Dear Supporters,
Sunday, July 12th marks the 10th anniversary of the second arrest warrant issued for Omar Al Bashir and Friday, July 17th, 2020 is International Justice Day. On these days, DWAG will be organizing a week-long campaign to draw attention to the impunity for crimes committed in Darfur and call on the Interim government of Sudan to take immediate action and surrender individuals wanted by the International Criminal Court, including al-Bashir, to the ICC to face trial.
We will provide you with opportunities to engage in support as we are collectively mobilizing for action and demand that those responsible for the genocide in Darfur are held accountable for their crimes.
Over the course of the week of our campaign, we will be using social media and urge our supporters to add their voices to bring global attention to our demands for action and to the attention of international leaders. We will continue to educate our supporters and partners of the ongoing injustice and call for your support to pressure the Sudanese government and international leaders to uphold their legal obligation and ensure that impunity for such serious crimes must be tolerated. For International Justice Day, we will be issuing a statement in support of the ICC and host a Facebook Live event on July 17th.
Darfur: Plagued With Violence
Since 2003, Darfur has been in a longstanding crisis under former president Omar al-Bashir’s regime. Arming Arab militia groups, the Janjaweed, to attack and ultimately exterminate indigenous Darfuris, Bashir’s genocide continued for 17 years resulted in the deaths of more than 400,000 indigenous Africans, 3 million displaced Darfuris, and the systematic rape of countless women. And while the ICC eventually issued two arrest warrants for Bashir by July 2010, he has evaded justice for 11 years and has yet to face trial under the ICC.
As of today, violence by Janjaweeds continues unabated in Darfur, including multiple attacks on civilians in Darfur this past month that prompted outrage across Darfur.
The Cost of Impunity
Last year in April, after months of protests, former President Bashir was finally ousted from government. A transitional government was formed in August, designating power to both civilian and military sectors in a power-sharing deal—a deal that placed positions of power at the hands of military officers thoroughly involved in Bashir’s genocide.
On June 3, 2019, the Rapid Support Forces committed a massacre against protesters in Khartoum, and there has been no justice for the victims. This sends the wrong signal that if Bashir can get away with murder, those responsible of the June 3rd massacre can too.
Twenty-two years ago, on July 17th, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established by a total of 120 member states, swearing to hold perpetrators of violent crimes accountable and help to ensure that the international justice system continues to live up to its promise. Its mission is to end impunity for the most heinous crimes and human rights abuses and to advance access to justice for the victims. The case of Darfur has been referred to the ICC in 2005 and remains unresolved.
The crimes of genocide, which the world has repeatedly pledged to never again let happen, is a reality in Darfur today while international leaders fail to uphold their legal and moral obligations.
A constitutional charter was also signed in early August 2019, laying the groundwork for institutional and legal reforms whilst upholding accountability for crimes committed by the Bashir regime since 1989. However, the charter does not contain an enforcement mechanism to meet the listed goals and insists on trying Bashir domestically for corruption and money laundering, instead of handing him over to the ICC. To this day, the war criminals—Bashir, Harun, and Hussein—still remain at large and must be promptly handed over to the Hague and face trial for their crimes.
Therefore, DWAG is calling on you all to join us, demanding accountability. If we can speak in one voice, we can exercise pressure on global leaders and compel them to act. Please join us and take one of or all of the following actions to support our campaign:
- Sign our letter of demands, which will be sent to the Prime Minister of Sudan
- Record a video message, supporting justice against crimes of genocide
- Send us your picture with a sign, saying “I STAND FOR JUSTICE IN DARFUR” through our social media accounts and we will post it to show solidarity with the people of Darfur
- If you are in DC area: join our vigil at the Sudanese Embassy in DC as we protest while social distancing
- Donate to support our effort to continue to fight for justice
- Follow us on Twitter and Facebook using #Respond2Darfur, #JusticeforDarfur, and #JusticeMatters
Only with our collective effort we can end genocide in Darfur and prevent future genocide by holding those responsible accountable.
Thank you for your continued support.