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For Immediate Release
January 19, 2010
Mike Boyer, 650.587.2030
[email protected]
[email protected]
Joshua Berkman, 202.792.2893
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Mame Annan-Brown, 202.558.7409
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[email protected]
Georgette Gagnon, 212.216.1223
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[email protected]
Gabriel Stauring, 310.415.2863
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[email protected]
Susan Morgan, 617.797.0451
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Ben Greenberg, 617.301.4200
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Emily Diamond-Falk, 202.525.8153
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[email protected]
STRATEGY PAPER: Obama Administration Needs To Hold Sudan Accountable To Clear Benchmarks
Read the strategy paper.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In its Sudan policy review completed in mid-October 2009, the Obama administration indicated it would regularly assess the progress of peace in Sudan—or lack thereof. However, the administration has not publicly disclosed precisely what benchmarks it is applying to assess progress in Sudan, even as it begins its official review process this month and as tensions increase with the coming April national elections, and with the January 2011 referendum on independence for Southern Sudan rapidly approaching.
To help bring transparency to the process by which United States ensures strict adherence to unambiguous benchmarks, and apply the appropriate pressures and incentives accordingly, a coalition of nine Sudan advocacy groups has today released a strategy paper aiming to provide these benchmarks for the administration – guidance for how officials, concerned citizens, and others in the international community can assess genuine progress toward a lasting peace in Sudan.
The nine-member coalition includes the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Humanity United, American Jewish World Service, Genocide Intervention Network, Human Rights Watch, iACT/Stop Genocide Now, Investors Against Genocide, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Save Darfur Coalition.
The benchmarks are designed to hold the Obama administration to its promise to set and enforce clear and pre-determined benchmarks of progress for the government of Sudan. The relative progress toward or away from these benchmarks would then determine the pressures and incentives—so-called “carrots” and “sticks”—that would be brought to bear in 2010, a moment the Obama Administration itself said, “can either lead to steady improvements in the lives of the Sudanese people or degenerate into even more violent conflict and state failure.”
“This is an important moment for the Deputies who are charged with leading the administration review to take a hard look at the real facts on the ground in Sudan,” said John Norris, Executive Director of the Enough Project. “There are many worrying indicators that suggest a much broader conflict could break out in Sudan over the course of the next year, and U.S. policy needs to be directed with great urgency toward preventing that from happening."
“We are at the beginning of a critical year for the future of Sudan,” noted Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition. “It is of the utmost importance that the administration evaluates progress in Sudan based on the facts on the ground; facts which are stark. 2.7 million internally displaced persons in Darfur; over 4 million dependent on humanitarian aid; increasing violence and instability in South Sudan; and April elections which will take place in an environment of fear and intimidation. These facts underscore the urgency with which the administration must quickly conclude that the status quo remains unacceptable and that increased high-level engagement to build an international coalition for peace in Sudan is necessary.”
READ the strategy paper
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Enough is a project of the Center for American Progress to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Founded in 2007, Enough focuses on crises in Sudan, eastern Congo, northern Uganda, and Somalia. Enough’s strategy papers and briefings provide sharp field analysis and targeted policy recommendations based on a “3P” crisis response strategy: promoting durable peace, providing civilian protection, and punishing perpetrators of atrocities. Enough works with concerned citizens, advocates, and policy makers to prevent, mitigate, and resolve these crises. For more information, please visit www.enoughproject.org.
Humanity United is a philanthropic organization committed to building a world where mass atrocities and modern-day slavery are no longer possible. By helping to build permanent constituencies to end atrocities and slavery, supporting efforts that empower affected communities, and addressing the root causes of conflict and injustice, Humanity United seeks to help restore human dignity in places where it has been lost and to help create a lasting global peace. To learn more, visit http://www.HumanityUnited.org.
American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization motivated by Judaism's imperative to pursue justice. AJWS is dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality. Through grants to grassroots organizations, volunteer service, advocacy and education, AJWS fosters civil society, sustainable development and human rights for all people, while promoting the values and responsibilities of global citizenship within the Jewish community. Visit www.ajws.org.
Genocide Intervention Network empowers individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide. Currently focused on conflicts in Sudan, Burma and Democratic Republic of Congo, among other areas of concern, Genocide Intervention Network envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities. The organization is building a permanent anti-genocide constituency, mobilizing the political will to prevent and stop genocide. For more information, please visit www.genocideintervention.net.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world. Visit www.hrw.org
i-ACT/Stop Genocide Now seeks to empower individuals within communities, institutions, and governments to take personal responsibility to act on behalf of those affected by genocide, mass atrocities, and crimes against humanity. i-ACT is a global team dedicated to putting a face on the numbers of dead, dying, and displaced while creating mutually enriching relationships between those in danger and those willing and able to act, fostering a new culture of participation. For more information, please visit www.stopgenocidenow.org
Investors Against Genocide is a non-profit organization dedicated to convincing mutual fund and other investment firms to change their investing strategy so as to avoid complicity in genocide. The organization works with individuals, companies, organizations, financial institutions, the press, and government agencies to build awareness and to create financial, public relations, and regulatory pressure for investment firms to change. The ultimate goals are that the Government of Sudan ends its deadly genocide in Darfur and that investment firms avoid investing in genocide. For more information, visit www.investorsagainstgenocide.org.
Physicians for Human Rights was founded in 1986 on the idea that health professionals, with their specialized skills, ethical duties, and credible voices, are uniquely positioned to investigate the health consequences of human rights violations and work to stop them. We are headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and maintain an office in Washington, DC. We are a non-profit, non-sectarian organization funded through private foundations and by individual donors. Membership is open to all, not just health professionals. PHR shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. Visit www.physiciansforhumanrights.org.
The Save Darfur Coalition – an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations – raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. The coalition’s member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit www.SaveDarfur.org.