August 26, 2010

President Barack ObamaThe White House1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama: We, the undersigned groups, are greatly concerned by reports that you will soon be making a decision regarding U.S. engagement with Sudan that could have profound consequences for the people of Sudan. While we are encouraged by recent reports that your administration is deploying a high-level team of diplomats to Sudan, we believe a more robust set of tools must be employed to ensure not only a peaceful referendum on Southern independence, but also peace in all Sudanese regions, including Darfur, through the referendum and beyond.  Mr. President, your policy as spelled out in the Sudan Policy Review released last October was the right one. After an extensive internal review, your administration recognized that the Khartoum regime and those like it will respond only to a robust package that contains both incentives for concrete steps toward peace, and firm pressures and consequences for behavior that makes peace more elusive. However, it appears that some in your administration are currently advocating for an incentives-based approach focused on the short-term goal of a peaceful referendum. While we agree that this goal is a critical one, we strongly believe that this approach will only ensure more backsliding in the future by an emboldened regime in Khartoum. We must also not lose focus on resolving the worsening humanitarian and security crisis in Darfur as the Government of Sudan continues its track record of abuses and violence in Darfur and throughout Sudan. Since last April alone, the Government of Sudan has:

  Deliberately restricted humanitarian aid for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Darfur, as

well as peacekeepers’ movement and effectiveness Expelled humanitarian aid workers and made expulsion threats against peacekeepers and other

aid organizations working in the region Presided over rigged national elections Cracked down on human rights, detaining political opposition figures and human rights activists Censored Sudanese media and targeted news outlets and journalists Failed to act in good faith to prepare for the January 2011 referenda Failed to cooperate with the U.N. Security Council and the International Criminal Court

regarding outstanding arrest warrants against President Bashir and others accused of crimes in Darfur

 Given these recent actions by the Government of Sudan, the looming potential of a return to war between North and South, and the deteriorating situation in Darfur, your leadership on Sudan—with a focus on both incentives and additional pressures—is urgently needed.  Sincerely,

John PrendergastCo-founderThe Enough Project

Mark HanisPresidentGenocide Intervention Network

Eric CohenChairpersonInvestors Against Genocide

Mark LotwisActing PresidentSave Darfur Coalition

Gabriel StauringDirectorStop Genocide Now

Joe Carson, P.E.PresidentAffiliation of Christian Engineers

Gerald LeMelleExecutive DirectorAfrica Action

Kevin BrooksPresidentAfrican Soul, American Heart

Stephen McNeilAssistant Regional Director for PeacebuildingAmerican Friends Service Committee

Zainab Al-SuwaijExecutive DirectorAmerican Islamic Congress

Ruth MessingerPresidentAmerican Jewish World Service

Nikki SerapioDirectorAmericans Against the Darfur Genocide

Mr. Bryan ArdounyExecutive DirectorArmenian Assembly of America

Laura J. LimuliCoordinatorBrooklyn Coalition for Darfur

Corey DraggeFounderChampion Darfur

Sara Caine KornfeldProject Founder, EducatorChange the world. It just takes cents.

Don KrausChief Executive OfficerCitizens for Global Solutions

Michael DitchfieldPresidentColorado Coalition for Genocide Awareness & Action

Sister Zelita BragagnoloPresidentConsolata Missionary Sisters, USA

Jon DennPresidentCounting Prayers

Gene BinderCoordinatorDarfur Action Group/Northwest Bronx/Yonkers

Ali DinarPresidentDarfur Alert Coalition, Philadelphia

Cory WilliamsCo-founderDarfur and Beyond

Bakheit A. ShataFounder, Executive Director Darfur Community Organization

Richard Young & Martha BoshnickCo-chairsDarfur Interfaith Network

Ahmat NourPresidentDarfur People’s Association of New York

Adeeb YousifDirectorDarfur Reconciliation and Development Organization

Abdelbagy AbushanabPresident Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Inc.

Norma M. Bourdon, D.H.S.Provincial Superior, USA ProvinceDaughters of the Holy Spirit

Gerri MillerFounder and Coordinator Dear Sudan, Love Marin

Leadership TeamDominican Sisters of Springfield

Seme L. Enoka Chairman, Board of DirectorsEquatorian Sudanese Community Association - USA

Mansour AhmedPresidentFur Cultural Revival

Marv SteinbergCoordinatorGenocide No More - Save Darfur of Redding

Melanie NelkinChairGeorgia Coalition to Prevent Genocide

Robert GoodisDirectorThe Goodis Center for Research and Reform, L.L.C.

Sister Diane Bardol, G.N.S.H.Social Justice CoordinatorGrey Nuns of the Sacred Heart

Helen FeinChair, Board of DirectorsInstitute for the Study of Genocide

Robert BarkinPresidentJewish Reconstructionist Federation

Tzivia Schwartz GetzugExecutive DirectorJewish World Watch

Bob BrousseauFounder Kentuckiana Interfaith Taskforce on Darfur

Julia HaysFounder, DirectorKeokuk for Darfur

Mary Hughes, O.P.PresidentLeadership Conference of Women Religious

Nancy Schreck, O.S.F.PresidentLeadership Team of the Sisters of St. Francis

Barbara EnglishExecutive DirectorLiving Ubuntu/Orange County for Darfur

Nancy WalshCoordinatorLong Island Darfur Action Group

David Emmanuel Goatley, Ph.D. Executive Secretary-TreasurerLott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention

William RosenfeldDirectorMassachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur

Timothy P. Page, M.D.President Michigan Darfur Coalition

Sister Kathryn Conti, S.M.I.C.Provincial CoordinatorMissionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception

Lauren FortgangCo-founderNever Again Coalition

Nell OkieCo-directorNew Haven Alliance for Congo

Sharon Silber & Eileen B. WeissCo-foundersNew York City Coalition for Darfur

Helga MoorHeadNew York Darfur Vigil Group

Mark C. HackettFounder, PresidentOperation Broken Silence

Madison Odongi ClementChairman, Board of DirectorsOtuho Community of North America

Sister Diane Bardol, G.N.S.H.Executive DirectorP. Francis Murphy Justice and Peace Initiative

A. Frank DonaghueChief Executive OfficerPhysicians for Human Rights

Rabbi Gilah DrorPresidentRabbinical Assembly

Sister Kathleen Bryant, R.S.C.Regional VicarReligious Sisters of Charity

Michael PertnoyFounderRighteous Pictures

Ian LobelProgramming ChairSacramento Committee on Conscience

Lucia Schwickerath, O.S.B.PrioressSaint Paul's Monastery

Susan SmylieCoordinator of AdvocacySan Antonio Interfaith Darfur Coalition

Mohamed SuleimanPresidentSan Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition

Deborah JonesPresidentSave Darfur Washington State

Carmen PaolercioCoordinatorShine a Ray of Hope

Mary Elizabeth MillerPresidentSisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership

Sister Lindora Cabral, R.S.M.PresidentSisters of Mercy of the Americas Northeast Community

Leadership TeamSisters of Providence of Holyoke

Elaine Betoncourt, C.S.J.Chairperson, Justice and Peace CommitteeSisters of Saint Joseph of Chambery/West Hartford

Sister Anne P. Myers, S.S.J.Congregational PresidentSisters of Saint Joseph of Chestnut Hill

M. Doretta Cornell, R.D.C. Member, Social Justice BoardSisters of the Divine Compassion

Mary Margart Mooney, P.B.V.M.PresidentSisters of the Presentation, Fargo

Bill AndressCo-chairmanSudan Advocacy Action Forum

Sophia ArmenCo- presidentU.C. Santa Barbara Human Rights Group

Rev. Peter Morales President Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

Sandra HammelDirectorUse Your Voice to Stop Genocide Rhode Island

Jimmy MullaFounderVoices for Sudan

Ellen J. Kennedy, Ph.D.Executive Director World Without Genocide at William Mitchell College of Law