ALERT

Today in Sudan’s western region of Darfur thousands of civilians have been murdered, and thousands of women raped by Sudanese government soldiers and members of the government-supported militia known as the Janjaweed. About 2 million civilians have been driven from their homes, their villages torched, and their property stolen by the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed. Some of the victims have escaped to the neighboring country of Chad, but most are trapped inside Darfur. Thousands die each month from inadequate food, water, health care, and shelter in a harsh desert environment. All are afraid to return home because the countryside is not safe.

The ethnic and perceived racial basis of the violence has been documented by the US Department of State, the United Nations,  independent human rights organizations, and international journalists. The Sudanese government targeted the civilian population of the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masaalit ethnic groups, sometimes referred to as “Africans.” The government’s Janjaweed allies are drawn from Darfur’s “Arab” tribes.

Sudan’s Khartoum-based government is fueling ethnic and racial violence by using the Janjaweed militia as proxies against the Darfurian insurgents who launched a rebellion in early 2003. But it is civilians who are suffering. Government-sponsored actions have included:

INFLAMING ethnic confict

IMPEDING international humanitarian access, resulting in deadly conditions of life for displaced civilians

BOMBING civilians from aircraft

MURDERING and RAPING civilians

Darfurians who have fled the violence provide chilling testimony. One refugee told New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof that “the Arabs want to get rid of anyone with black skin…There are no blacks left [in the area I fled].”

The death toll exceeds 100,000 and may be more than 400,000. And the crisis continues—the lives of hundreds of thousands more stand in the balance today.

WHAT IS GENOCIDE?

In 1948 the United Nations adopted the UN Genocide Convention, which defined genocide as certain acts undertaken with the intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, as such. In agreeing to the Genocide Convention, nations promised to “undertake to prevent” genocide.

Five things you can do to help prevent genocide:

• Keep Informed
  Find out more about what is going on.
  
  
  A few websites where you can learn more about the crisis in Darfur:
  
  • www.oxfamamerica.org
  • www.doctorswithoutborders.org
  • www.darfurdarfur.org
  • www.savedarfur.org/content
  • www.darfurgenocide.org
  • www.committeeonconscience.org


• Contact The Media
  Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or to other news outlets to comment on their coverage of Darfur or to express your views about the importance of public attention to the story.


• Communicate With The Government
  Tell your government representatives your views and concerns about events in Darfur.


• Support Relief Efforts
  Find out more about relief organizations mounting efforts to help civilians affected by the crisis. They may have ideas of ways you can help. See the Committee on Conscience website www.committeeonconscience.org for a link to listings of relief organizations operating in Darfur.


• Get Engaged With The Community
  Talk about Darfur to your friends, family, members of organizations you belong to, and coworkers–help spread the word. Look for groups within your community that may also be working to help address the crisis. Schools, churches, synagogues, mosques, and groups across the country are making a difference.

Download and print this flyer to help spread awareness (PDF, 641kb)