Save Darfur Coalition, Enough, and Genocide Intervention Network Respond to Calls for Greater Leadership from President Obama

Representatives Wolf, Payne and Smith Urge the Obama Administration to Prioritize Sudan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Representatives Frank Wolf, Donald Payne and Chris Smith held a press conference to call on President Obama to prioritize Sudan in his administration's foreign policy agenda, and ensure that there is a successful peace process in the coming months.

Save Darfur Coalition, Enough! and Genocide Intervention Network respond:

Jerry Fowler - President, Save Darfur Coalition
"With elections rapidly approaching and the atmosphere getting more and more volatile, the situation in Sudan cries out for presidential leadership. In his Nobel address, President Obama recognized that the 'world must stand together as one' in dealing with recalcitrant regimes like Sudan's. That will not happen without sustained engagement by President Obama himself. "

John Prendergast - Co-Founder, Enough Project at the Center for American Progress
"Sunday's agreements between the NCP and the SPLM are important preconditions for the referendum. However, the conditions to hold a credible election are still not in place. The U.S. should suspend its assistance for the election and make clear that we are not going to underwrite an unfree and unfair election."

Sam Bell - Executive Director, Genocide Intervention Network
"Concerned Americans are waiting for President Obama to fulfill the promises regarding Sudan made on the campaign trail. With the events of the last week, the moment is ripe for presidential leadership."

The Genocide Intervention Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide constituency in the United States, mobilizing the political will to stop genocide when it occurs. Accessible online at www.GenocideIntervention.net, GI-NET empowers individuals with tools to stop genocide through education, fundraising for civilian protection and advocacy efforts.

Mame Annan-Brown, 202-559-7409
annan-brown@genocideintervention.net

Thousands Pledge Support for Genocide Prevention

On the one year anniversary of the release of a groundbreaking report by the Genocide Prevention Task Force, 50,000 nationwide pledge to support genocide prevention

Washington, D.C. - The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Genocide Intervention Network joined together between December 1-7 to enlist thousands of Americans to pledge to prevent genocide.

During this period, people signed thousands of pledges and participated in over 100 events nationwide. Pledges made joined more than 30,000 collected through the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's new interactive installation, From Memory to Action; Meeting the Challenge of Genocide.

The campaign, the first in the history of the genocide prevention movement, went viral on social networking sites and was viewed by over 5 million on Twitter alone. Notables including Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, also made the pledge highlighting the breadth of grassroots support for genocide prevention.

The public can continue to join the effort and pledge at www.ipledge2protect.org.

"The groundswell of support across the country demonstrates that there is a substantial constituency that believes the U.S. should take meaningful action to prevent future genocides and mass atrocities," said Sam Bell, Executive Director of Genocide Intervention Network. Bell added: "The fact that thousands signed on to our pledge campaign shows that the will exists, not only to address ongoing crises like those in Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eastern Burma, but also to ensure that such crises never emerge in the first place."

"This effort is a tangible step towards realizing a key recommendation in the recently released report of the Genocide Prevention Task Force," said Michael Abramowitz, Director of the Museum's Committee on Conscience. "That report stated that, ‘The American people should build a permanent constituency for the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities,' policymakers will only make genocide prevention a priority if the American public demonstrates its enthusiastic support for it."

The Genocide Prevention Task Force released its final report, Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers, on December 8, 2008, making the case for why genocide and mass atrocities threaten core American values and national interests, and how the U.S. government can prevent these crimes in the future. The Task Force, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, was convened by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the U.S. Institute for Peace and the American Academy of Diplomacy.

The Genocide Intervention Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide constituency in the United States, mobilizing the political will to stop genocide when it occurs. Accessible online at www.GenocideIntervention.net, GI-NET empowers individuals with tools to stop genocide through education, fundraising for civilian protection and advocacy efforts.

Mame Annan-Brown, 202.483.2701
annan-brown@genocideintervention.net

Sudan Policy Experts Available For Comment Immediately Following Administration’s Sudan Policy Review Update on Capitol Hill

U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan’s First Public Hearing Since Policy Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The coming year represents a critical time for the people of Sudan, with countrywide elections scheduled for April 2010, and a referendum on the secession of southern Sudan in January 2011.

Tomorrow, U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Major General Scott Gration will testify before the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health about the Administration's current progress to meet key benchmarks that will ensure a peaceful Sudan. NGO representatives testifying will include John Prendergast, Co-founder of Enough, the anti-genocide project at the Center for American Progress

The hearing is expected to cover the situation on the ground relating to human rights and the progress of the voter registration process for the spring elections, specifically in Darfur; the development of the needed multilateral coalition that was outlined in the U.S. Sudan policy review; U.S. benchmarks to encourage Khartoum to fully implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and other topics.

Available for live comment immediately following hearing:

Sam Bell, Executive Director, Genocide Intervention Network
Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition
John Prendergast, Co-founder of Enough

WHAT: House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa: Sudan: A Review of the Administration's New Policy and A Situation Update
WHO: U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Major General Scott Gration; John Prendergast, Co-founder of Enough, the anti-genocide project at the Center for American Progress.
WHEN: Thursday, December 3, 2009, 10:00 am EST
WHERE: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

The Genocide Intervention Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide constituency in the United States, mobilizing the political will to stop genocide when it occurs. Accessible online at www.GenocideIntervention.net, GI-NET empowers individuals with tools to stop genocide through education, fundraising for civilian protection and advocacy efforts.

Mame Annan-Brown, 202-559-7409 annan-brown@genocideintervention.net

800+ STUDENTS MARCH ON CAPITOL HILL AND MAKE HISTORY

Activists participate in largest lobby day and protest in genocide prevention history, using innovative video advocacy tools

Washington, D.C. - Today, hundreds of activists will converge on Capitol Hill for the largest lobby day to prevent genocide in history. The lobby day and protest/rally caps off the last day of the Pledge2Protect conference. Convened by STAND, the student-led division of Genocide Intervention Network, and core partners the Save Darfur Coalition and Enough Project, the conference attended by close to 1000 activists featured training and education on the situations in Sudan, Burma and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The central advocacy goals of today's lobby day are support for measures aimed to enhance civilian protection in the focus areas and to push Congress to implement the recommendations of the Genocide Prevention Task Force (GPTF) report. The report is a policy blueprint for United States action to prevent and stop genocide and mass atrocities. The key recommendations include increasing flexible funding for crisis prevention and enhancing early warning capabilities.

"The Pledge2Protect attendees lobbying today demonstrate that a substantial U.S. constituency is willing to hold elected officials accountable, not only for effectively responding to ongoing atrocities, but also for meaningful action to prevent future genocides and mass atrocities," said Sam Bell, Executive Director of Genocide Intervention Network. Bell added: "If the Administration won't act, Congress can play the leading role in ensuring that the United States is doing all it can."

Jerry Fowler, the President of the Save Darfur Coalition said, "Less than a month after the Obama administration unveiled the Sudan policy review, hundreds of activists are coming to Washington to ensure that Sudan is a priority for President Obama. The advocates came from across the United States to tell President Obama that they want him to lead for peace in Sudan."

"The crucial ingredient to moving the Obama administration to greater action is citizen action, usually led by student activists. If we are going to make progress on stopping genocide, rape as a war weapon, or child soldier recruitment, it will be because enough people speak out and face these issues," said John Norris, the Executive Director of Enough Project. He added, "The lobby day is a crucial ingredient for success.

WHITE HOUSE AND SPECIAL ENVOY SCOTT GRATION TAKE NOTICE

STAND Director, Layla Amjadi and Save Darfur Coalition President Jerry Fowler are invited to the White House for a Q&A session. They will ask questions, posed by anti-genocide activists, to Special Envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, and Samantha Power, NSC Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs, This meeting will be broadcast live via streaming video, November 10 at 3:00 P.M EST. http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/engaging_on_sudan_strategy/

HISTORIC USE OF VIDEO ADVOCACY

To support the lobby day message, STAND activists are using a variety of technology tools - from webcams to mobile phones - to amplify voices from their state calling for legislative action to end genocide and mass atrocities.

Activists will screen and hand-deliver 100 personalized videos today on the Hill - one for each U.S. Senator. Through the Pledge on Camera" project, students have created 500 video messages for their Senators. Student chapters chose the best messages from their state and integrated them into the core video (below) that STAND and video advocacy organization, WITNESS, produced. [To download videos for broadcast use, visit: http://www.witness.org/standpress

"With this campaign we are seeing the 'YouTube generation' in action - and today, we're seeing them change how citizens are lobbying Congress," said Chris Michael, WITNESS Program Coordinator. "Pledge On Camera is designed to remind Congress of the moral and political imperative to ensure that genocide will not occur on their watch or in the future - to make "never again" a reality once and for all."

For more information:
Lobby Day Media Advisory: http://files.darfurgenocide.net/press/media_advisory.pdf
View Personalized Videos for Senators: http://hub.witness.org/STAND-STUDENT-VIDEOS

The Genocide Intervention Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide constituency in the United States, mobilizing the political will to stop genocide when it occurs. Accessible online at www.GenocideIntervention.net, GI-NET empowers individuals with tools to stop genocide through education, fundraising for civilian protection and advocacy efforts.

Mame Annan-Brown, 202.483.2701

annan-brown@genocideintervention.net

President Bashir Tests New Obama Policy on Sudan

WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the news that President Omar al-Bashir plans to travel to Turkey and Egypt in the coming days, President Obama faces the first test of his recently announced Sudan policy.

The Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, the Save Darfur Coalition, and the Genocide Intervention Network jointly released the following statement in reaction:

If President Obama and Secretary Clinton are unwilling to engage in personal diplomacy at the highest level to ensure that a wanted war criminal does not continue to travel with impunity to the capitals of key U.S. allies, it will send a powerful message that the administration isn't serious about implementing the Sudan strategy it just announced.

John Norris, Executive Director of the Enough Project, noted, "For Turkey, a member of NATO and an aspiring member of the European Union, to welcome President Bashir is frankly baffling. If Turkey is truly committed to the values that would make membership of the European Union possible, it should quickly make clear that President Bashir is absolutely unwelcome."

Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition, added, "President Bashir's travel is a test of the administration's resolve on Sudan. If the President and Secretary of State let it happen without objection, Khartoum will get the message that the newly stated commitment to multilateral leadership is hollow. And for Turkey, it's an opportunity to align itself with the E.U., most Latin American countries, and the emerging practice in sub-Saharan Africa: Convey to Bashir that he shouldn't come unless he wants to risk arrest upon landing."

Sam Bell, Executive Director of Genocide Intervention Network, added, "Given the depth and breadth of U.S. engagement with Egypt, it is striking that the situation in Sudan - and Bashir's status as a war criminal - don't appear t be part of the recent conversation among senior officials. How can the administration expect to effectively implement its new plan if it doesn't make Sudan a top priority?"

The Genocide Intervention Network is working to build the first permanent anti-genocide constituency in the United States, mobilizing the political will to stop genocide when it occurs. Accessible online at www.GenocideIntervention.net, GI-NET empowers individuals with tools to stop genocide through education, fundraising for civilian protection and advocacy efforts.

Mame Annan-Brown, 202.483.2701
annan-brown@genocideintervention.net