Save Darfur Applauds Genocide Prevention Task Force Report

Save Darfur Applauds Genocide Prevention Task Force Report

Fowler: The 'constituency of conscience' will demand White House congressional leadership end Darfur genocide and prevent the next Darfur from occurring.

WASHINGTON – Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, today applauded the report issued by the Genocide Prevention Task Force outlining critical steps to prevent future genocide and mass atrocities around the world. The Task Force was a joint initiative of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Fowler, a human rights lawyer and former staff director of the Holocaust Museum's Committee on Conscience, said a broader "constituency of conscience" has been mobilized to ensure future genocide and mass atrocities are averted. He said this constituency has been the driving force behind the Darfur movement - but will also demand presidential and congressional leadership to avoid the next Darfur.

"As an organization committed to ending the first genocide of the 21st century, the Save Darfur Coalition applauds the conclusions of the Genocide Prevention Task Force and supports the imperative goal of preventing genocide," Fowler said.

"To prevent and respond effectively to future genocide and mass atrocities, two things are necessary: a government that is better equipped to recognize and respond to these horrific situations as they develop and a politically salient constituency of conscience that demands action.

"The Task Force report outlines concrete steps that, if taken, will move toward achieving the first goal of improving the U.S. government's ability to recognize and respond to impending threats of mass murder. And essential to taking those steps and making them real, as Secretaries Cohen and Albright recently wrote, is leadership, especially from the White House and Congress.

"We can also be optimistic that the American people will do their part. The mass movement that has responded to genocide in Darfur shows that there is a constituency of conscience of people from all walks of life, all ages, and all political, religious and ethnic backgrounds that will raise its voice in response to mass atrocities.

"While Darfur has been this constituency's primary focus during the past five years - it hasn't been its only focus. And moving forward, this movement will demand presidential and congressional leadership to end the Darfur genocide and prevent the next Darfur from occurring."

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About the coalition: The Save Darfur Coalition - an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations - raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. The coalition's member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit www.SaveDarfur.org. To obtain footage from the Darfur border region, coalition events, various interviews, and more, please visit the Save Darfur Coalition media gallery at http://media.savedarfur.org. All footage may be previewed in non-broadcast quality and may be purchased in broadcast quality by filling out the purchase request form provided on the site.