Call 1-800-GENOCIDE (1-800-436-6243) and say: “President Obama, concerted U.S. and multilateral pressure is needed to bring real progress toward peace in Sudan. I urge you to impose targeted multilateral sanctions against the Government of Sudan’s senior leaders now.”
The Obama administration’s new Sudan strategy document includes the following promise:
“The United States will work to strengthen the UNAMID [the UN peacekeeping force in Darfur] by…strengthening multilateral resolve to impose consequences on actors obstructing UNAMID operations, access, and performance.”
Already, the Sudanese government is putting this promise to the test. From a UN release earlier this week:
“The joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today voiced grave concern over a significant surge in the number of Government and rebel troops in the war-ravaged western region of Sudan.”
Any military build-up in Darfur should be considered a direct obstruction of UNAMID’s operations, since it prevents UNAMID from protecting civilians and securing areas for the delivery of vital humanitarian aid.
Such escalation is yet another act of impunity. The new Sudan policy document promises consequences for continued Sudanese government “backsliding,” but it’s clear that the time to impose consequences is now.
