Sudan

Washington, 29 July 2007 (By Stephanie Ho) -- Washington's envoy to the United Nations, , says he expects the world body to agree this week on a resolution to send a combined U.N.-African Union force to the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur. VOA's Stephanie Ho has more on the story.    » read more »

Latest report on ICRC activities in the field

Despite the volatility of the security situation in Darfur and the comparative inaccessibility of civilians living in remote rural areas, the ICRC stepped up its presence in the field to assist people in advance of the onset of heavy rains in July.    » read more »

Menendez-Brownback resolution approved by Foreign Relations Committee

June 27, 2007 -- WASHINGTON – The Senate today took a major step toward officially pressuring China to act on Darfur. The Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution introduced by Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) that would officially call on China to use its “unique influence and economic leverage” with the Sudanese regime to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur.    » read more »

June 26, 2007 -- [WASHINGTON, D.C.] – United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to the President late yesterday, urging him to confront Russian President, Vladimir Putin, about Russian arms sales to the government of Sudan when Putin visits Bush in Maine on July 1st. Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council is transferring arms to the Sudanese government in violation of the UN arms embargo currently in place. Joining Durbin in sending this bipartisan letter to the White House were Senators Brownback, Feingold and Smith.    » read more »

25 June 2007 -- France is hosting a major international conference on the crisis in Darfur, Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and U.N. Secretary General Ban Kyi Moon will be there, but African leaders have refused to attend.

Until recently, France has largely ignored the crisis in Darfur. But new French President Nicolas Sarkozy and new Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner have made it one of the government's top priorities.    » read more »

Jun. 21, 2007 -- AUSTIN – Texas Governor Rick Perry today signed Senate Bill 247, which directs the state Employees Retirement System (ERS) and Teachers Retirement System (TRS) to divest financial holdings in companies doing business in Sudan.

“As one of the richest nations in the world, our country holds both tremendous power and great influence,” said Perry. “The brutal attacks on the people of Darfur are sickening. And what is worse, they are coming from the very body that should be protecting them: the Sudanese government.    » read more »

19 June 2007 -- The U.N. Human Rights Council has overcome last minute objections by China and set new rules for investigating some of the world's worst human rights offenders. The compromises agreed on do not totally satisfy all council members, but they allow the body to end its first year of existence with a mandate to continue its work as the U.N.'s principle guardian of human rights.    » read more »

19 June 2007 -- As the humanitarian crisis in Darfur continues, calls in the United States and Europe for an international boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of China’s support of Sudan are intensifying.

Human rights activists say the Sudanese government is using a militia, the janjaweed, to “exterminate” the black people of Darfur. They claim that 400, 000 people have lost their lives and more than two million have fled to refugee camps as a result of the violence.    » read more »

17 June 2007 -- A U.N. Security Council delegation visiting Sudan says the Khartoum government has agreed to the deployment of a United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur.

South African ambassador Dumisani Kumalo made the announcement Sunday following hours of talks with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum.

He says Mr. Bashir has agreed to allow the speedy deployment of around 20,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers.    » read more »

June 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on yesterday’s developments in Darfur:

“Yesterday the African Union announced that the Sudanese government had accepted the deployment of a substantial UN peacekeeping force in Darfur.”

“While welcome news, it is news we have heard before -- only to see Khartoum backtrack as soon as the world's attention has shifted. Already Sudanese officials have suggested that the new reinforcements come from African countries -- an unacceptable precondition on the UN deployment.”    » read more »

Richardson urges US to work diligently to keep pressure on Sudan

SANTA FE, NM -- Governor Bill Richardson welcomed today's announcement of an agreement for the deployment of a full United Nations/African Union hybrid peacekeeping force to Darfur, Sudan. In their announcement, the UN, AU and Sudanese government indicated that all outstanding issues had been resolved, and Sudan confirmed it would accept the full UN/AU hybrid force deployment.    » read more »

13 June 2007 -- The U.S. House of Representatives already is on record urging China to put pressure on Sudan to end bloodshed in the Darfur region. Leaders on a key foreign affairs subcommittee said they hope to use the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games as leverage. Witnesses told a panel that China could use its economic clout to convince Khartoum to bring an end to Sudan's four-year conflict. Leta Hong Fincher has more.

Democratic Party Congressman John Tierney says that China -- as the host country of the 2008 Olympics -- could be the "lynchpin" in ending the atrocities in Darfur.    » read more »

Letter Cites Need For Nevada To Help End Genocide

June 7, 2007 -- Carson City – Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons today sent a letter to Nevada’s Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) administrators requesting that PERS divest itself of funds held in companies that provide economic support to the government of Sudan in its genocide campaign against the people of Darfur.    » read more »

06 June 2007 -- The House of Representatives has approved resolutions on Iran and the situation in Darfur. One calls on the government in Tehran to release dual Iranian-American citizens it is holding, the other urges China to do more to pressure the government of Sudan to end violence in Darfur. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

The resolutions have been making their way through Congress in recent weeks, and finally made it to the House floor Tuesday for a vote.    » read more »

May 31, 2007 -- JERUSALEM – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today announced his intent to encourage other United States governors to follow Florida’s lead in Iran and Sudan divestiture. Governor Crist announced the effort in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.    » read more »