National Leaders Release Open Letter to President Bush on Darfur, Urging Specific Actions to Stop Ongoing Genocide;

Open Letter Signed by Scores of National Advocacy Groups, Members of Congress, Interfaith Leaders & Women's, Youth & Labor Organizations

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 (Washington, DC) - Africa Action this morning hosted a media briefing, along with other national advocacy groups, to demand that President Bush take specific steps to stop the genocide in

Darfur. The groups released an Open Letter to the President on Darfur, signed by 80 prominent national organizations and leadership figures, representing millions of Americans. The letter lays out the most important immediate steps that leading advocacy groups and leadership figures from across the U.S. believe the Bush Administration must take to stop the genocide & protect the people in Darfur.

At this morning's briefing, heads of leading advocacy organizations spoke about the urgency of the situation in Darfur and the necessary U.S. and international response. Salih Booker, Executive Director of Africa Action, said, "The President of the U.S. has recognized that genocide is occurring, but apparently there are more pressing matters requiring his attention. We must ask, what could possibly be more pressing than genocide? Unless there is an immediate international intervention in Darfur, up to a million people may be dead by the end ofthis year."

The Open Letter to the President on Darfur asserts the need for an urgent international intervention to support the African Union's mission in Darfur, in order to: (1) stop the killing and provide security for millions of internally displaced people (IDPs); (2) facilitate the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance; (3) enforce the cease fire and provide a stable environment for meaningful peace talks to proceed; and (4) facilitate the voluntary return of IDPs to their land and the reconstruction of their homes by providing a secure environment.

The letter calls on the Bush Administration to (1) work through the United Nations (UN) to achieve a stronger civilian protection mandate for the African Union mission and for a broader international force, and(2) encourage the UN to quickly approve and assemble a robust international force to integrate or co-deploy with the African Union and reinforce its efforts.

The original signatories of the Open Letter to the President on Darfur are: Africa Action, American Jewish World Service, Coalition for International Justice, Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Foreign Policy in Focus, Genocide Intervention Fund, Physicians for Human Rights, Save Darfur Coalition, TransAfrica Forum and Professor Eric Reeves.

Some of the prominent additional signatories to the letter include Members of Congress, the NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the General Secretaries of the All Africa Conference of Churches and the National Council of Churches (USA), as well as interfaith & labor leaders, heads of women's groups and advocacy organizations & other leadership figures from across the U.S. The letter and full list of signatories are below:

OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT ON THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR

Released May 24, 2005

Dear President Bush,
In September 2004, your Administration rightfully recognized that the crisis in Darfur constitutes genocide. Yet the U.S. has failed to respond to this genocide with the urgency that is required. As the death toll in Darfur continues to mount, it is clear that nothing short of international intervention can protect the people of Darfur. We call on you to assert U.S. leadership to ensure such an international intervention takes place as a matter of the greatest urgency.

Up to 400,000 people have lost their lives in Darfur since the government-sponsored genocide began in 2003. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced, their livelihoods and villages destroyed by government forces and their proxy militias, and many thousands of women and girls have been raped by these forces. Recent reports confirm that the government-sponsored violence continues in Darfur, and that the security situation is deteriorating. The humanitarian crisis that forms part of the genocide is escalating, as the government of Sudan continues to obstruct humanitarian operations, creating famine conditions for millions of vulnerable people.

Mr. President, our most important priority must be providing protection to the people of Darfur. The African Union (AU) has shown important leadership, and its mission in Darfur is doing what it can on the ground in the face of growing insecurity. But the AU cannot address this crisis alone, and nor should it have to. Genocide is an international crime, a crime against humanity, and it requires an international response.

Unless there is an urgent international intervention in Darfur, up to a million people may be dead by the end of this year. An international intervention is essential to support the AU's efforts, and can achieve four critical purposes: (1) stop the killing and provide security for millions of internally displaced people (IDPs); (2) facilitate the ugent delivery of humanitarian assistance; (3) enforce the cease fire and provide a stable environment for meaningful peace talks to proceed; and (4) facilitate the voluntary return of IDPs to their land and the reconstruction of their homes by providing a secure environment.

The U.S. is to date the only government that has rightfully recognized that genocide is taking place in Darfur. We urge you to immediately take the following steps to support an urgent international intervention to stop genocide in Darfur:

First, the U.S. must assert leadership at the United Nations (UN) by circulating a resolution calling for a stronger civilian protection mandate for the African Union mission and for a broader international force under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

Second, the U.S. must encourage the UN to quickly approve and assemble a robust international force, under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, to integrate or co-deploy with the African Union and reinforce its efforts. Such a force can be assembled with troop contributions and financial & logistical support from additional countries within and outside the African continent.

Mr. President, genocide is a unique crime and it requires a unique and urgent response. We can still save thousands of lives in Darfur if we act now. We look to you to provide strong leadership to stop the genocide in Darfur by supporting an international intervention force to protect the people of Darfur as a critical first step to bringing peace and stability to this troubled region.

Original Signatories:
Salih Booker, Executive Director Africa Action
Ruth Messinger, President American Jewish World Service
Nina Bang-Jensen, Executive Director Coalition for International Justice
Elnour Adam, Director Darfur Rehabilitation Project
Emira Woods, Co-Director Foreign Policy in Focus
Mark Hanis, President Genocide Intervention Fund
Leonard Rubenstein, Executive Director Physicians for Human Rights
David Rubenstein, Coordinator Save Darfur Coalition
Eric Reeves Professor Smith College*
Bill Fletcher, Jr., President TransAfrica Forum
Additional Signatories:
Rep. Sanford D. Bishop (D-GA) Member of Congress
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) Member of Congress
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) Member of Congress
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) Member of Congress +
Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-NJ) Member of Congress
Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) Member of Congress
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) Member of Congress
Hilary Shelton, Director, Washington Bureau National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Dorothy I. Height Chair and President Emerita National Council of Negro Women
National STAND Coalition (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur)
Bishop Mvume Dandala General Secretary All Africa Conference of Churches
Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA
Rev. Dr. William Lesher Chair, Board of Trustees, Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions*
Bishop Charles E. Blake Presiding Bishop Church of God in Christ Founder and President Pan African Children's Fund
Rev. Jim Wallis Editor Sojourners Magazine
James E. Winkler, General Secretary General Board of Church and Society United Methodist Church
Suliman A. Giddo, President Darfur Peace and Development
Morton Bahr President Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO*
Edgar Romney Executive Vice-President UNITE-HERE*
Samantha Power Professor, Kennedy School of Government Harvard University*
Aram Hamparian, Executive Director Armenian National Committee of America
Mayor Roosevelt Dorn City of Inglewood, CA President National Council of Black Mayors*
Capt. Brian Steidle USMC (retired)*
Rabbi Eric Yoffie President Union for Reform Judaism
David A. Harris Executive Director The American Jewish Committee
Shelley Lindauer Executive Director Women of Reform Judaism
Rev. William G. Sinkford, President Unitarian Universalist Association
Rev. Dr. James Vigen Director for International Relations and Human Rights Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Jim Fussell Prevent Genocide International
Eve Ensler, Founder & Artistic Director V-Day
Seddik Abdel Jabbar President Western Sudan Aid Relief In The U.S.A
Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory Director, Washington Office Presbyterian Church, (USA)
Sabit Alley Area Coordinator South Sudanese Community in America
Kim Nichols Executive Director African Services Committee
Dedrick Mohammed, Executive Director Global Justice
Linda Burnham Executive Director Women of Color Resource Center
Dr. Ronald Walters Professor/Director of the African American Leadership Institute University of Maryland*
Carolyn Makinson Executive Director Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
Jehmu Greene Executive Director Rock the Vote*
Marcia Thomas Executive Director USA for Africa
Marie Lucey, OSF LCWR Associate Director for Social Mission Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Marie Dennis, Director Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Ron Stief Director, Washington Office United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
Susie Johnson, Washington Office of Public Policy, Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries
Joseph Beasley Founder and President African Ascension
Bishop Beverly J. Shamana, President General Board of Church and Society United Methodist Church
Gretchen S. Wallace, President Global Grassroots Network
Dr. Toyin Falola Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters University of Texas at Austin*
Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder & President Women's Edge Coalition
M. William Howard, Jr., DD, DHL, LLD, Pastor Bethany Baptist Church Newark, New Jersey
Amy Woolam Echeverria Director Columban Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office
Sameer Dossani Director 50 Years is Enough Network
Sister Marilyn Kesler Provincial Council Leader School Sisters of Notre Dame
Kateri Caron Director Interfaith Council
H. Eric Schockman, Ph.D President MAZON: A Jewish Response To Hunger
Daniel Sokatch, Executive Director Progressive Jewish Alliance
Norman L. Epstein Co-Chair Canadians Against Slavery & Torture in Sudan (CASTS)
David Rosenberg, Coordinator Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition
John Goott Community Relations Committee Chair Jewish Federation of Greater Houston
Rabbi David Steinberg Temple Beth Israel* Plattsburgh, NY
Rabbi H. David Teitelbaum, Executive Director Board of Rabbis of Northern California
Rev. Dr. George F. Regas Rector Emeritus, All Saints Church, Pasadena, California
Mansour Kane President Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Mauritania
Rabbi Saul J. Berman Director Edah
Rabbi Deborah Bronstein Congregation Har HaShem Boulder, CO
Rev. Francis Mercer, Executive Director, Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office
Leonard Glickman President and CEO Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
Rev. Dr. Peter A. Terpenning, Pastor, Community United Church of Christ, Boulder, CO
Marie Abrams, Chair Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Florence Johnson, Former Councilwoman East Orange, NJ
Tony Hileman, Executive Director American Humanist Association --

Yonas Mehari DVM, MSc,
School of Computational Sciences
George Mason University