We received reports yesterday (from a WH operator) that the White House is getting a lot of calls on Darfur. Keep up the good work!
Please begin calling again this Monday, using the message below. Call the White House, between 9:00am and 5:00pm EST, at either 202-456-1111 or 1-800-GENOCIDE, or the State Department’s public comment line at 202-647-6575. Thank you for your continued advocacy!
“I’m calling to ask President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and Ambassador Rice to quickly and decisively address the escalating violence in Darfur. Omar al-Bashir has threatened and is now escalating attacks against civilians. The potential for massive loss of life is enormous. President Obama, please issue immediate warnings to Bashir and the government of Sudan specifying consequences for more attacks. Please also prepare an emergency response plan to address further violence and appoint a full-time senior-level envoy for Sudan.”
This weekend the Government of Sudan escalated its attacks on civilians. Please take the following urgent and easy action to help Darfur.
On Monday or Tuesday, 9:00am to 5:00pm EST, call the White House at either 202-456-1111 or 1-800-GENOCIDE, with this message:
“I’m calling to ask President Obama to quickly and decisively address the escalating violence in Darfur. Omar al-Bashir has threatened and is now escalating attacks against civilians. The potential for massive loss of life is enormous. President Obama, please issue immediate warnings to Bashir and the NCP specifying consequences for more attacks and prepare an emergency response plan to address further violence.”
Note: You can also leave a similar message on the State Department’s public comment line at 202-647-6575 for Secretary of State Clinton.
How long will it take for the Obama White House to change course on this country’s Darfur and Sudan policies?
Among other things, here’s what’s needed right now:
- The imposition of targeted multilateral sanctions against the Sudanese government’s top leaders.
- A strong display of public support for the ICC’s open case on Darfur.
- A comprehensive emergency response plan to prevent Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir from carrying out his threats to accelerate attacks on innocent Darfuri civlians.
For sure, the Darfur movement won’t be taking anything for granted as the new administration gets settled in. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting some new action alerts targeted at the new White House and new Congress.
Groups ask UN Global Compact to remove PetroChina as a participant unless it acts to help end genocide
Boston, MA – January 7, 2009 – Today, over 80 civil society organizations including human rights, corporate accountability, and religious groups from 25 countries, as well as government officials and actor, Mia Farrow, submitted an open letter to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in support of a formal complaint against PetroChina, a Global Compact participant. (See letter at http://investorsagainstgenocide.org/ungcandpetrochina2.) PetroChina, the publicly traded arm of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), is Sudan’s largest oil industry partner and has financial links to the regime perpetuating the six-year humanitarian crisis in Darfur which many consider to be genocide.
The UN Global Compact’s founding principles call for businesses to support and respect human rights, and its “Integrity Measures” define steps to safeguard the reputation, integrity and good efforts of the Global Compact and its participants. The complaint, which was submitted under these Integrity Measures, asks the UNGC to use its “good offices” to influence PetroChina to engage with the government of Sudan on behalf of the Darfuri people. If, after three months, there is no satisfactory resolution of the issues raised, the group requests that the Global Compact “consider PetroChina’s participation to be detrimental to the reputation and integrity of the Global Compact and remove the company from the list of participants.”
“The UNGC must take a strong stand against the abuse of its founding principles,” states Eric Cohen, Chairperson of Investors Against Genocide. “PetroChina is in violation of UNGC principles for its failure to respect human rights, its lack of due diligence in avoiding human rights violations, its continuing refusal to correct the abuses and the widespread recognition that it is a major contributor to the conflict in Darfur.”
The Government of Sudan has a well-documented history of susceptibility to economic pressure. It is highly reliant on foreign direct investment not only to pay its debts and subsidize government expenditures, but also to fund its military and finance the conflict in Darfur. The government’s financial dependence on PetroChina/CNPC creates a unique opportunity for the company to influence events in the region.
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