Fellow Advocates,
Since last month, the allegations of human rights abuses in South Kordofan have only increased. Human Rights Watch has reported that tens of thousands of civilians are in grave danger. With UN peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies forced from the region and no international presence to report on what is happening, a recently leaked UN report indicates that mass killings are taking place.
Despite these indications of ethnic cleansing, our government has remained relatively silent about the current situation in Sudan. Though Minister Oda recently reiterated Canada’s support for South Sudan, the near-daily bombings in South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions of Sudan have remained unacknowledged by our members of parliament.
Fortunately, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade contains a task force dedicated solely to Canada’s pursuit of sustainable peace throughout the Sudans. The Sudan Task force focuses on diplomacy, aid, and security in both Sudan and South Sudan. Given the urgency of the situation in the region, STAND Canada has written a letter expressing our concern to the Director of the Sudan Task Force, Rachel Bedlington. Please sign to show your support to this letter. Every signature conveys the weight of our concern for the people of Sudan. Please sign below today.
In solidarity,
Elham Bidgoli
Principal Director
STAND Canada
Dear Ms. Rachel Bedlington,
My name is Lukas Kujawa and I am the Policy Director for STAND Canada, the country’s largest youth led genocide prevention organization. As you have become the Director of the Sudan Task Force, I would like to take a moment of your time and share our organization’s deep concern about what is taking place in the border regions of Abyei, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile.
As I am sure you are aware, for weeks now, the Khartoum government has been launching a military campaign in the region against what they claim are rebel movements aligned with the South, who are set upon to destabilize the North. Although a tenuous and imperfect cease-fire has been reached in Abyei, in other parts of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile region, fighting continues on a daily basis. Reports indicate that over 170, 000 people have already fled the violence.
The most alarming part about these developments is that Northern attacks seem to be aimed particularly at one ethnic group, the Nubian people. Reports from observers on the ground suggest that ethnic cleansing is taking place. UN peacekeepers, humanitarian agencies and western observers have been forced from the region and a recently leaked UN report indicates that “egregious” war crimes and mass killings are taking place. Even our organization has been receiving e-mails from individual humanitarian workers on the ground, asking us to approach our government to help shed light on the seriousness of the situation.
In sum, I am writing this letter not only to highlight the grave situation in the border regions, but in hopes that the Sudan Task Force will persuade the Canadian government to take more public and concrete action to stop the violence in Sudan. Despite a few public declarations by the Foreign Minister, we as an organization feel that the Canadian government is not putting enough pressure on the Khartoum government and is certainly not raising enough international attention at the atrocities that are occurring.
If ethnic cleansing is taking place, which we both know can only be established after the fact – if at all, then we will be left standing silent on the sidelines allowing it to occur. As espoused in the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine, Canada and the international community have the responsibility to act if a state manifestly fails to protect its own citizens. To date however, no nation has taken the lead as enshrined in R2P, and it is our hope that your office can implore the Canadian government to take the lead internationally as the threat of genocide looms.
With Great Concern,
Lukas Kujawa
Policy Director
Stand Canada
STAND Canada
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