What Could Be More Pressing Than Genocide?

A fellow Chicago WILPFer pointed me to this Open Letter to President Bush on Darfur: Specific Actions to Stop the Ongoing Genocide, on the Black Commentator website.

The Open Letter to the President on Darfur asserts the need for an urgent international intervention to support the African Union’s mission in Darfur, in order to:

1. stop the killing and provide security for millions of internally displaced people (IDPs);
   
2. facilitate the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance;
   
3. enforce the cease fire and provide a stable environment for meaningful peace talks to proceed; and
   
4. facilitate the voluntary return of IDPs to their land and the reconstruction of their homes by providing a secure environment.

The letter calls on the Bush Administration to:

1. work through the United Nations (UN) to achieve a stronger civilian protection mandate for the African Union mission and for a broader international force, and
   
2. encourage the UN to quickly approve and assemble a robust international force to integrate or co-deploy with the African Union and reinforce its efforts.

It is vitally important that we demand more action from the U.S. Government and the international community to stop the genocide in Darfur.

More information:
Nikolas Kristof of the NYT
Responding to readers - ways to help and more info on his current work in Darfur
"Day 141 of Bush's Silence," op-ed (with online multimedia presentation) from Sunday's NYT

Sudan: The Passion of the Present" blog recommended by Kristof for daily updates on the genocide

Eric Reeve's Sudan website, also recommended by Kristof. Reeves is a professor at Smith College in Massachusetts.