Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Today's Action Alert



Today's Action comes from Amnesty International:

No one has been brought to justice for the crimes against humanity being committed in Sudan. We need to focus the attention of world leaders on this problem.

Here's a sample letter you can send:

*****************

Dear Minister,

I'm writing to you to express my concern about the continuing failure to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan. Impunity has fuelled insecurity in Sudan for more than 21 years.

I therefore urge your government, as a member of the UN Security Council, to:

- Ensure the Sudanese government implements all human rights it has committed to respect under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement;

- Ensure a comprehensive reform of Sudanese criminal law and the justice system in conformity with international human rights and humanitarian law. Legal provisions that give immunity to the security forces must be abolished;

- In view of Sudan's lack of compliance with previous Security Council's resolutions and the failure of the Sudanese legal system to bring to justice those responsible for serious crimes under international law, the Security Council should refer the situation in Sudan, including Darfur, to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, according to Article 13 (b) of the Rome Statute;

- Give full consideration to the findings and recommendations of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, created under Security Council Resolution 1564 and mandated to investigate reports of crimes committed by all parties and to identify the perpetrators of such crimes, with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held individually criminally responsible.

Yours sincerely,

***********

Send your letter to:



Secretary of State
US Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Fax: 202.647.1811
You can also contact the Department of State using this web form

Or send your letter to:


Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
United Kingdom

Fax: +44 20 7008 2144

Thanks for taking today's action!