The recent visits to Sudan by Special Envoy Scott Gration and Senator John Kerry are promising signs of a renewed U.S. engagement in achieving sustainable peace. As a senior member of the SPLM put it, these developments at a crucial time in Sudan’s history have the potential to “open new doors, new avenues, and new opportunities and trying to work out resolutions of the Darfur crisis as well as implementing the CPA."
The window of opportunity is indeed open, and Senator Kerry’s recent statement that Khartoum would allow some foreign aid to be restored is a hopeful indication that the humanitarian situation may improve. However, the Obama administration and Congress must have the political will to continue to progress in this direction.
This is where you come in. Activists at the heart of this movement have been crucial to successful U.S. diplomacy in Sudan, and we can’t stop now. This weekend at culmination events for Genocide Prevention Month, you can show your elected officials that the anti-genocide movement is alive and well. In commemorating past genocides, activists are calling for a world where such atrocities can no longer occur.
On Sunday in Washington, DC join activist leaders like Enough Co-Founder John Prendergast and Save Darfur President Jerry Fowler for a rally in Lafayette Square at 2:00pm. Together with survivors of past genocides and mass atrocities, faith leaders and anti-genocide advocates, activists will reflect on atrocities in history and call on our elected officials to act now for the crisis in Sudan.
Also on Sunday in Chicago, Youth United for Darfur are hosting a Rally for Peace and Justice in Darfur with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. The event will take place at the Federal Plaza at 1:00pm. At the rally, Youth United for Darfur will announce that they have raised $15,000 for the Enough Project’s Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program and the Chicago Sudanese Community Center.
To find more remembrance and action events in your area, check out the Save Darfur Coalition’s Act Now for Darfur events page.