OurPledge

As Nicholas Kristof pointed out this weekend, the civil society conference “Mandate Darfur” should have been a shining moment amidst a lot of despair and political dithering. The conference, which was being organized by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, was going to bring together Sudanese civil society leaders of all ethnic, religious, geographic, and social backgrounds. Supporters included high-level diplomats from the U.S., the EU, and the UK. And Nelson Mandela and John Kufour, among others, enthusiastically endorsed the conference as a seedling step towards peace and self-determination.

But “Mandate Darfur” is no more. Last week the organizers were forced to cancel the conference. Why? Well, here’s the official word from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation itself:

“After many months of working with Darfurian civil society to build a mandate for peace, we regret to acknowledge that the Sudanese government is obstructing the safe passage of Darfurian delegates from Sudan [to the meeting site in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia], forcing us to cancel the conference.”

We already know that the Sudanese government’s tactical and strategic impunity knows no bounds. In March, it kicked out vital humanitarian aid organizations from Darfur, and the United States responded with…words of concern.

Every injustice done to the people of Darfur demands our moral outrage and action. Right now, the Sudan advocacy movement needs to raise hell. And right now, the people of Darfur need the Obama administration to match strength with strength. Diplomatic rebuke can’t stop genocide. Only military and economic pressure can.

Take action now: Call the White House hotline at 202.456.1111 and deliver this message: “President Obama, please do all you can to impose targeted multilateral sanctions on the Sudanese government’s senior leaders.”