Am I Not Human: Darfur

With aid groups barred from the Sudan, raising awareness is more crucial than ever.



Please add your signature to the many petitions calling for the President to end the genocide in Darfur. Here is one you can sign now

On behalf of the people of Darfur who are barred from communication, as well as lacking access to their technology, we ask:

Projects that have been active in aiding Darfuri refugees, that
can still use your help:


http://www.darfurdreamteam.org/

http://www.mercycorps.org/

http://www.enoughproject.org/

http://www.darfurstoves.org/

It’s Been a Year: Where’s the Darfur Peacekeeping Force?

From Air America Email Newsletter

It’s Been a Year: Where’s the Darfur Peacekeeping Force?

Dear Air Americans,

As you may know, in March of this year Air America’s Thom Hartmann traveled to Darfur to see firsthand the plight of the people of Darfur.

Five months later the question remains...

How long must the people of Darfur wait?

One year ago today, the UN announced that a peacekeeping force would finally be sent into Darfur to protect civilians and aid workers.

While not solving the crisis, the move was hailed as a ray of hope for the people of Darfur. At 26,000 strong, this force was planned to be the largest peacekeeping operation in the world.

However, a full year after its creation, the force has only 9,000 troops and is struggling to do its job. The world has failed to provide the troops and equipment that were promised. And the violence in Darfur continues.

We are asking the Air America community to help bring relief to those caught in the middle of this conflict by taking action with our friends at Oxfam America.

Tell President Bush to do all he can to fully deploy the international peacekeeping force in Darfur.

The troops now on the ground come largely from an existing African Union force that was unable to provide protection on its own. It’s not a recipe for success.

Worse, the troops lack proper equipment—from much-needed helicopters down to basics such as food, boots, and helmets. Some troops have resorted to putting blue plastic bags over their old helmets in order to make the helmets regulation UN blue.

Not surprisingly, many Darfuris say the force is unable to make a difference in their lives. The UN-African Union Mission UNAMID alone cannot solve the Darfur crisis—the world must pressure the parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and return to negotiations. But a full force of 26,000 could significantly improve the situation in Darfur by providing real protection for civilians.

Call on President Bush to keep his promises and protect the people of Darfur.

The people of Darfur have waited too long for protection. Thank you for taking action on this urgent issue.

Sincerely,

Tim Fullerton
Oxfam America Advocacy Fund

More weapons, more lives lost in Darfur

A Call to Action from Amnesty International

The current U.N. arms embargo in Darfur has not stopped the government of Sudan from assisting allied militia in smuggling prohibited weapons into Darfur.

This June, expand the U.N. arms embargo to cover not just Darfur, but all of Sudan

Weapons enter the country of Sudan; increased bloodshed follows in Darfur. The relationship between weapons transfers and increased violence is easy to see. Stop the flow of weapons into Darfur. Call on Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. representative to the United Nations, to lead the U.N. Security Council in expanding the arms embargo to cover not just Darfur, but all of Sudan. Despite the current U.N. ban on weapons to Darfur, arms continue to find their way into this conflict-torn region. The government of Sudan in particular continues to violate the embargo by delivering prohibited arms to allied militia. The proliferation of arms and militarized vehicles in the region has led to an increase in violent attacks on civilians and humanitarian convoys. Heavy weapons, small arms, ammunition, and other military equipment, including Antonov planes and M-24 helicopters, have been entering Darfur from other countries and other parts of Sudan. It is clear that the limited scope of the U.N. arms embargo cannot effectively restrain the arms flow from reaching Darfur. Urge the U.N. Security Council to broaden the arms embargo to cover all of Sudan. Ambassador Khalilzad, as president of the U.N. Security Council for the month of June, gives the U.S. a unique opportunity to shape and lead a renewed commitment to halt the flow of arms into Darfur. Write to Ambassador Khalilzad and ecourage the U.S. to take the lead in expanding the arms embargo to cover all of Sudan. Stop the arms flow into Darfur. Urge the U.N. Security Council to expand the arms embargo to cover not just Darfur, but all of Sudan. ©Scott Nelson/Getty Images More weapons means more lives lost in Darfur. Stop the arms flow into Darfur. Sincerely, Meredith Larson Darfur Campaign Director Amnesty International USA Subscribe to our RSS feeds. © Copyright 2008 | Amnesty International USA | 5 Penn Plaza | New York, NY 10001 | 212.807.8400

Petition For The Arrest Of Suspected War Criminals in Darfur

As we continue to stand, we make our voices heard.

Ahmad Harun, Sudan’s former Minister of the Interior and current Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Janjawid leader Ali Kushayb, are charged with multiple counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur. Amnesty International is campaigning for their arrest and surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) the Government of Sudan continues to refuse to do so. Call on U.S. authorities to take action to press the government of Sudan to arrest and surrender Harun and Kushayb to the ICC

-Amnesty USA

Sign the Petition so that suspected war criminals in Darfur are arrested.
Please spread the word.

Darfur: Always Highly Prudent

"Always Highly Prudent"

Danielle Vyas

Cross-posted at ModernMusings.com

AP PhotoSang Tan

Betsy Apple, the Director of the Crimes Against Humanity Program at Human Rights First and Eric Sears, a program officer in the same program, recently wrote at the Huffington Post that China continues to downplay the link between it’s arm sales to Sudan and the genocidal depopulation technique being administered in Darfur.

Last week the Chinese foreign ministry dismissed the findings of a new Human Rights First report that identified China as the single largest provider of small arms to Sudan, promising the world that its arms sales are “always highly prudent”.

Whenever a word such as prudent is used I always sense of cover up and Chaplin’s voice speaks to me, “More than logic; We need compassion”.

Prudence is a word stuck in logic.

Look at the definition of the word Prudence:

1 : the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason ~ One can reason anything right or wrong.

2 : sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs

3 : skill and good judgment in the use of resources ~ The third definition is more in line with China’s policy. They want to secure Darfur’s oil of which they hold the majority of. By selling the arms used to murder and displace people living in the vicinity of their oil wells is China utilizing it’s resources in good judgment?

4 : caution or circumspection as to danger or risk ~ When the genocide or depopulation campaign started in 2003 so did China’s arm sales to Sudan, hardly a drop of logic is needed to put the two together in regards to caution as to risk or danger.

Humanity must become highly prudent when we hear news of acts of disregard for human value anywhere. The diversity of humanity or our ethnosphere is a valuable resource and must be protected.

If we are to do nothing, say nothing, we declare a lot.

By doing nothing, we say depopulation for corporate profits is a nifty way to turn a profit.

By saying nothing, we say our traditions, specifically The Olympics, stand for nothing.

We say at Roots of Humanity, we stand for humanity.

The basic right of existence for all within our biosphere is a goal worth working toward.

The article also rightly states that the Beijing Olympics are becoming a pr nightmare for China. That is why we have designated the Olympic Sponsors a primary target.

Email or call the Olympic Corporate Sponsors.

Send a letter to companies sponsoring the 2008 Olympics, hosted by China. (Dream for Darfur’s email system will let you do this with the touch of a button.)

Pledge to turn off the commercials of Olympic Sponsors during the Games.


Olympic corporate sponsors have been silent about China’s financing of the Darfur genocide, even as the sponsors are spending billions to enhance China’s image as Olympic host. If sponsors continue to ignore China’s complicity in the Darfur genocide, we will ignore their million-dollar ad campaigns.


Write to the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace.
Mr. Adolf Ogi represents the UN Secretary-General in contacts with international sports bodies. Tell him you are concerned that the world will gather for the Olympics while the people of Darfur are being slaughtered.

Petition the International Olympic Committee.
Urge the IOC to work with the international community to ensure that China uses its leverage with the government of Sudan to help stop the genocide in Darfur, and avoids tarnishing the 2008 Games in Beijing.