March 4, 2016
H.E. Ambassador Ismael Abraão Gaspar Martins Permanent Representative, Mission of Republic of Angola to the UN President, United Nations Security Council (March 2016) 820 2nd Avenue, 12th Floor New York, NY 10017
Your Excellency,
We, the undersigned 116 representatives of Sudanese and international humanitarian and human rights organizations and advocates, write to you in your capacity as President of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for March 2016 to request your assistance in bringing before the UNSC the outstanding arrest warrants for President Bashir of Sudan, the first of which was issued 7 years ago today on March 4, 2009, for the purpose of encouraging cooperation by the members of the UNSC and all UN member states to facilitate the immediate arrest of Bashir and all those indicted for crimes committed against the people of Darfur in order, as the Rome Statute states, to “put an end to impunity...and to contribute to the prevention of such crimes” in Sudan and throughout the world.
The failure of the UN member states to arrest Bashir has caused great suffering for the people of Sudan, the region and the world:
African Islamic University in Khartoum serves as a hub for training Islamists and extremists that operate in Nigeria, Somalia and in other parts of Africa and the Middle East; the regime supports the Muslim Brotherhood and Joseph Kony; and it provides arms to the Islamist rebels in Libya while fueling conflict in South Sudan.
According to UNHCR, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sudan has climbed to 2,342,979 and those who have sought refuge in other countries from state sponsored violence totals 640,919.
Camps for IDPs and refugees from Darfur are being attacked and/or dismantled, leaving residents defenseless and homeless.
Massive attacks, including aerial bombardment, in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur have been ongoing since January 15, 2016.
Villages are being burned in El Geneina, the capital of Western Darfur State.
Bombing and a massive government military campaign are underway in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile state, where, along with other locations in Southern Kordofan, crimes against humanity are rampant.
Life-saving international humanitarian aid is denied by the government to its victims throughout Sudan including Eastern Sudan.
Dams are being built in Sudan in specific locations designed to eliminate Nubian cultural sites.
Basic freedoms are denied throughout Sudan and those who question the regime face detention, torture and death.
Today, while you meet with your colleagues inside the United Nations, we will be in front of the UN, representing the victims of Bashir and calling for his immediate arrest. Today in Sudan, millions of people are hungry, hurting and living in fear, and they are looking to you to stand on their behalf at a time when they feel hopeless and forgotten. Please put intense pressure on the Sudan government to stop aerial bombardment in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and in Blue Nile state and to end all attacks on civilians, especially those in IDP camps. In addition, please require that the Sudan government allow international humanitarian aid to reach Sudanese who are in such desperate need throughout the country.
The future of Sudan can look much different than its past, but it will take the courage and resolve of leaders like you to uphold international law and to send a message to criminals world-wide that crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide will not be tolerated. Instead, through your actions and by arresting Bashir, the world will see that the United Nations is committed to maintaining international peace and security, upholding justice, and protecting the fundamental dignity and human rights of all people.
CC: H.E. Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations Amb. Samantha Power, Permanent U.S. Representative to the UN Amb. Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Representative, UK Mission to the UN Amb. François Delattre, Permanent Representative of France to the UN Amb. Liu Jieyi, Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of China to the UN Amb. Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the UN Amb. Motohide Yoshikawa, Permanent Representative of Japan to the UN Amb. Dato’ Ramlan Ibrahim, Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the UN Amb. Gerard van Bohemen, Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the UN Amb. Fodé Seck, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Senegal to the UN Amb. D. Román Oyarzun Marchesi, Permanent Representative of Spain to the UN Amb. Volodymyr Yelchenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Amb. Elbio Rosselli, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the UN Amb. Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño, Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the UN
Signed by:
Act for Sudan, Martina Knee, Co-Founder, USA
Ahmed H. Adam, Visiting Fellow, Institute for African Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Motasim Adam, Human Rights Activist, Brooklyn, NY, USA
African Freedom Coalition, Al Sutton, President, New York, NY, USA
Alliance of Sudanese Opposition Forces, Adam Abu Altaiman,Canada
American African Foundation Against Torture, Inc, Zainelabdin E. Osman, President , Mohamed Y. Khalifa, Secretary General, Schenectady, NY, USA
American Friends of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan (AFRECS), Richard Parkins, Executive Director, Alexandria, VA, USA
Association of the Sons of Darfur in the City of Tucson, Abuelgasim Salih, ChairmanTucson, AZ, USA
Beja Organization for Human Rights and Development, Ibrahim Ahmed, Herndon, VA, USA
Blue Nile Association For Peace and Development, Omer Abdelsawi Omer, Mulberry, FL, USA
Blue Nile Youth Associated Organization for Peace and Stability (BNOPS), Hashim Orta Adaw, Blue Nile, Sudan
Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura Limuli, Coordinator, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Brooklyn For Peace, Charlotte Phillips, M.D., Chairperson, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Caceres-Neuffer Genocide Action Group, Prof. John H. Weiss, Founder/Director, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Carl Wilkens Fellowship, Beth Woskow McDaniel, Advisory Board, Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Dr. Frank Chalk, Professor of History and Director, The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Christian Solidarity International-USA, Rev. Heidi McGinness, Director of Outreach, Denver, CO, USA
Church Alliance for a New Sudan, Faith J. H. McDonnell, Director, Washington, DC, USA
Collectif Urgence Darfour, Dr. Jacky Mamou, Chairman, Paris, France
The Baroness Cox, House of Lords and President of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust, London, UK
DAAM-UK, Ali Abdelatif M. Hussein, London, UK
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Daowd Salih, Board President, Falls Church, VA, USA
Darfur Action Group of South Carolina, Dr. Richard Sribnick, Chairman, Columbia, SC, USA
Darfur Alert Coalition, Dr.Ali Dinar, President, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Darfur Association, Ismail Adam, Canada
Darfur Bar Association, Abdelrahman Gasim, External Relations Secretary, Sudan
Darfur Community Organization, Bakheit A. Shata, Founder and Executive Director, Omaha, NE, USA
Darfur Interfaith Network, Martha Boshnick, Co-Chair, Washington, DC, USA
Darfur People’s Association of New York, Mohamed Haroun Ebead, President, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Darfur Women Action Group, Niemat Ahmadi, Founder/President, Washington, DC, USA
Dear Sudan, Love Marin, Gerri Miller, Coordinator, Tiburon, CA, USA
Democratic Unionist Party, Abubakr Sidahmed, Canada
The Rt. Rev. Julian M. Dobbs, Missionary Bishop, Convocation of Anglicans in North America, McLean, VA, USA
Doctors to the World, C. Louis Perrinjaquet, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Breckenridge, CO, USA
Aicha Elbasri, former Spokesperson for the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur Caroline Faria, Assistant Professor, UT Austin, Austin, TX, USA
Genocide No More–Save Darfur, Marv Steinberg, Coordinator, Redding, CA, USA
Genocide Watch, reg Stanton, President, Research Professor, School for Con ict Analysis and Resolu on, eorge Mason University, Arlington, A, USA
Georgia Coalition to Prevent Genocide, Melanie Nelkin, Chair, Atlanta, GA, USA
Government Accountability Project, Beatrice Edwards, International Program Director, Washington, DC, USA
Group Against Torture in Sudan-GATS, Mohamed Elgadi, Acting Secretary, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Harry Potter Alliance, Matt Maggiacomo, Executive Director, Cranston, RI, USA
Help Nuba, Rabbi David Kaufman,Co-Chair, Des Moines, IA, USA
Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND), Abdalmageed S. Haroun, President, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Human Rights and Development Organization (HUDO), Bushra Gamar Hussein - CEO, Kampala, Uganda
Humanity Is Us, Kimberly Hollingsworth, Founder, New York, NY, USA
Institute for the Study of Genocide, Dr. Ernesto Verdeja, Executive Director, US
International Justice Project, Monica Feltz, Executive Director, Newark, NJ, USA
Investors Against Genocide, Eric Cohen, Chairperson, Boston, MA, USA
Institute on Religion and Democracy, Mark Tooley, President, Washington, DC USA
Italians for Darfur, Antonella Napoli, President, Rome, Italy
Jewish World Watch, Mike Brand, Director of Policy and Programs, Encino, CA, USA
Jews Against Genocide, Sharon Silber, Co-Director, New York, NY, USA
Joining Our Voices, Slater Armstrong, Founder/Director, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Lehman Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies, Dr. Victoria Sanford, Director, Bronx, NY, USA
Long Island Darfur Action Group, Nancy Walsh, Coordinator, Farmingdale, NY, USA
Massachusetts Coalition for Darfur, William Rosenfeld, Director, Boston, MA, USA
Mukesh Kapila, former Head of the UN in Sudan (2003-2004), Geneva, Switzerland
Gill Lusk, Writer on the Sudans, London, UK
Martin Technical Services’ Access Coalition Project, Deborah Martin, Director, Nashville, TN, USA
National Religious Leaders of African Ancestry, Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, Chairperson, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Never Again Coalition, Lauren Fortgang, Co-Chair, Portland, OR, USA
New York Coalition for Sudan, Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder, New York, NY, USA
New York Darfur Vigil Group, Helga Moor, Coordinator, New York, NY, USA
Nuba Mountains Advocacy Group - USA, Gogadi Amoga, Chair, Amelia, OH, USA
Nuba Mountains International Association, Fadlallah Hassan, Canada
Nuba Mountains International Association USA, Komi Alaiaiser, President, Lorton, VA, USA
Nuba Mountains Peace Coalition, Tito Elgassai, Dallas, TX, USA
Nuba Now Campaign, Claire Vera, London, UK
Nubia Project, Nuraddin Abdulmannan, President, Washington, DC, USA
Operation Broken Silence, Mark C. Hackett, Executive Director, Memphis, TN, USA
Our Humanity in the Balance, Terry Nickelson, Executive Director, Deming, NM, USA
Pax Christi Metro New York, Rosemarie Pace, Director, New York, NY, USA
People4Sudan, Valerie Delacretaz, Global Coordinator, Geneva, Switzerland
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition, David Rosenberg, Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), W. Mark Koenig, Director, Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, Louisville, KY, USA
Martin Raffel, Human Rights Activist, former Senior Vice President of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, East Brunswick, NJ, USA
Eric Reeves, Sudan Researcher, Author of Compromising with Evil: An Archival History of Greater Sudan, 2007 – 2012 (eBook, 2012), Northampton, MA, USA
Republican Brotherhood, Buthaina Terwis, Calgary, Canada
Hawa Abdalla Salih, Human Rights and Women’s Rights Activist, Recipient, 2012 U.S. Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, Philadelphia, PA, USA
San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, Mohamed Suleiman, President, San Francisco, CA, USA
Nina Shea, Director, Center for Religious Freedom, Hudson Institute, Washington, DC, USA
Skills for Nuba Mountains(SNM), Lazim Suleiman El basha, Executive Director, Kauda, South Kordofan, Sudan
Prof. Emer. Robert Skloot, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
St. Clare's Episcopal Church, The Reverend Ronald D. Culmer, Rector, Pleasanton, CA, USA
Society for Threatened Peoples, Ulrich Delius, Africa Desk, Göttingen, Germany
Brian Steidle, Author of The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur, USA
Stop Genocide Now, Katie-Jay Scott, Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Dr. Eleanor Wright, Moderator, Birmingham, AL, USA
Sudan Democracy First Group, Monim Al Jak, Acting Executive Director, Kampala, Uganda
Sudan Sunrise, Thomas M. Prichard, Executive Director, Reston, VA, USA
Sudan Unlimited, Esther Sprague, Founder, San Francisco, CA, USA
Sudanese-Canadian Forum for Peace and Democracy, Elham Bakri, Toronto, Canada
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Sudanese Committee for Change, Magdi Abdulmoniem, Edmonton, Canada
Sudanese Community Church of Denver, Ayyoubawaga (Oja) B. Gafour, Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA
Sudanese Congress Party, Alharith Elhaj, Canada
Sudanese Engineers Trade Union, Hashim Mohammed Ahmed, President Elect of the Legitimate Union, Oxford, UK
Sudanese Marginalized Forum-USA, Magid Kabashi, Chair, New York, NY, USA
Sudanese Women Association, Solaima Yousuf, Canada
The Elsa-Gopa Trust, Nell Okie, Director, Madison, CT, USA
The MagkaSama Project, Max Dana, Founder, Paris, France
Henry C. Theriault, Professor and Chair of Philosophy, Worcester State University, Worcester, MA, USA Rebecca Tinsley, Founder, Waging Peace, London, UK
Samuel Totten, Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas, Author of An Oral and Documentary History of the Darfur Genocide, Fayetteville, AR, USA
Unite for Darfur Organization, Bahar Arabie, CEO, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
United Sudanese And South Sudanese Communities Association (USASSCA), Dr. Henry Lejukole, Chairman, Des Moines, IA, USA
United to End Genocide, Hon. Thomas H. Andrews, President and CEO, Washington, DC, USA
Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI, Sandra Hammel, Director, Portsmouth, RI, USA
Voices for Sudan, Jimmy Mulla, President and Co-Founder, Washington, DC, USA
Waging Peace, Olivia Warham MBE, Director, London, UK
Dr. James E. Waller, Cohen Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies, Keene State College, Keene, NH, USA
Elhag Ali Warrag, Editor in Chief, Hurriyat Sudan, Egypt
World Peace and Reconciliation (WP&R), Tobi Indyke, Secretary, Morris Plains, NJ, USA
World Without Genocide at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D., Executive Director, St. Paul, MN, USA
Adeeb Yousif, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR), George Mason University (GMU), Arlington, VA, USA
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