Religious/human rights leaders press UN on Darfur crisis

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November 2004

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Religious/human rights leaders press UN on Darfur crisis
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Religious/human rights leaders
press UN on Darfur crisis
WASHINGTON (October 27, 2004) – The international community should step up its pressure on Sudan to bring an end to the crisis in Darfur, a delegation of religious and human rights leaders told United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan today just days before new reports indicated an alarming turn in the crisis as Sudanese troops surrounded refugee camps. Humanitarian workers have been barred from entering the camps amid fears that forced repatriation may be planned.

The United Nations envoy to Sudan has warned that Sudan's Darfur region is heading towards anarchy due to increasing violence. Some 1.6 million people have fled their homes since the conflict began.

Pro-government Janjaweed militias are accused of driving the region's black Africans from their villages, since two rebel groups began an uprising in February 2003.

The U.S. describes the attacks in Darfur as genocide.

Rockville Centre Bishop William Murphy joined Nobel Peace laureate Elie Wiesel and other leaders in calling for a clear United Nations mandate for the African Union to protect innocent civilians, and for other financial and logistical support from the international community. Murphy, who served as under-secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace in Rome from 1980 to 1987, is a member of the International Policy Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was delegated by Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, chairman of the committee, to represent the USCCB at the meeting. Following the meeting with Annan, Murphy released a statement by Bishop Ricard, who was unable to attend the meeting.

“We call upon the international community to increase its pressure on the Government in Khartoum to insure the following: saving innocent lives; allowing people to return home eventually in peace and security; protecting those languishing in camps for the internally displaced and those involved in the delivery of humanitarian relief; respecting ceasefire agreements and seeking a negotiated settlement between the Government and the rebel groups; and holding responsible those who perpetrated atrocities and crimes against humanity,” Bishop Ricard said in his statement.

Others attending the meeting with Annan included: Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid, Justice Committee, Majlis Ash-Shura of New York; Archbishop Kharjag Barsamian, Armenian Church of America; Sara Bloomfield, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; Rev. James Forbes, Riverside Church; Antonios Kireopoulos, National Council of Churches; Ruth Messinger, American Jewish World Service; Father Michael Perry, USCCB; David Rubenstein, Save Darfur Coalition.

The full text of Bishop Ricard’s statement follows:

“The death toll continues to mount in Darfur, Western Sudan, where as many as 100,000 people have died and over 2 million others have been forced to flee their homes. Local militias, armed and supported by the Government in Khartoum, continue to attack villages, kill and rape innocent civilians, and pursue a scorched earth policy leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. Those who have been forcibly displaced face the imminent threat of violence, hunger and disease in their search for a safe haven. Their aggressors, Government-sponsored militias, have been integrated into the police and army units in Darfur and dispatched to camps for the internally displaced where they perpetrate further heinous acts against the most vulnerable. “The crisis in Darfur threatens to undermine the Naivasha peace negotiations between the Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) and to fuel unrest in eastern Sudan where the Government reportedly is arming militias and deploying forces in opposition-held areas. Instability in Sudan also has exacerbated tensions with neighboring states, especially northern Uganda and Eritrea, and is threatening the stability and capacity of the Government of Chad which has opened its doors to welcome more than 200,000 refugees.

“As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops participates in a delegation of leaders meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations, we call upon the international community to increase its pressure on the Government in Khartoum to insure the following: saving innocent lives; allowing people to return home eventually in peace and security; protecting those languishing in camps for the internally displaced and those involved in the delivery of humanitarian relief; respecting ceasefire agreements and seeking a negotiated settlement between the Government and the rebel groups; and holding responsible those who perpetrated atrocities and crimes against humanity. We also urge the United Nations Security Council to provide the African Union with a clear mandate that includes the right to protect innocent civilians and that sufficient logistical and financial support be provided by the international community to ensure the achievement of this mission.

“Our faith calls us to protect human life. We believe that every person is created in the image of God. We cannot stand aside when human life is threatened.

“We call upon Catholics and all people of good will to do everything they can to help bring an end to the reign of terror confronting our brothers and sisters in Sudan.”

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