| Friends: Imagine one fine Saturday your little girl goes out to play with her friends. She is living a carefree and happy existence. She plays with her Barbie dolls, she loves to play dress up but most of all, she enjoys watching Dora the Explorer on television. Your little girl is your pride and joy. She is your life. You think that you would do anything to protect her. A short while later, she runs back into the house, all bloodied and in shock. She has been raped. She has been mutilated. Her life has been ruined. As a parent, you want vengeance. You want the culprits brought to justice. She tells you that a group of men, one after the other, had taken turns to “hurt” her. Now imagine that there is nothing that you can do about what has happened to your little girl. You find out there are groups of men going around your neighborhood, raping women and children. The police are powerless to do anything about it. You find out that nobody will ever be brought to justice. You feel that your world is falling in around you. As a parent, your ability to protect your child has been taken away from you. Nothing you can do will heal your daughter. The psychological effect on your daughter will remain with her for the rest of her life. The shame that you experience based on your inability to protect your angel will never leave you. As we know, a horrendous crime like this would never go unpunished in the US, in the UK or anywhere in the western world. But in Africa, more specifically in Darfur, it is happening on a daily basis. Young girls, some as young as four years of age, are being raped under the very noses of the African Union forces that have been deployed to Darfur to help protect them. Added to the already horrible situation in Darfur, the rape of young girls is a crime that should defy belief that man can commit these crimes. The international community sits by and does nothing to stop what is happening to the innocent Darfuri people. The government of Sudan laughs in the face of international criticism and knows that it is well protected by its friends who are senior members of the international community. Rape is not the only human rights abuse that is occurring in Darfur. Mass attacks on the civilian population by the Sudanese supported militia, the Janjaweed, is in contravention of the Geneva Conventions that govern war and the treatment of civilians during times of war, in particular Geneva Convention IV, Article 3., Section 1 that primarily deals with the treatment of civilians. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has strongly urged the Sudanese government to hand over the two main people that it feels are responsible for the mass human rights abuses being directed against the innocent civilians in Darfur. They are Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's human rights monitor (believe it or not) and the Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb. Indictments were issued in February, 2007 against these men. As the Sudanese government refuses to identify the authority of the ICC, it is also refusing to hand over these two monsters. In reference to the stalled peace talks that were initiated in Libya back in October, the UN is currently attempting to get them restarted with active participation of all concerned parties, only this time Egypt has offered to host the talks. The UN has also been highly critical of the Sudanese government’s slow progress pertaining to land distribution and troop approval for the yet to be deployed UN/AU Hybrid Force. What makes progress in Darfur so difficult is that on the one hand, the UN is playing with kid gloves in reference to how it is dealing with Sudan and on the other hand, its very own apparatus, the ICC, is pushing for the arrest of the main bodies responsible for the nearly 600,000 deaths to date, the displacement and ill-treatment of 2.5 million displaced persons and for placing the lives of over 4 million people in jeopardy. It is a classic example of the right foot not knowing what the left foot is doing. The strong presentation given last week to the Security Counsel by the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, certainly guarantees an increase in the lack of cooperation given by the Sudanese government to finding a solution to the conflict in Darfur. So what this means is that there will be more delays pertaining to the deployment of UN/AU Hybrid Force and it is not likely that any of the near 56 Sudanese officials that are under indictment by the ICC will ever face a court of international justice for the crimes, that they are responsible for, that have been committed against the innocent Darfuri civilians. On a larger scale, and a much more shameful scale, little girls will continue to be raped. They will continue to cry in the arms of their parents who will continue to remain powerless in the face of such horrendous abuses being committed against them and their children. Together, we must act. The International Alliance For Human Rights in conjunction with Hope for Humanity Alliance International, will stage the largest concert ever held to help enhance global awareness of the horrors of Darfur and to enhance the international community to get off its ass and do something, anything, to help stop what is happening to the young children and their innocent parents in Darfur. Talking, talking and more talking will not work! We need action, the people of Darfur need action and without action hope will continue to fade from the eyes of these innocent people. Contact David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or just respond to this email highlighting the ways in which you may help. |
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The crimes that people get away with
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur - We will not fail
Who likes failure? Kids fail exams in school. Sports teams fail in their desire to win championship titles. But should the international community, specifically the United Nations, fail to put together an international peacekeeping force, more importantly, should the UN be allowed to fail in its ability to save the lives of the millions of men, women, and children of Darfur?
On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, the head of the UN peacekeeping department, Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno, announced the UN-AU Hybrid Force to Darfur will fail, whenever it is deployed, because the force is still in the development stages, with no support from western nations and because there has been no offer of logistical support, primarily aerial logistical support from any country in West.
Now, as a peacekeeping mission, the UN-AU Hybrid Force needs six attack helicopters and eighteen transport helicopters. The Sudanese government has still not given its “approval” to the makeup of the force and most of those countries that it has approved, do not meet the standards for deployment with the UN.
A few questions arise in reference to these points and the first relates to the six attack helicopters. What on earth does a peacekeeping force require SIX attack helicopters for? I am not naïve, but SIX attack helicopters? It shows that the UN is concerned about sending troops to Darfur without the appropriate military hardware because it believes it is going to be very dangerous for any outside troops that are deployed there. If SIX attack helicopters are required, then one can only imagine what type of heavy ground equipment will be required. Tanks, surface to air missiles, air to ground missiles, mortars, Special Forces even. Is this the environment that the UN intends to send peacekeepers into? Is it any wonder that no western nation has volunteered troops for this mission because even the UN envisions it as a highly dangerous mission. The last time the UN got involved in such a mission was in Somalia in the early 90’s. That force had to be rescued by the US military and it turned out to be a disaster for the US. The second question pertains to the explanation that contributing countries may have to give to their citizens when large numbers of their sons and daughters in the military return home in body bags. Why did you (the government of the contributing country) send our troops to Darfur knowing very well that the situation was so volatile? But with all that said and done, the UN-AU Hybrid force is the only solution other than a full scale military assault on Darfur by NATO, the EU or worse, the US.
The last question that springs to mind is why is the UN waiting on the Sudanese government to give its approval to the make up of the hybrid force? Countless resolutions have been passed at the UN that enables it to send a peacekeeping force to Darfur without the Sudanese government’s approval. Is the UN afraid of insulting or worse, alienating the Sudanese government due to its lack of support or movement in reference to the hybrid force? For God’s sake, what the bloody hell are those guys in New York waiting for?
What needs to happen, and happen very quickly, is:
On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, the head of the UN peacekeeping department, Mr. Jean-Marie Guehenno, announced the UN-AU Hybrid Force to Darfur will fail, whenever it is deployed, because the force is still in the development stages, with no support from western nations and because there has been no offer of logistical support, primarily aerial logistical support from any country in West.
Now, as a peacekeeping mission, the UN-AU Hybrid Force needs six attack helicopters and eighteen transport helicopters. The Sudanese government has still not given its “approval” to the makeup of the force and most of those countries that it has approved, do not meet the standards for deployment with the UN.
A few questions arise in reference to these points and the first relates to the six attack helicopters. What on earth does a peacekeeping force require SIX attack helicopters for? I am not naïve, but SIX attack helicopters? It shows that the UN is concerned about sending troops to Darfur without the appropriate military hardware because it believes it is going to be very dangerous for any outside troops that are deployed there. If SIX attack helicopters are required, then one can only imagine what type of heavy ground equipment will be required. Tanks, surface to air missiles, air to ground missiles, mortars, Special Forces even. Is this the environment that the UN intends to send peacekeepers into? Is it any wonder that no western nation has volunteered troops for this mission because even the UN envisions it as a highly dangerous mission. The last time the UN got involved in such a mission was in Somalia in the early 90’s. That force had to be rescued by the US military and it turned out to be a disaster for the US. The second question pertains to the explanation that contributing countries may have to give to their citizens when large numbers of their sons and daughters in the military return home in body bags. Why did you (the government of the contributing country) send our troops to Darfur knowing very well that the situation was so volatile? But with all that said and done, the UN-AU Hybrid force is the only solution other than a full scale military assault on Darfur by NATO, the EU or worse, the US.
The last question that springs to mind is why is the UN waiting on the Sudanese government to give its approval to the make up of the hybrid force? Countless resolutions have been passed at the UN that enables it to send a peacekeeping force to Darfur without the Sudanese government’s approval. Is the UN afraid of insulting or worse, alienating the Sudanese government due to its lack of support or movement in reference to the hybrid force? For God’s sake, what the bloody hell are those guys in New York waiting for?
What needs to happen, and happen very quickly, is:
- The UN needs to inform Sudan that the deployment of the UN-AU Hybrid Force is imminent, with or without Sudan’s approval.
- The UN needs to give the force an extended mandate so that offensive action, as well as defensive can be taken to defend the lives of the innocent civilians and the members of the deployed force
- All militias and rebel groups need to be informed that any actions taken against the UN-AU Hybrid Force will be met by swift action against any side that perpetrate such actions.
- This may include:
- The arrest of all rebel and militia commanders
- The initiation of quick or special proceedings at the International Criminal Court in the Hague
- The freezing of all assets held outside the country
- An enforced blanket ban by all countries or businesses doing business with Sudan
- Retaliatory actions against the forces responsible for carrying out such actions
To move on to another issue. In Britain also on Wednesday, November 14, 2007, the Law Lords, the country’s highest court, overturned a court of appeal’s ruling that allowed three asylum seekers from Darfur to stay in Britain. What this new ruling means is that the three asylum seekers will now be returned to Sudan. Previously failed asylum seekers have been tortured and then murdered upon their return to Sudan. How in the name of God could the highest court in Britain return these three innocent victims to a certain death?
The three asylum seekers in question were due to be sent to a refugee camp in Darfur but they escaped Sudan and found their way to Britain, where they filed asylum applications. In Wednesday’s ruling, the Law Lords announced that sending refugees to camps in the Sudanese region of Darfur was not "unduly harsh" resettlement, therefore their applications for asylum were denied and now they will be repatriated to Sudan.
For those of you who read these emails, you will know that the situation in Darfur is very critical. Can you help? More importantly, do you want to help? If you do, shoot me an email and tell me how you want to help.
You will also know that the International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity is staging a global concert event early in the New Year titled the “Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur.” This event will see the biggest names in music coming together to voice their support and hope for the innocent men, women and children of Darfur. The event will also see some of biggest stars in the fields of sports, movies, general entertainment coming together to voice their concern that we, as a global family, need to do more that talk, if the situation in Darfur is to be resolved. If we come together and put our voices together as one, WE WILL NOT FAIL!
Please forward this email to all your friends, families, and associates because it is important that we act NOW!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur - Join Our Efforts
Death is an important, but factual stage of life. It usually occurs when a person has reached an age where their grandchildren are running around, demanding to be brought for ice cream after dinner and where they get to reflect upon their life with a mixture of happiness and sadness but most of all contentment. Fond memories of a full life are to be stored in their minds – memories of family and friends, their births, their weddings, their funerals.
It is not uncommon for life to end before this envisioned conclusion. In the western world, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and sudden death syndromes are the major culprits in ending life abruptly. We go to great lengths to prevent our early decline from these causes of early death. We exercise, we eat healthy foods and we have regular checkups with our family physicians. This enables us to prolong our lives.
But there are certain places in the world where lives are cut short by war and human rights abuses and where lives are scarred forever. One of those places is Darfur.
We should all be fairly familiar with what is happening in Darfur today. Close to 600,000 men, women and children have died as a result of mass human rights abuses that have been committed by the Sudanese government. 2.5m people have been displaced and 4m people are in dire need of food and medical aid.
The Darfur Peace Talks in Libya have resulted in nothing being resolved due to the fact that seven of the main rebel groups were not in attendance. Even though the Sudanese government announced a cessation of hostilities during the peace talks, it carried out a number of aerial bombing raids and ground attacks during which dozens of people were killed.
This past week, the Sudanese government expelled the head of the United Nations humanitarian operation in South Darfur, Mr. Wael al-Haj Ibrahim. The expulsion arose because of the government troop’s round up of thousands of refugees from Nyala refugee camp. Mr. Ibrahim urged the refugees not to return to their villages and former homes, which was the Sudanese government’s plan of action, because it was unsafe to do so. Mr. Ibrahim was accused of interfering in the internal mechanisms of Sudan and it was based on this that he was expelled.
Again, Sudan has shown total disregard for the operations of the United Nations and appears totally hostile to this global organization. So while we have peace talks, while the UN threatens sanctions, and while the emergency break has been applied to the deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force, come February, the conflict in Darfur will enter its sixth year. How will we answer our future generations’ condemnations of our inaction?
As the former US Ambassador to the UN recently stated, “There is a lot of rhetoric from the international community, but nobody has the stomach to do anything about Darfur.”
This past summer, former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others traveled to Darfur to highlight the urgent need for international action to save the millions of lives that are at risk in Darfur. They tried to help, but they failed. The Sudanese government patted them on their heads and told them to be on their way – thanks for stopping by.
There is a great phrase “strategic importance.” What does this mean? Since when should we ignore human cries for help based on their country not being of “strategic importance?” Sudan is part of the axis of evil that the world was told about after September 11th, 2001. We have since been informed that Sudan is part of the partnership to combat terrorism and has become a strong alley in that war on terrorism that seen over 3,000 thousand American lives lost in Iraq and countless injuries to young men and women whose lives have been changed forever.
In 1996 President Bill Clinton bombed Sudan because it was a major sponsor of fundamentalist Islamic terror groups but more specifically because it was giving refuge to Osama Bin Laden. Sudan, a Wahhabist Islamic state, is still a sponsor of terrorism. Part of that sponsorship program is directed towards its own people, those that do not conform to the Wahhabist beliefs of the country’s leaders.
There are countries and multinational companies that are supporting the Sudanese regime. Over the last four years, Sudanese infrastructure has experienced an investment of $10b. Investment and financial companies are investing in corporations that are making billions of dollars, not only in Sudan, but in other conflict areas in Africa. Unbeknown to a great number of the global population, their retirement funds are coming, in large part, from companies supporting the conflicts in Africa.
Now, we all understand that we all want to live a comfortable life. We all need money, for most, there is a need for cheap goods, and we all need financial security. But should we achieve all this through the blood of innocent men, women and children? Should we excuse those companies that are making blood money? If so, are these companies any worse than those that used slave laborers during the Holocaust? Would we have made money from the blood of Jewish children if we knew what was happening to them in the death camps of Europe?
So who can stop the tide of death in Darfur? You can! You can help stop what is happening in Darfur, because if we fail to stop what is happening in this place that is commonly referred to as “hell on earth,” it will quickly spread further than Darfur. The Central Africa Republic and Chad have already become embroiled in the situation in Darfur, with the Sudanese government’s sponsored militia, the Janjaweed, running missions into these countries to attack the Darfuri refugees and local tribal areas.
If things in Africa are to change, the attitudes of those in the developed world must change. The international community is concerned about global warming. But we are witnessing the initial effects of global warming today in Darfur. We have the opportunity to do something about it.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity will stage the biggest concert of its kind to help stop the horrors that we are witnessing in Darfur. The Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur will be staged in New York and will feature some of the biggest stars from the world of entertainment. For more information, please call me, David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or email me at dnolan@iafhr.org. To voice your concerns, please visit our blog at http://iafhr-darfur.blogspot.
It is not uncommon for life to end before this envisioned conclusion. In the western world, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and sudden death syndromes are the major culprits in ending life abruptly. We go to great lengths to prevent our early decline from these causes of early death. We exercise, we eat healthy foods and we have regular checkups with our family physicians. This enables us to prolong our lives.
But there are certain places in the world where lives are cut short by war and human rights abuses and where lives are scarred forever. One of those places is Darfur.
We should all be fairly familiar with what is happening in Darfur today. Close to 600,000 men, women and children have died as a result of mass human rights abuses that have been committed by the Sudanese government. 2.5m people have been displaced and 4m people are in dire need of food and medical aid.
The Darfur Peace Talks in Libya have resulted in nothing being resolved due to the fact that seven of the main rebel groups were not in attendance. Even though the Sudanese government announced a cessation of hostilities during the peace talks, it carried out a number of aerial bombing raids and ground attacks during which dozens of people were killed.
This past week, the Sudanese government expelled the head of the United Nations humanitarian operation in South Darfur, Mr. Wael al-Haj Ibrahim. The expulsion arose because of the government troop’s round up of thousands of refugees from Nyala refugee camp. Mr. Ibrahim urged the refugees not to return to their villages and former homes, which was the Sudanese government’s plan of action, because it was unsafe to do so. Mr. Ibrahim was accused of interfering in the internal mechanisms of Sudan and it was based on this that he was expelled.
Again, Sudan has shown total disregard for the operations of the United Nations and appears totally hostile to this global organization. So while we have peace talks, while the UN threatens sanctions, and while the emergency break has been applied to the deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force, come February, the conflict in Darfur will enter its sixth year. How will we answer our future generations’ condemnations of our inaction?
As the former US Ambassador to the UN recently stated, “There is a lot of rhetoric from the international community, but nobody has the stomach to do anything about Darfur.”
This past summer, former President Jimmy Carter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and others traveled to Darfur to highlight the urgent need for international action to save the millions of lives that are at risk in Darfur. They tried to help, but they failed. The Sudanese government patted them on their heads and told them to be on their way – thanks for stopping by.
There is a great phrase “strategic importance.” What does this mean? Since when should we ignore human cries for help based on their country not being of “strategic importance?” Sudan is part of the axis of evil that the world was told about after September 11th, 2001. We have since been informed that Sudan is part of the partnership to combat terrorism and has become a strong alley in that war on terrorism that seen over 3,000 thousand American lives lost in Iraq and countless injuries to young men and women whose lives have been changed forever.
In 1996 President Bill Clinton bombed Sudan because it was a major sponsor of fundamentalist Islamic terror groups but more specifically because it was giving refuge to Osama Bin Laden. Sudan, a Wahhabist Islamic state, is still a sponsor of terrorism. Part of that sponsorship program is directed towards its own people, those that do not conform to the Wahhabist beliefs of the country’s leaders.
There are countries and multinational companies that are supporting the Sudanese regime. Over the last four years, Sudanese infrastructure has experienced an investment of $10b. Investment and financial companies are investing in corporations that are making billions of dollars, not only in Sudan, but in other conflict areas in Africa. Unbeknown to a great number of the global population, their retirement funds are coming, in large part, from companies supporting the conflicts in Africa.
Now, we all understand that we all want to live a comfortable life. We all need money, for most, there is a need for cheap goods, and we all need financial security. But should we achieve all this through the blood of innocent men, women and children? Should we excuse those companies that are making blood money? If so, are these companies any worse than those that used slave laborers during the Holocaust? Would we have made money from the blood of Jewish children if we knew what was happening to them in the death camps of Europe?
So who can stop the tide of death in Darfur? You can! You can help stop what is happening in Darfur, because if we fail to stop what is happening in this place that is commonly referred to as “hell on earth,” it will quickly spread further than Darfur. The Central Africa Republic and Chad have already become embroiled in the situation in Darfur, with the Sudanese government’s sponsored militia, the Janjaweed, running missions into these countries to attack the Darfuri refugees and local tribal areas.
If things in Africa are to change, the attitudes of those in the developed world must change. The international community is concerned about global warming. But we are witnessing the initial effects of global warming today in Darfur. We have the opportunity to do something about it.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity will stage the biggest concert of its kind to help stop the horrors that we are witnessing in Darfur. The Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur will be staged in New York and will feature some of the biggest stars from the world of entertainment. For more information, please call me, David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or email me at dnolan@iafhr.org. To voice your concerns, please visit our blog at http://iafhr-darfur.blogspot.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Who Guards Innocent Civilians against UN troops
A phenomenon is taking place with the deployment of UN peace keeping forces – more and more peacekeepers are committing sexual assaults against women and young girls.
On Friday, November 2, the UN reported that 108 Sri Lankan troops were being repatriated to Sri Lanka after being found guilty of committing sexual assaults against young girls and women in Haiti.
We can now add Haiti to the list of other UN peacekeeping missions where allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against UN troops. Other missions include Sierra Leon, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Liberia, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kosovo and East Timor. More than 800 UN troops were recently suspended amid claims of committing sex abuse in Ivory Coast.
The news coming from Haiti is very disturbing in that while these troops are repatriated for “inappropriate” sexual actions, they face court martial in their home countries only when the allegations have been substantiated. What this means is that most troops walk free from court and in most cases, they are discharged from their country’s armed forces.
This is not a good enough response to the allegations pertaining to the rape of women and minors. Facing prosecution in their home countries disqualifies due process, because those making the allegations are more likely to be absorbed into the general population of the mission area, never to be heard from again, thus enabling the accused to claim that their prosecutions are unfair due to the fact that their ability to cross examine the alleged victims is not possible.
The usual charge brought against the UN troops on their repatriation is the charge of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline; they are given a few days detention in a military brig and dismissed. This was the case in 2002 when an Irish solider, serving with the UN in Eritrea was found guilty of making a pornographic movie using underage local prostitutes. The solider, an NCO spent 16 days in military detention and was dismissed from the Irish defense forces.
More recently, UN troops have been accused of abusing young girls in Southern Sudan. A number of Bangladeshi soldiers serving with the UN in the region were sent home due to allegations made against them.
In a book by three UN field workers, titled "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures: A True Story from Hell on Earth", chronicles the experiences of a doctor, a human-rights official and a secretary in U.N. operations in Cambodia, Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, Liberia and Bosnia. In one controversial volume, it is alleged that some U.N. officials demanded that 15 percent of their local staff's salaries go directly to them instead; that Bulgaria sent freed criminals to serve as peacekeepers; and that incompetent U.N. security has cost lives.
This all leads to the question, “Can UN peacekeeping missions be trusted to provide the level of competency to protect innocent civilians from rouge elements within those missions?” I don’t think so and if the UN does not move to set up its own internal disciplinary code of conduct, in which it tries and convicts the rapists, child molesters and all those that are found to have committed serious crimes, from within its own missions, the trust placed in the “Blue Helmets” and the “Blue Flag” will quickly be lost.
On Friday, November 2, the UN reported that 108 Sri Lankan troops were being repatriated to Sri Lanka after being found guilty of committing sexual assaults against young girls and women in Haiti.
We can now add Haiti to the list of other UN peacekeeping missions where allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against UN troops. Other missions include Sierra Leon, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Liberia, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kosovo and East Timor. More than 800 UN troops were recently suspended amid claims of committing sex abuse in Ivory Coast.
The news coming from Haiti is very disturbing in that while these troops are repatriated for “inappropriate” sexual actions, they face court martial in their home countries only when the allegations have been substantiated. What this means is that most troops walk free from court and in most cases, they are discharged from their country’s armed forces.
This is not a good enough response to the allegations pertaining to the rape of women and minors. Facing prosecution in their home countries disqualifies due process, because those making the allegations are more likely to be absorbed into the general population of the mission area, never to be heard from again, thus enabling the accused to claim that their prosecutions are unfair due to the fact that their ability to cross examine the alleged victims is not possible.
The usual charge brought against the UN troops on their repatriation is the charge of conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline; they are given a few days detention in a military brig and dismissed. This was the case in 2002 when an Irish solider, serving with the UN in Eritrea was found guilty of making a pornographic movie using underage local prostitutes. The solider, an NCO spent 16 days in military detention and was dismissed from the Irish defense forces.
More recently, UN troops have been accused of abusing young girls in Southern Sudan. A number of Bangladeshi soldiers serving with the UN in the region were sent home due to allegations made against them.
In a book by three UN field workers, titled "Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures: A True Story from Hell on Earth", chronicles the experiences of a doctor, a human-rights official and a secretary in U.N. operations in Cambodia, Somalia, Haiti, Rwanda, Liberia and Bosnia. In one controversial volume, it is alleged that some U.N. officials demanded that 15 percent of their local staff's salaries go directly to them instead; that Bulgaria sent freed criminals to serve as peacekeepers; and that incompetent U.N. security has cost lives.
This all leads to the question, “Can UN peacekeeping missions be trusted to provide the level of competency to protect innocent civilians from rouge elements within those missions?” I don’t think so and if the UN does not move to set up its own internal disciplinary code of conduct, in which it tries and convicts the rapists, child molesters and all those that are found to have committed serious crimes, from within its own missions, the trust placed in the “Blue Helmets” and the “Blue Flag” will quickly be lost.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Roust! Roust! The Round Up Has Started!
It has started! The round up of the native black Darfuri people from the refugee camps in Darfur has begun. Armed Sudanese troops surrounded the camp at Nyala, south Darfur and started to load the civilians onto the back of waiting trucks. The troops were not only armed with heavy weapons, but they were also armed with rubber hoses and sticks that were used to force the civilians on to the trucks.
When UN personnel tried to intervene in the forced evacuation of the Nyala camp, they were prevented from doing so.
Supposedly the forced evacuation of the camps had been planned since June, when the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir announced that he wanted to close what he termed "these museums of despair."
According to James Smith of the British charity, the Aegis Trust, "This could be the start of a long-term plan, to change the demographics of the region, under the noses, and in the presence of the United Nations, that won't be able to do anything about it. The government can get away with this kind of population movement, this illegal population movement, without firing a shot."
A number of human rights groups have stated that they fear that the forced relocation will open the way for ethnic cleansing.
So where have the Sudanese government shipped the evacuated the refugees from the Nyala camp? Nobody knows. Those UN and NGO staff members of the ground were just informed that they were being shipped to a safer camp. Have the Sudanese government built a new camp, possibly a new Auschwitz or a new Bergen Belsen?
This past weekend we witnessed the attempt at peace talks between the Sudanese government and the Darfuri rebel groups. These so called peace talks are going nowhere. What can they achieve when the Sudanese government institutes the initial stages of ethnic cleansing? Who will talk to these mass murderers in the future?
As we have seen, the UN is now considered a nonentity in Darfur. How can it be considered anything else when it is prevented from helping the people of Darfur? What has empowered the Sudanese government to ignore the UN and prevent it from intervening to save the lives of the evacuated refugees?
The UN, the AU, the EU and the US have been talking about the issues of Darfur for over four years now. Nothing has been achieved. How long must the international community entertain the Sudanese government before it is too late to save the millions of innocent civilians that are dying in Darfur?
Is it reasonable to think that we can force the Chinese government to take the appropriate and necessary action to enhance the Sudanese's government willingness to stop the mass human rights abuses in Darfur? Could we encourage US and multinational companies to divest, not only in Sudan, but in the sponsorship of the 2008 Olympic Games that will take place in China?
We must act to stop the further deterioration of the situation in Darfur. We can not sit back and watch while millions of innocent men, women and children continue to be butchered, raped and mutilated.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity will host the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur. We ask that you support this major global event. We also ask that you join with us in our call for global action to save the innocent civilians of Darfur. For further information, please email dnolan@iafhr.org or call him at 212.695.7022, ext. 315.
When UN personnel tried to intervene in the forced evacuation of the Nyala camp, they were prevented from doing so.
Supposedly the forced evacuation of the camps had been planned since June, when the Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir announced that he wanted to close what he termed "these museums of despair."
According to James Smith of the British charity, the Aegis Trust, "This could be the start of a long-term plan, to change the demographics of the region, under the noses, and in the presence of the United Nations, that won't be able to do anything about it. The government can get away with this kind of population movement, this illegal population movement, without firing a shot."
A number of human rights groups have stated that they fear that the forced relocation will open the way for ethnic cleansing.
So where have the Sudanese government shipped the evacuated the refugees from the Nyala camp? Nobody knows. Those UN and NGO staff members of the ground were just informed that they were being shipped to a safer camp. Have the Sudanese government built a new camp, possibly a new Auschwitz or a new Bergen Belsen?
This past weekend we witnessed the attempt at peace talks between the Sudanese government and the Darfuri rebel groups. These so called peace talks are going nowhere. What can they achieve when the Sudanese government institutes the initial stages of ethnic cleansing? Who will talk to these mass murderers in the future?
As we have seen, the UN is now considered a nonentity in Darfur. How can it be considered anything else when it is prevented from helping the people of Darfur? What has empowered the Sudanese government to ignore the UN and prevent it from intervening to save the lives of the evacuated refugees?
The UN, the AU, the EU and the US have been talking about the issues of Darfur for over four years now. Nothing has been achieved. How long must the international community entertain the Sudanese government before it is too late to save the millions of innocent civilians that are dying in Darfur?
Is it reasonable to think that we can force the Chinese government to take the appropriate and necessary action to enhance the Sudanese's government willingness to stop the mass human rights abuses in Darfur? Could we encourage US and multinational companies to divest, not only in Sudan, but in the sponsorship of the 2008 Olympic Games that will take place in China?
We must act to stop the further deterioration of the situation in Darfur. We can not sit back and watch while millions of innocent men, women and children continue to be butchered, raped and mutilated.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity will host the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur. We ask that you support this major global event. We also ask that you join with us in our call for global action to save the innocent civilians of Darfur. For further information, please email dnolan@iafhr.org or call him at 212.695.7022, ext. 315.
Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur - Libyan Peace Talks Repositioned as Consultative Talks
Sitting around, talking about peace, announcing ceasefires, talking economic development - the question is, how can the situation in Darfur be resolved if the main rebel groups are not participating in the peace talks that are currently underway in Libya?
While the international mediators appear to have come to the conclusion that the talks are doomed to failure, the Sudanese government have grasped the absence of the seven main rebel groups as an opportunity to insinuate that if the peace talks collapse, the reason will be that these rebel groups are not interested in peace. The truth is that the Sudanese government wants peace but on their terms and their terms don't correlate with their actions in Darfur over the last four years.
The rebel groups that are participating in the talks do not represent the majority of the Darfuri people and are basically without the support of the people whom they claim to represent.
The sponsor of the talks, Colonel Gaddafi, has also started out on the wrong foot by claiming that the situation in Darfur is basically about tribal divisions and tribal jealousies. What is wrong about this analysis is the fact that Darfur is plainly about oil and the desire of the Sudanese government to clear Darfur of the ethnic black African tribes of the region. If we look at the history of the Darfur, the various tribes have always gotten along. They have always traded goods with each other and they have always sorted out their differences by having negotiations between the various tribal chiefs.
The nations that have created the issues in Darfur have been silent in the lead up to the peace talks and they have remained silent during the first days of talks. These nations, primarily China and Russia have not voiced their support for the talks and have not been part of the search for a solution. These nations and others continue to support the Sudanese regime and they support similar regimes, not only in Africa but in Asia and South America that have seen the continuation of mass human rights abuses.
As we have witnessed over the last few months, there has been a surge in the growth of groups calling for world peace through the implementation of non-confrontational means that primarily include open dialogue, but how long can we go on talking about what needs to be done? Are to wait for thousands more to die? Are to witness the rape and mutilation of thousands more women and children? Are to wait for all young boys to be kidnapped and used as child soldiers?
Without the involvement of the outside influencers in these conflict areas, primarily in Darfur, the situation is not going to change. Without applied pressure being placed on these nations, the situation is also not going to change. With your help, the International Alliance For Human Rights (IAFHR) will not be silenced. With your help, the IAFHR will be the voice of the innocent victims of Darfur. With your help, the IAFHR will tell the world of the crimes that have been committed because of the greed associated with certain nations' desires for natural resources.
As the UN committee working in reference to the Kimberly Process announced in 2000, "When resources are found in Africa, people are going to die." Why does this have to be? The IAFHR, together with Hope for Humanity will help set out a plan that will ensure that this is no longer the norm for the people of Africa. We must arrest the world's bigoted and racist views of Africa and of the African people as a whole. The future of mankind is uncertain, but we must ensure that we do not further enhance our decline or that of people whom some notable people, primarily a recent Nobel Laureate, have determined are not worth the effort because they lack the intelligence capable of surviving this world.
A shocking event took place over the weekend pertaining to a French NGO, Zoe's Arc. Nine volunteers of this NGO supposedly kidnapped 103 Darfuri and Chadian children from a Chadian refugee camp. These volunteers claimed that the children were orphans and that they were in dire need of medical aid in Europe. When the volunteers and the children were stopped before they boarded a chartered plan for Paris, they were all given medical exams by UNICEF who declared that all the children were in sound medical form with respect to the conditions that they had been living in, and that they were not orphans.
The Chadian government has announced that they will prosecute all those associated with this event and that they will be charged with kidnapping, the attempting selling of children's' organs and committing an international crime in relation to transporting children across international borders for use in possible pedophilia acts.
This event has brought all the NGOs working in Chad and Sudan under an unwanted spot light. What were these people thinking of as they abducted these children? In a special BBC Worldwide news report on Sunday, October 28 the children reported that they were promised an education, candy and cars - four and five year olds being promised cars?
It is time for global action to save the millions of lives that are at risk in Darfur. The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity is staging the largest concert ever held for the innocent victims of Darfur, the largest humanitarian crisis facing the world today. For more information, please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or email him at dnolan@iafhr.org.
While the international mediators appear to have come to the conclusion that the talks are doomed to failure, the Sudanese government have grasped the absence of the seven main rebel groups as an opportunity to insinuate that if the peace talks collapse, the reason will be that these rebel groups are not interested in peace. The truth is that the Sudanese government wants peace but on their terms and their terms don't correlate with their actions in Darfur over the last four years.
The rebel groups that are participating in the talks do not represent the majority of the Darfuri people and are basically without the support of the people whom they claim to represent.
The sponsor of the talks, Colonel Gaddafi, has also started out on the wrong foot by claiming that the situation in Darfur is basically about tribal divisions and tribal jealousies. What is wrong about this analysis is the fact that Darfur is plainly about oil and the desire of the Sudanese government to clear Darfur of the ethnic black African tribes of the region. If we look at the history of the Darfur, the various tribes have always gotten along. They have always traded goods with each other and they have always sorted out their differences by having negotiations between the various tribal chiefs.
The nations that have created the issues in Darfur have been silent in the lead up to the peace talks and they have remained silent during the first days of talks. These nations, primarily China and Russia have not voiced their support for the talks and have not been part of the search for a solution. These nations and others continue to support the Sudanese regime and they support similar regimes, not only in Africa but in Asia and South America that have seen the continuation of mass human rights abuses.
As we have witnessed over the last few months, there has been a surge in the growth of groups calling for world peace through the implementation of non-confrontational means that primarily include open dialogue, but how long can we go on talking about what needs to be done? Are to wait for thousands more to die? Are to witness the rape and mutilation of thousands more women and children? Are to wait for all young boys to be kidnapped and used as child soldiers?
Without the involvement of the outside influencers in these conflict areas, primarily in Darfur, the situation is not going to change. Without applied pressure being placed on these nations, the situation is also not going to change. With your help, the International Alliance For Human Rights (IAFHR) will not be silenced. With your help, the IAFHR will be the voice of the innocent victims of Darfur. With your help, the IAFHR will tell the world of the crimes that have been committed because of the greed associated with certain nations' desires for natural resources.
As the UN committee working in reference to the Kimberly Process announced in 2000, "When resources are found in Africa, people are going to die." Why does this have to be? The IAFHR, together with Hope for Humanity will help set out a plan that will ensure that this is no longer the norm for the people of Africa. We must arrest the world's bigoted and racist views of Africa and of the African people as a whole. The future of mankind is uncertain, but we must ensure that we do not further enhance our decline or that of people whom some notable people, primarily a recent Nobel Laureate, have determined are not worth the effort because they lack the intelligence capable of surviving this world.
A shocking event took place over the weekend pertaining to a French NGO, Zoe's Arc. Nine volunteers of this NGO supposedly kidnapped 103 Darfuri and Chadian children from a Chadian refugee camp. These volunteers claimed that the children were orphans and that they were in dire need of medical aid in Europe. When the volunteers and the children were stopped before they boarded a chartered plan for Paris, they were all given medical exams by UNICEF who declared that all the children were in sound medical form with respect to the conditions that they had been living in, and that they were not orphans.
The Chadian government has announced that they will prosecute all those associated with this event and that they will be charged with kidnapping, the attempting selling of children's' organs and committing an international crime in relation to transporting children across international borders for use in possible pedophilia acts.
This event has brought all the NGOs working in Chad and Sudan under an unwanted spot light. What were these people thinking of as they abducted these children? In a special BBC Worldwide news report on Sunday, October 28 the children reported that they were promised an education, candy and cars - four and five year olds being promised cars?
It is time for global action to save the millions of lives that are at risk in Darfur. The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity is staging the largest concert ever held for the innocent victims of Darfur, the largest humanitarian crisis facing the world today. For more information, please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or email him at dnolan@iafhr.org.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur - The Tripoli Peace Talks Face a Quick Death
Darfur continues to stream in and out of the headlines in the build up to the peace talks that are scheduled to take place in Tripoli, Libya starting on Saturday, October 28th.
Meanwhile, the situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate. The security situation is so dangerous that a number of NGOs have pulled their operations from the region. This necessary move has expedited the deaths of thousands of men, women and children and it has increased the pain and suffering of those that are left behind.
To make matters worse, it has been announced that there are now seven rebel groups that have pulled out of the Tripoli peace talks. The Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) one of the main rebel groups said that it would not participate in the masquerade, referring to the Tripoli talks. The Sudan Liberation Movement, the most important rebel group, has also withdrawn from the talks because they said that the atmosphere was not "conducive" to success.
This news ensures that the Tripoli talks with follow the same path as all the other peace initiatives that were doomed to failure even before they got started. What doesn’t help is the fact that the chief moderator of the Africa Union stated that the neither the UN nor the AU was going to dictate what “sort of peace plan” would be implemented in Darfur, that it was the sole responsibility of the parties involved to determine this. I believe that this is a very poor effort to disguise the fact that the Sudanese government will have the ultimate say pertaining to the direction of peacekeeping operations in Darfur.
The key sponsor of the Tripoli talks, Colonel Gaddiffi, “simplified” the conflict in Darfur by comparing it to a “quarrel over a camel.” I have never witnessed an argument over a camel but I wonder how many people have died over a camel. He also extended blame for the continuing human suffering in Darfur on the NGOs and other aid agencies. To clarify this statement, he said that if these groups were not in Darfur, the displaced refugees would have to move back home. This would enable them to get back to looking after themselves.” Does this make sense? I didn’t think so either.
To date, only one country outside of Africa has offered to send troops as part of the UN-AU hybrid force due for deployment in Darfur in mid to late 2008. That country is Thailand. No western country, as of yet, as offered to supply any of the logistical support requirements or the military capabilities for the successful deployment of the force and to enhance its ability to carry out its mission.
The following are some of the things that have happened over the past few days in relation to Darfur.
Financial Institutions under Pressure Not to Make Profits from Business Interests in Sudan
- A number of financial institutions are now being placed under great pressure to back away from making blood money in Sudan. Leading human rights groups and world renowned stars have demanded that UBS, the Swiss-based bank, not participate in the placement of PetroChina on the Shanghai stock exchange.
- UBS issued a statement stating that it can not discuss the work of its clients – how bloody convenient!
- It is important that further pressure be place on these types of institutions that care only about making money and not about saving lives. As we know, PetroChina is a major sponsor of the Sudanese government and it has been behind the funding of both the civil war in Sudan that ended in 2005 and it is also behind the funding of the conflict in Darfur.
- PetroChina is not the only company making billions of dollars from the pain and suffering of the millions of innocent civilians in Darfur. It is time that all those companies that continue to make blood money from their business interests in Sudan, are publicly shamed for being complicit in the mass human rights abuses in Darfur.
Sudanese Spy Arrested in Germany
- An agent for the Sudanese government was arrested in Germany on October 23rd. The agent, who was not named, was arrested for forwarding information on Sudanese dissidents and critics living in Germany back to the government in Khartoum.
- My good friend, Dr. Eric Reeves who has been an outspoken critic of Sudan since the initiation of the mass human rights abuses in Darfur, has been on the receiving end of international operations by the Sudanese government against him and he has received numerous threats against his life for his criticisms of the regime.
- All the unsung hero’s that are working towards highlighting the plight of the innocent victims in Darfur need to be protected, whether they are in Africa, Europe or wherever.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope For Humanity, will be staging the largest global concert event ever held to raise awareness about the conflict in Darfur. Please support the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur. For more information please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or email him at dnolan@iafhr.org. Feel free to add your voice and ideas to our blog at http://iafhr-darfur.blogspot.com/
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur – What now?
In 1933 when the Nazis came to power in Germany, nobody would have thought that twelve years later Europe would be in ruins, that 50 million people would be dead as a result of another world war and that a name would be given to a crime that had been occurring for centuries and that name was genocide. Of the 50 million deaths, 6 million were attributed to the wanton destruction of a people based on their religious beliefs. The population of European Jews was decimated due to the desire of the Nazis to rid Europe and the world of Jews.
Genocide, as defined by the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal, set up by the allies in 1945 to try the Nazis and their co-conspirators for crimes against humanity, includes the following actions:
Genocide, as defined by the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal, set up by the allies in 1945 to try the Nazis and their co-conspirators for crimes against humanity, includes the following actions:
- Incitement to ethnic hatred
- Demonization of the target group
- Radicalization along ethnic or religious lines
- Distribution of weapons to extremist groups
- Preparation of lists of those to be exterminated
The debate amongst the international community pertains to whether genocide has occurred in Darfur. While that and many other subjects, centered round Darfur continue, one thing that can not be denied is the fact that Darfur is in chaos. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children will soon die in this hell due to global inaction.
The Tripoli Peace Talks, scheduled to start on Saturday, October 27th, were placed, this week, in great jeopardy of accomplishing their primary objective – an end to the nightmare of death, rape and the destruction of the entire population of the native black African Darfuri people.
This past week we have witnessed the murder of a number of UN staff members. It is amazing that while the UN tries to talk with the Sudanese government in regards to stopping the horrors in Darfur, some of the people that are working to alleviate the pain and suffering in Darfur are being murdered.
The UN staff members that were murdered were contract drivers for the World Food Program (WFP). Not only were they butchered to death, but their cargos were looted. The cargo consisted of food and medical aid.
The increased barbarity towards NGOs has resulted in numerous NGOs closing down their operations in Darfur and in turn this has resulted in a great number of Darfuri people being placed in greater danger of death.
While the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon has been trying to maintain a level of hope pertaining to the Tripoli talks, some senior level diplomats associated with these talks have highlighted the general consensus that the talks will fail, due to the recent events in Darfur that pertain to the killings of the UN staffers and the murders of the 10 African Union troops last week.
What is exacerbating the situation is the total distrust of the various parties that are due to participate in the talks. With close to twenty four rebel groups, all vying to have their grievances addressed in Tripoli, confusion is mounting about who should actually attend the talks. Because the Southern Sudanese parties have withdrawn from the national government in Khartoum, some observers have stated that President Bashir does not represent or speak for the national government and therefore has no right to attend the talks as the national leader.
Due to the recent events in Darfur, it is looking less likely that there will be an early deployment of the yet to be established UN-AU hybrid force. Mr. Ban recently criticized President Bashir because his government has not yet provided a comprehensive response to a list of nations that have offered to supply troops to this force. Because of the Sudanese government’s major attacks on villages in Darfur this week, many nations who had proposed supplying troops to the hybrid force, are now rethinking their desire to do so. The hybrid force is a peacekeeping force, but as the world can see, there is no peace to keep in Darfur. Unless there is a willingness on behalf of the entire international community to find a solution to the conflict in Darfur, nothing will change for the innocent civilians of this region of Sudan who have experienced so much pain and suffering.
On Tuesday, October 16th, my colleague and I attended a conference at the UN regarding the use of rape as a government strategy in conflict. During the conference, it was highlighted that the war in the Balkans was the first time that rape, used by the Serbian forces against the innocent Bosnian civilian population, was identified by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN as a war crime.
Listening to the testimony of the Darfuri delegation at the conference, pertaining to the evidence of sexual exploitation in Darfur, was horrifying. Women and children are raped on a consistent basis. The fact that this crime is happening and the international community just talks about finding a solution is wrong. The act of rape, committed as part of a government’s strategy to annihilate an ethnic group during a time of war, is a key ingredient of genocide. Those responsible for authorizing the rape of women and children are therefore guilty of war crimes.
During the UN conference that I attended, I was shocked to the point of despair when hearing what the consequences of rape and the sexual exploitation of women and children are. As a father of a five year old girl, knowing that children, some as young as four years of age, are being raped on a daily basis makes me very angry.
During the conference, the members of the delegation who addressed the audience spoke about the need for greater involvement by the international community to find a solution to Darfur. The question I had was, “How can one expect the international community to work harder to find a solution to the conflict in Darfur, when key members of that community are highly complicit in the situation in Darfur because of their continued support of the Sudanese government?” Multinational companies are also complicit in the situation in Darfur because of their continued investment in the Sudanese economy. As we have witnessed, on Thursday, October 19th, Mr. Warren Buffett sold his shares in the Chinese oil company, Petrochina because of the share price. It is estimated that he made $3.5 billion from offloading of his shares. Some news reports stated that the reason why he sold these shares was due to pressure from numerous international human rights organizations, but Buffett highlighted that the reason why he sold his shares was because of the price they were at. I tend to believe the reason that Buffett gave.
With key members of the international community continuing to do business with the Sudanese government and with private individuals still prepared to make billions of dollars in blood money from Sudan, it is very obvious that it is going to take something extraordinary for these states and individuals to change their strategy in relation to Sudan.
During the weekend of October 12th, at a conference in Monteral, Canada, titled Can the World Stop Genocide?, the famed French writer, Gerard Prunier, stated that Genocide can also be stop by those directly involved. He also stated that we should all be prepared to “Give War a Chance.”
As Prunier stated, "When you see a dictatorial regime heating up, everyone starts talking, talking, talking ... and by the time the talking stops, either matters have quietened down or they have happened."
According to Prunier, that is the crux of the problem, it is difficult for politicians or the military to intervene in a situation that has not yet evolved into a crisis.
Prunier’s solution upset a number of world renowned thought leaders and diplomats when he stated that "Genocides can only be stopped by the people directly involved - and usually that means people involved in the war that accompanies most mass killings. And if it is the government committing the genocide, the solution is to arm the rebels. It won't be clean. It will be messy but it is more likely to stop the mass killing than international intervention."
To support his argument, Prunier highlighted that the Holocaust only ended when the allies destroyed Hitler's regime, that the killing fields of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge were only stopped when the Vietnamese army moved in and that the genocide in Rwanda only ended when the Tutsi rebels overthrew the extremist Hutu regime.
Mr. Prunier’s ideas may be viewed as extremist, but when you look at the current state of affairs in Darfur, diplomacy has not worked, talking has not worked. Sanctions and other embargos have not worked. This is all due to the fact that certain countries and certain industries continue to support the Sudanese regime.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Human believes that the conflict in Darfur can end if there is a mobilization of the grassroots global family to call for a complete cessation of the mass human rights abuses. The Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur will accomplish this goal as well raising much needed funds for NGOs that working under extremely harsh conditions in the refugee camps, both in Darfur and in the neighboring countries of Chad and the Central African Republic.
What must also be achieved is the indictment, by the International Criminal Court of those nations, multinational corporations and individuals that have continuously made billions of dollars in blood money from their support of the Sudanese regime.
We also believe that all current and future conflicts in Africa can end if a percentage of the billons of dollars spend on the extraction of oil and gas can be redirected to the development of renewable energy sources.
If we continue to do nothing or say nothing about the continuing conflict in Darfur, future generations will look back on us in shame. Shame because we knew what was going on and we did nothing about it.
The International Alliance For Human Rights together with Hope for Humanity will not be shamed, we will not stay silent and we will not let the innocent men, women and children in Darfur go on suffering.
On behalf of the IAFHR and Hope for Humanity, I solemnly ask that you support the Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur. For more information on this global concert event and other related events, please contact me at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or send me an email to
dnolan@iafhr.org.With your support, we can ensure that never again, means never again.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Darfur - How many rebel groups are there?
When major conflict erupted in Darfur four years ago, there were just two major groups - since then the insurgents have splintered into a confusing array of competing factions, some of which have launched a surge of violence as disparate groups jockey for position ahead of peace talks with the Sudanese government in Libya on 27 October.
SLM/A
The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) was initially the name of a militia led by ethnic Furs which emerged from the unrest that followed a devastating famine in 1987 when an Arab alliance was established and armed by Khartoum to oppose the African farming communities of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit peoples.
At the time of the February 2003 insurrection, the SLA reconstituted itself as the Darfur Liberation Front, renaming itself in March as the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).
The SLM split along tribal lines in November 2005 after a power struggle between Minni Arkou Minnawi (an ethnic Zaghawa who controlled the military arm) and Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur (an ethnic Fur who controlled the political wing).
Minnawi faction
Mr Minnawi was the only rebel leader to sign the 2006 DPA after which he accepted a government role as special adviser to the president, triggering fears of a sell-out to Khartoum.
His group has been losing strength as fighters formerly loyal to Minnawi deserted to join other anti-Khartoum groups (among them the Greater Sudan Liberation Movement, G19, Abdel Shafi Faction and SLM-Unity)
Abdel Wahid or Al-Nur faction
Abdel Wahid al-Nur himself is now in exile in Paris and is said to have lost control of the largest group of rebels fighting under the SLM name who are instead under the control of Ahmed Abdel-Shafi, and is known either as SLM-Classic, or SLM-Shafri faction.
Mr al-Nur refused to sign the 2006 Darfur peace agreement (DPA) and is threatening not to attend the Libyan peace talks unless the United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force is deployed and can guarantee security on the ground in Darfur.
SLM-Unity faction
This faction, possibly led by Abdallah Yehya, has a broad tribal base across North Darfur and is drawn from the Group of 19 commanders who formerly cooperated with Nur until the 2006 peace talks when they split, fearing a sell-out.
SLM-Unity has been blamed for much of the recent violence, including the 29 September attack on an AU base near Haskanita, in which 10 AU soldiers were killed.
Suleiman Jamous is seen as one of the key SLM-Unity figures and was their peace negotiator - currently based in Chad.
Other SLM splinters
The situation on the ground is changing frequently but among the self-styled groups that have split from the SLM are: the Greater Sudan Liberation Movement/Army; two factions calling themselves Free Will; and another known as the National Movement for the Elimination of Marginalization.
JEM
The origins of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) are rather different, though like the SLM it too is in the process of disintegration.
The group was founded by African Darfuri Muslims loyal to Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, whose National Islamic Front (NIF) backed President Omar al-Bashir's 1989 coup against Sadeq al-Mahdi.
It was led by an intellectual, Khalil Ibrahim Muhammad, who wrote ' The Black Book: Imbalance of Power and Wealth in the Sudan' about the disproportionate numbers of Arabs in powerful positions.
He was allegedly ousted in January 2007 by Idris Azraq, as head of the Jem presidential council.
Jem has fragmented into at least five disparate groups, of which the most significant is the NMRD.
NMRD
The National Movement for Reform and Development broke away from Jem in 2004 and is led by former Jem Chief of Staff Jibril Abdel Karim Bari, known as Tek, (who once served as a colonel in the Chadian President Idriss Deby's republican guard), an ethnic Zaghawa from the Kabka clan (like his NMRD co-founders Hassan Abdullah Bargo and Mahamat Ismail Chaibo).
Tek is on the UN sanctions list for alleged war crimes.
The NMRD is said to have incorporated the splinter group led by Mohamed Saleh (which left Jem in 2005 and reportedly merged with the NMRD last year).
National Redemption Front
This was the name given to an umbrella grouping of Darfuri rebel groups opposed to the DPA and founded with Eritrean backing in mid-2006. At the time, led by Ahmad Ibrahim Diraij, it was supposed to include Jem, the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance and the G19.
Other Jem splinters Very little, other than their names, is known about the composition, leadership and numbers of the lesser Jem breakaway groups: Jem Peace Wing, Field Revolutionary Command and Popular Forces Troops.
(This information is possible thanks to the BBC)
SLM/A
The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) was initially the name of a militia led by ethnic Furs which emerged from the unrest that followed a devastating famine in 1987 when an Arab alliance was established and armed by Khartoum to oppose the African farming communities of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit peoples.
At the time of the February 2003 insurrection, the SLA reconstituted itself as the Darfur Liberation Front, renaming itself in March as the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).
The SLM split along tribal lines in November 2005 after a power struggle between Minni Arkou Minnawi (an ethnic Zaghawa who controlled the military arm) and Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur (an ethnic Fur who controlled the political wing).
Minnawi faction
Mr Minnawi was the only rebel leader to sign the 2006 DPA after which he accepted a government role as special adviser to the president, triggering fears of a sell-out to Khartoum.
His group has been losing strength as fighters formerly loyal to Minnawi deserted to join other anti-Khartoum groups (among them the Greater Sudan Liberation Movement, G19, Abdel Shafi Faction and SLM-Unity)
Abdel Wahid or Al-Nur faction
Abdel Wahid al-Nur himself is now in exile in Paris and is said to have lost control of the largest group of rebels fighting under the SLM name who are instead under the control of Ahmed Abdel-Shafi, and is known either as SLM-Classic, or SLM-Shafri faction.
Mr al-Nur refused to sign the 2006 Darfur peace agreement (DPA) and is threatening not to attend the Libyan peace talks unless the United Nations-African Union hybrid peacekeeping force is deployed and can guarantee security on the ground in Darfur.
SLM-Unity faction
This faction, possibly led by Abdallah Yehya, has a broad tribal base across North Darfur and is drawn from the Group of 19 commanders who formerly cooperated with Nur until the 2006 peace talks when they split, fearing a sell-out.
SLM-Unity has been blamed for much of the recent violence, including the 29 September attack on an AU base near Haskanita, in which 10 AU soldiers were killed.
Suleiman Jamous is seen as one of the key SLM-Unity figures and was their peace negotiator - currently based in Chad.
Other SLM splinters
The situation on the ground is changing frequently but among the self-styled groups that have split from the SLM are: the Greater Sudan Liberation Movement/Army; two factions calling themselves Free Will; and another known as the National Movement for the Elimination of Marginalization.
JEM
The origins of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) are rather different, though like the SLM it too is in the process of disintegration.
The group was founded by African Darfuri Muslims loyal to Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, whose National Islamic Front (NIF) backed President Omar al-Bashir's 1989 coup against Sadeq al-Mahdi.
It was led by an intellectual, Khalil Ibrahim Muhammad, who wrote ' The Black Book: Imbalance of Power and Wealth in the Sudan' about the disproportionate numbers of Arabs in powerful positions.
He was allegedly ousted in January 2007 by Idris Azraq, as head of the Jem presidential council.
Jem has fragmented into at least five disparate groups, of which the most significant is the NMRD.
NMRD
The National Movement for Reform and Development broke away from Jem in 2004 and is led by former Jem Chief of Staff Jibril Abdel Karim Bari, known as Tek, (who once served as a colonel in the Chadian President Idriss Deby's republican guard), an ethnic Zaghawa from the Kabka clan (like his NMRD co-founders Hassan Abdullah Bargo and Mahamat Ismail Chaibo).
Tek is on the UN sanctions list for alleged war crimes.
The NMRD is said to have incorporated the splinter group led by Mohamed Saleh (which left Jem in 2005 and reportedly merged with the NMRD last year).
National Redemption Front
This was the name given to an umbrella grouping of Darfuri rebel groups opposed to the DPA and founded with Eritrean backing in mid-2006. At the time, led by Ahmad Ibrahim Diraij, it was supposed to include Jem, the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance and the G19.
Other Jem splinters Very little, other than their names, is known about the composition, leadership and numbers of the lesser Jem breakaway groups: Jem Peace Wing, Field Revolutionary Command and Popular Forces Troops.
(This information is possible thanks to the BBC)
On Wednesday, October 10th, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon criticized the Sudanese government's use of red tape to delay the deployment of the hybrid UN-African Union force to Darfur. To date, the Sudanese government has refused to approve a list of troop-contributing countries and the UN is being prevented from obtaining land for offices and accommodation in Darfur.
Mr. Ban outlined in his criticism of Sudan that their actions were not contributing to an atmosphere conducive for the peace talks in Libya. It has also been reported that based on the current delays initiated by the Sudanese government, the deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force will now not take place until the end of summer, 2008.
A report released on October 10th stated that over a 15 year period, 1990-2005, $300b had been spent on wars in Africa. This is amount cancels out the total amount of international aid given to Africa during the same period.
The report, complied by a group of NGOs, showed that the while the number of wars in Africa has declined, spending on the current wars has increased. It is estimated that a combined total of $18b per year is spent fighting wars in Africa. The pharmaceutical, oil, diamond, gold and financial industries are the main sources of financing all wars in Africa.
In Sudan, the Sudanese government has spent billions of dollars in its ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur. The mass human rights abuses being committed in Darfur are allowed to continue because of the continued support of the multinational companies that are complicit in sponsoring the Sudanese government. China, Russia and India, to name but a few, who provide state funding for certain industrial operations in Sudan are also complicit in the attempted annihilation of the innocent ethnic black African population in Darfur.
While the actions of the international community have left a lot be desired, pertaining to its totally inadequate response to the crisis in Darfur, over the last few years greater focus has been placed by the international community on global warming and its future effects on the earth and mankind.
The Oscar winning movie "An Inconvenient Truth," made by Al Gore, won international acclaim for its approach in highlighting the current and future effects of global warming. On July 7th, this year, the "Live Earth" concert series was held in numerous cities across the world to further enhance Al Gore's message pertaining to global warming and the possible consequences of the international community's inaction.
On Monday, October 10th the High Court in London stated that the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" had at least nine scientific errors and that if the movie was to be distributed to schools in the UK it would require accompanying documentation highlighting the errors made in the movie. Some the errors include:
Mr. Ban outlined in his criticism of Sudan that their actions were not contributing to an atmosphere conducive for the peace talks in Libya. It has also been reported that based on the current delays initiated by the Sudanese government, the deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force will now not take place until the end of summer, 2008.
A report released on October 10th stated that over a 15 year period, 1990-2005, $300b had been spent on wars in Africa. This is amount cancels out the total amount of international aid given to Africa during the same period.
The report, complied by a group of NGOs, showed that the while the number of wars in Africa has declined, spending on the current wars has increased. It is estimated that a combined total of $18b per year is spent fighting wars in Africa. The pharmaceutical, oil, diamond, gold and financial industries are the main sources of financing all wars in Africa.
In Sudan, the Sudanese government has spent billions of dollars in its ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur. The mass human rights abuses being committed in Darfur are allowed to continue because of the continued support of the multinational companies that are complicit in sponsoring the Sudanese government. China, Russia and India, to name but a few, who provide state funding for certain industrial operations in Sudan are also complicit in the attempted annihilation of the innocent ethnic black African population in Darfur.
While the actions of the international community have left a lot be desired, pertaining to its totally inadequate response to the crisis in Darfur, over the last few years greater focus has been placed by the international community on global warming and its future effects on the earth and mankind.
The Oscar winning movie "An Inconvenient Truth," made by Al Gore, won international acclaim for its approach in highlighting the current and future effects of global warming. On July 7th, this year, the "Live Earth" concert series was held in numerous cities across the world to further enhance Al Gore's message pertaining to global warming and the possible consequences of the international community's inaction.
On Monday, October 10th the High Court in London stated that the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" had at least nine scientific errors and that if the movie was to be distributed to schools in the UK it would require accompanying documentation highlighting the errors made in the movie. Some the errors include:
- Mr. Gore's assertion that a sea-level rise of up to 20 feet would be caused by melting of ice in either West Antarctica or Greenland "in the near future". The High Court found that this was "distinctly alarmist" and it was common ground that if Greenland's ice melted it would release this amount of water - "but only after, and over, millennia".
- Mr. Gore's assertion that the disappearance of snow on Mount Kilimanjaro in East Africa was expressly attributable to global warming - the court heard the scientific consensus was that it cannot be established the snow recession is mainly attributable to human-induced climate change.
- Mr. Gore's reference to a new scientific study showing that, for the first time, polar bears had actually drowned "swimming long distances - up to 60 miles - to find the ice". The court said: "The only scientific study that either side before the court can find is one which indicates that four polar bears have recently been found drowned because of a storm."
So while Al Gore's movie-documentary went to great lengths to prove the catastrophic effects of global warming if we fail to do anything about it, some of the data was flawed and incomplete which begs the question, which part of "An Inconvenient Truth" was not embellished?
Darfur is happening now! There can not be an embellishment of the facts which are:
- 600,000 innocent men, women and children have been murdered or have died as a result of the crisis in Darfur
- 2.5 million innocent men, women and children are displaced in refugee camps spread throughout Darfur, Chad and Central Republic of Africa
- 4 million innocent men, women and children are on the verge of death because the international community refuses to take the most basic, but appropriate action to stop the crisis in Darfur.
- Attacks on innocent men, women and children continue to happen on a daily basis.
- Young children are raped and mutilated and some are kidnapped to be used as child soldiers.
- A mass number of deaths, on a level not seen since the Holocaust, is quickly approaching.
Darfur represents the current effects of the world's ever growing demands for natural resources that primarily include oil and gas. Darfur also represents the great lengths that various governments will go to in order to fulfill their own domestic needs.
The international community refuses to take action against third party governments that sponsor the Sudanese government. This is based on the fact that these third party governments are major players on the international political stage and their influence is required to enforce sanctions on the Sudanese government.
How long are we going to allow the international community to turn a blind eye to Darfur and allow members of the international community to continue to be complicit in the mass extermination of Darfur's native black Africa population?
It is our responsibility to stand up and take action. No one person can influence change, but one thousand or better yet, one million people can.
Sudan has long been identifed as a sponsor of global Islamic terrorism. It is a breeding and training ground for Wahhabist Muslims who are trying to spread the message of death to non believers throughout the world. The alliances that Sudan has formed with Iran and Syria predate the crisis in Darfur, but they are as strong now as ever before. Sudan must be stopped and influenced to stop by us, members of the global family, joining together to influence chage.You are invited to support
The International Alliance For Human Rights and Hope for Humanity and the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur. For further information, please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or send an email requesting information on how you can help to dnolan@iafhr.org.
Medecins Sans Frontieres withdraws from Muhajiriya, Darfur
The horror in Darfur continues amid the ever growing human suffering.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) announced today that they have withdrawn all their staff from the town of Mahajiriya in Southern Darfur due to heightened attacks from Sudanese government troops. It was reported that dozens of innocent civilians were murdered over the weekend in these planned attacks.
The evacuation of the MSF staff means that thousands of innocent civilians have been left without medical or food aid. With the region around Mahajiriya being so dangerous, it is not possible for the people that have been left behind to travel safely to other towns to seek refuge and therefore they are left to face the onslaught from the Janjaweed that are backed up by the Sudanese troops.
It has also been reported that Sudanese government troops are on the verge of carrying out similar attacks on the towns of Kornoy, Um Baru, Kutum and Tine in northern Darfur. Observers on the ground report that a strong build up of troops is occurring close to these towns and that attacks are imminent.
These current attacks by the Sudanese government and their sponsored militia, the Janjaweed, have thrown the Tripoli peace talks that are scheduled to take place later this month, into chaos. The Sudanese Liberation Front, one of the main rebel groups, has refused to participate in any talks with the government unless the attacks on innocent civilians and the remaining NGOs stop.
Both the US and UK governments have announced that they will seek to impose sanctions against those groups that refuse to participate in the Tripoli peace talks. This announcement appears to be quite ridiculous based on the fact that all the rebel groups have been calling for a more direct and firm approach to be taken by the international community against the Sudanese government to force them to stop the attacks and to withdraw all troops from their current locations.
With the withdrawal of MSF from Muhajiriya and with the imminent attack on other towns, more NGOs will feel the need to withdraw for their own security and this will lead to a further increase in deaths and the further destruction of hope for peace, which continues to evaporate on a daily basis.
The news from Darfur is not good and most importantly, the likely success of the Tripoli peace talks has diminished and hope for an early deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force has declined.
What this news tells us today is that no workable peace accord will be signed later this month, based on the continuous and horrendous acts currently being committed by the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed in Darfur.
The Senegalese government announced on Oct 8th that it would soon withdraw its troops from the current AU peacekeeping force deployed in Darfur. This is based on the murder of three of its troops last week by the Sudanese government. The withdrawal of the Senegalese troops, which is an important member of the African Union, will be a severe setback to the formation and deployment of the hybrid force.
Unless the UN, the EU and the US take a stand against the Sudanese government and its outside influencers, there will be no deployment of a UN-AU hybrid force in Darfur and if this happens, other NGOs will follow the same path that MSF has taken and most will ultimately find that the security situation in Darfur is too dangerous for a continued presence in Darfur, hence the 4 million innocent civilians in dire need of aid will quickly transfer to the ever increasing death category.
Join the International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope For Humanity in supporting the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur. For more information please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or email him at dnolan@iafhr.org.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) announced today that they have withdrawn all their staff from the town of Mahajiriya in Southern Darfur due to heightened attacks from Sudanese government troops. It was reported that dozens of innocent civilians were murdered over the weekend in these planned attacks.
The evacuation of the MSF staff means that thousands of innocent civilians have been left without medical or food aid. With the region around Mahajiriya being so dangerous, it is not possible for the people that have been left behind to travel safely to other towns to seek refuge and therefore they are left to face the onslaught from the Janjaweed that are backed up by the Sudanese troops.
It has also been reported that Sudanese government troops are on the verge of carrying out similar attacks on the towns of Kornoy, Um Baru, Kutum and Tine in northern Darfur. Observers on the ground report that a strong build up of troops is occurring close to these towns and that attacks are imminent.
These current attacks by the Sudanese government and their sponsored militia, the Janjaweed, have thrown the Tripoli peace talks that are scheduled to take place later this month, into chaos. The Sudanese Liberation Front, one of the main rebel groups, has refused to participate in any talks with the government unless the attacks on innocent civilians and the remaining NGOs stop.
Both the US and UK governments have announced that they will seek to impose sanctions against those groups that refuse to participate in the Tripoli peace talks. This announcement appears to be quite ridiculous based on the fact that all the rebel groups have been calling for a more direct and firm approach to be taken by the international community against the Sudanese government to force them to stop the attacks and to withdraw all troops from their current locations.
With the withdrawal of MSF from Muhajiriya and with the imminent attack on other towns, more NGOs will feel the need to withdraw for their own security and this will lead to a further increase in deaths and the further destruction of hope for peace, which continues to evaporate on a daily basis.
The news from Darfur is not good and most importantly, the likely success of the Tripoli peace talks has diminished and hope for an early deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force has declined.
What this news tells us today is that no workable peace accord will be signed later this month, based on the continuous and horrendous acts currently being committed by the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed in Darfur.
The Senegalese government announced on Oct 8th that it would soon withdraw its troops from the current AU peacekeeping force deployed in Darfur. This is based on the murder of three of its troops last week by the Sudanese government. The withdrawal of the Senegalese troops, which is an important member of the African Union, will be a severe setback to the formation and deployment of the hybrid force.
Unless the UN, the EU and the US take a stand against the Sudanese government and its outside influencers, there will be no deployment of a UN-AU hybrid force in Darfur and if this happens, other NGOs will follow the same path that MSF has taken and most will ultimately find that the security situation in Darfur is too dangerous for a continued presence in Darfur, hence the 4 million innocent civilians in dire need of aid will quickly transfer to the ever increasing death category.
Join the International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope For Humanity in supporting the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur. For more information please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or email him at dnolan@iafhr.org.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Blood Money - People in Darfur Continue to Suffer
Darfur
Multinationals Continuing to Make Large Profits at the Expense of Human Life
The current situation in Darfur represents the worst humanitarian crisis facingthe world today in that:
- 600,000 thousand people are dead
- 2.5 million people are displaced and in refugee camps
- 4 million people are on the verge of death
- Thousands of women are raped
- Thousands of children are raped, some as young as four years of age
- Thousands of children are kidnapped and are now child soldiers
- The world sits silent
Imagine that during the Holocaust, the Nazi leadership decided to invest billions of dollars in renewing a section of Berlin that was bombed by the allies. The redevelopment included building villas for the leadership and their friends, shopping malls, a championship golf course and a few hotels. The idea behind the redevelopment was to show the world that things were normal in Berlin in particular and throughout Germany in general and it was the aim of the Nazis to ensure that senior Nazis, their families, their friends and some wealthy business men a place to relax and enjoy life away from their hectic schedules. Meanwhile, millions of people were being butchered to death by these very samepeople in places called Bergen-Belson, Treblinka and most horrifying, Auschwitz.
In order for the redevelopment of Berlin to continue in a timely fashion, companies from around the world were working with the Nazis to meet their deadlines and were being paid very handsomely by the Nazi killers.
In Sudan’s capital Khartoum, this exact situation is occurring today. $4 billion is being invested in the development of a new project that seeks to develop several thousand acres in downtown Khartoum. This development is called the Al-Mogran Development Project and it is taking place where the Whiteand Blue Nile Rivers meet to form the Nile. Due to the discovery of oil, the Sudanese government has a surplus of over $1 billion that has allowed it to help fund the initial stages of the Al-Mogran Development Project. Started in2004, Al-Mogran is expected to be completed in 2014.
There are numerous multinational companies hired as major contractors to ensure that the Al-Mogran Development Project is completed on time. Most of the companies are utilizing their Asian offices to take attention away from their involvement in Al-Mogran. We must contact these companies and tell them to withdraw their involvement and cooperation with the murderous Sudanese regime immediately. There are a number of other business categories that are making great profits from the blood of the innocent civilians in Darfur. These categories include the oil, gas, and investment industries. It might be assumed that the companies have blood on their hands, but unless their actions are highlighted in the international media and pressure is plied against them, they will continue to profit from a country where people are living on a day to day basis.
We all have a moral obligation to stand up and say is enough is enough, stop the death and destruction in Darfur and if we don’t, then we are just as complicit as these corporations in supporting the Sudanese government in their drive for a native black African-free Sudan. On Saturday, September 29th, the African Union (AU) force in Darfur suffered a major blow when Darfurian rebels launched a major attack against a company ofNigerian and Senegalese troops. Ten soldiers were killed, seventeen were badly injured and forty troops are missing, reportedly kidnapped. It was secretly reported that the troops were unarmed and very badly equipped which again highlights the deficiencies of the current AU force that have been so overwhelmed by the tasks set them in Darfur.
The governments of both Nigeria and Senegal have informed the AU that it is very likely that they will pull their troops from the AU force in Darfur. This has dealt a major blow to the current formation of the joint UN-AU Hybrid Force, whose deployment has been delayed again, probably until early spring, 2008. Next week the AU and the UN will meet in Ethiopia to discuss the progress in the formation of the hybrid force and then will present the final deployment plan at the scheduled peace negotiations to be held in Libya at the end of October. It has already been announced that at a great number of the rebel groups have refused to attend these negotiations, creating further problems for the success of the peace talks. There are currently “24” rebel groups in Darfur, creating a situation that continues to cause headaches at the UN.
If we look at what all this means in reference to the government of Sudan and to the innocent civilians in Darfur, well the picture is bleak. The Sudanese government is happy because the deployment of the UN-AU hybrid force continues to be delayed based on the problems that some monitors in Darfur have blamed on the government. Not only is the delayed deployment of the hybrid force bad news for the civilians in Darfur, but the withdrawal of current AU forces will speed up the rate of death for many hundreds of thousands of those in the refugee camps in Darfur. It will also leave them and the NGO’s exposed and vulnerable to attack from the Janjaweed, Sudanese troops and rebel groups. We need to get up do something about this. The International Alliance For Human Rights needs your help! We are staging The Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur that will bring the crisis to global attention. For more information, please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or respond to this email pledging your support for this global concert event. Call today!!!!
Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur - Refugees from Darfur refused entry
During the last few days, we have witnessed a few disturbing items relating to the crisis in Darfur. A number of countries have refused entry to refugees from Darfur. The reason for refusing entry primarily relates to the inabilityof already admitted refugees to “integrate” into the host country. A number ofcountries have also found it hard to verify that those seeking asylum or refugee status are actually refugees from Darfur.
On October 3rd, the Australian government announced that they are placing afreeze on the settlement of all African refugees, primarily those from Darfur, because of the trouble most had in integrating into Australian society. A lotof city and town leaders have branded the refugees from Darfur as criminals and have used such language to play into the fears of local communities to win support for their stance.
There is a national election looming in Australia and this announcement by theImmigration Minister, Kevin Andrews, has drawn widespread criticism from majoropposition parties. The current government has been criticized for playing into the minds of those xenophobic voters, which some opponents of the current administration have claimed carried the Howard administration into government during the last election.
It was reported on October 2nd, that the British Immigration Service was sending a great number of refuges from Darfur back to Sudan due to those seeking refugee status could not prove that they were refugees from Darfur, or that they warranted refugee status. The most disturbing aspect of this uncompassionate act is the fact that those refugees that were deported from the UK were put on planes and flown back to Khartoum. Upon their arrival back in Sudan all were arrested. Most were beaten to near death and some were murdered.
These are just two of the examples that highlight how much the international community does not want to bring the crisis in Darfur to their own door steps. It seems to be a continuous trend that when people need help, we tend to only want to help from an arms length.
When the Irish landed on the shores of England and America during the mass exodus from the Irish famine, they were unwelcome in both countries. When the Jews where streaming out of mainland Europe, both prior to and after the commencement of WWII, a number of allied countries refused to take Jewish refugees primarily because of their own deep rooted anti-Semitism. Due to their inability to gain refugee status, a great many Jewish men, women and children were forced to return to the port of their departure, which resulted in a great number of them being sent to the death camps.
Today we are witnessing the same deep rooted distain for those who seek refugee from death. It is not enough that we give a few dollars to buy food and medicine for those caught up in the crisis in Darfur, we need to stand up for the innocent victims that are living this nightmare of death, rape and mass human rights abuses. We need to give them refuge, we need to let them know that there is life outside Darfur and Sudan but most importantly we need to show those who are perpetrating and supporting the Sudanese government that the international family of concerned people will not remain silent, that one day they will answer for the crimes that they have committed and sponsored in Darfur. By taking this stand, we will not only show the parties responsible for the creation of the crisis in Darfur that they will be held accountable for their actions, but most importantly, we will be informing the innocent victims of Darfur that the world has heard their cries for help.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, a New York-based not for profit organization, together with Hope for Humanity ask you support the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur, to be staged in New York. For more information please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or send an emailto dnolan@iafhr.org.
On October 3rd, the Australian government announced that they are placing afreeze on the settlement of all African refugees, primarily those from Darfur, because of the trouble most had in integrating into Australian society. A lotof city and town leaders have branded the refugees from Darfur as criminals and have used such language to play into the fears of local communities to win support for their stance.
There is a national election looming in Australia and this announcement by theImmigration Minister, Kevin Andrews, has drawn widespread criticism from majoropposition parties. The current government has been criticized for playing into the minds of those xenophobic voters, which some opponents of the current administration have claimed carried the Howard administration into government during the last election.
It was reported on October 2nd, that the British Immigration Service was sending a great number of refuges from Darfur back to Sudan due to those seeking refugee status could not prove that they were refugees from Darfur, or that they warranted refugee status. The most disturbing aspect of this uncompassionate act is the fact that those refugees that were deported from the UK were put on planes and flown back to Khartoum. Upon their arrival back in Sudan all were arrested. Most were beaten to near death and some were murdered.
These are just two of the examples that highlight how much the international community does not want to bring the crisis in Darfur to their own door steps. It seems to be a continuous trend that when people need help, we tend to only want to help from an arms length.
When the Irish landed on the shores of England and America during the mass exodus from the Irish famine, they were unwelcome in both countries. When the Jews where streaming out of mainland Europe, both prior to and after the commencement of WWII, a number of allied countries refused to take Jewish refugees primarily because of their own deep rooted anti-Semitism. Due to their inability to gain refugee status, a great many Jewish men, women and children were forced to return to the port of their departure, which resulted in a great number of them being sent to the death camps.
Today we are witnessing the same deep rooted distain for those who seek refugee from death. It is not enough that we give a few dollars to buy food and medicine for those caught up in the crisis in Darfur, we need to stand up for the innocent victims that are living this nightmare of death, rape and mass human rights abuses. We need to give them refuge, we need to let them know that there is life outside Darfur and Sudan but most importantly we need to show those who are perpetrating and supporting the Sudanese government that the international family of concerned people will not remain silent, that one day they will answer for the crimes that they have committed and sponsored in Darfur. By taking this stand, we will not only show the parties responsible for the creation of the crisis in Darfur that they will be held accountable for their actions, but most importantly, we will be informing the innocent victims of Darfur that the world has heard their cries for help.
The International Alliance For Human Rights, a New York-based not for profit organization, together with Hope for Humanity ask you support the upcoming Voices of Hope Concert for Darfur, to be staged in New York. For more information please call David Nolan at 212.695.7022, ext. 315 or send an emailto dnolan@iafhr.org.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Companies still doing business in Sudan as of Spring 2007
Multinational Companies Operating in Sudan
Total SA
ISS Relationship Classification
- Equity
Summary
- Not currently active in Sudan, but has plans to restart operations soon, without regard for human rights situation in Darfur.
Details
- Total SA is a large oil company based in France. In 1980, Total acquired a 32.5% share in the rights to Block 5 in Southern Sudan, one of the largest and richest oil fields in the country, along with partners Marathon Petroleum Sudan Ltd (32.5%), Kufpec Sudan Ltd (25%) and the national company Sudapet (10%)1. Total conducted seismic surveys of the field between 1980 and 1985, but suspended its operations in Sudan in 1985 due to security concerns, before beginning drilling operations in the country2. However, Total maintained ownership of its share of the Block 5 concessions, meeting yearly with representatives of the Sudanese government in Khartoum and paying license fees to ensure their continued commitment to the contract3. With the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement in Sudan’s brutal civil war between the North and South of the country in 2004, Total began making preparations to return to the country. Complications arose, however, when the SPLM (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement) granted the oil company White Nile the rights to a portion of Block 5, and Total contested this move. Despite this ongoing dispute, Total appointed a permanent representative to Sudan in Khartoum on February 1st, 2005, and began work to rehabilitate its Bor base in block B and in the summer of that year4. Total has been somewhat responsive to the concerns of NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group concerning the effects of their operations on the human rights situation in Southern Sudan, holding a conference on sustainable development in Southern Sudan in June of 2005, but it has not addressed the Darfur.
1 Total Corporate Website – History of Total’s Prescense in Sudan, accessed 2/28/2006 at
http://www.total.com/en/group/corporate_social_responsibility/ethics_governance/ethics/history_sudan_7581.htm
2 Sudan, Oil, and Human Rights. Human Rights Watch, 2003, accessed at
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/sudan1103/27.htm#_ftn1467
3 The Khartoum-SPLM Agreement, Sudan’s Uncertain Peace. International Crisis Group, July 25th, 2005. Accessed at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3582&l=1 4Total Corporate website – as above. situation at all. Even in Total’s response to our letter of January 19th, 2006, there is not one mention of Darfur. The company is eager to restart its operations in Sudan now that the security situation in Southern Sudan is somewhat stable, and appears to be ignoring the situation in Darfur to this end. The fact that they have been responsive to human rights concerns in the past, however, makes them a good candidate for further shareholder action.
Royal Dutch Shell
ISS Relationship Classification
- Equity
Summary
- Shell is not engaged in the oil and gas exploration business in Sudan, but does operate a network of retail sites selling petroleum products throughout the country. They have ceased selling aviation fuel in Sudan due to human rights concerns, and do not appear to have plans for future expansion in the country.
Details
- Shell has been present in Sudan since 1928, although it is not engaged in oil & gas exploration in the country. It operates a network of about 45 service stations and employs about 130 people in Sudan5. In 2001, Shell faced heavy pressure from European humanitarian groups to stop selling aviation fuel to the Sudanese government, fuel that was used in government attacks on civilians in the Sudanese North-South civil war. Shell promised to stop selling aviation fuel to the Sudanese government in May of 20016, and recently sold their entire aviation fuel business in Sudan to Petronas7. The NGO Christian Aid has raised some concerns about Shell’s ownership of equity in Chinese oil firms that are involved in the oil business in Sudan. According to Christian Aid, Shell invested $430 million in Sinopec, a Chinese oil company active in Sudan in 20008. Several institutions have sold their shares of Sinopec as part of Sudan divestment programs, and a Yale report identifies the company as a ‘Major player’ in the Sudanese
o 5 November 17, 2005 Meeting with Royal Dutch Shell (RD) – Sudan Activities CalPERS Memorandum, November 17th, 2005. Accessed at http://www.calpers.ca.gov/eip-docs/about/board-calagenda/ agendas/invest/200512/item09b-03.pdf
6 List of International Companies Involved in the Sudanese Oil Industry. European Coalition on Oil in Sudan. Accessed at http://www.ecosonline.org/back/companies.html%20on%203/1/2006
7 CalPERS Memorandum, as above.
8 The Regulatory Void: EU Company Involvement in Human Rights Violations in Sudan. Christian Aid, May, 2001. http://www.christianaid.org.uk/indepth/0105suda/sudan.htm oil industry9. The CalPERS Memorandum notes that in November of 2005, Shell “indicated that they do not own equity in Chinese energy companies doing business in Sudan.” Based on this statement, they either have since sold their investment in Sinopec, or (mistakenly) do not consider Sinopec to be an energy company doing business in Sudan. It would be good to ask them about this investment specifically in future correspondence. Shell indicated at the CalPERS meeting that they have not considered selling their remaining assets in Sudan, but also did not appear to view Sudan as an area for much future expansion. From the November 17th memorandum: “Royal Dutch has been selling its assets in Sudan. The refinery business was sold in 1992. The chemicals business was sold shortly thereafter. RD’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) business was sold in 1994. The aviation fuel business was recently sold to Petronas. The question was raised to RD about the prospects of Sudan having the potential to produce oil at levels comparable to Nigeria over the next 5-10 years. RD indicated that their external sources on the subject are not providing information or data that would support that outlook.”
Novartis AG
ISS Relationship Classification
- Equity
Summary
- Novartis is a Swiss healthcare and pharmaceutical company, which according to ISS has an office in Khartoum.
Details
- In September of 2005, NYC Comptroller William Thompson sent a letter to Novartis along with several other companies (the list was based on research from CSAG), urging each to "...review its business ties to Sudan , examine any potential financial and reputational risks, and report its findings to shareholders."10. According to a report by the Novartis Foundation, Novartis helps to supply free medicines to conflict zones
9 An Analysis of Select Companies’ Operations in Sudan: A Resource for Divestment. Yale Advisory Committee on Investor Responsibility, December, 2005. Accessed at http://www.acir.yale.edu/YaleLowensteinSudanReport.pdf
10 Thompson Announces List of Companies Urged to Review Business Ties to Sudan Due to Human Rights and Terrorism Concerns. New York City Comptroller Press Office, September 7th, 2005. Accessed at http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/press/2005_releases/PR05-09-103.shtm%20on%203/1/2006 world, including Southern Sudan in 200511. Very little other information regarding Novartis’ business in Sudan was publicly available at the time of this writing. Unlike Total and Shell, Novartis does not appear to have been addressed about the human rights implications of its presence in Sudan very often, probably because the fact that it is a healthcare company. Nonetheless, it would be good to get an official response from the company regarding the nature of their business in the country.
SKF AB
ISS Relationship Classification
- Equity
Summary
- SKF is manufactures bearings, seals, and related products, and has an agreement with an independent distributor, Aziz Enterprizes, to market its products in Sudan.
Details
- According to SKF’s distributor list12, they have a distribution agreement with Aziz Enterprises, based in Khartoum. Aziz Enterprises is listed by several business directories as an importer primarily of bolts and nuts. Very little other information is available about the company, or about SKF’s operations in Sudan. A future letter to SKF and/or Aziz Enterprises should inquire about the primary customers of the imported products, and specifically, whether the Sudanese government is a large customer for these parts.
China's role in Darfur
It is the goal of the IAFHR to initiate a global campaign of divestment of the Beijing Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in September 2008. As the Chinese government is a major supporter of the Sudanese government and due to the fact that it has invested close to $10b in the development of the infrastructure of Khartoum, China is greatly complicit in the mass human rights abuses that continue to be committed in Darfur. Under no circumstances should any multinational corporation or government benefit from the mass extermination of an ethnic group and they should definitely not benefit from the rape and mutilation of women and children, some as young as four years of age. We need your help, we need your commitment and the people of Darfur need your voice.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
Posts
