June 10, 2009: The situation in Darfur and in Sudan as a whole is becoming more complex by the day. Violence is increasing dramatically in Southern Sudan with over 1,000 dead in the past few months alone. In 2005, the north and the south signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ending approximately 20 years of civil war that killed two million people. With weapons being stockpiled and a referendum for independence on the horizon, ensuring the CPA is implemented could mark the difference between a renewal of a bloody conflict and a foundation for peace in all of Sudan — including Darfur.

On March 4, 2009 the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Within hours of the warrant's issuance, Bashir ordered the expulsion of some of the largest international aid organizations operating in Sudan, which provided over half of the humanitarian aid reaching the IDP camps.

Since the expulsion, Obama’s recently appointed full-time special envoy to Sudan, Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, has helped negotiate an agreement with the Sudanese government aimed at filling some of the huge gaps left by the expelled organizations. While the Sudanese government’s compliance with these agreements has been uneven, a massive humanitarian disaster seems to have been averted for the time being. With the rainy season in Darfur currently making travel more difficult and disease even more rampant, the situation is increasingly fragile and dangerous for the over four and a half million Darfuris who rely on humanitarian assistance for their survival.

For up-to-date information about this ongoing crisis, please see:

AlertNet

ReliefWeb

Actions You Can Take Now for Darfur

Be a Voice for Darfur

President Barack Obama's opportunity to turn his promises into action has come. And our opportunity to hold him accountable has already begun.

Help us ensure that Darfur is a priority from Day One for his administration.

Take Action: Sign an online postcard to President Obama

Divest Yourself

AJWS is part of a national campaign encouraging mutual fund companies to make investments genocide-free. You can help by examining your personal investments, urging major financial institutions to divest from problematic companies or voting with your proxy ballot at shareholder meetings.

Learn more about divesting

Take Action: Send a message to mutual fund companies today

Background on the Crisis

Since 2003, the government of Sudan and their proxy militia, the Janjaweed, have been conducting a counter-insurgency operation against rebel groups in Darfur. Their primary strategy is a scorched earth campaign targeting communities that share the same ethnicity as the rebels. Government forces and Janjaweed continue to terrorize and kill civilians, rape women and girls, burn villages, and drive innocent people from their homes. More than two million people have been displaced and at least 450,000 have lost their lives to this genocidal campaign.

Since 2004, AJWS has been providing humanitarian aid while simultaneously engaging in U.S.-based education and advocacy to end the crisis.

 

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