Save Darfur Coalition

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The Save Darfur Coalition (also known as Save Darfur or savedarfur.org) is a non-profit organization and advocacy group dedicated to ending the genocide in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. It is a coalition of over 160 faith-based, humanitarian, and human rights organizations designed to raise public awareness and to mobilize an effective united response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of some two million people in Darfur.

1 History
- 1.1 Founding
- 1.2 Initiatives
2 Coalition Members
- 2.1 Executive Committee
3 See also
4 Notes and references
5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Founding

The Save Darfur Coalition began on July 14, 2004 when the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and American Jewish World Service organized a Darfur Emergency Summit at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan featuring Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Elie Wiesel. Mr. Wiesel inspired the group with his impassioned remarks about the suffering being inflicted on Darfurians: "How can I hope to move people from indifference if I remain indifferent to the plight of others? I cannot stand idly by or all my endeavors will be unworthy."

All members of the Coalition are signatories to the following unity statement:

The emergency in Sudan’s western region of Darfur presents the starkest challenge to the world since the Rwanda genocide in 1994. A government-backed Arab militia known as Janjaweed has been engaging in campaigns to displace and wipe out communities of African tribal farmers.

Villages have been razed, women and girls are systematically raped and branded, men and boys murdered, and food and water supplies targeted and destroyed. Government aerial bombardments support the Janjaweed by hurling explosives as well as barrels of nails, car chassis and old appliances from planes to crush people and property. Tens of thousands have died. Well over a million people have been driven from their homes, and only in the past few weeks have humanitarian agencies gained limited access to some of the affected region.

Mukesh Kapila, the former United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said on March 19, 2004 that the violence in Darfur is “more than a conflict, it's an organized attempt to do away with one set of people.” The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has issued its first ever genocide emergency. John Prendergast of International Crisis Group warns, “We have not yet hit the apex of the crisis.”

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that 350,000 people or more could die in the coming months. Ongoing assessments by independent organizations such as Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) suggest that USAID’s estimate may be conservative. If aid is denied or unavailable, as many as a million people could perish.

Lives are hanging in the balance on a massive scale.^[1]

[edit] Initiatives

On January 12, 2006, the Coalition launched the "Million Voices for Darfur" campaign with the goal of collecting one million postcards from individuals across the country to send to President Bush urging the United States government to support a larger, stronger multinational force to protect the civilians of Darfur. The campaign concluded on June 29, 2006 with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) signing the 1,000,000th and 1,000,001st postcards.^[2]

Save Darfur coordinated a widely-successful "Save Darfur: Rally to Stop Genocide" on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 2006. The crowd of an estimated 100,000 supporters joined to call for the withdrawal of any objection to a UN peacekeeping force, better humanitarian access to refugees, adhesion to existing treaties and ceasefire agreements, and a commitment to a lasting peace agreement in the Abuja peace talks. Among the speakers were actor George Clooney, Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, Senator Barack Obama, Rwandan genocide survivor Paul Rusesabagina, Olympic Gold medalist Joey Cheek, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, and Reverend Al Sharpton. The headlining entertainment was provided by country duo Big & Rich.

The rally concluded a 21,000-mile, 22-city photo exhibit and speaking "Tour for Darfur: Eyewitness to Genocide" hosted by Capt. Steidle.

The Coalition has recently announced a second rally in New York City on September 17, 2006. "Save Darfur Now: Voices to End Genocide" will consist of a march, rally, speakers, and entertainers uniting to urge the United States and the United Nations towards the timely deployment of a robust international peacekeeping force to Darfur.