choices -- abandon her home forever or join the rebels to bring justice and peace back to Sudan. Determined to help defend the Fur people of Western Darfur, Hejewa joins the rebels.

DARFUR NOW TRAILER

Learn more, watch trailers and find showtimes in your area.