NUBA AND SUDANESE DIASPORA RALLY AT UN FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION IN SUDAN
NUBA AND SUDANESE DIASPORA RALLY AT UN FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION IN SUDAN
As evidence of ethnic cleansing mounts, Sudanese call for civilian protection
New York, NY – Today, people from the Nuba Mountains, Abyei, Darfur and other parts of Sudan whose friends and relatives have been targeted by Sudanese armed forces will stand in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza to call attention to the unfolding genocide in the Nuba mountains, the ongoing genocide in Darfur, and the assault on free expression and justice throughout Sudan. The rally will take place from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM In front of the United Nations at East 47th St between 1st and 2nd Avenues.
Speakers will include Rt. Rev. Andudu Adam Elnail, the Anglican Bishop of Kadugli in South Kordofan and a leading human rights activist from the region; Dr. Luka Biong Deng from Kush, Inc., a Sudanese NGO working on peace and security issues in Abyei and the border regions; Rabbi Steve Gutow, President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; and Bruce Knotts, Director of the Unitarian Universalist Association United Nations Office.
They will be joined by other Sudanese and American activists from across the country, some of whom will have driven over 18 hours to bear witness to what has been happening to the marginalized peoples of Sudan.
The rally is co-sponsored by the Nuba Mountains Advocacy Group (NMAG), Nuba Mountains International Association, Darfur Peoples Association of New York (DPANY), Abyei Ngok Community Association in the U.S. Beja Congress – D.C. Chapter, New York City Coalition for Darfur (NYCD), Darfur Human Rights Organization, Blue Nile Association, and Nubia Project.
In a joint statement, the groups said, “We hope that by standing in front of the United Nations with families of the victims, the international community will finally hold to account the Sudanese government which has in the last two decades committed five genocides – one in South Sudan in the 1980s-2005; one in Nuba Mountains in the early 1990s; one in Darfur from 2003 until the present; one in Eastern Sudan from 1994-2005; and now a second time in the Nuba Mountains and Abyei. Collectively, these crimes have resulted in the displacement of over 7 million people and the deaths of nearly 3 million people, the largest state-sponsored ethnic killing since WWII.”
The rally will call for the following actions in Sudan:
· – End all attacks in Sudan that violate international humanitarian law, including deliberate attacks on civilians and indiscriminate aerial bombings; and hold all those responsible to account, regardless of rank.
· – Deployment of a neutral UN peacekeeping force in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan until a workable peaceful solution is achieved.
· – Fulfill obligations to cooperate with the ICC, including surrendering to the court those subject to ICC arrest warrants, such as President al-Bashir and imposed governor and indicted war criminal Ahmed Haroun.
· – No-Fly Zone: The immediate imposition of a No Fly Zone in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan States and in the Darfur region is needed to protect civilians from bombings.
· – Call on the Sudanese government to ensure unfettered access by UNAMID peacekeepers and humanitarian actors to all parts of Sudan including those most affected by conflict.
· – Protection of people in Nuba/Darfur/Abyei: The immediate demand is for the disarmament of the dangerous Popular Defense Force (PDF) in Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, and removal of Sudanese government militias and Janjaweed militias in Darfur.
· – End the harassment, detention and torture of journalists, human rights workers, and activists, and call for their immediate release.
· – End the Sudanese government policy of dismantling IDP camps in Darfur and of deliberately preventing food, water and medical supplies to reach civilians as a weapon of war in Darfur, S. Kordofan and all affected areas of Sudan.
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