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Press release
July 16, 2008
Darfuri Civil Society and Darfuri’s Organizations in the United States
Contact person: Motasim Adam
Tel:347 6838017 Email : [email protected]
The Darfuri Civil Society living in the Diaspora (US). Organize rally on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at front of the United Nations in New York ( 47th St and First Ave. ) to support and express our appreciation for the Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno- Ocampo’s formal request for an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the President of The Sudan Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir. Mr. Moreno- Ocampo’s unwavering commitment to seeking justice for the people of Darfur led him to this historic decision and we sincerely thank the UN Security Council for referring the case of Darfur to the ICC and providing Mr. Moreno-Moreno-Ocampo with the mandate to carry out his assigned mission.
Our people have cried out for justice for the last five years only to see the humanitarian and political crisis worsen in Darfur. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo’s request to examine the culpability of President Al Bashir for the genocide committed against our friends and families brings us some hope that the international community may finally match its rhetoric with actions that lead to real results in The Sudan. It is for this reason that we give our unequivocal support to Mr. Moreno-Ocampo’s decision which aims to provide much delayed accountability for those responsible for the destruction of the lives and livelihoods of Darfuris.
Despite the immense magnitude of suffering and unimaginable pain of our people, we have witnessed many governments and international experts condemn Mr. Moreno- Ocampo’s decision with some of the same justifications and rationales as President Al Bashir and the Government of Sudan. These criticisms ignore the Darfuri voices that uniformly approve of the ICC’s efforts and view the ICC as the only available outlet to secure justice and accountability for the crimes committed in Darfur since 2003. Therefore, we implore the UN Security Council to take no actions that would impede the work of Mr. Moreno-Ocampo and the ICC.
We further ask the UN Security Council to provide global leadership to ensure that the campaigns for “peace and justice” in Sudan move forward together. Such an effort begins with sending a message to the Government of Sudan that the international community will not tolerate any reprisals against the people of Darfur on account of the proceedings at the ICC. Equally important, we believe that no one should ask the people of Darfur to relinquish their rights to hold their perpetrators accountable in exchange for unreliable promises regarding the establishment of peace and security in Darfur. Our people have witnessed too many peace initiatives fail and too many delays in the deployment of an effective peacekeeping mission to put all of our hope in only these two domains. We understand the difficulty at hand in dealing with an authoritarian and genocidal government such as the one led by President Al Bashir. However, there are no moral or legal grounds to strip our people – who are the undisputed victims – of their legitimate rights for justice. We have full confidence that with coordinated diplomacy and pressure from the members of the UN Security Council peace, protection, and justice can all be achieved for the long-suffering people of Darfur.
We believe that Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has greatly contributed to this effort, as he was requested to do so by the UN Security Council. It is our sincere hope that the member states of the Security Council will continue to support his efforts to reveal the truth about the genocide committed in Darfur as the proceedings of the ICC will help end the culture of impunity in Darfur and Sudan and assist all Darfuris and Sudanese in their efforts to end the Darfur catastrophe and build sustainable peace.
When : Tuesday, July 22nd , 2008 – 100 pm
Where: 47th St. and First Ave. in Manhattan ( Dag Hammarskjِld Park )
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