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| April 10, 2008 |
Sunday's Global Day for Darfur, organized by an international coalition of human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Save Darfur Coalition, is highlighting how over one million Sudanese children have been caught up in the bloodshed, displacement and killing in the region.
"Five years on the killings in Darfur continue because world leaders have let Sudan , and some rebels, get away with murder," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Millions of Darfuris are struggling to survive on aid handouts under the daily threat of being raped, beaten or killed. Sudanese leaders need to know they will pay a heavy price for continuing to defy the UN Security Council."
The global day, the fifth since the conflict began in 2003, is backed by children's authors including J.K. Rowling and Judy Blume who released a letter demanding the world bring back childhood to Darfur, and celebrities including actor Matt Damon and Thandie Newton who were pictured destroying emblems of childhood to highlight that childhood is under attack.
George Clooney who is also backing the day said,
"Days like this matter because they keep what is happening in the eyes of the international community. If we all raise our voices the international community will have to listen and respond. We need sustained international engagement if we're to see real progress on the ground."
Drawings of the war by children who witnessed the conflict first-hand are being exhibited online to mark five years of fighting www.globefordarfur.org
Supporters of the Global Day for Darfur are calling for:
- All parties to immediately stop attacking civilians
- Full deployment of an adequately resourced UN peace-keeping force.
- UNAMID to actively protect all civilians and especially children.
Dismas Nkunda from the Darfur Consortium -- a coalition of African and Middle-Eastern groups working on Darfur -- said: "The people of Darfur are hungry for change. They have been the victims of a belligerent government and an inept international response. Above all it has been children who have suffered and it is they who we must now rally to protect before we lose an entire generation to violence."
Tawanda Hondora, Deputy Program Director for the Africa Program, from Amnesty International added:
"We are determined to ensure that Darfur is not added to the list of conflicts that the world forgot. Five years in we mustn't forget what war means for ordinary people, particularly the most vulnerable. It means fear, suffering and deprivation. Five years is enough."
Editor's Notes:
Countries marking the global day include: Belgium, France, Canada, South Africa, Gambia, Rwanda, Senegal, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Australia, Sierra Leone, Germany, UK, USA, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Israel,Switzerland, Hungary, Mali, Ireland, Tunisia, Togo, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Japan.
More than 200,000 people are thought to have died due to the conflict since 2003 and over 2.3 million are internally displaced.
On 1 January 2008, the UN-AU hybrid force (UNAMID -- UN African Mission in Darfur) was expected to be deployed to the region. But deployment has been hampered by obstruction by the Sudanese government and delay on the part of the international community to provide appropriate resources.
- Drawings by Darfuri Children and their stories. View these at: http://www.savedarfur.org/page/content/Global_Days/ and download them at: http://www.savedarfur.org/page/-/global_days/KidsDrawings.zip
Interviewees include:
- Salih Mahmoud Osman , Winner of the 2007 Sakharov Prize, human rights lawyer; member of Sudanese parliament; (Arabic and English)
- Georgette Gagnon, Human Rights Watch, Africa Director
- Tawanda Hondora , Amnesty International, Africa Deputy Programme Director;
- Sheikh Adam Turdjok, Darfuri Imam (Arabic and English)
For more information on events, interviewees or media resources please contact:
London- Crisis Action: Brendan Cox - + 44 20 7269 9450 or + 44 7957 120 853
Washington - Save Darfur : Allyn Brooks , La Sure - + 1202 478 6174
Cairo - Human Rights Watch: Gasser Abdel Razek +20 22 794 5036, or +20 10502 9999
Kampala - Darfur Consortium: Dismas Nkunda - + 256 78 231 0404