The Obama Administration Must Change Policy on Sudan Now

Act of War by Sudan Requires Change Of Course For Obama Administration’s Sudan Policy

Action Not Words is Needed Now

(Washington, DC) – United to End Genocide President Tom Andrews released the following statement today condemning Omar al-Bashir’s attacks on civilians in South Sudan and calling on the United States to hold Bashir and other perpetrators responsible for their crimes:


“Omar al-Bashir has driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in the last six months, and now he is attacking these same men, women and children in the South Sudan villages where they have sought refuge. These attacks are not only an escalation of Bashir’s brutality against civilians, they are an act of war against a sovereign nation whose independence the United States hailed and celebrated only four months ago. What more evidence does Secretary Clinton and the Obama administration need that its Sudan policy has failed and needs to be fundamentally changed? The United States needs to be demanding accountability not offering more accommodation in light of these latest atrocities. Words are simply not enough.


“The Bashir regime’s actions – terrorizing and killing civilians, bombing refugee areas and signaling its willingness to go to war with South Sudan – must be met with action by the Obama Administration, not its current tepid policy of holding out normalization as a reward for Sudan’s good behavior.


“The Obama Administration must immediately impose strong sanctions on Bashir and other leaders responsible for attacks against civilians, and play a leadership role to forge UN Security Council action including sanctions, the deployment of a civilian protection force, an arms embargo for all of Sudan and an investigation into the atrocities still being committed in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.”


Background:

On Tuesday, the Sudanese military bombed the town of Gaffa in South Sudan where approximately 400 civilians from Blue Nile had taken refuge. Two days later, Bashir’s forces bombed Yida, a refugee camp in South Sudan where over 15,000 civilians from South Kordofan and Blue Nile have fled. Today, according to the South Sudan army, Bashir’s forces attacked a military base in the South killing at least 18 and wounding another 73. This week’s attacks are the first military assaults on South Sudan since its independence and represent a serious breach of international law and could lead to a renewal of conflict. Since the beginning of the year, Bashir’s regime have forced over half a million civilians to flee their homes in Darfur, South Kordofan, Abyei and Blue Nile.



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The Save Darfur Coalition and Genocide Intervention Network are now United to End Genocide. The organization remains committed to its work to end the crisis in Darfur and bring peace to all of Sudan as well as to end violence in other areas of mass atrocities. The merger creates the world’s largest anti-genocide activist organization, with a membership base of hundreds of thousands of committed activists, an unparalleled nationwide student movement, more than 190 faith-based, advocacy and human rights partner organizations, and a network of institutional investors collectively representing more than $3 trillion in assets under management.

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