Genocide Intervention Network www.GenocideIntervention.net

Genocide Intervention Network wins tech award for DarfurScores.org!

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:16:23 GMT

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!

Tell Bush to Stick By His Promises!

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:12:29 GMT

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.

Last Step for Sudan Divestment: Tell Bush to Sign Bill!

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:46:36 GMT

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!

We Did It! US Companies Won't Fund Genocide in Darfur!

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 20:09:51 GMT

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!

'Darfur Now' Film with Don Cheadle: Opening Soon Near You!

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:28:26 GMT

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.

Ask the Senate to Keep Up the Pressure on Sudan!

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:54:34 GMT

Thanks in part to your phone call, on Tuesday the House of Representatives passed the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act (DADA) 418 to 1! Later that day, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution authorizing the deployment of an UN–African Union hybrid force of up to 26,000 peacekeepers to Darfur.

Call 1-800-GENOCIDE now and ask your senator to support DADA!

To ensure the government of Sudan accepts these peacekeepers, we must increase the pressure on Sudan's leaders. Now that the House has passed legislation that would put real economic pressure on the government of Sudan, the Senate must act!

Now the Senate has an unprecedented opportunity to pass the most significant piece of legislation to date on Darfur.

Call 1-800-GENOCIDE now and ask your senator to support DADA!

--Sam, Allyson, and the Genocide Intervention Network team

YouTube Debate: Ask Candidates to Divest to Stop Genocide!

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:24:28 GMT

Darfur must be a priority for the next president! Watch the video question below, submitted by anti-genocide activist Danielle, asking each of the candidates to personally divest from companies funding the Darfur genocide.

Then share the video with your friends. The more people who watch the video before 7PM (Eastern) tonight, the more likely the question will be asked in the debate!

Thank you for your continuing support!

--Colin, Ivan and the Genocide Intervention Network team

Darfur's Forgotten Rebel: The 'Nelson Mandela of Sudan' Imprisoned for Year

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:53:38 GMT

By Ronan Farrow, June 21, 2007. Published in the Wall Street Journal

In a bare hospital room to the east of Darfur, Suleiman Jamous is living out a nightmare. He is permitted no contact with the outside world. An armed guard is posted outside his door. Were he to attempt to leave, the Sudanese government's intelligence service — notorious for its use of torture and indefinite imprisonment — would arrest him. Next week, he will have been incarcerated for a full year.

His crimes: extending the reach of life-saving humanitarian measures to tens of thousands of displaced people, attempting to unify volatile rebel groups, and courageously fighting against human-rights abuses. Suleiman Jamous has been described as the Nelson Mandela of Sudan, and he is one of the few heroes to emerge from the brutal conflict that has ravaged Darfur for the past four years.

Mr. Jamous, humanitarian coordinator for Darfur's largest rebel group, has been instrumental in providing aid workers with safe access to areas behind rebel lines. He is widely viewed as a key leader of the rebel opposition to Khartoum's ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur. An elderly statesman who has never picked up a gun, Mr. Jamous commands universal respect among the otherwise fractious rebel leaders who control most of rural Darfur.

Because of this, the government of Sudan has aggressively sought to suppress Mr. Jamous. He has been arrested and imprisoned repeatedly, culminating in his current detainment. Although he is now being held at a United Nations hospital, the U.N.'s hands are tied. The last time they attempted to move him, the Khartoum regime retaliated by suspending U.N. humanitarian operations in Sudan.

Mr. Jamous's absence has been felt acutely. In the 11 months since he was neutralized, humanitarian access has dwindled to its lowest level ever. More than one million Darfuris are now out of reach of aid workers. "There is no doubt that Suleiman Jamous was very important to humanitarian agencies," said the head of a prominent relief organization, who asked that he not be named. He described Mr. Jamous as a champion of "humanitarian principles and human rights," crediting him with securing desperately needed access for aid workers and negotiating the release of numerous child soldiers. "There is no doubt that not having him in Darfur has made access negotiations less certain and more complicated."

Faltering efforts to create unity and peace between rebel movements have also been undermined. Many commanders believe that such efforts will fail without Mr. Jamous's leadership. If Darfur's divided rebels fall into infighting, embattled humanitarians and defenseless civilians will be caught in the crossfire.

Despite his crucial humanitarian and peacemaking role — and despite the fact that the government of Sudan agreed to release all prisoners of war under 2005's Darfur Peace Agreement — Mr. Jamous remains detained. The U.N., the U.S. and the African Union appear to have abandoned Suleiman Jamous. Even the humanitarian groups whose work he facilitated have fallen silent, in well-founded fear of retaliation from the government of Sudan should they advocate for his release.

And time may be running out. For several months, Mr. Jamous has been suffering from severe abdominal pains. Doctors who examined him in December 2006 reported that he needs a stomach biopsy that cannot be performed where he is being held. Khartoum is well aware of both the urgency of his condition and the fact that freeing him could substantially improve the delivery of relief to Darfuri civilians. Still, his release is being denied.

If they are committed to achieving peace in Darfur, the powerful nations of the world and the U.N. itself must bring pressure to bear on Khartoum regarding Suleiman Jamous. The U.S. should charge its Special Envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, with negotiating for Mr. Jamous's release. And people the world over should raise their voices in opposition to his unjust detention.

Speaking on behalf of his fellow South African political prisoners, Nelson Mandela once said: "Despite the thickness of the prison walls, all of us ... could hear your voices demanding our release very clearly. We drew inspiration from this. We thank you that you refused to forget us." Today, Suleiman Jamous is desperately in need of voices of support. Let us not allow him to be forgotten.

Mr. Farrow, currently a student at Yale Law School, traveled to Darfur as a UNICEF spokesperson in 2004 and 2006.

Submit Your Pictures from the Global Days for Darfur!

Thu, 03 May 2007 04:31:09 GMT

Update: Browse the gallery of submitted photos!

Thanks to the hard work of Darfur advocates around the world, the Global Days for Darfur were a huge success! Tens of thousands of concerned citizens participated in hundreds of activities to rally around the message that time is running out for the people of Darfur and to demand immediate international action to end the violence.

More than 400 events were held in the United States, encompassing 47 states and over 300 cities. These coincided with over 50 international events. Complete media coverage of events can be found on the Save Darfur website.

We know many of you have been taking pictures at these events, and we want to make sure that everyone gets to see them! We've set up an online photo gallery of all of the photos we've received so far, and we want your images to be a part of it.

And submitting the images couldn't be simpler: Just upload your pictures to Flickr.com and add the tags antigenocide and days4darfur. Any images tagged with those words will automatically be displayed in our gallery.

The Details

Flickr.com is a free photo sharing site. We post all of our images there to give others an easy way to access them. If you're not a member of Flickr, you can sign up for free and upload several dozen photos per month.

When you upload your photos, Flickr will give you the option to add tags for all of the images you're uploading at once. Just enter "antigenocide days4darfur" (without the quotes) into that field and the photos will automatically show up in our photo gallery.

Please make sure to include the location of the event in the title or in the description of your photos.

Once you upload your photos, they may take up to an hour to show up in the gallery — but don't worry, they'll be there!

Questions?

If you need any help, please e-mail membership@genocideintervention.net and we'll answer any questions you may have!

—Ivan, Colin and the GI-Net team

P.S. Did you take any videos at a Darfur event? If so, we'd like to see it! Upload your video to YouTube or Google Video and send us the link, and we may include it on our website or in a future newsletter!

Commemorating Past Genocides and Standing Up for Darfur

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 04:25:56 GMT

Are You a Member?

Membership is Free!

April is a month where we bear testimony to some of the most gruesome atrocities of the twentieth century. Ironically, the century that brought us the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also witnessed the Holocaust and genocides in Armenia, Cambodia and Rwanda.

Our unique goal at the Genocide Intervention Network is to establish the first permanent anti-genocide constituency. Through our membership program we help to ensure that there is always an educated and determined group of activists who can quickly mobilize to pressure our governments to intervene whenever the threat of genocide arises.

As we remember past genocides and work to end the ongoing genocide in Darfur, you can help the anti-genocide movement grow by asking your friends and family members to become members of GI-Net.

Armenia

Armenian woman and child flee the genocide.

On the night of April 24, 1915, the Turkish government rounded up the leading Armenian religious, political and intellectual leaders in the capitol of Istanbul and murdered them. These killings were replicated across the country and the entire Armenian community was forced to relocate to the deserts of Syria. In all, at least 1,000,000 Armenians were slaughtered.

Join the Armenian National Committee of America in their "Click for Justice" campaign.

The Holocaust

Crematoria at Dachau Concentration Camp near Munich.

April 11, 1933: The Nazis issue a decree defining a non-Aryan as "anyone descended from non-Aryan, especially Jewish, parents or grandparents. One parent or grandparent classifies the descendant as non-Aryan ... especially if one parent or grandparent was of the Jewish faith." This was one in a series of laws that prepared the way for Hitler's "Final Solution" — his attempt to destroy the Jewish people. This year Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, fell on April 16.

Cambodia

Out of an estimated 17,000 people imprisoned at the Tuol Sleng torture chambers in Cambodia, there were only seven known survivors.

On April 17, 1975, after a five-year civil war in Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge entered the capitol, Phnom Penh. Three and a half years later some 2,000,000 people had been killed or had died of starvation, as massacres emptied out entire cities into the countryside and introduced the world to the term "killing fields."

Rwanda

Tools of the Rwandan genocide: machetes.

On the evening of April 6, 1994, Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana's airplane was shot down. The next morning Hutu hardliners killed moderate leaders, beginning a three-month bloodbath that left 800,000 corpses scattered across the "land of a thousand hills" in rivers, homes and churches.

Darfur

How will history document the genocide in Darfur? What will we tell our children when they ask us what we did to help stop it? When and how will it be commemorated?

The answers to these questions lie in how we choose to respond to the genocide today. The only way we can honor the victims of past genocides is through bearing witness to their suffering. However, in Darfur we have the opportunity to actually prevent more innocents from becoming victims of genocide.

We have the opportunity now to limit the number of dead we remember in the future.

Become a member of the anti-genocide constituency. Help stop the genocide in Darfur. Help the world to remember the genocides of the past. Help prevent genocide in the future.

Join in Solidarity with Darfur Activists from Across the Country

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 04:49:32 GMT

Global Days for Darfur

To call attention to the escalating violence and the continued failure of the international community to adequately respond to the Darfur genocide, activists across the world have come together to plan “Global Days for Darfur.” This week of rallies, marches and vigils will run from April 23–30 and will highlight that “time is running out” for the people of Darfur.

Rally participants will come together to call on world leaders to adopt — and enforce — tough sanctions on Sudan until it allows the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to Darfur. Already, Darfur activists have planned 195 events across the country!

A New Way to Fundraise

Help raise money for GI-Net's civilian protection project by building a lens (web page) on Squidoo.com. It's free, easy to build and take only 10 minutes! You can create a lens on any topic, and the more traffic it has the more donations go to Darfur.

Get started building your lens!

Invite others:
www.GenocideIntervention.net/Squidoo

Please support your fellow activists in speaking out for the people of Darfur by joining an event in your area.

If there are currently no activities planned in your community, we hope you will consider starting your own event during this important week.

You can be part of a “human chain” in Duluth, attend a concert and rally in San Francisco, go to a panel discussion at Auburn University in Alabama, or participate in a “die-in” rally and march in Boston. In addition to these activities in the United States, similar events will be held around the world.

Learn more, register an event you are holding as part of the campaign or search for activities that are taking place near to you.

STAND's National Lobby Days: It's High Time for Higher Grades!

Now more than ever, it's important that our members of Congress know that we expect them to stop this genocide.

Join STAND students around the country from April 16–27 in telling your members of Congress to “make the grade.”

Lobby one of your elected officials in a face-to-face meeting at his/her in-district office or use the anti-genocide hotline — 1-800-GENOCIDE — to tell your elected officials that their voters want to see them make the grade on stopping genocide.

Register online and STAND will send you all the resources you need to make your appointment, get connected with other community groups, prepare for your meeting, and follow up afterwards to hold your member of Congress accountable.

Activist Successes

Iowa Divests

On April 5, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver signed a targeted divestment bill (PDF) requiring the state to divest from companies that support the government of Sudan. The bill passed the state House with overwhelming support and passed the state Senate with unanimous consent late last month.

"Genocide should never be tolerated and the state of Iowa should not directly or indirectly be supporting the deadly campaign in Darfur," said state Rep. Dawn Pettengill of Mt. Auburn, who sponsored and managed the bill in the Iowa House.

Iowa is the first state to pass divestment legislation in 2007, and the eighth state to divest overall. Eighteen other states are currently considering a targeted Sudan divestment model.

Genocide Accountability Act

On March 29, the US Senate unanimously passed the Genocide Accountability Act. If subsequently passed by the House, this legislation will close a legal loophole that currently prevents the US Justice Department from prosecuting people in the United States who have committed genocide in other countries.

Other Genocide-Related News

April 24 marks the 92nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. GI-Net recently joined the Armenian National Committee of America to advocate for the passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (PDF), which calls on the President to officially acknowledge that the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One was, indeed, genocide.

Denial is often termed “the last stage of genocide.” If we do not have the moral courage to recognize genocides of the past, we cannot expect to break their brutal cycle in the future.

Participate in the campaign to ensure the passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.

The 'Genocide Olympics': Is China Funding the Darfur Atrocities?

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:45:41 GMT

By Ronan Farrow and Mia Farrow, The Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2007

Read more about Ronan Farrow, Genocide Intervention Network Representative.

"One World, One Dream" is China's slogan for its 2008 Olympics. But there is one nightmare that China shouldn't be allowed to sweep under the rug. That nightmare is Darfur, where more than 400,000 people have been killed and more than two-and-a-half million driven from flaming villages by the Chinese-backed government of Sudan.

That so many corporate sponsors want the world to look away from that atrocity during the games is bad enough. But equally disappointing is the decision of artists like director Steven Spielberg — who quietly visited China this month as he prepares to help stage the Olympic ceremonies — to sanitize Beijing's image. Is Mr. Spielberg, who in 1994 founded the Shoah Foundation to record the testimony of survivors of the holocaust, aware that China is bankrolling Darfur's genocide?

China is pouring billions of dollars into Sudan. Beijing purchases an overwhelming majority of Sudan's annual oil exports and state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. — an official partner of the upcoming Olympic Games -- owns the largest shares in each of Sudan's two major oil consortia. The Sudanese government uses as much as 80% of proceeds from those sales to fund its brutal Janjaweed proxy militia and purchase their instruments of destruction: bombers, assault helicopters, armored vehicles and small arms, most of them of Chinese manufacture. Airstrips constructed and operated by the Chinese have been used to launch bombing campaigns on villages. And China has used its veto power on the U.N. Security Council to repeatedly obstruct efforts by the U.S. and the U.K. to introduce peacekeepers to curtail the slaughter.

As one of the few players whose support is indispensable to Sudan, China has the power to, at the very least, insist that Khartoum accept a robust international peacekeeping force to protect defenseless civilians in Darfur. Beijing is uniquely positioned to put a stop to the slaughter, yet they have so far been unabashed in their refusal to do so.

But there is now one thing that China may hold more dear than their unfettered access to Sudanese oil: their successful staging of the 2008 Summer Olympics. That desire may provide a lone point of leverage with a country that has otherwise been impervious to all criticism.

Whether that opportunity goes unexploited lies in the hands of the high-profile supporters of these Olympic Games. Corporate sponsors like Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, General Electric and McDonalds, and key collaborators like Mr. Spielberg, should be put on notice. For there is another slogan afoot, one that is fast becoming viral amongst advocacy groups; rather than "One World, One Dream," people are beginning to speak of the coming "Genocide Olympics."

Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games? Do the various television sponsors around the world want to share in that shame? Because they will. Unless, of course, all of them add their singularly well-positioned voices to the growing calls for Chinese action to end the slaughter in Darfur.

Imagine if such calls were to succeed in pushing the Chinese government to use its leverage over Sudan to protect civilians in Darfur. The 2008 Beijing Olympics really could become an occasion for pride and celebration, a truly international honoring of the authentic spirit of "one world" and "one dream."

Mr. Farrow, a student at Yale Law School, traveled to Darfur as a UNICEF spokesperson in 2004 and 2006. Ms. Farrow, an actor, has traveled twice to Darfur and twice to neighboring Chad. She has recently returned from Darfur's border with the Central African Republic.

Congratulations: February Successes in Darfur Activism!

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:34:28 GMT

$50 Million for Peacekeepers in Darfur

In mid-February Congress passed House Joint Resolution 20, earmarking a crucial $50 million for the African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. A day later, President Bush signed the legislation.

This action came about as a result of sustained pressure by activists like you and reflects the ongoing strength of the Darfur movement around the country. However, violence continues to rage throughout both Darfur and surrounding regions, and as we move towards an expanded peacekeeping force additional funding is imperative.

Congress will soon be discussing the 2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill that will distribute additional funds for peacekeeping. This bill is crucial to the success of the African Union's peacekeeping efforts. Stay tuned over the next several months for more information. Your voice continues to be needed to help protect civilians in Darfur.

ICC Announces Accusations Against Two War Criminals

On Feb. 27, the International Criminal Court named the first two Sudanese officials accused of war crimes in Darfur (Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb and Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun). These accusations represent a crucial first step in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the genocide. However, we must ensure that all the perpetrators of genocide are held to account. Even more importantly, the international community must take action to ensure that the indicted officials are brought to trial.

Sudan Divestment Movement Expands

The targeted divestment movement continues to gain momentum across the United States. Thanks to the extensive efforts of grassroots activists, Americans are fighting to ensure that their state's dollars are not invested in foreign companies that fund the genocide.

In the past two months, legislation has been introduced in the state legislatures of Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Visit the Sudan Divestment Task Force to check the status of divestment in your home state. Send an e-mail to divestment@genocideintervention.net to join the movement and make sure that your tax dollars are not used to fund genocide.

Anti-Genocide Hotline Debuts!

Also this month, the Genocide Intervention Network launched a toll-free anti-genocide hotline. This is a permanent tool that will connect you with your governor, representative, senators or the White House. You will have the option to choose which elected official you would like to address and then you will receive a summary of the most up-to-date issues before being connected to their office. Call 1-800-GENOCIDE now!

Visit the website for details on the latest talking points and to sign up to receive important updates.

Thank you for all your efforts, and we look forward to continue working with you over the next few crucial months!

Americans Demand Action on Darfur: Poll Shows Support

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 23:23:31 GMT

"To sin by silence, when we should protest,
Makes cowards out of men."

ELLA WHEELER WILCOX, "Protest," Poems of Problems (1914)

According to a December Genocide Intervention Network poll, a majority of Americans now see ending genocide as a high foreign policy priority. Despite the predominance of Iraq and terrorism in US media and foreign policy discussions, we now have proof that strong majorities feel that the United States should take action to bring about peace in Darfur, and favor doing so in cooperation with the international community.

The survey indicates that there have been large changes in awareness about the conflict, the result of sustained campaigns by activists like yourselves and organizations like the Save Darfur Coalition. Over half of Americans -- 59 percent -- now say they know "a lot" or "some" about the conflict in Darfur, compared to levels reported in 2004, when a similar question commissioned by the Program on International Policy Attitudes found only 14 percent familiar with the conflict. Knowledge is the vital first step in getting people to take action to end the genocide. This is further proof that your hard work has paid off -- congratulations!

Among the 1,018 adults surveyed in the poll, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) believe taking action to stop humanitarian crises like genocide should be a high (42 percent) or the highest (19 percent) foreign policy priority for the country. Among respondents who had heard "a lot" or "some" about Darfur previous to the poll, support climbs further to 71 percent.

Not only is this news encouraging by itself -- simply as an indication that Americans increasingly care about the Darfur genocide -- but it also gives the activist community useful ammunition to use when we are advocating for more forceful intervention from our government. Whether it's to call for the enforcement of the provisions of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, to lobby states to divest their public pension funds from companies supporting the genocidal government of Sudan, or simply to add weight to a letter written to a local newspaper, these statistics will become a powerful new tool to help end the genocide.

You can read the complete results of the poll on our website, at http://www.GenocideIntervention.net/Poll

Warm Regards,
Colin, Ivan and the rest of the GI-Net team

Students call for divestment from Sudan at UC-San Diego (photo courtesy of Nishma Doshi).

Activists rally for UN peacekeepers at the Save Darfur rally in Central Park, New York City, in September 2006.

Get the Word Out!

You can make a huge contribution to the anti-genocide cause by promoting the results of this poll. It will reinforce the value of all the work that we are doing -- both our Darfur-related activities and our long-term goal of creating the world's first permanent anti-genocide constituency.

SEND THIS MESSAGE TO 10 FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS

Help the anti-genocide movement grow by demonstrating the wide public support for taking action to end the crisis in Darfur.

WRITE A BLOG ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS POLL

Link to the survey results and spread the word about public support for action on Darfur.

WRITE YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER ANNOUNCING THE RESULTS OF THE POLL

Use Congress.org's media tool to write a letter to the editor explaining why you -- like so many people -- support ending the genocide in Darfur.

Success! Sudan Will Not Head the African Union

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:18:48 GMT

Last week, it appeared certain that the 2007 chairmanship of the African Union would be awarded to Sudan -- perpetrators of the ongoing genocide in Darfur. Yesterday, it was announced that Ghana -- key contributors to the AU peacekeeping force in Darfur -- will head the African Union instead.

Because of your dedication, the United States took a stand against a Sudanese presidency.

Your messages to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice encouraged her to work diplomatically behind closed doors with members of the African Union. With your support, the United States weighed in to ensure that a genocidal dictator, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, would not lead the African Union.

With Sudan heading the African Union, all hope for Darfur would have been lost. As AU chair, Sudan would have doomed our efforts to end the death and displacement that has already affected millions.

Instead, the members of the African Union have given us hope that the international community is not only listening but taking action. Our own government's actions suggest that innocent civilians may yet be protected -- and the government of Sudan will be held accountable for their crimes in Darfur.

Thank you -- and congratulations on your victory!

Progress on Darfur -- Help Us Across the Finish Line

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 18:15:26 GMT

It is rare that we receive any good news out of Darfur, but last week a glimmer of light broke through the shadows after New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson brokered a 60-day ceasefire deal between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and several of the rebel groups who had not signed the May 2006 peace accord. Achieving a resolution between the government and rebels is a key step in ending the genocide.

Gov. Richardson's trip was made possible through the tireless efforts of the Save Darfur Coalition and its supporters -- including many of you -- another demonstration of the power that we have as activists to create positive changes on the ground.

In an article about the landmark agreement, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote:

Most striking, it's clear that the cease-fire was a consequence of all those armbands and lawn signs. Mr. Richardson told me that Mr. Bashir was motivated by concern at the way the killings have been spotlighted by Darfur activists. Mr. Richardson quoted him as saying, "These guys have caused me a lot of damage."

Ken Bacon, who heads Refugees International and accompanied Mr. Richardson, said of President Bashir: "One thing that was very clear was that the Save Darfur movement has gotten under his skin. The vilification of the Khartoum regime in columns and editorials and ads is making a difference."

So cherish this historical moment. The long record of genocide is one overwhelmingly of acquiescence, but this time ordinary citizens are trying to write a different ending.

But as Save Darfur rightly notes, this agreement in no way means that Darfur's civilians are out of harm's way. As activists, we must all remain engaged. We can only expect the parties to uphold this or any other agreement if they are forced to do so by sustained international pressure. UN peacekeepers are still required to ensure that the twenty-first century's first -- and hopefully last -- genocide is finally stopped!

Keep Up the Pressure -- Get Your Community Involved!

Our goal is within our reach, but we need to redouble our efforts in a final sprint that will take us across the finish line. Now is the time to get your friends and neighbors involved, when we can make the most difference in Darfur.

Help us to get this message across by taking part in our Sprint for Darfur campaign. Join us in organizing a sprint in your local area, or consider partnering with a local track team to facilitate venue and participation. You don't need to be an athlete to participate in the race. The purpose is to increase community awareness about the genocide in Darfur, raise money to directly fund the protection of victims of the genocide, and advocate for the immediate deployment of additional peacekeepers.

Sprint for Darfur is steadily picking up steam. Along with our partner, Africa Action, we have already received nearly $8,000 in online pledges, and we currently have activists in Washington, DC; New York; New Jersey; Georgia; Arizona and California, each of whom are looking to partner with other individuals to organize an event. If you are in one of these areas, and would like to help organize a sprint, participate in a race, or help with collecting pledges, please contact us so we can make those connections. No matter where you are, we hope you will consider participating.

Our greatest need is for organizers. We have created an organizing toolkit that will guide you through planning an event. Please let us know if you are willing to take the lead in your community by registering online. Signing up will help us connect you with other Sprint for Darfur activists in your area.

You can visit www.SprintForDarfur.com to make an online donation, download personalized flyers, print pledge sheets and stay informed on the project.

If you are participating or interested in getting involved, please visit the website today and register so we can keep you updated on the latest developments and opportunities.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Warm Regards,
Colin, Ivan and the rest of the GI-Net team

Mia Farrow Calls for Sudan Divestment on Today Show

Last week on NBC's Today Show, actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow advocated targeted divestment from Sudan. "Divestment is one of the best tools people can use to effectively combat genocide," Farrow told the Genocide Intervention Network.

Farrow recently returned from the region on a trip with Save Darfur Executive Director David Rubenstein. She also spoke to Martha Stewart about her work to stop the genocide.

Over the next two months, at least 19 states will be introducing targeted Sudan divestment legislation. The Sudan Divestment Task Force, a project of the Genocide Intervention Network, serves as the national clearinghouse for the Sudan divestment movement, and is actively involved in dozens of campaigns across the country at the university, city and state levels.

Read the blog from Darfur written by Mia Farrow and her son, GI-Net Representative Ronan Farrow.

Are you our MySpace friend? ADD THE GENOCIDE INTERVENTION NETWORK AS YOUR MYSPACE FRIEND!

New Year's Resolution for Congress: Make Darfur a Priority

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 21:08:11 GMT

The 110th Congress begins today. Tell your legislators that helping to end the genocide in Darfur should be one of their top priorities.

Ask for their support in passing legislation to help protect civilians from the world's worst crime. Since the genocide began in 2003, 400,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced.

Send a message to your elected officials now!

A Gift from Darfur

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 02:09:44 GMT

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
--Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl in his book, Man's Search for Meaning

This past year, you joined with thousands of activists from across the country and the world to help give the people of Darfur the security and means of survival that were callously ripped away from them by their own government.

As the year comes to a close and we reflect on our actions, consider the fact that we have not been "coming to the rescue" of powerless victims, but rather we have been ensuring that the world has heard the story of tenacious survivors.

In contemplating our goals for the next year, we should be guided by the stories of genocide's survivors. Although facing an unrelenting assault on their existence -- facilitated in part by a seemingly impotent international community -- the people of Darfur have shown us hope. They have shown us resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.

As illustrated in the above quote by Viktor Frankl, the survivors of genocide teach us to appreciate the power we all have to respond to the sometimes dismal realities of life with elevating and inspirational actions and attitudes.

To help us remember this power, GI-Net has created a calendar and a computer desktop background with photos of Darfurians overcoming the gravest of conditions -- and important dates in the work to end the genocide in Darfur, as well as anti-genocide anniversaries around the world. We invite you to download these for free, and we hope they will provide a source of inspiration for your work in the year ahead.

Our work is far from over. The international community must still live up to its responsibility to protect the people of Darfur. With your continued efforts, we can make 2007 the year in which peace returns to Darfur.

Here are three actions you can immediately take to help achieve this goal:

Help get UN peacekeepers deployed now! Join our Sprint for Darfur campaign, an easy way to raise awareness in your community and funds for Darfur. Sprint for Darfur now includes a new letter to President Bush which we encourage you to send.
Support civilian protection in Darfur and GI-Net's advocacy work: Make your tax-deductible donation to the Genocide Intervention Network that will fund our innovative civilian protection program and national advocacy work.
Write your own story of activism. Columnist Nicholas Kristof has invited Darfur activists to use coverage of Darfur to create their own articles, essays or multimedia about the genocide -- the deadline is Jan. 10. Unfortunately, this feature is only available to New York Times TimesSelect subscribers. Kristof, however, is also a judge in the US Holocaust Memorial's student op-ed contest, along with Sen. Barack Obama. The deadline is March 1.

--Colin, Ivan and the rest of the GI-Net team

P.S. The Darfur activism "year in pictures" is still available on our website -- feel free to pass the images around or use them for your own Darfur events!

Reflecting on Your Successful Darfur Activism and Looking Ahead

Sat, 23 Dec 2006 19:29:22 GMT

The Year in Pictures

Tens of thousands rally in Washington, DC, in April

Hundreds of students converge for the Power to Protect conference

Activists meet with their legislators about Darfur

Die-in for Darfur at the White House

Rally for UN peacekeepers in New York City

GI-Net students help fund peacekeepers with bake sales

California divests from Sudan

More images from the Genocide Intervention Network

More images from the anti-genocide movement

As we enter the holiday season and prepare to inaugurate a new year, we would like to take the time to thank you for the dedication you have shown the anti-genocide movement. Across the country Americans like you rallied, wrote letters to newspapers, met with their representatives, donated their money and launched a range of innovative campaigns in a unified cry of "Never Again!"

We hope that your holidays are truly happy, and that you spend the next week re-connecting with friends and family, and preparing for the next year.

We are also at a crucial moment in the Darfur genocide and we call on you to remain as active in the coming weeks and months as you have been the past year.

The fate of the genocide's survivors hang in the balance, hostage to the agonizingly slow pace of diplomatic efforts to get UN peacekeepers deployed. To this end, and to demonstrate the urgency with which we must act, the Genocide Intervention Network and our partner, Africa Action, are announcing a new campaign.

Sprint for Darfur

Nothing short of an international peacekeeping intervention will protect Darfur. Help us to get peacekeeping "boots" on the ground in Darfur by strapping on your own boots (or running shoes) for a public sprint to raise awareness, resources and political pressure to stop the genocide.

To symbolize this urgent moment, please consider hosting a sprint in your hometown. Invite participants to get pledges from friends, families and co-workers to sponsor the run. Invite them to give an amount of money per meter or per second and to sign a letter or postcard to President Bush that asks for his increased leadership to break the deadlock on Darfur.

Half of the funds you raise will support advocacy initiatives to help get effective peacekeepers on the ground and the other half will go to the Sudanese Organization Against Torture, a human rights organization run by survivors of the genocide in Nyala, Darfur.

Go to www.SprintForDarfur.com to join us!

Interactive Citizen Journalism from Darfur

We would also like to encourage you to participate in i-Act, an exciting opportunity to connect with the victims of the genocide.

The i-ACT team will be webcasting videos for 14 consecutive days from the refugee camps on the Chad-Darfur border. Anyone with an Internet connection will be able to interact with the victims of this ongoing genocide. Hear their voices -- and add your voice -- by visiting www.StopGenocideNow.org.

Yesterday, Gabriel and Stacey from Stop Genocide Now used their first day to visit N'djamena, Chad, where they interviewed Ann Maymann, Senior Officer of the UN High Commission for Refugees.

Today's report documents announcements made by António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "Darfur is ... the epicenter of an earthquake, whose waves create all the troubles in the countries around," Guterres says. Watch the whole report and add your comments at www.StopGenocideNow.org.

Keep up the great work!

With your help, we can end this genocide!

Four Stories of Darfur Action

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 01:20:20 GMT

Images Courtesy of Mia Farrow

You, and tens of thousands of activists like you, are trying to do nothing less than change the way the world responds to genocide — transforming “never again” from a promise we make to a commitment we keep. At a time in which the situation looks ever bleaker for Darfur and many in the international community continue along a path of indifference, we wanted to commemorate your hard work.

We may never know what might have happened in Darfur had anti-genocide activists not risen to the occasion, but we do know that the only reason — the only reason — that political leaders have taken the steps they have is because of your efforts. In the end, we will stop genocide, but that will not bring back those who have been killed, nor excuse the inexcusable inaction of the world. Yet if even one life has been saved, it will have been enough.

We hope you take some measure of strength and inspiration from these stories of grassroots anti-genocide action — and continue to fight, until the genocide is over.

In Memory of Emily

Photo by The Journal News

On Sept. 17, Emily Cornish — a member of the Amnesty International Club at her high school — was in Manhattan attending the Save Darfur Rally in Central Park. She was handed a pamphlet publicizing DarfurFast and suggested to her friends that they participate in the campaign.

Hours later, she was killed in a car accident.

In her memory, students at Yorktown High School in Westchester, N.Y., decided to raise money to help end the genocide. On Oct. 5, they set up a table in the school cafeteria and proceeded to raise over $750 for the Save Darfur Coalition as part of DarfurFast.

Emily did not get a chance to participate in DarfurFast herself, but her passion while living inspired Yorktown High School students to become anti-genocide activists. We hope it will inspire all of us to do the same.

Watch an video about about Emily and her commitment to Darfur.

Reaching Out in Minnesota

The Genocide Intervention Network’s University of St. Thomas chapter has been hard at work in Minnesota. Eighteen GI-Net students spent a recent Sunday afternoon assisting staff at the American Refugee Committee (ARC) with outreach efforts and donor communications. ARC is a humanitarian assistance organization that supports a Darfur refugee camp.

Some of these students also attended ARC’s Tenth Annual Chicago Luncheon. This year’s topic was the ongoing violence in Darfur and featured a keynote address by John Prendergast from the International Crisis Group. Jerry Ferrell, the ARC director of operations in Darfur, also spoke.

We look forward to seeing what anti-genocide activists in Minnesota will do next!

Running for Darfur

Photo by Trung Bui, Daily Lobo

On Sunday, Oct. 22, a group of students and faculty from the law school at the University of New Mexico ran in the Duke City Marathon to raise awareness and financial support for Darfur. According to law professor Jennifer Moore, their specific focus was to inform people about the horrific number of women who are raped in Darfur and support prevention efforts that provide armed guards to groups of women leaving the camps.

In all, seven teams and one solo runner from the law school ran the marathon, and the women’s team claimed first place! Proceeds from their efforts, as much as $3,000 — raised from T-shirt sales, campus meetings, seminars, and the race itself — will be donated to the Genocide Intervention Network.

Taking the Initiative

Ruth Gonzalez, a 17-year-old high school student from Miami, began her anti-genocide activism one day in September when she decided to wear a “Save Darfur” t-shirt to school. This simple act elicited a flurry of questions and comments from her classmates who, as she put it, “were clueless” about the situation in Darfur.

Since then, Ruth has posted flyers around her school, become involved with the Miami-based chapter of Never Again International along with fellow student activist Nidya Sarris, and has given presentations on the genocide to her creative writing teacher and her club advisor. She is now planning to enter the Darfur op-ed contest for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Ruth is just one example of someone who is contributing to a brighter future for Darfur by standing up and taking action in her own community. We should all heed Ruth’s words: “The world has to stop ignoring genocide and start doing something about it before once again, we have only history to judge us. I won't stop as long as it takes!”

A Thanksgiving Message from Darfur

Thu, 23 Nov 2006 18:43:02 GMT

The women of Darfur are being raped while collecting firewood.

Thousands have been victims; often repeatedly.

They now sing a song.

"This is our land ... They rape us and they kill us. Who can we depend on to help us?"

Darfurian girls prepare to leave a refugee camp to look for firewood.

We know about this song thanks to the audacious reporting of Ann Curry, who -- in a recent report for NBC -- recounts the story of 17-year-old Aziza, who was raped by a Janjaweed militiaman. The man "bit her arm and neck to 'mark' her as a rape victim" and told her that, "You are black. You have no place here. We will push you out of here. This land will remain for us."

These armed marauders, funded by the Sudanese government and supported by the Sudanese army, have been terrorizing the people of Darfur for over three years and now lurk outside of refugee camps preying on women and girls who must leave the camps to collect firewood.

As the political process in Darfur drags on, the violence continues. As world leaders argue over the appropriate nature of their response, rape is being used systematically as a weapon of genocide in Darfur.

Today we head into Thanksgiving. We will spend time with our friends and family and we will give thanks for the blessings in our lives.

In the meantime, however, we must not forget the continuing genocide in Darfur and the anguish felt there by the women and girls who face the daily specter of rape. The emotional goal of these thoughts is not guilt. Guilt helps no one. We should instead feel moved. We should feel stirred to action.

The Genocide Intervention Network (GI-Net) believes that civilian protection should be the top priority in the fight against genocide. In this way GI-Net is unique. We are exclusively committed to civilian protection in Darfur.

Help us to protect women like Aziza.

Take Action for Darfur

1. Make a donation this Thanksgiving to support GI-Net's efforts to protect women from rape in Darfur through ensuring that the African Union peacekeepers are funded and that they coordinate with refugees to organize firewood patrols.

2. Send this message to five friends or family members and add your thoughts about why you think this is important during the Thanksgiving season.

3. Add a banner that shows your support for the cause to your LiveJournal profile!

4. Want even more things you can do? Check out our list of ten things you can do right now!

Call Congress to Demand Funding for Darfur Peacekeepers!

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:36:17 GMT

1. Find your legislators on DarfurScores.org.

2. Read about their record on Darfur.

3. Call their offices with the number listed on each page, and ask them to appropriate more funds for peacekeeping in Darfur.

4. Report your calls so STAND can keep track of how offices are responding.

One phone call will make a huge difference for the people of Darfur. Join thousands of activists from across the country in urging members of Congress to fully fund peacekeepers in Darfur. Our elected officials must know that their constituents care about ending the genocide!

While a new Congress has been elected, the “lame duck” session of Congress (which lasts until the end of the year) must still pass the Foreign Operations appropriations bill for 2007. Even if your representative or senators are leaving office, they will still be in place until the end of the year, and will have the power to either help or hinder this piece of legislation.

Currently, the African Union (AU) is the only force protecting civilians in Darfur. While we need to continue to press for the immediate deployment of UN troops, it is crucial that we support AU peacekeepers now. Congress must ensure at least $60 million more is appropriated for the AU.

Congress will only take this action if they know it is a priority for their constituents. Your voice has the potential to help protect civilians in Darfur. Please call your elected officials. Make a difference for the people in Darfur today.

Talking points for when you call

Having rightfully declared the violence in Darfur to be genocide, the US has a significant responsibility to act to protect innocent Darfurian civilians. One of the most direct ways that Congress can impact the situation on the ground is through appropriations (or spending) for peacekeepers. The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) has been plagued by inadequate equipment, supplies, and technology, and is in desperate need of financial support.

Before the end of the year, Congress must pass the Foreign Operations appropriations bill for fiscal year 2007. Currently, this bill only gives AMIS enough funds to sustain them until January. To effectively protect civilians, the peacekeepers must receive more money. Based on estimates from the State Department, the AU needs at least $10 million per month from the US for the six months until more money can be requested in July. Join activists around the country — call your members of Congress and request (1) at least $60 million more for AU peacekeeping in Darfur, and (2) give the State Department the ability to transfer those funds to a UN force.

Use these to prepare for your call. It is important to make your call as individualized as possible. Members of Congress are most likely to respond to personal messages. Try to not read directly from these talking points.

Explain that you are a constituent and tell them which part of the state you are from.
Ask for the legislative aide who handles foreign affairs. (To find this person’s name, click here, enter your zip code in the box you will see on the top left side of the screen, click on the legislator you want to contact, and then click on the “staff members” tab.) If s/he is not available, leave a message with the person who answers the phone.
The only force on the ground now is the African Union Mission in Sudan. They need more money to be able to protect innocent civilians.
Please support at least an additional $60 million in the Foreign Operations appropriations bill for African Union peacekeeping in Darfur in fiscal year 2007.
Please also give the State Department the authority to transfer those funds to the UN account when a UN deployment to Darfur occurs.

Thank you for your work on this vital issue!

Advocating for Darfur Works! Keep Up the Pressure!

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 00:13:23 GMT

Congratulations! Your continued efforts to advocate on behalf of the victims of genocide are bearing fruit.

Keep up the pressure: click here to send a message to the State Department!

Our message to the president was loud and clear
Last Tuesday, we asked you to participate in a national call-in day for Darfur to the White House. Thousands of calls to the president tied up the lines for almost an hour -- with many people having to call multiple times to get through. White House receptionists were receiving up to three times more calls than usual!

The State Department publicly answers us
On July 20, we asked you to send Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Dr. Jendayi Frazer a fax calling for her to live up to her pledges to fund the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. Your efforts, alongside Darfur activists nation-wide have clearly made a difference.

On Oct. 26, Dr. Frazer responded to your faxes by pledging to "hold accountable those individuals responsible for atrocities." We hope that Dr. Frazer will follow up this statement with concrete action. At least an additional $180 million from the United States alone will be required to support this vital firebreak against genocide. This is three times current US funding for the AU peacekeepers!

Send a free fax to Asst. Sec. Frazer today.

Thank her for her response and ask that she requests more US funds from Congress for AU peacekeeping operations.

Your voice is being heard! Please keep up the pressure and we can end this genocide!

Want to make sure you receive all of our action alerts and information on what you can do to stop the genocide in Darfur? Become a member! It's free -- and once you're a member, we can help you host events, educate your community, raise money for peacekeepers in Darfur and meet with your representative and senators about Darfur!

Darfur National Call-In Day: Urge President Bush to Stop Genocide

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 02:06:56 GMT

With a single phone call, you can ensure that President Bush honors United Nations Day by re-doubling American efforts to end the genocide in Darfur. Call the White House at (202) 456-1414 on Tuesday, Oct. 24 and make your voice heard!

Tomorrow, on United Nations Day, urge the president to make the immediate deployment of UN peacekeepers -- with a robust mandate to protect civilians -- his top priority at the Security Council. To facilitate this, insist that he vigorously implements the terms of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act and thus strengthens the hand of Special Envoy Andrew Natsios.

Africa Action's National Call-In Day for Darfur
Co-sponsored by the Genocide Intervention Network, the American Jewish World Service and the Darfur Rehabilitation Project

When: United Nations Day, Tuesday, Oct. 24

Time: 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM Eastern Time / 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Pacific Time (or throughout the day)

Call: (202) 456-1414

For one hour, thousands of activists from across the nation will tie up all 1,000 phone lines at the White House and fill its voicemail. Our collective voice will ensure that the only message that President Bush receives for this entire hour is that the genocide in Darfur must finally be stopped!

What to do

Call the White House at (202) 456-1414.

If you have trouble getting through to the switchboard, help us fill the White House voicemail by calling the comment line at (202) 456-1111.

If you are unable to call between 12:00 noon and 1:00 PM Eastern (9:00 and 10:00 AM Pacific), feel free to call at any time throughout the day. We need your voice!

What to say

The script: President Bush, today, on United Nations Day, I urge you to put Darfur at the top of your agenda at the Security Council and ensure that UN peacekeepers are deployed without delay and are given the mandate to enforce civilian protection. The US has the power to protect! As president, you can move beyond words and take robust action to stop genocide in Darfur by vigorously implementing the terms of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act and strengthening the hand of Special Envoy Andrew Natsios.

More information: Genocide Intervention Network