President Obama's Immediate Sudan Challenge
One of the issues that will demand United States President Barack Obama's immediate attention is the widely expected issuance of an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity in Darfur and the possibility that President Bashir's response to such a warrant will greatly exacerbate the crisis in that war-torn country.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is likely to issue an arrest warrant for President Bashir next month, and President Obama must respond firmly to Sudan's threats to escalate its violent campaign against civilians and humanitarian workers. At the same time, the Obama - Biden administration must maintain an unyielding focus on two strategic goals: brokering a peace deal for the Darfur region of Sudan, and implementing the existing Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan's North-South war.
WATCH a webcast about President Obama's Immediate Sudan Challenge with policy experts from the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress and from the Save Darfur Coalition.
In a letter to President Barack Obama released today - the second in a series of letters to President Obama spelling out a practical roadmap to end the crisis in Sudan - Enough Project Co-Chair John Prendergast, Enough Project Executive Director John Norris, and Save Darfur Coalition President Jerry Fowler address President Obama's immediate policy imperatives in Sudan.
"President Obama should not wait until the arrest warrants are issued, but rather task a senior official to immediately inform the Sudanese regime of the dire consequences that would result from any disruption of humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts. Beyond that, President Obama should lead an international peace surge for Sudan, aimed at ending the war in Darfur and implementing the North-South peace deal," said Mr. Prendergast.
READ the letter. READ the activist brief.
"The Obama administration's reaction to an arrest warrant against President Bashir will be seen as a key indicator not only of its approach to Sudan, but of its approach to international justice, the responsibility to protect, and efforts to diplomatically resolve major conflicts," said Mr. Norris. "Sudan is an important test, and it is vital to get it right from the beginning of the administration."
Source: www.enoughproject.org
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Read the first letter in a series of recommendations to the new Obama-Biden administration
Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama: A Peace Surge for Sudan
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