amnesty international appeals to senate, arab league on DARFur

On October 6, 2006, Amnesty International urged Senate lawmakers to ask Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa to pressure the Government of Sudan to admit UN peacekeepers into Darfur. The deployment of a UN mission is the only way to end the violence and ensure civilian protection in Darfur.

The struggle in Darfur has worsened over the past couple of months in spite of numerous agreements and UN Security Council Resolution 1706, which calls for the transition of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) into a UN mission.

Humanitarian aid operations have also been attacked and disrupted, leaving millions of people - the majority of them women and children – without access to food, water, health care, and other necessities.

Amnesty International calls upon all senators and citizens to urge the Arab League members - particularly Qatar, which abstained from the last UNSC vote - to strongly encourage Khartoum to comply with Resolution 1706. Arab voices on this matter could save thousands of lives by helping to bring peace and security to Sudan, Chad and other countries in the region. It is now time for us to put our efforts together as an international community to make progress in Darfur.

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