August 2011 Action Item

Since early June, there has been mounting evidence that government of Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir has been waging a campaign of pervasive violence and ethnic cleansing against civilians in Sudan's South Kordofan State, especially against those belonging to the Nuba ethnic group. Mass graves have been discovered, as well as documentation of house raids, torture, and arbitrary arrest. This all is in direct violation of a 2005 peace agreement, which ended a decades-long civil war between the North and South and led to the complete independence of South Sudan this past January.

Take action to protect the innocent civilians of South Kordofan State! Write Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for the U.S. to use our influence with the Bashir government in Khartoum to end the violence, and urge her to desist normalizing relations with Sudan, until the atrocities have ceased and crimes against humanity have been addressed.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Madame Secretary Clinton:

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to stop the escalating violence against civilians in Sudan's South Kordofan State perpetrated by Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir.

Since early June, Bashir's Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and allied militias have conducted house to house raids, supported widespread looting and carried out repeated aerial bombardments throughout the state. Sudanese government forces have singled out Nuba civilians, including those who they believe are associated with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N), subjecting them to arbitrary arrest, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Bashir has cut off access to vulnerable populations, blocking the flow of information out and humanitarian aid into areas in need of food and medical supplies.

These were the same brutal tactics that Bashir used when he began the genocide in Darfur.

The US government must demand punitive action to stop the killing and hold Bashir accountable, and we must not “normalize our bilateral relations” with the Bashir government. Madame Secretary, there is nothing normal about the systematic killing of innocent people.

In addition, I hope that you will take the following steps to halt current fighting in Sudan and prevent further escalation.

-Push the UN to create a UN peacekeeping force for South Kordofan and Blue Nile states that has a human rights monitoring component and the ability to protect civilians.
-Demand humanitarian access in South Kordofan so that international experts can deliver much needed food and medical assistance.
-Expand the existing UN arms embargo on Darfur so that it covers all of Sudan.
-Expand U.S. and UN sanctions to cover officials and militia leaders implicated in the violence, as well as businesses that are linked to them.
-Demand immediate full access for an independent investigation for war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing through the International Criminal Court.

Madame Secretary, in your own words, you have called for vigilance on the part of the international community to avoid in the future the atrocities of Uganda in the 1970s and Rwanda in the 1990s. This is your opportunity to use the power and privilege of your position to lead the United States into doing just that. With this in mind, I urge you to take immediate action to address the crisis in South Kordofan.