What Amnesty is Doing

The killings, torture and rapes of hundreds of thousands of civilians, and the destruction of hundreds of villages, have unfolded relentlessly in Darfur since 2003. Despite international outrage and demands around the globe to end the brutality, four years later the deadly conflict continues and Darfur remains one of the world’s worst human rights and humanitarian catastrophes. Violence, atrocities, disease and malnutrition continue to afflict the Darfuri people. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, countless numbers of women and girls have been abducted, raped and abused, and more than 2.5 million civilians have been uprooted from their homes and depend on international aid to survive.

Missions and On-the-Ground Reporting

In 2003 and 2004, Amnesty International (AI) supplied some of the earliest documentation –eyewitness testimony from the ground – that warned of the impending catastrophe in Darfur. The Sudanese government, after months of intense lobbying from AI, finally agreed in 2004 to let a high-level mission from the organization into Darfur. This mission came at a critical point, helping to focus world attention and galvanize opinion about the brutal conditions in the country. Amnesty International’s exposure of horrific violence – the torching of villages and the campaign of sexual violence against women and girls – built awareness worldwide of the brutality.

Amnesty continues to send frequent research missions to the region, including two so far in 2007 with two others planned, and has lobbied highly-placed government leaders and the United Nations to demand action to stop the violence.

Through dozens of reports, Amnesty continued to help pressure the international community to respond to the massive human rights violations in Darfur, especially the perilous conditions for women and girls who are targeted by soldiers for rape and sexual violence. AI continues to campaign to end the violence, protect civilians and ensure the unimpeded and safe delivery of humanitarian aid.

Global Mobilization and Lobby Efforts

At the same time, AI has united with partners around the globe and celebrity figures like actors Don Cheadle and Mira Sorvino to build awareness of the deadly crisis through film, art and other cultural forms.

The human rights movement has urgently focused on the deployment of a credible multi-lateral security force in Darfur to augment the small force from the African Union (AU) that is under-funded, under-manned and lacks a sufficient mandate to prevent the indiscriminate attacks on civilians by government-backed militias and rebels.

As the world’s largest human rights organization, Amnesty International led efforts to accomplish the goal of introducing a U.N. force in Darfur. Mobilizing its worldwide network of 2.2 million activists and supporters, AI put pressure on the United Nations to send a peacekeeping mission to Darfur. Successful advocacy with governments helped in August 2006 to secure passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1706 authorizing a force of 22,500 troops. Though a crucial step, the mandate remains merely words on paper. Claiming a violation of sovereignty, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who has thwarted the international community’s efforts to broker a peaceful political solution, is refusing to allow the peacekeeping force to deploy.

Amnesty has most recently turned its advocacy and mobilization efforts to persuading China, the largest single foreign investor in Sudan, to use its influence to convince al-Bashir to permit a joint A.U.-U.N. force in Darfur. On March 30, AI staff and members met with Chinese diplomats in Washington and staged rallies at China’s embassy and consulates to pressure China to use its influence with Sudan. For example, this month AI lobbied the U.S. Senate to urge Chinese President Hu to use his influence to get Sudan to allow U.N. peacekeepers to deploy.

Eyes on Darfur Project

In June 2007, Amnesty International broke new ground in protecting human rights by launching an unprecedented project, Eyes on Darfur, which uses newly acquired commercial satellite images of Darfur to help protect 12 intact but vulnerable villages caught on the frontline of the conflict. AI invites people around the world to log on to their computers (www.eyesondarfur.org) and help protect these strategic areas, putting President al-Bashir on notice that the villages are being watched through up-to-date, high-altitude satellite images that can serve an early warning capability or provide evidence of atrocities to international courts.

Check out a description of this new project »

What You Can Do

AI is also directing a global petition at heads of state, including President Bush, urging them to live up to their own promises on Darfur by creating a timeline and benchmarks to get U.N. peacekeepers on the ground and offer financial support for the mission and humanitarian operations.

Funds and visibility generated from the Instant Karma CD and related material will allow Amnesty to respond even more effectively to the changing situation in Darfur, helping the organization push for decisive action to end the violence. Instant Karma will benefit Amnesty’s traditional and effective strategies for on-the-ground investigations, mass public mobilization, intensive lobbying and public-awareness campaigns.