March 30th Action for Darfur

Tomorrow is the rally for Darfur in front of Chinese Embassies and Consulates at select cities around the country. Even if you cannot be there, you can take action by signing a petition - online, or on paper. Click here to visit Amnesty International's website to view the petition or download it. The atrocities in Darfur must stop.

Stop Violence Against Women and Girls

March is winding down and so is International Women's Month. But, there is still time to act and sign a petition on the International Rescue Committee's website to stop the sexual violence against women and girls all over the world. Women and girls are being raped as conflict increases in Africa and the fear of the HIV/AIDS pandemic increases as well. Some believe that having sex with a virgin will cure them of AIDS and thus countless girls in Africa, even babies, are being raped. Women and girls are among the most vulnerable in areas of conflict and war. But sexual exploitation and child prostitution is everywhere. I don't know if any of you were able to watch Anderson Cooper 360 last week, but he did some reporting on sexual exploitation of women and girls - the sex slave market, among other things from Thailand and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) as well as Cambodia. This is only one of the areas of the world where this occurs. There are numerous others and we, the public, must be aware and informed.

For more information on the situation of women around the world visit either the Human Rights Watch website, the International Rescue Committee, or the Women's Commission for Refugee and Children. Don't forget to sign the petition on IRC's website and email the petition to others to sign as well.

Take Action on Darfur Today

The crisis in Darfur continues where violations of human rights occur day after day. The international governments can do more to influence the Sudanese government and bring an end to this tragedy, and so can we. We cannot continue to ignore the cries that arise from that part of our global community. We must do our part as global citizens.

Next week is National Week of Student Action, sponsored by Amnesty International USA. Nationwide rallies have been scheduled and organized for March 30th in D.C., New York, Houston, and Los Angeles. For more information, click on NWSA Home 2007. These rallies are targeted at the Chinese embassies and consulates around the nation because China is the leading foreign investor in Sudan with an annual trade of roughly $1 billion. Not only that but China has developed oil fields in Sudan and Sudan is one of China's oil suppliers. Beyond that, China has also been a supplier of arms and equipment to the government of Sudan and the Janjawid - documented by Amnesty International. These arms and equipment have been used in the operations in Darfur. The Chinese government is in a unique position to influence the Sudanese government, not just as arms supplier but also as a key trading partner. China also abstained from voting for the UN Security Council Resolution 1706 which deployed UN Peacekeepers to the area to replace the African Union Mission. This has sent a mixed message to the Sudanese government as to the international community's commitment to find a viable security arrangement for the people of Darfur and eastern Chad. Thus China cannot be exempt from the responsibility, along with the Sudanese government and the Janjawid, of continued atrocities targeting the civilians of Sudan. More information can be found on Amnesty International's website.

The Save Darfur Coalition also has information and background on this crisis as well as actions you can take. We must act and be a voice for those who are crying out in Darfur and the surrounding countries.

Northern Uganda

For 21 years now atrocities rage on in Northern Uganda. Did you know about it? A whole culture, a whole people - the Acholi - are close to being wiped out, and not just by the LRA or the government army either. Death tolls are staggering in the camps that are supposed to be "refugee camps" to protect those Acholi that are "escaping" the atrocities committed by the LRA. Children are being kidnapped to be child soldiers, brutally traumatized by what they see. But children are also being traumatized by the lack of adequate health care and other basic needs in these camps. Suicide is taboo in the Acholi culture, but in the camps, conditions are so dire that many are contemplating it while others have carried through with it. Where is the international community in all of this? Where is the call to hold the Ugandan government accountable for the protection of their people?

Peace talks are resuming and while people are returning to their villages in northern Uganda, it is still a long way from over. There are still estimated to be about 1.2 million people in the camps and the conditions continue to be terrible. And peace is tentative for the time being. The peace needs to be sustainable and permanent.

So write to your representatives, your senators regarding these issues. There are samples of letters on the Human Rights Watch site and Amnesty International. And sign the "No Child Soldiers" Declaration on World Vision's website at:

https://www.worldvision.org/Worldvision/guest.nsf/nochild_soldiers?OpenForm&campaign=1256080&cmp=KNC-1256080