International Institutions

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jonathan Hutson, jhutson@enoughproject.org, +1-202-386-1618

WASHINGTON - On April 24, 2013, Rep. Wolf (R-VA) and Rep. McGovern (D-MA), along with 22 other original co-sponsors, introduced H.R. 1692 - the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2013.This legislation is welcomed and supported by a coalition of nonprofit organizations including The Enough Project, United to End Genocide, American Jewish World Service, Jewish World Watch, and Act for Sudan.

The “Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act of 2013” would create a comprehensive U.S. strategy to end serious human rights violations in Sudan, provide genuine accountability for persons who have committed or assisted in serious human rights violations, support Sudanese aspiration for democratic reforms, encourage other governments and persons to end support of and assistance to the government of Sudan, and reinvigorate genuinely comprehensive and sustainable peace efforts that can end Sudan’s multiple crises.

“The bill comes at a critical moment: 2013 marks ten years from the start of crimes in Darfur that the U.S. government found to constitute genocide,” said Enough Project Executive Director John C. Bradshaw. “It calls for a strategy that embraces the need for democratic change within Sudan and deals with the root causes of the human rights crisis unfolding in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and continued unrest in Darfur and Abyei."

“With the introduction of this new Sudan legislation, the message is clear: the crisis in Sudan is far from over and neither should be the outcry for peace, security, and accountability,” said United to End Genocide President Tom Andrews. “The spreading abuses of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir show that the cost of inaction is human life. We thank the courageous lawmakers who are standing with the people of Sudan and demanding action to protect those at risk.”

"With ongoing government-sponsored mass atrocities and grave human rights violations in Sudan, this legislation is a crucial step towards creating effective policy that re-asserts the important role the U.S. should play in saving lives, encouraging democratic transformation and ending impunity,'' said Act for Sudan Co-Founder Martina Knee.

“Ten years after beginning our campaign to end the genocide in Darfur, we are gravely concerned that the Sudanese government is blocking the delivery of food and medicine and bombing its own people," said American Jewish World Service President Ruth Messinger. "This legislation is a step in the right direction towards ending this unacceptable assault on human dignity."

The legislation seeks to do the following:

• Create a strategy focused on all of Sudan;
• Demand free and unfettered access for international humanitarian aid to all parts of Sudan and take steps to mitigate the lack of such humanitarian aid;
• Promote free and transparent democratic reform in Sudan;
• Increase engagement with other stakeholders who have influence over the Sudanese government in Khartoum, such as the African Union, Arab League, and China;
• Create a broad-based sanctions regime to target governments and individuals whose support assists the Sudanese government in committing serious human rights abuses;
• Seek more effective enforcement of existing sanctions including adequate resources and personnel and extending to all of the existing Sudan sanctions regimes included in prior enacted legislation that were specific only for “Darfur”; and
• Provide genuine accountability for crimes committed in Darfur and encourage other countries to expand international accountability efforts to include crimes committed in other regions of Sudan.

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The Enough Project is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on the crises in Sudan, South Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough conducts intensive field research, develops practical policies to address these crises, and shares sensible tools to empower citizens and groups working for change. To learn more about Enough, go to www.enoughproject.org.

Enough Project and Satellite Sentinel Project Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Jonathan Hutson, jhutson@enoughproject.org, +1-202-386-1618

WASHINGTON – A new legal analysis by the Enough Project and its Satellite Sentinel Project, or SSP, finds compelling evidence that since June 2011, the government of Sudan has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and torture in Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

Two years of eyewitness reports, photos, videos, and satellite imagery -- analyzed by the DigitalGlobe Analytics Center and informed by the Enough Project’s sources on the ground, field research, and legal analysis -- present a strong dossier of evidence for referral to the International Criminal Court and to the United Nations. 

Enough Project Executive Director John C. Bradshaw said:

“The evidence of atrocity crimes that we have compiled is extensive and needs to be reviewed by the UN. SSP has documented the deliberate burning of 292 square miles (756 km²) of farms, orchards, and grasslands used for grazing cattle, and the deliberate destruction of 26 civilian villages in South Kordofan state and 16 villages in Blue Nile state. These actions appear to represent widespread and systematic government activities. Establishment of a U.N. commission of inquiry and possibly further investigations by the U.S. government and other international actors is necessary to uncover the full extent of the Sudanese government’s crimes.”

Ambassador David Scheffer, an Enough Project Senior Fellow, said:

“The weight of this information – eyewitness reports, photos, videos, and open-source documentation, corroborated by satellite imagery and analysis – demonstrates that the government of Sudan and its agents should be thoroughly investigated, immediately, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and torture in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. The way forward lies in this report's recommendations for the creation of a U.N. Commission of Inquiry, national initiatives, and ultimately, a U.N. Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court.”

Satellite imagery included in this report cites specific examples of apparent crimes, including:

• The deliberate burning and looting of at least 80 civilian structures, including a church, a mosque, and a grinding mill, in Um Bartumbu village, South Kordofan, in November 2011;
•  The deliberate burning of 33 civilian structures in ‘Amara village, Blue Nile, in November 2011;
• The deliberate destruction of civilian structures in Toroge village, South Kordofan, sometime between November 2011 and January 2012;
•  The indiscriminate aerial bombing of civilian populations near the village of Angarto, South Kordofan, in March 2012;
• The deliberate burning and looting of civilian structures, including a school compound, in the village of Gardud al Badry, South Kordofan, in May 2012 and the subsequent indiscriminate bombardment of the village in July 2012;
•  The indiscriminate bombardment, razing, and looting of El Moreib village, South Kordofan, in August 2012;
• The deliberate burning of 13 villages and 31 square miles of fields and forests to the southwest of the town of al Abassiya, South Kordofan, in November 2012;
•  The deliberate burning of at least 26 villages and 54 square miles of fields and grasslands in three areas of South Kordofan state in November 2012.

The report concludes:

"The acts discussed in this report are likely only an outline of the realities on the ground in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and DigitalGlobe satellites continue to monitor the situation alongside citizen journalists operating in the two areas. The international community must do more to investigate the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and torture being perpetrated by Sudanese government forces against their own people. If implemented quickly, a commission of inquiry and the involvement of the International Criminal Court prosecutor could serve as a substantial deterrent force against future violence."

Read the report, Architects of Atrocity: The Sudanese Government’s War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Torture in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States - http://www.satsentinel.org/sites/default/files/Architects_of_Atrocity.pdf

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The Satellite Sentinel Project, or SSP, a partnership between the Enough Project and DigitalGlobe, conducts monitoring of the border between Sudan and South Sudan to assess the human security situation, identify potential threats to civilians, and detect, deter and document war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Enough Project provides field research, policy context, and communications strategy. DigitalGlobe provides imagery from its constellation of satellites and geospatial analysis from the DigitalGlobe Analysis Center. SSP is funded primarily by Not On Our Watch. To learn more about Enough, go to www.satsentinel.org.

The Enough Project is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on the crises in Sudan, South Sudan, eastern Congo, and areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Enough conducts intensive field research, develops practical policies to address these crises, and shares sensible tools to empower citizens and groups working for change. To learn more about Enough, go to www.enoughproject.org.