September 21, 2012

 

Dear Ambassador:

 

We are deeply alarmed by the ongoing lack of full and unhindered access for international humanitarian aid agencies to all areas within the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, as well as Darfur. Despite a United Nations Security Council Resolution calling on the government of Sudan to immediately allow for such access in the Two areas – and a memorandum of understanding concluded between the UN, the African Union, and the League of Arab States – the so-called “Tripartite Partners” – and the Sudanese government providing for humanitarian aid delivery, one million people continue to suffer from food insecurity as well as the continued threat of indiscriminate bombings and attacks on civilians. 

 

It has been over four months since the UN Security Council, acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, called on the government of Sudan to immediately accept the Tripartite Partner’s proposal to permit humanitarian access throughout the two states. The resolution followed months of delay on the part of the Sudanese government over the review of a proposal that the Tripartite Partners submitted concerning aid delivery. On August 5, 2012, Khartoum finally signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tripartite Partners that sets out deadlines related to the planning for and distribution of international humanitarian assistance. To date, the government has ignored the deadlines laid out in the memorandum and exhibited no indication that it intends to allow the full and unhindered delivery of aid throughout South Kordofan and Blue Nile. 

 

The UN Security Council committed in Resolution 2046 to hold all parties who fail to comply with the Resolution’s terms fully accountable through the imposition of measures under Article 41 of the Charter. It is imperative that it do so. Those parties who fail to meet their obligations should face strong consequences including the imposition of sanctions. In its upcoming review of the compliance of the parties with Resolution 2046, the Government of Sudan’s failure to abide by the provisions related to humanitarian assistance and to comply with the agreement which it signed should be considered a key factor in determining what actions the Council takes. For many in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, this is a matter of life and death. 

 

For over a year, the government of Sudan has refused to allow aid into these two states, resulting in emergency levels of food insecurity (one level below famine) for 150,000-200,000 people in Southern Kordofan and crisis levels for hundreds of thousands of others in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. Continued aerial bombardments by the Sudanese Armed Forces and fighting with rebel groups has displaced or severely affected an estimated 665,000 people inside Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile and led 205,000 refugees to flee to South Sudan and Ethiopia, where they continue to face desperate conditions. 

 

We welcomed the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between the government of Sudan and the Tripartite Partners, but are distressed that the government of Sudan once again continues to delay in its implementation of a key agreement. Similarly, we appreciate the actions of the UN Security Council to secure the delivery of humanitarian aid and to support the initiation of a political dialogue between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-N. However, such SUDAN: Letter to UN Security Council Members from 123 Organizations Regarding Humanitarian Access actions will be of little consequence to civilians on the ground if the Council does not make efforts to ensure that the government of Sudan complies with the Council’s approach. 

 

If Sudan continues to ignore its obligations to allow humanitarian access to the people of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, we urge that the UN Security Council move swiftly to impose consequences for this failure and to consider alternative means for delivering aid. 

 

Signed by:

 

1. Act for Sudan2. Aegis Trust3. African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)4. African Soul, American Heart5. Afro-Canadian Evangelical mission6. Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan7. American Friends Service Committee US West Region8. American Islamic Congress9. American Islamic Forum for Democracy10. American Jewish World Service11. Americans Against the Darfur Genocide12. Armenian National Committee of America13. Arry Organization for Human Rights & Development14. Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development15. Blue Nile Association16. Bnai Darfur Organization17. Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan18. Center for Peace, Justice and Reconciliation19. Change the world. It just takes cents.20. Christian Lifeline International Aid21. Collectif Urgence Darfour22. Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action23. Combat Genocide Association24. Common Cause25. Community Empowerment for Progress Organization-CEPO26. Congregation of St. Joseph27. Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur28. Darfur Action Group of South Carolina29. Darfur and Beyond30. Darfur Interfaith Network31. Darfur Leaders Network32. Darfur People's Association of New York33. Darfur People's Association of New York Brooklyn34. Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Inc.35. Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre36. Darfur Solidarity In USA37. Darfur Union, UK & Ireland38. Dear Sudan, Love Marin39. Doctors to the World40. Enough Project41. Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi42. Foreign Policy In Focus43. Genocide No More - Save Darfur44. Genocide Watch45. Georgia Coalition to Prevent Genocide46. GlobalSolutions.org47. Help Nuba48. Holocaust Museum Houston49. Hope With (South) Sudan50. Human Rights & Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND)51. Human Rights Org.52. Human Rights Team - Community of Christ53. Human Rights Watch54. Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)55. Humanity Is Us56. Humanity United57. Investors against Genocide58. Iowa Center for Genocide Prevention59. Italians for Darfur 60. Jewish World Watch61. Jews Against Genocide62. Joining Our VoicesSUDAN: Letter to UN Security Council Members from 123 Organizations Regarding Humanitarian Access 63. Kamma Organization for Development Initiatives (South Sudan)64. Keokuk for Global Awareness & Aid65. Leadership Conference of Women Religious66. Live Well South Sudan67. Long Island Darfur Action Group68. Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur69. Moro Association of the United States.70. My Sister's Keeper71. NAACP72. National Association of Evangelicals73. National Council of the Churches of Christ74. Never Again Coalition75. New York City Genocide Prevention Coalition76. New York Coalition for Darfur and All Sudan77. New York Darfur Vigil Group78. Nuba Christian Family Mission79. Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition80. Nuba Mountains Advocacy Group81. Nuba Mountains International Association82. Nuba Relief, Rehabilitation and Development Organization83. Nuba Vision Coalition, Inc84. Nubia Project85. One Million Bones86. Operation Broken Silence87. Peace Action88. Persecution Project Foundation89. Physicians for Human Rights90. Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition91. Presbyterian Church, (USA), Office of Public Witness92. Rabbinical Assembly93. San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition94. Save Darfur North Shore95. Save Darfur Washington State96. Shine A Ray of Hope97. Society for Threatened Peoples98. South Sudan Institute for Women's Education & Leadership99. South Sudan Women Christian Mission for Peace100. Stop Genocide Now101. Strategic Centre for Social Studies in Blue Nile102. Sudan Advocacy Action Forum103. Sudan Democracy First Group104. Sudan Human Rights Network105. Sudan Rowan, Inc.106. Sudan Unlimited107. Sudanese Australian Human Rights Association   108. Sudanese Front for Change 109. Sudanese Marginalized Forum110. Temple Ahavat Achim Darfur Social Action Committee111. The Africa Institute of American Jewish Committee112. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)113. The Institute on Religion and Democracy114. TransAfrica115. Triangles of Truth116. Ubuntu Women Institute USA Inc.117. Unitarian Universalist Association118. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee119. United Methodist Church, General Board of Society120. United to End Genocide121. Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI122. Voices for Sudan123. Waging Peace

August 27, 2012

To: President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, Special Assistant to the President Samantha Power.

From: The Undersigned Genocide Scholars

Subject: Humanitarian Catastrophe in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States of Sudan

Dear President Obama, Secretary of State  Clinton, Ambassador Rice and Special Assistant Power:

On June 6, 2011, the Sudanese regime, led by indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir, unleashed a wave of targeted ethnic killings against the people of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan state, Sudan. Since then this state-sponsored violence has spread to engulf much of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

The continuing multiple atrocities amount to at least crimes against humanity. This, in and of itself, is alarming. According to the tenets of the Responsibility to Protect now is the time to protect the targeted population.

Satellite imagery has revealed mass graves, razed communities, and the indiscriminate low altitude aerial bombardment of civilian areas in South Kordofan state. Reliable eyewitnesses continue to report systematic government shelling and bombing of refugee evacuation routes, helicopter gunships hunting civilians as they flee their homes and farmland to hide in caves, and a deliberate and widespread blockage of humanitarian aid into South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Anecdotal evidence of perpetrators screaming racist slurs as civilians are killed and raped are familiar to anyone who knows what has been happening in Darfur since 2003.

Sufficient evidence exists for us to believe the Sudanese regime is attempting to annihilate those whom the government suspects of supporting the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North’s (SPLM-N) aims. Hence many local people are automatically targeted regardless of their true political affiliations.

Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese remain trapped in South Kordofan, the victims of forced starvation, unable to farm their land. This critical situation largely mirrors what the same regime perpetrated in the 1990s, a case of genocide by attrition.

Meanwhile in Blue Nile state, a scorched earth campaign by government forces has forced the SPLM-N to retreat, leaving tens of thousands with no protection from the perpetrators.

As genocide scholars we have a solemn responsibility to educate the public about the horrors of the past in the hope of creating a future free of such crimes. We are the keepers of the chapters of human history that are difficult to confront, casting a dark shadow on all of humanity. We study the past to find ways to prevent such egregious actions in the future. We exist to remind the world of humanity’s capacity to commit genocide anywhere and against any group of people.

It is because of that responsibility that we write to you.  We call on  you to fulfill your responsibilities as global leaders when it comes to confronting mankind’s most terrifying of crimes.

Although we welcome your efforts to aid the refugees who have found their way to camps in South Sudan, we must point out that as world leaders you have the moral authority granted by the UN’s unanimous 2005 declaration of the Responsibility to Protect to demand delivery of aid to those inside Sudan. As guarantors of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed that same year, moreover, you have not fulfilled your legal and moral obligation to sanction violators of that agreement.

The Sudanese regime continues to slaughter its own civilians, while denying them access to aid and in defiance of various international treaties and conventions it has signed, not to mention the Sudanese constitution.

The Tripartite Agreement signed on 4 August 2012 in Addis Ababa, called upon the Government of Sudan to allow humanitarian access to all areas of the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile state dependent on certain conditions. Yet the Bashir regime’s track record leads us to fear it will interfere with aid delivery to those in most need. Seasonal inaccessibility also requires extraordinary and timely arrangements, such as airdrops.  Hence we beseech you to take the following steps immediately to ensure aid is delivered to South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

• Establish a land and air humanitarian corridor through which aid can be delivered without interference or hindrance from Sudanese security, military or other forces or proxies.
• Secure arrangements with the SPLM-N for the airlifting of these supplies directly into territory in their control.
• Inform relevant Sudanese officials that, due to the urgency of the catastrophe created by their actions, the United States will deliver relief directly into the war-affected areas underneath SPLM-N control.
• Invite relevant Sudanese officials to observe the cargo to be delivered so they can verify the contents.
• Use the most effective means possible, including airlifts, to get supplies into affected areas in SPLM-N control.
• Keep armed escort planes on standby for the protection of aid delivery planes if necessary.

It is therefore unwise to respond to the Khartoum regime’s various crimes with appeasement. By allowing the NCP to behave with impunity, the U.S. and the rest of the international community signals a weakness that only emboldens those who would flout its own international agreements.

Furthermore, it is unwise to assume, as the international community does, that Khartoum intends the best for its citizens. Therefore we call on your administration to end Khartoum’s effective blockade of aid to South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The regime will continue to kill their own people if once again the United States declines to use the economic and diplomatic leverage at its disposal to enforce the delivery of aid into South Kordofan and Blue Nile states under internationally acceptable terms.

We strongly urge you to act now to stave off the starvation of an entire people. Nothing would speak louder to the United States’ concern for the protection of international human rights than an immediate operation to deliver aid to the Nuba Mountains people while they are still alive and able to be helped.

If your administration chooses to stand with the victims of Sudan’s continuing campaign of ethnic cleansing, then history will accord you respect and honor. If you do not stand with the victims, history will be much harsher.

We very much look forward to hearing from each of you in regard to our letter and the suggestions therein.

In solidarity with the victims, and with respect,

 

Dr. Samuel Totten

Professor Emeritus, and author of Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan (2012)

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

samstertotten@gmail.com

 

Dr. John Hubbel Weiss

Associate Professor, History

Cornell University

 

Mr. David Kilgour, J.D.

Former Canadian Secretary of State for Africa

Ottawa, Canada

 

Dr. Israel W. Charny (dual citizenship, U.S. & Israel)

Director, Genocide Prevention Network and Past President of the International Association of Genocide Studies, and Chief Editor, Encyclopedia of Genocide

Jerusalem, Israel

 

Dr. Helen Fein

Chair of the Board, Institute for the Study of Genocide, and author of Human Rights and Wrongs: Slavery, Terror and Genocide

New York, NY

 

Dr. Roger Smith

Professor Emeritus and Past President of the International Association of Genocide Studies,and editor of Genocide: Essays Toward Understanding, Early Warning Prevention

College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

 

Dr. John Hagan

MacArthur Professor, and Co-Director, Center on Law & Globalizations, American Bar Foundation Co-author of Darfur and the Crime of Genocide (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

 

Craig Etcheson

Author of After the Killing Fields: Lessons from the Cambodian Genocide.

Canton, IL

 

Dr. Ben Kiernan

Whitney Griswold Professor of History and Director of Genocide Studies Program (Yale University

Author of Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur

Yale University, New Haven, CT

 

Dr. Herb Hirsch

Professor, Department of Political Science and Co-Editor of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal and author of Anti-Genocide: Building An American Movement to Prevent Genocide (Praeger, 2002)

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

 

Dr. Hannibal Travis

Associate Professor of Law and author of Genocide in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire, Iraq and Sudan (2010)

Florida International University College of Law

 

Professor Linda Melvern

Department of International Politics, and author of A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda’s Genocide

University of Aberystwyth, Wales

 

Dr. Henry Theriault

Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, and Co-Editor of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

Worcester State University, MA

 

Dr. Eric Weitz

Dean of Humanities and the Arts, and author of A Century of Genocide:  Utopias of Race and NationCity College, City University of New York

New York, NY

 

Dr. Gregory Stanton

President of Genocide Watch, Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution

George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

 

Dr. Rouben Adalian

Director, Armenian National Institute

Washington, D.C.

 

Dr. Susanne Jonas

Professor (retired), Latin American & Latino Studies, and author of The Battle for Guatemala: Rebels, Death Squads and U.S. Power

University of California, Santa Cruz

 

Dr. Robert Skloot

Professor Emeritus

University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

Nicolas A. Robins

Co-editor, Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal, and author ofGenocide by the Oppressed: Subaltern Genocide in Theory and Practice

Raleigh, North Carolina

 

Dr. John D. Ciorciari

Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

 

Dr. George Kent

Professor, Department of Political Science

University of Hawaii, Honolulu

 

Dr. Elisa Von Joeden-Forgey

Visiting Scholar, Department of History

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

 

Dr. Peter Balakian

Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor in Humanities, and author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response

Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

 

Dr. Ernesto Verdeja

Assistant Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies

University of Notre Dame

 

Mr. Stephen D. Smith

Executive Director, USC Shoah Foundation, and Adjunct Professor of Religion

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

 

Dr. Paul Slovic

Professor, Department of Psychology

University of Oregon, Eugene

 

Dr. Jason Ross Arnold

Assistant Professor of Political Science

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

 

Dr. Jason K. Levy, Associate Professor,

Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and Director, National Homeland Security Project,

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

 

Dr. Amanda Grzyb (Dual Citizen, U.S. and Canada)

Assistant Professor, Information and Media Studies, and editor of The World and Darfur: International Response to Crimes Against Humanity in Western Sudan

University of Western Ontario (Canada)

 

Dr. Alan L. Berger

Reddock Family Eminent Scholar in Holocaust Studies, and Director, Center for the Study of Values and Violence After Auschwitz

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

 

Dr. Douglas H. Johnson

International Expert, Abyei Boundaries Commission, 2005, Author of The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars

Haverford, PA and Oxford, UK

 

Dr. Gagik Aroutiunian

Associate Professor, Department of Art, Media & Design

DePaul University, Chicago, IL

 

Dr. Gerry Caplan

Independent Scholar and Author of Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada

 

Dr. Dominik J. Schaller

Lecturer, History Department, and author of The Origins of Genocide: Raphael Lemkin as a Historian of Mass Violence

Ruprecht-Karls-Univeristy, Heidelberg, Germany

 

Dr. Philip J. Spencer

Director of the Helen Bamber Centre for the Study of Rights, Conflict and Mass Violence

Kingston University, Surrey, England

 

Dr. Maureen S. Hiebert

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

University of Calgary (Canada)

 

Dr. Eric Reeves

Professor, and author of A Long Day’s Dying: Critical moments in the Darfur Genocide

Smith College, Northhampton, MA

 

Dr. Robert Hitchcock

Professor, Department of Geography, and co-editor of Genocide of Indigenous Peoples

Michigan State University, Lansing

 

Dr. James Waller

Cohen Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, author of Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing

Keene State College, Keene, New Hampshire

 

Dr. Rubina Peroomian

Research Associate

University of California, Los Angeles

 

Dr. Colin Tatz

Visiting Fellow, Political and International Relations, and author of With Intent to Destroy: Reflecting on Genocide

Australian National University, Canberra

 

Dr. Kjell Anderson

Project Manager, The Hague Institute for Global Justice

The Hague, The Netherlands

 

Dr. Adam Jones

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, and author of Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction

University of British Columbia

 

Dr. Elihu D. Richter, MD MPH

Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention and Hebrew-University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine

Jerusalem, Israel

 

Matthias Bjornlund

Historian/Lecturer

Danish Institute for the Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

José Carlos Moreira da Silva Filho

Professor, Criminal Law Post Graduate Department

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Port Alegra RS - Brazil

 

Tamar Pileggi

Co-Founder, The Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention

Jerusalem, Israel

 

Dr. Uriel Levy

Director, Combat Genocide Association

Jerusalem, Israel

 

Dr. Penny Green

International State Crime Initiative

Kings College, London

 

Dr. Tony Ward

Professor of Law

University of Hull, UK

 

Ms. Amy Fagin

International Association of Genocide Scholars

New Salem, MA

 

Dr. Ann Weiss

Director, Eyes from the Ashes Educational Foundation, and author of The Last Album: Eyes from the Ashes of Auschwitz-Birkenau

Bryn Mawr, PA

 

Dr. Rick Halperin

Director, Embrey Human Rights Program

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

 

Mr. Geoff Hill

Bureau Chief, The Washington Times

Johannesburg, South Africa

 

Dr. Frank Chalk,

Director, The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies

Concordia University

 

Mr. Tadej Slapnik,

Director of INEA Institut for South East Europe

Ljubljana, Slovenia

_

Isabel V. Hull,

Professor of History

 

Gérard Prunier, PhD

Private consultant and fellow of the Atlantic Council

 

Mr. Dzemal Sokolovic,

Professor, Institute for Strengthening Democracy in Bosnia

Konjic, Bosnia

 

Gamal Adam, Ph.D.

Private Scholar

Head of the Canadian Darfuri Community

 

Mr. Tomo Kriznar

Former Slovenian Presidential Envoy to Sudan, Co-author of documentary films on Nuba, Darfur

NUBA, PURE PEOPLE; EYES AND EARS OF GOD, others

 

Mr. Norman L. Epstein

Co-chair CASTS, Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in Sudan

To:

The United Nations Security Council

The African Union Peace and Security Council               

The League of Arab States               

Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chair of the African Union Commission               

Thabo Mbeki, Chair of the African Union High Implementation Panel               

Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia, Chair of IGAD

 

From:    The Undersigned 96 International Organizations

 

Date:     August 3, 2012

 

Re:        Implementation and Review of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2046

 

On June 6, 2012, 89 international organizations urged the UN Security Council to impose consequences as outlined in Resolution 2046 on Sudan if it did not allow immediate access for humanitarian aid into Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile by June 14, 2012. 

 

On June 14, 2012, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon acknowledged serious food shortages particularly in the areas not under government control, and he committed to the delivery of 8,000 metric tonnes of food assistance. We understand Sudan recently allowed the World Food Programme to provide a 3 month supply of aid to approximately 170,000 people in 13 government-held areas in eastern South Kordofan.   

 

We appreciate the initial efforts to supply aid to war affected populations and we appreciate attention by the UN Security Council, the African Union and IGAD to address the crises in Sudan and South Sudan through implementation of the African Union Roadmap and UN Security Council Resolution 2046.

 

According to Resolution 2046 article 6, the UN Security Council intends to take appropriate measures under Article 41 of the UN Charter if Sudan, South Sudan and the SPLM-North do not comply with decisions set forth in the Resolution.  Review of compliance was scheduled for May 17th and in two week intervals thereafter.   In addition, Resolution 2046 article 5 established a 3 month deadline on August 2, 2012 for conclusion of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan over oil, citizenship, the border and Abyei.

  

Besides concluding negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan, compliance by the parties is based on the following actions:

 

·         Cease all hostilities including aerial bombardments.

 

·         Withdraw troops to their side of the border.

 

·         Activate, by May 9th, the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism and the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone.

 

·         Cease harboring or supporting rebel groups against the other state.

 

·         Activate the means to investigate allegations.

 

·         Cease hostile propaganda and protect property, religious and cultural symbols and nationals of the other State.

 

·         Implement the June 20, 2011 agreement on Abyei.

 

·         Reach a negotiated settlement between Sudan and the SPLM-N based on the June 28, 2011 Framework Agreement.

 

·         Accept and implement the tripartite proposal by Sudan and the SPLM-North.

 

·         Protect human rights including those of women and people belonging to vulnerable groups.

 

 

Non-compliance of these requirements is subject at any time to measures under Article 41, which include partial or complete interruption of economic relations and severance of diplomatic relations.

 

It is widely recognized that while South Sudan and the SPLM-North have largely complied with the Resolution, Sudan has not and instead has committed the following violations:

 

·         Ongoing bombardment and attacks in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and South Sudan.

 

·         Refusal to implement a buffer zone between Sudan and South Sudan.

 

·         Ongoing presence of Sudan military in Abyei.

 

·         Refusal to accept and implement the tripartite proposal and as a result condemning thousands of people to death by starvation, thirst, injury and disease within Sudan and creating a humanitarian crisis outside of Sudan as over 200,000 civilians seek refuge in South Sudan and Ethiopia.

 

·         Refusing to recognize the SPLM-North as a political party, arresting and torturing its members and confiscating their property while refusing to approach negotiations with the SPLM-North in good faith making a negotiated settlement impossible.

 

·         Violating human rights by arresting, torturing and killing peaceful protestors and individuals associated with opposition parties; indiscriminate bombing of civilian populations in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile; and by restricting access for international humanitarian aid throughout Sudan.

 

We recognize the tenuous nature of negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan and the implications of failed negotiations.  While there may be a reluctance to antagonize Sudan for fear of repercussions, failing to implement Resolution 2046 emboldens Sudan and other states to disregard international law and institutions and to instigate violence that threatens global peace and security.

 

We strongly recommend immediate airlifts, in coordination with the SPLM-North, to deliver aid to war affected populations in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile that are inaccessible due to Sudan imposed blockades and due to impassable roads caused by the rainy season.  The international community has exercised extraordinary patience and exhausting but fruitless diplomacy to secure access for the delivery of aid.  The international community must now exercise its right and responsibility to protect the citizens of the two areas from crimes committed by the Government of Sudan. 

 

 

As part of the UN Secretary General’s September 2, 2012 proposal to address outstanding issues related to negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan, we recommend the inclusion of immediate consequences according to Article 41 if Sudan fails to comply with all components of the Resolution and if it continues to commit crimes against its citizens and the citizens of South Sudan.

 

In addition, serious and unresolved humanitarian and political crises are ongoing in Darfur, Eastern Sudan and throughout Sudan.  Compliance with Resolution 2046 article 3, a negotiated settlement based on the June 28, 2011 Framework Agreement on Political Partnership, would pave the way for a comprehensive security and political arrangement at the national level.  However, the effectiveness of an agreement is contingent upon full participation by opposition parties and rebel groups, civil society organizations, grassroots activists and Sudanese citizens, particularly citizens from the marginalized regions.  Given Sudan’s well established pattern of failing to abide by negotiations, commitment by the international community to strictly monitor the implementation process and the ensuing transitional period will be necessary.

 

We appreciate your immediate attention to these urgent matters.

 

Signed by:

 

Act for Sudan

 

Martina Knee, Co-Founder

 

San Francisco, CA, USA

 

Aegis Trust

 

Dr. James Smith, CEO

 

London, England, UK

 

African Soul, American Heart

 

Debra Dawson, President

 

Fargo, ND, USA

 

Afro Canadian Evangelical Mission

 

Rev. Fr. Lexson A. Maku, Head of Mission

 

Abbotsford, BC, Canada

 

Alliance for the Lost Boys of Sudan

 

Joan Hecht, President

 

Jacksonville, FL, USA

 

American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (AFRECS)

 

C. Richard Parkins, Executive Director

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

Arry Organization for Human Rights and Development

 

Osman Habi, President

 

Kansas City, MO, USA

 

Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development

 

Ibrahim Tahir Ahmed, Co-Founder and Executive Director

 

Fairfax, VA, USA

 

Blue Nile Association

 

Abdal Babikir

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan

 

Laura Limuli, Coordinator

 

Brooklyn, NY, USA

 

Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi

 

Bishop Latino, Roman Catholic Bishop of Jackson, Mississippi

 

Jackson, MS, USA

 

"Change the world. It takes cents." TM

 

Sara Kornfeld, Project Founder/Educator 

 

Denver, CO, USA

 

Christian Solidarity International-USA

 

Reverend Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach

 

Denver, CO, USA

 

Collectif Urgence Darfour

 

Dr. Jacky Mamou, President

 

Paris, France

 

Colorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness and Action

 

Roz Duman, Founder/Director

 

Denver, CO, USA

 

Combat Genocide Association (CGA)

 

Uriel Levy, Director

 

Tel Aviv, Israel

 

Comité Soudan

 

Diagne Chanel, Présidente

 

Paris, France

 

Community Empowerment for Progress Organization - CEPO

 

Edmund Yakani, Program Coordinator

 

Juba, Central Equatoria, Republic of South Sudan

 

Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur

 

Tim Oslovich, Chairperson

 

Vernon, CT, USA

 

Darfur Action Group of South Carolina

 

Richard Sribnich, MD, Chairman

 

Columbia, SC, USA

 

Darfur and Beyond

 

Cory Williams, Co-Founder

 

Doreen A. Romney, Co-Founder

 

Phoenix, AZ, USA

 

Darfur Development Agenda (DDA)

 

Saifeldin A. Nemir,

 

Manchester, England, UK

 

Darfur Human Rights Organization of the USA

 

Abdelgabar Adam, President and Founder

 

Philadelphia, PA, USA

 

Darfur Interfaith Network

 

Martha Boshnick, Co-Chairman

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

Darfur Leaders Network (DLN), USA

 

Motasim Adam, Director/ Co-Founder

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

Darfur People's Association of New York

 

Ahmat Nour, President

 

Brooklyn, NY, USA

 

Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre

 

Hamid Eltigani Ali, Chair, Board of Directors

 

Geneva, Switzerland

 

Darfur Solidarity USA

 

Mohammed Eisa, Vice President

 

Boston, MA, USA

 

Darfur Union, UK & Ireland

 

Hussain Begira, Chairperson

 

London, England, UK

 

Darfur Victims Organisation for Rehabilitation and Relief (DVORR)

 

Mariam Suliman, Chairperson

 

London, England, UK

 

Dear Sudan Love Marin

 

Gerri Miller, Founder

 

Tiburon, CA, USA

 

End-Impunity Organization

 

Angelina Daniel Seeka, Regional Director

 

Juba, Republic of South Sudan

 

Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, Des Moines for Darfur

 

Rev. Peggy Harris

 

Des Moines, IA, USA

 

 

 

Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi

 

The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III, Bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi

 

Jackson, MS, USA

 

Genocide No More- Save Darfur

 

Marv Steinberg, Coordinator

 

Redding, CA, USA

 

Genocide Prevention Institute/ Georgia Coalition to Prevent Genocide

 

Melanie Nelkin, Founder (Institute)/ Chair (Coalition)

 

Atlanta, GA, USA

 

Genocide Watch

 

Gregory Stanton, President

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

GeNoticed

 

Elizabeth Blackney, Founder and Managing Director

 

Virginia Beach, VA, USA

 

Help Nuba

 

Rabbi David Kaufman, Founder and Co-Chair

 

Mark Finkelstein, Executive Council

 

Des Moines, IA, USA

 

Hope for Women and Children of South Sudan

 

Teresa Yaak, Founder and President

 

Grand Rapids, MI, USA

 

Hope With Sudan

 

Jerry Drino, Executive Director

 

San Jose, CA, USA

 

Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)

 

Baroness (Caroline) Cox, House of Lords and CEO

 

United Kingdom

 

Humanity Is Us

 

Kimberly Hollingsworth, Founder

 

New York, NY, USA

 

Idaho Darfur Coalition

 

A.J. Fay, Co-Founder

 

Boise, ID, USA

 

Institute for Training and Research

 

David Adalla, Program Director

 

Juba, Republic of South Sudan

 

Investors Against Genocide

 

Eric Cohen, Chairperson

 

Boston, MA, USA

 

Iowa Center for Genocide Prevention

 

Kristen Anderson, Founder

 

Des Moines, IA, USA

 

Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention

 

Professor Elihu D Richter MD MPH

 

Yael Stein MD, Co-Founder

 

Jerusalem, Israel

 

Jewish World Watch

 

Fred Kramer, Executive Director

 

Los Angeles, CA, USA

 

Jews Against Genocide

 

Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder

 

New York, NY, USA

 

Joining Our Voices

 

Jack Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director

 

Baton Rouge, LA, USA

 

Justice & Equality Movement Sudan (JEM)

 

Ahmed Hussain Adam, Secretary for Foreign Affairs

 

 Sudan

 

Kentuckiana Taskforce Against Genocide

 

Phil L. Nippert, Chairperson

 

Louisville, KY, USA

 

Live Well Clinic

 

Dr. Thon Paul Agok, Managing Director

 

Juba, Republic of South Sudan

 

Long Island Darfur Action Group

 

Nancy Walsh, Coordinator

 

Farmingdale, NY, USA

 

Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur

 

William Rosenfeld, Director

 

Boston, MA, USA

 

Mississippi Area of The United Methodist Church

 

Hope Morgan Ward, Resident Bishop

 

Jackson, MS, USA

 

Moro Association of United States, Inc.

 

Philip Tutu, President

 

Kansas City, MO, USA

 

My Sister's Keeper

 

Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, M.D., Executive Director

 

Sarah Cleto Rial, Program Director

 

Boston, MA, USA

 

National Sudanese Women Association (NSWA)

 

Omayma Elmardi, Chairperson of the Executive Committee

 

Khartoum, Sudan

 

Never Again Coalition

 

Diane Koosed, Co-Chairs

 

Portland, OR, USA

 

New York Coalition for Darfur and All Sudan

 

Neiki Ullah, Director of Communications and Advocacy

 

New York, NY, USA

 

New York Darfur Vigil Group

 

Helga Moore, Coordinator

 

New York, NY, USA

 

Nigrizia Magazine, Comboni Missionaries

 

Fr. Franco Moretti, Editor

 

Verona, Italy

 

Nuba Christian Family Mission, Inc.

 

George Tutu, Founder/President

 

Denver, CO, USA

 

Nuba Mountain Peace Coalition

 

Tito Elgassai, Co-Founder

 

Dallas, TX, USA

 

Nuba Mountains American Advocacy Group

 

Mario Angelo, Secretary General

 

Fresno, CA, USA

 

Nuba Mountains International Assoc. USA

 

Magid Kabash, Secretary of Information

 

New York, NY, USA

 

Nuba Mountains Solidarity Abroad

 

Zaki Samwiil, Chairman

 

United Kingdom and Ireland

 

Nuba Vision Coalition, Inc.

 

Yassir Kori, Executive Director

 

Oklahoma City, OK, USA

 

Nubia Project

 

Nuraddin Abdulmannan, President

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

NYC Genocide Prevention Coalition

 

Staci M. Alziebler-Perkins, Convener

 

New York, NY, USA

 

Operation Broken Silence

 

Mark C. Hackett, President

 

Memphis, TN, USA

 

Persecution Project Foundation

 

Brad Phillips, Director

 

Culpeper, VA, USA

 

Salmmah Women's Resource Centre

 

Fahima Hashim, Director

 

Khartoum, , Sudan

 

San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition

 

Mohamed Suleiman, President

 

San Francisco, CA, USA

 

Save Darfur Washington State

 

Ned Laskowski, President

 

Seattle, WA, USA

 

Shine A Ray of Hope

 

Carmen Paolercio, Coordinator

 

New Rochelle, NY, USA

 

Society for Threatened Peoples

 

Sharon Silber, US Representative

 

New York, NY, USA

 

Stop Genocide Now

 

Gabriel Stauring, Director and Founder

 

Redondo Beach, CA, USA

 

Sudan Advocacy Action Forum

 

Bill Andress, Moderator

 

Lexington, SC, USA

 

Sudan For All

 

Emad Bukhari, Founder

 

Phoenix, AZ, USA

 

Sudan Rowan Inc.

 

Ngor Kur Mayol, Founder

 

Atlanta, GA, USA

 

Sudan Unlimited

 

Esther Sprague, Director

 

San Francisco, CA, USA

 

Sudanese Marginalized Forum-USA

 

Gogadi Amoga, Chair

 

Batavia, OH, USA

 

Sudanese Ministry Committee, Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi

 

Greg Miller, Janice Trimble Professor of English, Milsaps College

 

Bul Garang Mabil, Sudanese Ministries

 

Jackson, MS, USA

 

Sudanese Women Empowerment for Peace (SuWEP)

 

Zaynab Elsawi, Coordinator

 

Khartoum, Sudan

 

The Institute on Religion and Democracy

 

Faith McDonnell, Director of Religious Liberties Programs and Church Alliance for a New Sudan

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

THE INSTITUTE on Religion and Public Policy

 

Joseph Grieboski, Founder and Chairman of the Board

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

The International Justice Project, Inc.

 

Kristin Rosella, Program Director

 

Newark, NJ, USA

 

The South Sudanese Community

 

Natalina Malwal, President

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

Triangles of Truth

 

Simon Goldberg, Executive Director

 

New York, NY, USA

 

Unite for Darfur Organization

 

Bahar Arabie, CEO

 

Gaithersburg, MD, USA

 

Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI

 

Sandra Hammel, Director

 

Portsmouth, RI, USA

 

Voices for Sudan

 

Jimmy Mulla, President & Co-Founder

 

Washington, DC, USA

 

Waging Peace

 

Olivia Warham, Director

 

The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies  

 

June 14, 2012

 

Dr. Samantha Power,

ChairAtrocities Prevention Board

Washington, DC

 

Dear Dr. Power, 

 

As scholars who have written or taught about the Holocaust or other genocides, we applaud the adoption by the House Appropriations Committee of Rep. Frank Wolf's amendment to suspend non-humanitarian U.S. aid to countries that host visits by Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for his central role in the Darfur genocide.  

 

It is important for the United States to send a clear message to the international community that Bashir, the world's most notorious perpetrator of genocide, deserves to be treated as a pariah. In your Pulitzer Prize winning book, 'A Problem from Hell': America and the Age of Genocide, you wrote that in the fight against genocide, America's choice is not "doing nothing or unilaterally sending in the marines."

 

You argued that there are many steps short of war that should be taken, such as "economic sanctions" and "encouraging U.S. allies...to step up their commitments and capacities." (pp. 513-514)  The Wolf Amendment does exactly that--it uses economic sanctions to encourage America's allies to step up their commitments to fight against perpetrators of genocide.  

 

We urge the Atrocities Prevention Board to do everything possible to ensure that the Wolf Amendment is not diluted or undermined during the upcoming House-Senate negotiations over the final wording of the foreign aid appropriations legislation. 

 

Cordially, 

 

Prof. Irving Abella

Shiff Chair of Jewish History

York University

 

Prof. Marie L. Baird

Duquesne University 

 

Prof. Karyn Ball

University of Alberta 

 

Prof. Alan L. Berger

Director, Center for the Study of Values and Violence after Auschwitz

Florida Atlantic University 

 

Prof. Daniel Burston

Chair, Psychology Department

Duquesne University 

 

Prof. Israel W. Charny

Director, Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide

Editor in Chief, Encyclopedia of Genocide 

 

Prof. Esther Cuerda

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain) 

 

Prof. Christine Cusick

Director of the Honors Program

Seton Hill University 

 

Prof. Abram De Swaan

University of Amsterdam 

 

Dr. Gemma Del Ducca, S.C.

Co-Director, National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education

Seton Hall University 

 

Prof. Deborah Dwork

Founding Director, Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Clark University 

 

Prof. Helen Fein

Chair of the Board, Institute for the Study of Genocide Founding President (emer.),

International Association of Genocide Scholars 

 

Prof. Mark FrischDuquesne University Prof. Zev GarberChair (emer.),

Jewish Studies and Philosophy

Los Angeles Valley College  

 

Dr. Edyta Gawron

Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) 

 

Prof. Jay Geller

Vanderbilt Divinity School

 

Dr. Danuel Jonah Goldhagen

Author of 'Worse Than War' 

 

Rabbi Dr. David Golinkin

President, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies 

 

Prof. Gershon Greenberg

American University 

 

Rabbi Dr. Irving 'Yitz' Greenberg

Past Chair, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council (2000-2002) 

 

Dr. Beth Griech-Polelle

Bowling Green State University 

 

Dr. Alex Grobman

America-Israel Friendship League 

 

Dr. Elvira U. Groezinger

University of Potsdam & Freie Universitaet Berlin (ret.) 

 

Prof. Herb Hirsch

Co-Editor, Genocide Studies & Prevention

Virginia Commonwealth University 

 

Prof. Steven Leonard Jacobs

The University of Alabama 

 

Prof. Aristotle Kallis

Lancaster University (UK) 

 

Dr. Rebecca Kook

Ben Gurion University 

 

Dr. Neil J. Kressel

William Patterson University 

 

Prof. Vincent A. Lapomarda, S.J.,S.T.L.

Coordinator, Hiatt Holocaust Collection

College of the Holy Cross 

 

Prof. Fred Lazin

Ben Gurion University (emer.) 

 

Prof. Laurel Leff

Northeastern University 

 

Prof. Paul A. Levine

Uppsala University 

 

Prof. Marcia Sachs Littell

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey 

 

Prof. Kenneth L. Marcus

President, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law 

 

Dr. Rafael Medoff

The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies 

 

Rabbi Dr. Henoch Millen

Columbus, OH 

 

Prof. Rochelle L. Millen

Wittenberg University 

 

Prof. Paul Miller

McDaniel College & University of Birmingham (UK) 

 

Tali Nates

Director, Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre 

 

Prof. Stephen H. Norwood

University of Oklahoma 

 

Prof. Zsuzsanna Ozsvath

Director, Holocaust Studies Program

University of Texas-Dallas 

 

Prof. John T. Pawlikowski, OSM

Catholic Theological UnionChair, Subcommittee on Church Relations of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council 

 

Prof. Susan Lee Pentlin

Central Missouri State University 

 

Prof. Paolo Pezzino

Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome 

 

Prof. Michael Phayer

Marquette University (emer.) 

 

Dr. Eunice G. Pollack

University of North Texas 

 

Seymour D. Reich

Co-chair (emer.), International Catholic-Jewish Historical Commission 

 

Prof. Elihu D. Richter

Director, Program on Genocide Prevention

Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine and Public Health 

 

Prof. Sheri P. Rosenberg

Director, Program in Holocaust and Human Rights Studies

Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University 

 

Prof. Thane Rosenbaum

Director, Forum on Law, Culture & Society

Fordham University School of Law 

 

Prof. John K. Roth

Founding Director, Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights

Claremont McKenna College (emer.) 

 

Prof. Suzanne D. Rutland, OAM

University of Sydney 

 

Prof. Robert Moses Shapiro

Brooklyn College, CUNY 

 

Dr. Baila Round Shargel

Manhattanville College 

 

Prof. Shimon Shetreet

Hebrew University 

 

Dr. Nurit Shnabel

Tel Aviv University 

 

Prof. Robert Skloot

University of Wisconsin (emer.) 

 

Prof. Melvin Small

Wayne State University (emer.) 

 

Prof. Leon Stein

Roosevelt University (emer.) 

 

Prof. Oren B. Stier

Director, Judaic Studies Program

Florida International University 

 

Prof. Peter Tarjan

University of Miami (emer.) 

 

Dr. Mary Louise Trivison, S.N.D.

Co-founder (ret.), Tolerance Resource Center

Notre Dame College 

 

Prof. Kenneth A. Waltzer

Director, Jewish Studies Program

Michigan State University 

 

Dr. Racelle R. Weiman

Senior Director, Global Education

The Dialogue Institute - Temple University 

 

Prof. Paul J. Weindling

Oxford Brookes University 

 

Prof. Sonja Schoepf Wentling

Concordia College 

 

Prof. Linda M. Woolf

Webster University

President (emer.), Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence 

 

Prof. David S. Wyman

University of Massachusetts - Amherst (emer.) 

 

Prof. Randall C. Zachman

University of Notre Dame 

 

Prof. John C. Zimmerman

University of Nevada - Las Vegas 

 

Dr. Bat-Ami Zucker

Bar Ilan University  

 

(Institutions listed for identification purposes only.)