09/12/2006

"The tragedy in Darfur has reached a critical moment," announced UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the UN Security Council this afternoon. In a moving speech, Annan described the latest dire reports from the troubled Darfur region of Sudan and condemned the recent escalation in violence. He also repeated his call for the Government of Sudan to accept a United Nations peacekeeping force to help bring peace.

“This is a perilous moment for the people of Darfur. But it is also a decisive moment for the Council itself,” Annan told Security Council members. “For more than two years, you have been working to stem the fighting and improve the situation in Darfur. Yet once again we find ourselves on the brink of a new calamity. The current situation cannot be sustained. It is time to act.”

Three years of fighting in Darfur have destroyed hundreds of villages, displaced 2.2 million people and led to more than 400,000 deaths. The U.S. government has called the conflict genocide. The situation has worsened considerably since the signing in May of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) between the Government and one of the three major rebel groups in the region. The Government of Sudan has refused to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur, saying that it can use its own forces to restore stability to the region – a clear case of the fox guarding the henhouse. Indeed, the Government has recently used thousands of its own troops to launch a new offensive in North Darfur, including aerial bombing, which has displaced even more civilians.

The fighting has made it harder for humanitarian agencies to provide much-needed food, shelter and other assistance to the people of Darfur. Twelve aid workers have lost their lives in the last two months alone -- more than in the previous two years.

On Sunday, September 17, you can heed Kofi Annan’s call to action. Join the “Voices to Stop Genocide” rally in the East Meadow of New York City’s Central Park and help demonstrate a global commitment to protecting the people of Darfur. This event is timed to coincide with the opening of the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations, who needs to hear that in order to stop the genocide, a United Nations peacekeeping force must be immediately deployed to the Darfur region.

Read Kofi Annan’s speech.

Learn more about the Voices to Stop Genocide rally in New York.