GI-NET Expands Its Focus Beyond Darfur
GI-NET Expands Its Focus Beyond Darfur
Darfur school children in Chadian refugee camp. Photo courtesy of StopGenocideNow.org.
We would like to thank everyone who completed our survey earlier this month. We have been processing the results and they include many great ideas on how we can improve our anti-genocide work. We are excited to incorporate a few of your suggested improvements immediately.
- Many people asked that we explore additional conflicts beyond Darfur. Below you can read about the nine "areas of concern" that we are now monitoring.
- Several members wanted to know the results of GI-NET action alerts. As you read on,you will find updates from a recent action in which you were asked to participate.
As we finish compiling the results of the survey, we will continue to incorporate your ideas and suggestions. If you have not done so already, please take a moment to complete the survey online.
Take Action Now!
Lobby for Darfur in your community, Feb. 25–29
Join Amnesty International's latest Darfur campaign to pressure the U.S. government to do everything it can to ensure that UN peacekeepers are deployed in Darfur immediately. Sign up to lead a delegation of local citizens to meet with your members of Congress in their district offices. Amnesty International will provide you with hands-on, interactive training to ensure that you are effective and comfortable throughout the process.
If you don't have time to lead the delegation, you can still join one in your area! Sign up today to meet with your members of Congress and lobby on behalf of the people of Darfur.
Update on i-Act trip to Darfur
Many of you have been following the progress of Stop Genocide Now team members, Gabriel, Katie-Jay, Joshua and Jeremiah, as they traveled through the refugee camps in Darfur and Eastern Chad, providing live video web-casts and daily blogs along the way.
The team was caught up in the recent violence in the Chadian capitol, N'djamena, as Chadian rebels backed by the government of Sudan, attacked the area. While Gabriel and his team have been evacuated, thousands of civilians and Darfurian refugees in Chad remain in danger.
Visit www.StopGenocideNow.org to find live reports on N'djamena from the Stop Genocide Now team.
ENOUGH policy paper
Peace in Darfur depends on peace throughout all of Sudan. Read ENOUGH's most recent policy paper on the importance of Sudan's oil-rich region of Abeyi. Then call 1-800-GENOCIDE and urge President Bush to deploy a team of US diplomats to Sudan to facilitate peace in the region.
GI-NET expands its focus to nine conflicts around the world
The Genocide Intervention Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide constituency in the United States, with the goal of stopping and preventing genocide where it occurs. In keeping with this goal, we are excited to announce that last week, our expanded website which now includes information on nine areas around the world where brutal atrocities are being committed against large numbers of civilians.
In addition to Darfur, other areas of concern include: Burma, Kenya, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Chad, Central African Republic, Iraq and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These conflicts were selected through a comparative analysis of nearly 90 armed conflicts around the world on the basis of the scale and nature of atrocities targeting civilians.
GI-NET will continue to monitor the situations in these nine areas of concern, although our advocacy focus will remain on Darfur. You can stay up-to-date on these conflicts by signing up for our free, weekly Genocide Monitor (previously the Darfur News Brief).
Last chance for your elected officials to support UN peacekeepers in Darfur
Recent developments in Darfur have highlighted the need for increased U.S. diplomacy for Darfur. Recognizing this, 49 members of Congress have signed one of two letters to President Bush asking him to encourage allies to provide needed logistics to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Darfur and to deploy a full-time diplomatic team in the region.
Thanks to your phone calls, the following representatives have signed Rep. Higgins' letter and the following senators have signed Sen. Clinton's letter:
Representatives
Sanford Bishop (GA-2), Lois Capps (CA-23), Russ Carnahan (MO-3), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-5), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Jim Cooper (TN-5), Elijah Cummings (MD-7), Danny Davis (IL-7), Peter DeFazio (OR-4), Lloyd Doggett (TX-25), Mike Doyle (PA-14), Keith Ellison (MN-5), Barney Frank (MA-4), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-7), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-23), Brian Higgins (NY-27), Maize K. Hirono (HI-2), Rush Holt (NJ-12), Mike Honda (CA-15), Dennis Kucinich (OH-10), Jim Langevin (RI-2), Barbara Lee (CA-9), Sander Levin (MI-12), John Lewis (GA-5), Dan Lipinski (IL-3), Dave Loebsack (IA-2).Stephen Lynch (MA-9), Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), Doris Matsui (CA-5), James McGovern (MA-3), George Miller (CA-7), Gwen Moore (WI-4), Jim Moran (VA-8), Jerrold Nadler (NY-8), John Olver (MA-1), Jan Schakowsky (IL-9), Allyson Schwartz (PA-13), José Serrano (NY-16), Betty Sutton (OH-13), Ellen Tauscher (CA-10), Chris Van Hollen (MD-8), Henry Waxman (CA-30), Peter Welch (VT).
Senators
Evan Bayh (IN), Tom Harkin (IA), Tim Johnson (SD), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Robert Menendez (NJ), Barbara Mikulski (MD).
If your members of Congress have not signed the letter, it's not too late! Call 1-800-GENOCIDE today and ask your senators and representative to sign their respective letters by February 7.
Thanks for all you do to help end genocide!
—Jess, Colin and the GI-NET team