Darfur, Sudanese Diaspora Leaders Worldwide Issue Letter of Support for Bashir Arrest Warrant, Accountability in Darfur

Darfur, Sudanese Diaspora Leaders Worldwide Issue Letter of Support for Bashir Arrest Warrant, Accountability in Darfur

In letter leaders commend U.N. Security Council, ICC support for pursuit of justice in Darfur

WASHINGTON – More than 100 Darfuri and Sudanese diaspora leaders worldwide today issued a letter of support for the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir, issued today in The Hague. Signatories commended U.N. Security Council and the International Criminal Court's support for the pursuit of justice in Darfur.

To arrange interviews with members of the Darfuri diaspora in the United States, please contact press@savedarfur.org.

The full text of the letter appears below.

March 4, 2009

To: Member States of United Nations Security Council

As concerned leaders of Darfuri and Sudanese diaspora organizations and communities, we would like to express our gratitude to the United Nations Security Council for authorizing and continuing to allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate crimes in Darfur. Without the Council's support, we could not today be welcoming the ICC's decision to issue an arrest warrant for the president of the Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. We equally commend the ICC for its commitment to justice for our people who have waited too long to see their concerns addressed.

Omar Hassan al-Bashir has used janjaweed militia and his Sudanese government forces to carry out a vicious campaign against our people. Hundreds of thousands of Darfuri civilians have died since 2003. Thousands of our sisters have been brutally raped and millions of our people must still seek refuge in displaced persons and refugee camps. While we are disappointed that the Court failed to charge al-Bashir with genocide, we applaud the judges' decision to seek his arrest so that he may face trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Over the last several months, al-Bashir's regime and his allies have tried to argue that allowing the ICC to continue its investigations in Darfur would hurt efforts to negotiate peace and improve security in the region. They called for the investigation into al-Bashir's crimes to be suspended under Article 16 of the ICC statute. As Darfuri and Sudanese diaspora leaders, we were far too familiar with the manipulative tactics of the Khartoum government to believe its rhetoric. We strongly rejected Khartoum's arguments, and we called on the U.N. Security Council to support the pursuit of justice for Darfur. We are heartened that the Council heard our calls as the victims of the ongoing genocide and did not give in to al-Bashir's campaign for impunity.

We believe that the ICC sets an example for international institutions. It promotes global peace through the pursuit of justice and can prove that no one is above the law by holding al-Bashir accountable. Therefore, we urge the Council to support the ICC and to ensure that al-Bashir and other architects and perpetrators of the genocide against our people are arrested and brought to justice.

For us, the ICC's work and the warrant for al-Bashir's arrest represent a chance to finally end not only these crimes, but decades of injustice that the people of Darfur and the Sudanese at large have suffered. The Security Council must now send a strong signal that impunity for crimes in Darfur will no longer be tolerated. It must ensure that al-Bashir and others wanted by the ICC are turned over to the Court for trial. We believe this will not only yield justice in Darfur, but will also protect our brothers and sisters in other lands by deterring those who would follow in al-Bashir's footsteps.

As Darfuri and Sudanese diaspora leaders, we believe there will be no lasting peace in Sudan without justice and accountability. We again thank the U.N. Security Council for allowing the pursuit of justice in Darfur to begin. We call upon all member states of the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council to continue to support efforts to ensure that al-Bashir and others who have sought to destroy our people are brought to justice.

Sincerely,

Darfuri and Sudanese Representatives of Diaspora Organizations and Communities in North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East

Faisal Abakar
Libya, Tripoli

Aballah Dawood Abaker
Cairo, Egypt

Omer Abdalaziz
Houston, TX, USA

Asmail Abdallah
Houston, TX, USA

Abdu Abdalla
Darfur People's Association of Iowa
Des Moines, IA, USA

Mahjob Abdalla
Darfur Diaspora Association
Toronto, Canada

Adam Abdelgadir
Houston, TX, USA

Mohamed Abdelkarim
Houston, TX, USA

Abdelrahim Abdelmaolla
Benghazi, Libya

Mohamed Abdel Rahman
Darfur Association of Illinois
Chicago, IL, USA

Bashir Gamous Abdelrasoul
Darfur Association of Texas
Dallas, TX, USA

Thuria Adam Abdelshafee
Benghazi, Libya

Abdullah Idris Abdullah
Cairo, Egypt

Nuraddin Abdulmannan
Rescue Nubia
Washington, DC, USA

Gamal Abdurrahman
Ontario, Canada

Elnour Adam
Darfur Rehabilitation Project
Newark, NJ, USA

Ismail Adam
Darfur Association of Canada
Ontario, Canada

Omer Abaker Adam
Benghazi, Libya

Salem Mohamed Adam
Istanbul, Turkey

Motasim Adem
Darfur People's Association of New York
New York, NY, USA

Saleh Musa Adam
Benghazi, Libya

Mohamed Adam
Ontario, Canada

Osman Adam
Houston, TX, USA

Hamid Adris
Houston, TX, USA

Mohamed Adris
Houston, TX, USA

Mohamed Ahmed
Houston, TX, USA

Deng Agot
Portland, ME, USA

Niemat Ahamdi
At-Large Member of the Darfuri Leaders Network
Washington, D.C., USA

Ishag Ahmed
Fur Association of North America
Newark, NJ, USA

Mansour Ahmed
Fur Cultural Revival
Portland, ME, USA

Adam Ahmed
Ontario, Canada

Mutasem Ahmed
Benghazi, Libya

Amal Allagabo
At-Large Member of the Darfuri Leaders Network
Washington, D.C., USA

Adam Ali
Darfur Association of Colorado
Denver, CO, USA

Ali Almalla
Houston, TX, USA

Adnan Alsadati
Toronto, Canada

Mahoud Mohamed Arbab
Cairo, Egypt

Nameat Mohamed Arbab
Cairo, Egypt

Abdullelkarem Arbab
Ontario, Canada

Monib Mohamed Arbab
Cairo, Egypt

Suliman Awadalla
Darfur Association of Texas (Houston)
Houston, TX, USA

Ibrahim Ayoub
Rome, Italy

Mohamed Babiker
Houston, TX, USA

Adam Babiker
Houston, TX, USA

Ibrahim Bahar
Ontario, Canada

Abrahim Zakria Basi
Houston, TX, USA

Hafiz Bassy
Darfur Community Association of Australia Inc.
Melbourne, Australia

Mahmoud Braima
Darfur Association in the United States
Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Hassan Musa Daldoum
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Rahama Deffallah
Darfur People's Association of New York
New York, NY, USA

Domins Dsuro
Portland, ME, USA

Ahmed Dawalbit
Houston, TX, USA

Marwa Salah Eddin
At-Large Member of the Darfuri Leaders Network
Portland, ME, USA

Nureldin Edrees
Ontario, Canada

Adam Edrees
Houston, TX, USA

Khabeb Edrees
Houston, TX, USA

Zeinab Eiyga
Sauti Yetu Center for African Women
New York, NY, USA

Elrashid Eldaw
Houston, TX, USA

Elfadil Elsharif
Hamilton, Canada

Omer Elsharif
Newark, NJ, USA

Elfadil Elhashmi
Ontario, Canada

Mazin Elhashmi
Ontario, Canada

Lomumba Emam
Ontario, Canada

Thani Fadlalla
Houston, TX, USA

Yagub Fasheir
Houston, TX, USA

Abdelbagi Jibril
Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre
Geneva, Switzerland

Suliman Giddo
Darfur Peace and Development Organization
Washington, D.C., USA

Abdalla Guma
Houston, TX, USA

Abdullelrahaman Hamed
Canada, Ontario

Ibrahim Hamid
Darfur Alert Coalition
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Abdul-Aziz Hammed
Benghazi, Libya

Adam Abelakriem Haroon
Benghazi, Libya

Fatima Haroun
At-Large Member of the Darfuri Leaders Network
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Mohamed Suleiman Hassaballa
Tripoli, Libya

Ismail Hassan
Darfur Association of Canada
Toronto, Canada

Nawal Hassan,
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Musa Ibrahim
Halifax, CA, USA

Musa Ikhlas
Houston, TX, USA

Mansour Isak
Darfur Farmers Aid
Memphis, TN, USA

Bashir M. Ishag
Darfur People's Union
Washington, D.C., USA

Mohamadain Mohamed Ishag
Darfur Peace and Justice
Brussels, Belgium

Lila Ismail
Houston, TX, USA

Samira Karar
Manchester, NH, USA

Mohamed Khalil
Houston, TX, USA

Abdalaziz Khamis
Houston, TX, USA

Emadeldin Khamis
Darfur Association of Alabama
Birmingham, AL, USA

Yuhanus Kinning
Ontario, Canada

Suad Mansour
At-Large Member of the Darfuri Leaders Network
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Ishag Mekki
Darfur Union of the United Kingdom and Ireland
London, UK

Ahmed Mohamedain
Darfur Call
Amesterdam, The Netherlands

Adam Mohamed
Ontario, Canada

Mohamed Arbab Mohamed
Cairo, Egypt

Yagoub Mohamed
Ontario, Canada

Jady Mossa
Houston, TX, USA

Justine Mukisi
Portland, ME, USA

Dense Netto
Portland, ME, USA

Mohamed Noureldain
Houston, TX, USA

Mohamed Baraka Nurain
Slough, United Kingdom

Angelo Okot
Portland, ME, USA

Adam Omer
Darfur Association of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE, USA

Ahmed Omer
Houston, TX, USA

Badawi Osman
Darfur Working Group
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Ismail Omer
Darfur Renaissance Association
Dallas, TX, USA

Elgasim Salih
World Relief Organization
Philadelphia, PA, USA

Samara Seddik
Cairo, Egypt

Bakheit Shata
Darfur Community Organization
Omaha, NE, USA

Mohamed Shougar
Refugee Friends
Cairo, Egypt, USA

Elrashid Suliman
Ontario, Canada

Mohamed Sulieman
Darfur Self-Reliance Education Inc.
San Francisco, CA, USA

Issa Tahir
Darfur Association of France
Parise, France

Abdalhadi Iesaa Tore
Benghazi, Libya

Adam Mohamed Yahya
Western Sudan Aid Relief in the U.S.A.
South Dakota, USA

Mohamed Yahya
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Charlottesville, VA, USA

Elalim Yousif
Houston, TX, USA