Condemning the Genocide in Sudan and Calling on the International Community to Take Immediate Action to Stop the Killing

WHEREAS, in the Darfur region of western Sudan, an estimated 30,000 innocent civilians have been brutally murdered, more than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes and have fled to neighboring Chad, and more than 1 million people have been internally displaced and are trapped in disease-ridden camps without adequate food, water, or access to even the most basic medical care; and

WHEREAS, it is estimated that as many as 350,000 more Sudanese men, women and children could die in the next few months as the rainy season makes the Darfur region inaccessible to aid workers and others; and

WHEREAS, in the Darfur region, the government of Sudan and its proxy, the Janjaweed Arab-African militia, have over the last 16 months attempted to crush a rebellion by Muslim Africans with the same vicious tactics they have used for years against Christian and animist opponents in Southern Sudan; while negotiating a peace agreement with southern rebel forces, the government and its militia have killed, raped, kidnapped, bombed, enslaved, displaced, starved and burned countless innocent civilians in Darfur; and

WHEREAS, in March 2004 the United Nations Resident Humanitarian Coordinator stated that "…[t]he violence in Darfur appears to be particularly directed at a specific group based on their ethnic identity and appears to be systemized"; and

WHEREAS, some United Nations officials have called the situation in Darfur "the world's greatest humanitarian catastrophe"; and

WHEREAS, despite a cease-fire agreed to by all parties in Darfur in April, 2004, the Sudanese government persists in denying any culpability for the growing crisis, refuses to restrain its militia and impedes humanitarian access.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP call on the United States government to take the lead in launching an international response to the crisis in Sudan. Specifically, the NAACP calls on the United States, in conjunction with the United Nations and other countries of this world, to exert pressure on the Government of Sudan to halt the killing, disarm the militia and allow full, unimpeded access for humanitarian workers and supplies. This pressure should include travel and financial sanctions, as well as a ban on the purchase of Sudanese oil effective immediately and until the situation is addressed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP call on the United States government, in conjunction with the United Nations and other countries of this world, to take the lead in humanitarian efforts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP call on the United States government, in conjunction with the United Nations and other countries of this world, to accurately declare that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan are genocide; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP call on the United States government, in conjunction with the United Nations and other countries of this world, to end the genocide in Sudan.