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AFJN to Gather at White House to Demand Protection for Darfuris |
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Amidst rising international concern over the deteriorating security
and humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan,
AFJN will join hundreds of activists on September 9th at 12pm in Lafayette Park
to
demand immediate deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force in the region.
On August 31, the U.N Security Council adopted Resolution
1706, authorizing U.N. takeover of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan.
The resolution gives UNMIS-the United Nations Mission in Sudan-authority to use all necessary means to
support the implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement and ceasefire. According to the UN resolution, the 7,000
AU troops currently in Darfur
are to be replaced with 17,300 UNMIS personnel and 3,300 civilian police. But resistance from the Sudanese
government and weak diplomatic engagement from the international community are
preventing the transition from occurring.
On the day of the resolution's adoption, Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir rejected the UN's peacekeeping offer
calling it "part of a comprehensive conspiracy for confiscating the country's
sovereignty." The AU reaffirmed its intentions to withdraw
from Darfur at the end of September and urged the Government of Sudan (GoS) to
reconsider their initial refusal.
The government, however, remains adamantly opposed to any UN takeover.
The UN adoption and subsequent GoS refusal comes at a time of
rising
international concern over the Darfur
crisis. Earlier this month, the
International Rescue Committee reported an increase in violent
attacks and sexual assaults throughout Darfur.
The GoS and faction rebel
groups are the rumored to be the aggressors in this recent wave
of
attacks, although the GoS denies this accusation.
JOIN AFJN IN THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CALL FOR PROTECTION OF
PEOPLE IN DARFUR! For details on the event, please see
Africa Action's website.
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