August 24, 2004

American Citizens Urge Immediate, Decisive
Action in Darfur, Sudan

Washington, DC – Citizens for Global Solutions’ activists will come together tomorrow on the Sudan: Day of Conscience, August 25th, to demand immediate and decisive action by the U.S. and international community to stop the killing and destruction in Darfur.

Citizens for Global Solutions’ activists will begin gathering signatures on a petition protesting the atrocities and calling for U.S. to take the lead in the international community to:

• Support, financially and logistically, the African Union’s pledge to expand their observer mission to a fully fledged peacekeeping mission to protect the civilians of Darfur from further violence, murder, rapes and displacement.

• Demand that the international community act immediately to put an end to the murders and rapes, and facilitate a program to rebuild villages and ensure that internally displaced persons can be returned to their homes.

• Demand that a UN Commission of Inquiry investigate allegations of war crimes and genocide.

In Darfur, over 50,000 innocent civilians have been brutally murdered, 200,000 people have been documented as refugees in neighboring Chad, and more than 1.2 million people internally have been forced from their homes and live in squalid conditions in camps, many controlled by the Janjaweed militias.

For the first time since its inception, the Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has declared a “genocide emergency” indicating that genocide is imminent or is actually happening in the Darfur region.

“Sudan: Day of Conscience is providing a voice for the citizens of the United States to speak out against the atrocities in Darfur,” said Harpinder Athwal, Peace and Security Program Manager at Citizens for Global Solutions. “Not enough has been done by the world to put an end to this brutal killing, rape and displacement of innocent civilians. The Sudanese government has failed its responsibility to protect its civilians; it is now the responsibility of the world to protect them. We have to step up and meet our obligation”

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Notes to Editors:

Participate in a live webcast direct from a refugee camp on the Sudan border, where you can meet the people of Darfur and even ask them questions online. The webcast will begin at 9AM Eastern Standard Time, August 25th.

Sign Citizens for Global Solutions petition

The Save Darfur Coalition: A complete list of local events and signatories are available on the coalition’s website, www.savedarfur.org. More than 80 organizations have signed the Save Darfur Coalition Unity Statement, from Anti-Defamation League and Citizens for Global Solutions to the National Council of Churches.