adhda

• 55% of the African populations are youths
• Broadens the representativeness of existing decision-making.
  Youth make up a significant proportion of the community. They can bring distinctive perspectives and experiences to the table. They also bring innovative ideas and dynamic perspectives about the future.
• Helps the organization make better decisions.
  A broader range of views and experience can strengthen the decision-making process.
• Encourage the organization improve its services for youth especially in Africa and to advocate the adoption and ratification by African states the Pan African Youth Charter. This constitutes an important mechanism for the development of youths in Africa.
  Better understanding the concerns of youth allows organizations to better serve this population group.
• Creating a youth-friendly organization inspires the confidence of young users and stakeholders and enhances the reputation and credibility of the organization.
• Help attract other youth as volunteers. Involving youth fully in decision-making and encourage them to assume their role and responsibilities in the society.

Press release

Contact Dismas Nkunda at +1 646 204 8743

(NEW YORK, September 21, 2007) As diplomats from 26 countries meet today in New York, the Darfur Consortium is asking this enlarged contact group on Sudan to pursue a holistic approach to the Darfur crisis by addressing issues of the protection of civilians, continuing the political process and remaining seized of the questions of accountability for crimes committed in the course of the conflict.

“The enlarged contact group should send a strong message to the government of Sudan, rebel movements, militias and the people of Darfur that they will keep the pressure on until the situation on the ground improves,” said Dismas Nkunda, Spokesperson for Darfur Consortium.

Recent diplomatic moves, including the passage of Security Council Resolution 1769, paving the way for deployment of a UN-AU hybrid force (UNAMID) and the announcement that peace talks will be resumed in Tripoli on October 27, are steps in the right direction.

“Unfortunately, these positive developments in New York and Addis Ababa have not translated into any improvement of the situation on the ground in Darfur. Indeed, not only have the Janjaweed militias continued to attack and rape civilians, but new violence has sprung up among Arab tribes causing further insecurity and displacement,” said Salih Mahmoud Osman, an opposition member of Parliament in Sudan.  

The Darfur Consortium urges the contact group to ensure expeditious deployment of UNAMID in Darfur. In particular, the members of the enlarged contact group who can contribute to UNAMID's medium utility helicopter units or the medium heavy transportation companies should do so promptly.

Given the fact that UNAMID is unlikely to be in a position to deploy until next year, the contact group should consider taking urgent measures to improve the security situation for civilians in Darfur. These might include continuing political pressure on the parties to ensure an effective ceasefire and reinforcing AMIS in the short term.

The contact group should also consider what types of financial and political support it can offer to the next phase of political negotiations in Libya in order to ensure that they constitute a genuine and effective political process.

The Darfur Consortium equally asks the contact group to keep the question of justice and accountability on their agenda. “Justice and accountability have become an orphaned child in the whole Darfur debate,” Nkunda said. “Yet questions of justice and accountability are, very integral in the resolution of the crisis and should not be swept under the carpet,” he added.

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The Darfur Consortium is a coalition of more than 50 African and international non-governmental organizations committed to working collaboratively for a just and sustainable peace in Darfur. 

Global Day for Darfur IV – Joint Policy Statement

September 17 marks the anniversaries of two important civil society and governmental initiatives to  improve the international community’s response to  violent conflicts such as the tragedy that is currently unfolding in Darfur – the first Global Day for Darfur and the UN’s adoptions of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine.  Despite those and subsequent efforts, however, the situation in Darfur remains dire, with hundreds of thousand additionally displaced, and untold numbers killed.  Efforts to limit the suffering through the provision of humanitarian aid are under increasing strain due to violence and rampant harassment, while efforts to advance a just and inclusive peace process have repeatedly been stalled due to violence.  Four million people are now affected by the crisis, which has spread from Sudan into Chad and the Central African Republic.  And yet international governmental efforts to end the conflict have fallen far short of what is necessary to provide peace and protection to the people of Darfur, failing the ideals enshrined in the Responsibility to Protect and reiterated in countless speeches by world leaders.

In an attempt to move beyond words and into action, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1769 on July 31, authorizing a hybrid United Nations – African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.  While these sentiments are certainly welcome, the past year witnessed several failed UN resolutions and ceasefire agreements.  For the first time in history, the international community which comprises the UN failed to deploy a peacekeeping force authorized by the Security Council – the force intended for Darfur authorized last August 31 in Resolution 1706.  The international community’s failures which led to the collapse of 1706, and there were many, can be traced in large part to the lack of a coordinated, multilateral approach to its implementation.  It is painfully clear that a much greater effort will be required of all relevant actors – including nations large and small as well as international organizations such as the UN and AU – in order to give Resolution 1769 a real chance to succeed where 1706 has so recently and historically failed.  The full and swift deployment of UNAMID will help protect civilians, and help lend strength to the latest round of peace talks begun recently in Arusha, Tanzania. 

In order to help ensure the achievement of the twin goals of peace and protection for the people of Darfur, [Nation] and the international community must take the following actions:

Substantively Contribute to the Deployment of UNAMID

In order to fully and swiftly implement Resolution 1769 and thereby help realize the twin goals of peace and protection, the United Nations, African Union, European Union, Arab League, and UN member states – with a special focus on members of the Security Council and the Government of Sudan – must all do their part.  Put simply, all nations and relevant international organizations must contribute what they can to help end the crisis in Darfur. 

Within the context of their capacities, each nation and international organization should contribute troops, police, funding, equipment, logistical support, diplomatic and if necessary economic pressure, and in the case of Sudan full cooperation and facilitation.  Additionally, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Chairman of the African Union must ensure that any and all bureaucratic delays to deployment are eliminated if possible and minimized if not.  It is also imperative that nations honor prior unfulfilled financial commitments to the current African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to ensure its continued operation until such time as it is folded into the UNAMID command and payment structure. 

The responsibility of implementing Resolution 1769 authorizing the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping mission to Darfur falls on all nations and international organizations, with special leadership necessary from the UN and AU themselves, and with the full cooperation of the Sudanese government.  If the Sudanese government should choose to renege on its commitments, as it has done repeatedly in the past, the international community must be prepared to use all necessary diplomatic and economic leverage – including targeted multilateral sanctions – to punish Sudanese obstruction.  The UN Secretary-General and Security Council  must also ensure that UNAMID’s mandate to proactively protect civilians is being strongly interpreted and broadly enforced through consistent monitoring of and reporting on the steps being taken by the AU-UN Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada, Force Commander Martin Agwai, and their deputies.  If it is found that the UNAMID’s mandate is not being effectively pursued, the Secretary-General and Security Council should take appropriate steps as necessary to ensure the proactive protection of civilians.

[COUNTRY SPECIFIC ASKS]

Demand an Immediate Cessation of Hostilities

The full and swift deployment of the UNAMID force is crucial to increasing security for civilians and humanitarian aid workers over time, but the promise of much-needed peacekeepers tomorrow will not reduce the violence today.  All parties to the conflict must therefore use this opportunity to respect a total cessation of hostilities.  Such action would be consistent with Resolution 1769 and with past unfulfilled agreements to cease hostilities.  All nations and international organizations should contribute to achieving the critical mass of pressure necessary to convince all combatants that it is in their best interest to end their fighting and thereby help create space for the furtherance of the peace process. 

[COUNTRY SPECIFIC ASKS]

Support a Robust and Effective peace process

If there is to be a sustainable end to the violence in Darfur, there must be an effective and inclusive peace process to arrive at a final political solution to the conflict, thereby allowing IDPs and refugees to safely and voluntarily return home. The current process, jointly led by the UN and AU, offers some hope – especially insofar as it has consolidated what have been numerous and at times competing peace initiatives – but this UN-AU effort faces many obstacles as well.  The rebel factions remain largely divided, a climate of insecurity continues to be fueled both by Khartoum and by inter-faction violence, major Darfuri leaders have refused to participate in the negotiations, and the UN-AU peace process team is under-staffed and lacking robust leadership. The international community must provide diplomatic, political, and financial support to the UN-AU initiative, and insist that it include input not just from the rebel groups, but also from IDPs, local tribal leaders, Arab groups not aligned with the government, and women, as envisioned by the Darfur-Darfur dialogue.  Additionally, the international community must press important regional actors – especially Libya, Eritrea, and Chad – to play a productive role in promoting, not obstructing, the peace process. 

Messaging and Actions for the 4^th Global Day for Darfur (Sept. 16, 2007)

SLOGAN:

Don’t Look Away Now: Protect the People of Darfur

MESSAGE:

• Recently the UN Security council passed resolution 1769 which authorized the deployment of a desperately-needed peacekeeping force. 
• While this is a very welcome and important move, on the ground in Darfur nothing has changed yet.

• Attacks on civilians continue and the UN has only deployed a handful of the peacekeepers needed. 
• The government of Sudan has a long track record of reacting to international pressure and breaking its promises later when the international community is not watchfully engaged.

• The international community must watch closely and ensure that attacks on civilian’s stop and that the full peacekeeping force is deployed.

• We have reached a critical moment in Darfur – our message is don’t look away now.

ACTION:

Wearing a blindfold is designed to visually communicate the risk of the international community taking its focus off Darfur.

Individuals who have supported Darfur campaigns may think that the U.N.’s commitment to deploy peacekeeping forces is the last step before stopping the violence and bringing peace to Darfur.  However, because of both the current situation on the ground and the Sudan’s history, it is essential that the public know that looking at what is happening in Darfur now is more important than ever – watching will help ensure that troops are sent, people are protected, and the violence ends.

Blindfolds can be used in many ways to urge the international community to keep looking at Darfur – they can be worn by individuals at public demonstrations; placed on public monuments in city squares; or photo-shopped onto pictures of political symbols or leaders -- all of these applications highlight the need for the international community’s watchful engagement.