African Civil Society calls on UN SC to ensure protection and justice for Darfur
The Darfur Consortium
– Contact: Dismas Nkunda : +1-646-546-7152
NEW YORK, March 11, 2005 — The Darfur Consortium, an umbrella group of primarily Africa-based civil society organizations, today called on the UN Security Council to take decisive action to address the ongoing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Darfur.
The Darfur Consortium brings together African civil society committed to working together towards finding a lasting, peaceful and just resolution to the current crisis in Darfur. Members of the Darfur Consortium recently traveled to Darfur and eastern Chad to assess the situation firsthand and to meet with representatives of Darfurian and Sudanese civil society. The Darfur Consortium also held an African civil society consultation in Kampala to discuss a platform for action.
The Darfur Consortium has identified two paramount concerns raised by the victims of the Darfur crisis: ensuring protection and security for civilians in Darfur and taking immediate international action to bring those responsible for atrocities in Darfur to justice. These two imperatives are equally critical for achieving sustainable peace.
In a series of letters to diplomatic missions in New York, the Darfur Consortium called on the Security Council to pass a resolution which:
– provides the necessary authorization and financial and logistical resources to the AU mission on the ground to develop a clear mission mandate and strong presence in Darfur which will allow adequate protection of civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid;
– refers the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) without further delay, as recommended by the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur;
– imposes a precisely targeted scheme of sanctions (economic, travel,appropriate extension of the arms embargo)against the Government of Sudan and specific individuals who are responsible for the commission of serious international crimes in Darfur.
Emphasizing that all three elements were essential to an effective response to the crisis in Darfur, the Darfur Consortium declared that “previous Security Council resolutions have failed to halt the violence and robust action is needed now in order to prevent further loss of life. The people of Darfur deserve no less.”
For further information please visit www.darfurconsortium.org.
Olivia Bueno
– Research and Communications Coordinator
– International Refugee Rights Initiative
– c/o the Social Science Research Council
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