Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad; and more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.

What can we do? E-mail or write to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Mackay, and your MP. Tell them you want Canada to use its international influence to Save Darfur. Below you will find a template letter that you can copy and paste, edit and send. Make your voice heard, make a difference.

 

(MP's NAME HERE), I am writing to urge the government of Canada to use its international influence to save the people of the Darfur region of Sudan, where genocide has been underway since 2003. It is currently estimated that 400,000 people have died, 6,000 more continue to die every month, and 2.5 million have been displaced. The Janjaweed militias burn and bomb villages, systematically rape women and young girls, abduct children and destroy food and water supplies. Since the Khartoum regime is complicit with the militias, it cannot be relied upon to protect the people of Darfur. The crisis is currently spilling over into Chad. Therefore, Canada must use its international influence towards: 1. Urging the UN Security Council to authorize a transition of the African Union (AU) forces to a UN mission with a clear mandate to protect itself and civilians by force and to disband and disarm Janjaweed forces. 2. Putting sufficient strength into such a mission: at least 20,000 troops, with capabilities that only nations with significant military assets and mobility possess. 3. Empowering this mission to assist the International Criminal Court's investigations and arrest of individuals indicted for crimes against humanity and war crimes. 4. In the face of resistance by the Khartoum government, pressuring the Security Council to enforce current and additional sanctions until Khartoum assents. 5. Enforcing the Security Council ban on offensive military flights (which Khartoum has employed against civilian targets in Darfur). These actions are consistent with the Responsibility to Protect doctrine, a Canadian initiative for the UN, that mandates the international community to protect innocent civilians from extreme harm when a sovereign nation is unable or unwilling to do so. They are also consistent with Senator Roméo Dallaire's imperative to prevent a repeat of the Rwandan genocide. Please ensure that Canada takes leadership to persuade the international community to act without any further delay. Sincerely, (YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS HERE)