(Washington, D.C.) December 3, 2007: Despite the steady stream of bad news coming out of Sudan today, the grassroots movement pressing for peace in the country has made significant progress on creating the policy changes necessary to end the genocide in Darfur, according to an ENOUGH strategy briefing released today.
Authored by ENOUGH co-chair John Prendergast with ENOUGH staff Julia Spiegel and Lisa Rogoff, the report emphasizes that activism matters, detailing the many accomplishments that the movement – working with the U.S. Congress and others – has achieved.
“Activists are responsible for helping to change or influence a number of the key policies that are critical prerequisites for ending the crisis in Sudan,” says Prendergast. “If these policies are pursued with additional vigor, and if we can succeed in influencing the U.S. and other countries to ratchet up the pressure and engagement, we have a real chance at helping to bring peace to Sudan.”
Specifically, the report states that activists working on Darfur have helped in pressing for:
- international cooperation to end the conflict;
- a more serious peace process;
- protection for innocent civilians;
- an historic and increasingly successful divestment movement; and
- the beginnings of accountability for those most responsible for crimes against humanity.
Looking back at the last four years, the report highlights that what began as a few students, a few religious leaders and a few members of Congress has grown into a broad-based nation-wide campaign on Darfur.
ENOUGH calls on movement members to press the White House, Congress and presidential candidates to use U.S. leadership at the UN Security Council to impose targeted UN sanctions against senior Sudanese officials most responsible for obstructing the deployment of the joint United Nations-African Union force.
“This is the time to turn up the heat, demand real action from our policy-makers, and forge links between those active on Darfur and those who worked for peace in Southern Sudan before that war ended in 2005,” says Prendergast.
To read “Don’t Quit Now: Bringing the Darfur Genocide to an End,” go to www.enoughproject.org.
The ENOUGH Project is an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity