June 5, 2013
Dear Members of Congress:
We are writing as faith-based
groups to support the introduction by Representatives Jim McGovern, Frank Wolf,
and Michael Capuano of the “Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of
2013” and to encourage you to sign on as a co-sponsor to the legislation.
As American faith-based groups
this is an issue of both global and local concern. Many of our communities and
members are personally familiar with the ongoing crises in Sudan and South
Sudan as we maintain strong partnerships with congregations and communities in
Sudan and South Sudan, work to provide humanitarian services on the ground, and
count many Sudanese and South Sudanese among our congregations in the United
States.
The Sudan Peace, Security, and
Accountability Act of 2013 comes at a critical moment. Ten years after the
start of the genocide in Darfur attacks on civilians continue and have spread
to other parts of Sudan. With the continued displacement of over 2 million
Darfuris and UN estimates of another million people displaced or severely
affected by violence in the states of Abyei, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile, it
is essential that the Administration continue to address both the dire
consequences and root causes of the conflict.
Therefore, we urge you to
cosponsor the Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2013.
The Act seeks to address the
issues in Sudan by requiring the United States to:
- Create a strategy focused on all of Sudan;
- Demand free and unfettered access for international humanitarian aid to all parts of Sudan and take steps to mitigate the lack of such humanitarian aid;
- Promote free and transparent democratic reform in Sudan;
- Increase engagement with other stakeholders who have influence over the Sudanese government in Khartoum, such as the African Union, Arab League, and China;
- Create a broad-based sanctions regime to target governments and individuals whose support assists the Sudanese government in committing serious human rights abuses; and
- Seek more effective enforcement of existing sanctions including adequate resources and personnel and extending to all of Sudan existing sanctions regimes included in prior enacted legislation that were specific only for “Darfur”;
- Provide genuine accountability for crimes committed in Darfur and encourage other countries to expand international accountability efforts to include crimes committed in other regions of Sudan.
In the first months of 2013
alone, some 200,000 people have been displaced by violence in Darfur. In South
Kordofan and Blue Nile indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilians continues
having disrupted the crucial planting season even as the Government of Sudan
continues to use food as a weapon by denying humanitarian access to those most
affected. At the beginning of 2013, the United Nations
Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that some 900,000
Sudanese people are in need of humanitarian aid in South Kordofan and Blue Nile
and in neighboring countries where they have sought refuge, describing their
situation as bleak and urgent. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir – wanted for
war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Darfur – continues to
oversee abuses that the United Nations and other independent monitors have
documented and declared “may constitute war crimes and crimes against
humanity.”
As the overall situation in
Sudan continues to deteriorate, it is imperative that the United States
increase pressure on the government to end violence and allow unfettered access
for humanitarian aid. The Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act is
essential to creating a plan that addresses both the ongoing violence and root
causes of conflict in Sudan.
We hope that you will help to
relieve suffering and promote peace in Sudan by co-sponsoring the Sudan Peace,
Security and Accountability Act of 2013.
Sincerely,
American Friends of the
Episcopal Church of Sudan
American Jewish World
Service
American Jewish Committee
Darfur Interfaith Network
Global Ministries of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
and United Church of
Christ
Jewish Council for Public
Affairs
Jewish World Watch
Maryknoll Office for Global
Concerns
National Association of
Evangelicals
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Sojourners
Union for Reform Judaism
United Church of Christ,
Justice and Witness Ministries
United Methodist Church,
General Board of Church and Society
