Today is our coordinated nation-wide advocacy campaign. Fellow STAND advocates are currently meeting face-to-face with our Members of Parliament in Ottawa to discuss in detail the need for Canadians to support the Sudans. Today is our opportunity as a nation to let them know that the need for continuing to fund projects in the Sudans is an important issue to their constituents. Find your local MP’s phone number here and vocalize your concern.

Not sure what to say? Check out our fact sheet here and choose the points that you feel most strongly about. Here is a sample script:

My name is _______ and I am calling from________ (region). I am calling because I strongly believe that Canada should continue funding its support to the Sudans.

Although Canada currently helps through aid and supporting the peace process, funding cuts are expected over the next month. Conflict is ongoing in the  three regions of South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur. As a result, over two million people are currently displaced due to food insecurity and conflict.

As a Canadian, I care about the Sudans and strongly believe cutting funding and aid to these regions is simply unacceptable.

Exercise your democratic rights and tell your MPs that the Sudans matter to you. Together we are capable of making the impact the Sudans so direly require!

As mentioned in our New Year’s message, STAND Canada is participating in an advocacy campaign aimed at targeting our Members of Parliament to vocalize that continued action in Sudan and South Sudan is important to Canadian citizens. With widespread funding cuts anticipated towards international engagements over the next couple of months, we have a small window of opportunity to make a huge impact on Canada’s participation in the Sudans. The first step as concerned Canadians is to participate in our  Nation-Wide Calling Campaign to be held on Wednesday February 6th, 2013 at 10am- 5pm.

Here is the three step process:

1. Read and get familiarized with our concise fact-sheet outlining the current crises in Sudan and South Sudan, alongside Canada’s current and past engagements. Have any questions? Contact Mieka Buckely-Pearson (STAND’s Operational Advocacy Director) at mbuckleypearson@standcanada.org.
   mbuckleypearson@standcanada.org.
2.  Participate in a nation-wide calling campaign on February 6th. Call your Members of Parliament (both your academic institution’s and home town’s MPs) to remind them that their constituents want Canada to maintain its involvement and continue supporting the people in Sudan and South Sudan. Tell your friends to join in - our strength is defined by our numbers.
3.  Remain persistent with the phone calls. If each of our members call their MPs 5 times, we can raise the awareness we need to make the Sudans a concern. If you are consistently led to a voice-mail system, call back in an hour – call as many times as necessary to ensure they receive the message and support our cause.

We need your help to ensure that Canada continues to consider Sudan and South Sudan priorities in our foreign policy. Join STAND members from across the nation on February 6th create a national impact. Check out our facebook event HERE. 

On July 9th, we urge you to join us for the 2012 We Want Peace Rally. The We Want Peace 2012 Toronto Rally is dedicated to putting a spotlight on the Sudans in order to bring awareness and call for civilian protection and humanitarian aid to the people of Sudan and South Sudan. 

We Want Peace 2012 is a movement created by internationally acclaimed hip hop artist, Emmanuel Jal. Emmnauel Jal, through his music and activism supports a message of peace and reconciliation born out of his experiences as a child soldier in Southern Sudan. We would like you to become a part of this very important movement for peace on July 9th 2012. As it is the anniversary of the independence of South Sudan we remember all of the innocent civilians who lost their lives over the past decades in Sudan. Not only do we remember these people, but we call for NO MORE lives to be lost. 

STAND Canada, in partnership with We Want Peace Canada, invites you to a peaceful congregation involving yoga, meditation, music, art and speakers such as former child soldier Emmanuel Jal, and representatives from STAND Canada, Alliance Against Modern Slavery, and Africa Yoga Project.

Where: Queen’s Park Toronto

When: July 9th. 12:00PM – 2:00 PM

More Information: www.wewantpeace2012.org, www.emmanueljal.com

Facebook: We Want Peace Canada

Twitter: #WWP2012 @WeWantPeace_Can

Help us shed a light on the Sudans. Looking forward to seeing you there.

–

Monica Chakravarty is Principal Director of STAND Canada.

A humanitarian catastrophe is quickly unraveling in Sudan where hundreds of thousands of lives of Nuba people are in danger. For one year the federal government has continued to carry out a mass counterinsurgency campaign in the region. Included in this campaign is a blockage of food shipments and restricted humanitarian aid. In addition to those starving to death, the government has consistently been dropping anti-personnel bombs over the region. As a result, the Nuba people not only fear death due to famine and disease but also active aerial attacks.The region of the Nuba Mountains is quickly echoing Darfur. George Clooney publicized the incidents during his visit in March yet it has not resulted in any commitment from world leaders. We cannot stand by and watch another humanitarian disaster unravel before our eyes.

Half a million people have fled their homes and the attack shows no signs of slowing down.  It is our responsibility as global citizens to take a stand. Unless basic food, water and health needs are addressed, massive casualties are inevitable. We need to address the underlying cause of the Nuba attack which means bringing justice to president Bashir’s regime under the International Criminal Court.

We urge you to join us in taking a stand about this ongoing crisis. As the situation deteriorates daily it will soon be too late. Please contact our Foreign Affairs Minister and let him know Canada’s responsibility as nation that has ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court involves pressuring fellow international leaders to bring Omar Al-Bashir and his regime to justice.

Yesterday, April 24, 2012, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir stated that Sudan had “declared war” on the South. Negotiations between the two countries have increasingly been tense since South Sudan gained independence last July. Sudan has accused the South of aiding rebel groups against Sudan, a claim which both the government in Juba and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) have denied.

The most recent clash has been over the town of Heglig, an oil-rich region and an important source of revenue for both nations. Sudanese forces regained control over the region last week as South Sudan ordered SPLM-N troops to withdraw.

The Sudanese Air Force (SAF) has bombed at least 3 locations in South Sudan. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir stated that Sudan’s “dialogue with these people will be through the gun because they only understand the language of the gun.”

Join us as we encourage the Canadian government to condemn the violence against South Sudan and pressure both nations to end hostilities and resume negotiations on issues still outstanding from South Sudanese secession. Please tell Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird that you are concerned about these acts of war against South Sudan. We, as Canadians, have an obligation to raise our voices in an effort to prevent a war between the two Sudans.

An email template is available below.

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